Bills-&Amp;-Laws

ACTION ALERT Direct Action Spokane Initiative Banning Coal and Oil Trains Through Spokane Background: On Friday, June 10th, Gunnar Holmquist, M.D. filed an initiative with the Spokane City Clerk which seeks to ban the transportation of crude oil and coal through the City of Spokane, because of climate change and the threat to public safety. The initiative would do several things – (1) recognize a right of all Spokane residents to a healthy climate and public safety; (2) ban the transportation of crude oil and coal as a violation of those rights; and (3) suspend the arrest of those using nonviolent direct action who attempt to enforce the law if either the City refuses to enforce, or the courts overturn the initiative. ...

The great musician Lauren Hill once said, “Fantasy is what people want but reality is what they need.” And the reality is that the climate movement is failing. See this graph? That’s a measure of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere from 2005 to mid-2015. The trend is up. That means we’re losing. Until that trend is heading steeply in the other direction, we’re in trouble. ...

From the website Roundhouse Talk: Tucked within the 1,000-page defense bill passed by the Senate last week is a provision that would open the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain — a site considered sacred by members of the Yakama Nation — to the public. The mountain, known as “Laliik” in Yakama, lies in the Hanford Reach National Monument and, for the most part, public access is now restricted. But opening the area for more public use has long been a goal of outgoing Congressmen Doc Hastings. ...