Issue #3: Speedy Summer Signatures
On beaches, bans and bright futures ☀️
Happy Thursday!
The most-clicked link from last week’s issue was a call for Aotearoa to stop sending its plastic waste to developing countries, which now has 803 / 1000 signatures. Great going! 💪
We know it gets busy during this time, so we’ve packed this issue full of five minute actions that you can slot in throughout the week.
What can you do today?
🐝 If you have 5 minutes: Mind out for mining!
Last week, we linked a call for our conservation land to be kept mine-free, but this shouldn’t just apply to conservation land. New coal mines lock us into high-emissions scenarios for decades to come.
Call on Jacinda Ardern to stop all new or expanded coal mines in Aotearoa.It’s clear that coal mining on land is detrimental to a climate-friendly future, and the same applies for mining that happens under water. Right now, mining companies are exploring the deep sea of the Pacific, and still have their sights set on the seabed off the Taranaki Coast.
Ask the government to join countries like Fiji and Vanuatu in calling for a ban on seabed mining.
🦊 If you have another 5 minutes: Calm our collective farms
Aotearoa can safely support rural farming communities and keep our water, land, and climate healthy. It’s not an either-or, it’s an and-and!
Call on the government to cut climate pollution from industrial dairy & take your action further by calling to cut emissions by cutting PKE (palm kernel expeller used as animal feed on farms.
🚲 If you have a final 5 minutes: Stop the fishy business!
Commercial fishing companies like bottom trawling because it can catch large quantities of sea animals at once, but it also has a huge effect on the biodiversity of the ocean. Aotearoa is one of only seven countries still using this practice in international waters.
Add your name to safeguard our ocean wildlife!Pakiri Beach is just two kilometers out of Tāmaki Makaurau, which has unfortunately been mined for decades despite being home to endangered birds and beautiful sand dunes. McCallum Brothers is seeking to mine vast quantities of sand from the waters off Pakiri Beach and Mangawhai - if granted the equivalent of 300,000 20ft containers over a period of 35 years!
Call on the council to protect Pakiri as a taonga for generations to come.These avid protesters chained themselves to a Kiwirail train in protest of Fonterra’s burning of coal to dry milk.
Can we rally the troops and help them hit their petition target?
Back to the future 🚀
Here’s something a little extra as we head into beach and friends & whanau season. One of the most helpful things you can do for climate action is to build up a community of people who care. Climate action can often feel tiring, so it’s equally important to talk about the hopeful, equitable, climate-friendly future we strive for.
So next time you’re sitting down with your friends, why not imagine an Aotearoa with…
🚲 Cities that are fun to move around?
🍅 Urban gardens that feed thousands of people?
☀️ Restaurants powered by the sun?
💡 Solar panels on every school?
🌳 Forests that make us not just carbon neutral, but carbon-negative?
That’s all for today, folks 👋🏽Thanks for taking action. This is our last newsletter for the year - we’ll be back in late January. Sadie’s getting a head start on relaxing, and we hope you find some moments of rest and joy over this time too!
See you in 2022,
Dhanya, Emily, and Jenny from the Climate Club
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