The Raising Voices environmental committee wishes you a Happy New Year with a challenge: Make a resolution to protect our planet. Resolve to reduce your plastic consumption by 25%. Suggestions to help you succeed: Buy reusable, washable fruit and vegetable bags. Amazon sells them for a very reasonable amount. Get …
Rockville Centre’s Cub Scout Pack No. 31 received a visit from the “bag lady” at a recent troop meeting. Members from RaisingVoicesUSA gave a video presentation about the environment and showed the children how to turn an old T-shirt into a reusable shopping bag. Read more and view pictures from …
Join Raising Voices in celebrating Earth Day (April 22 ) everyday! How can you make an impact? Try one tip a day or week and keep at it. You can make a difference! Download the Tip-A-Day Calendar (PDF) April 2019 “If many little people, in many little places do many …
from The New York Times by Livia Albeck-Ripka and Kendra Pierre-Louis A huge oil spill. A river catching fire. Lakes so polluted they were too dangerous for fishing or swimming. Air so thick with smog it was impossible to see the horizon. That was the environmental state of the nation 50 years …
“If only the rocks could talk. If only the sandstones could sing, imagine the stories they’d tell, of dinosaurs, mammoth hunters and the “ancient ones” known as the Anasazi. All roamed southern Utah over the eons, long before Native Americans struggled to hold their land against Mormon settlers, modern life …
From THE NEW YORK TIMES
By NADJA POPOVICH and LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA OCT. 5, 2017
Since taking office in January, President Trump has made eliminating federal regulations a priority. His administration — with help from Republicans in Congress — has often targeted environmental rules it sees as overly burdensome to the fossil fuel industry, including major Obama-era policies aimed at fighting climate change.
To date, the the Trump administration has sought to reverse nearly 50 environmental rules, according to an analysis by The New York Times.
Thank you to everyone who joined us at our general meeting last week! We are proud of what RaisingVoicesUSA has accomplished, and we hope you are as energized for the months ahead as we are.
Here’s how you can take action and get involved this week.
Engage
Get caught up from our September meeting.
At our meeting on September 26, we provided a snapshot of everything we accomplished during the summer months and a roadmap for how we are moving forward as an organization. We also heard an inspiring presentation from Dr. Andrea Libresco from Hofstra University on the power of civic engagement. (And we did enjoy some sheet cake)! Read the minutes to get brought up to speed.
Attend an upcoming RaisingVoicesUSA event.
We’ll be holding a park clean-up event on October 21 [?] at [need location] – bring family and friends to help beautify our green spaces!
And be sure to mark your calendar for our next general meeting on October 24, which will include a special panel with members of the Hispanic Brotherhood of Long Island [confirm name].
Educate
Get ready to vote in local elections in November.
With Election Day fast approaching in New York, it’s important to get to know the candidates on the ballot. The RaisingVoicesUSA website has a number of resources to help you get informed:
A schedule of candidate forums being hosted throughout Nassau County. Candidate forums are an opportunity for you to hear directly from candidates about where they stand on key issues.
Candidate responses to our questionnaire on 5 critical issues for residents of the Rockville Centre area. [do we have a link for this?]
Links to organizations and resources with helpful information for voters.
Learn about New York State Amendment Proposals
In addition to the candidates, there are three key amendments on the ballot in New York State, including one that, if passed, would result in a constitutional convention.
Empower
Support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Maria has devastated Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, and relief organizations are facing several challenges as they work to deliver aid and basic supplies to the region. American citizens in the region are in dire need of our help.
See How You Can Help Hurricane Victims
Keep raising your voice!
We know that raising your voice isn’t always easy. But we also know that it works. Since RaisingVoicesUSA began last year, we have written thousands of postcards, made calls, visited our legislators, marched and demonstrated, and we have seen the results of our collective efforts as multiple efforts to repeal the ACA have been defeated and we have held our elected officials accountable for sensible immigration reform.
We’re just getting started, and we’ll continue to need your help! Visit our website for educational resources on our priority issues, information on how to get in touch with your elected officials, and materials to host your own postcard party!
Congress is in its final push before a long summer recess, which means we need to focus our advocacy over the next two months. While healthcare and the budget are the federal priorities, closer to home, we can still raise our voices for the environment despite the announcement that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
We also have a packed events calendar. Our next meeting is tomorrow, where we will provide updates on our plans for the summer and beyond, and will hear from the President and CEO of Nassau County Planned Parenthood JoAnn Smith. On Friday, June 9, the LGBTQ committee is hosting an evening of advocacy. And be sure to save the date for a film screening hosted by the Unity and Diversity committee on June 15.
Details on all events are included at the bottom of this email, and on our website.
We look forward to seeing you!
Last week, President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement. While this is discouraging news, there are still many ways we can advocate for the environment. Indivisible has put together a comprehensive guide to acting locally to support responsible environmental policies. Learn more about local actions you can take here.
The President’s proposed budget clearly indicates the administration’s funding priorities, but the final budget will be determined by our elected officials. Now is the time to make your priorities clear to them. Find your elected officials’ contact information here.
The Senate has been extremely quiet as they create their version of the American Healthcare Act. It’s important that we remind our elected officials that we are closely watching what they are doing, and that we will not accept a healthcare plan that penalizes Americans with pre-existing conditions and puts our most vulnerable populations at risk. This guide from Indivisible outlines the ways you can raise your voice and advocate for a more equitable and compassionate healthcare system. Find your elected officials’ contact information here.
Friday, June 9, 2017, 7-9 pm
United Church of Rockville Centre
430 Morris Avenue, Rockville Centre
RSVP by replying to this email or to jill76@gmail.com
Thursday, June 15 2017, 6:45 pm
Wilson Elementary School
Buckingham Road, Rockville Centre
The Family Next Door follows a year in the life of the Lund family who have two children with autism. Through the presentation of this film and the discussion that will follow, we hope to further our mission of inclusion and hope that it will serve as a tool for promoting awareness and initiating action.
RSVP by replying to this email.
With State Senator Todd Kaminsky and State Assemblyman Brian Curran
The 2016 ratification of the Paris Agreement was an unprecedented global response to climate change. The Agreement’s 143 signatories, including the United States, formally committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to slow the pace of climate change. Today is the day to call your elected officials, including the President (202-456-1111). When you reach them, urge them to make the environment a higher priority than the interest of large fossil fuel companies. Find your members here.
The President released his proposed budget last week, and now the negotiation process begins between him and Congress. You can read more about the proposed budget here. Your elected officials will ultimately decide the fate of the budget. Contact them and urge them to consider your funding priorities in the final version of the budget.
The House vote on the American Healthcare Act is not the end of the healthcare debate. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will be revised. This guide from Indivisible outlines the ways you can raise your voice and advocate for a more equitable and compassionate healthcare system. As the Senate develops their own version of a healthcare bill, they need to see that we will hold our elected officials accountable for their votes, and they do need to hear from us. Find your elected officials’ contact information here.
