I am honored to be joining a team of bloggers in this fundraiser to support Patriot Daily as she battles for her life.
Please read previous posts in this series for background on the situation.
Previous posts in this series:
What Did Patriot Daily every do for us?? And — if you can, please help. by rb137
Fighting for breath, for life – our own Patriot Daily, Our Lin, needs our help to breathe – by Onomastic
A Lake for Lin – A Community Fundraiser for an Eco Warrior in the Fight of Her Life – by Aji
One of the first things I wondered, when I timidly began posting on environmental issues back in 2009 was “Who is this Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse?” Her name was everywhere. She knew everyone I wanted to write with. There was no doubt that there was an ‘eco illuminati’ and I wanted in. Badly. I felt as if I had found my niche but would they ever find me?
I believe my first connection with PDNC was via the Feeding America blogathons and, sure enough, it was PDNC who welcomed me to the eco community (See DK Greenroots Green Social Networking 7/3/2009). I can recall how thrilled she was the very first time one of my posts made the rec list, how she took a picture of it and sent it to me (via email, we didn’t have Smart phones yet). Pictures exist somewhere of times when during one of our blogathons we had three, maybe four diaries on the rec list simultaneously. So much of our work received prominent play here at DK back in those days because of the networking Patriot Daily did behind the scenes, not just to promote our work but to make sure that more eyes were on the issues which matter most in the very core of who she is: social and environmental justice.
All that work we did writing our hearts out back in the day when climate change was not particularly something mainstream America was interested in talking about. When we still had hope that somehow we could impact a system gone dreadfully, dreadfully wrong. And we believed that the Daily Kos community was the perfect venue to elevate consciousness and activism. Under the management of PDNC, we accomplished so much.
The blogathon team disbanded soon after the UN Climate Summit back in 2014 and many of us have moved on to other projects, finding other niches in which we hope we can make a difference. But the news now of Linda’s serious illness provides us with an opportunity to band together in a fundraiser to help save her life!
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
If you want to donate directly through PayPal, please use lauramcclure01 at gmail dot com.
If you want to help and cannot use the fundraiser link or PayPal directly, please leave a comment, and we’ll sort it out in a private message.
I’ve selected a sampling from Linda’s work to highlight her contributions.
Special Copenhagen Blogathon at DK (Tuesday Dec 08, 2009)
During the past 18 months alone, deniers have sufficiently confused the public resulting in decreased support for the belief in global warming, as shown by two recent polls in October and November. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but perhaps the first poll results emboldened the failed boycott of Senator Boxer's climate legislation markup meetings. Senator Rockefeller mentioned how the prospect of the midterms was scary due to potential GOP attacks on climate legislation, and now, climate change legislation is delayed until next year, which also delays a global treaty. Whether events are related or not, public debate should be on what effective measures can address the grave impacts of climate change happening now that will worsen in the future, not backtracking to the existence of climate change which has been recognized since the 1800s.
Former Vice President Al Gore Joins Climate Change SOS Blogathon (Thursday Aug 23, 2012)
Meteor Blades and I are pleased to announce that Former Vice President Al Gore is now a kossack and will be participating in our Climate Change SOS Blogathon. We first invited him to join us with a climate change blogathon in 2009 but he was in Copenhagen for the climate change summit. However, we kept in touch over the years because he wanted to participate in the climate change projects that we organized at Daily Kos when his schedule would permit him to interact with our community.
Hummingbirds: Native Villages Forced To Relocate Due To Climate Change Impacts (Friday, Sep 13, 2013)
In 1988, Dr. James Hansen warned Congress about global warming, which was important because previously scientists were cautious about attributing rising temperatures to climate change. Back in the 1970s, the Alaska Native elders noticing the physical changes to their environment and wildlife warned the young to prepare for hard times ahead. The elders created a "Native think-tank in the 80's. They met four times a year for four years. The Council of Bering Sea Elders' discussions 30 years ago outlined things that scientists are just now beginning to confirm."
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We hear about the impact of sea level rises in the future, so some might view this as a harm that will occur years down the road. But, the Arctic region of Alaska is warming twice as fast as other parts of the U.S. For years now, indigenous communities face forced relocation due to rising sea levels, melting permafrost (permanently frozen soil), decreased arctic sea ice and shoreline erosion.
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, Van Jones, Winona LaDuke in DK Blogathon XL Comment Campaign (Mon. Marh 3, 2013)
We are holding a blogathon, coordinated with 350.org and around 16 other NGOs, in a campaign to encourage people to submit public comments opposing the Keystone XL pipeline during the National Interest Determination (NID) public comment period. This might be the last opportunity for the public to submit comments (depending on the legal limbo created by the recent court decision in a key Nebraska lawsuit).
Shouldn't We Know Whether Tar Sands Causing Cancer With First Nations Before XL Pipeline Decision?
A similar situation exists in Canada now with First Nation communities. For years, there have been increased cancer rates for First Nations (Athabasca Chipewyan, Fort McKay Metis, and Mikesew Cree) communities in Canada, as well as impacts on water, fish and animals. Several studies have been conducted over the years, each suggesting a link between tar sands development and cancer and now a definitive study will soon be commenced. The U.S. has a legal, political and moral obligation to wait for the study results before deciding whether to approve the XL tar sands pipeline.
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The 2013 study warns of unknown long-term effects as "increasing amounts of the chemicals occur in freshwater lakes and are absorbed by fish, birds and up the food chain to humans." One researcher of this study stated his concern that "as the industry ramps up production, the contamination will get worse". Canadian tar sands production near Fort McMurray has increased from 100, 000 barrels of oil a day in 1980 to 1.5 million barrels in 2010 and projected to be 3.7 million barrels a day by 2025.
Join the Foes of the Tar Sands Pipeline: Blogathon & DC Civil Disobedience Action (Sunday Aug 14, 2011)
Coordinating our blogathon with the civil disobedience action is designed to raise awareness of why this tar sands project is so destructive. A 2010 poll found that more than 70% of Americans favor cleaner energy sources that use the least amount of water and involve the lowest possible risk to the public and environment – guidelines that will be violated with tar sands in many ways that will be discussed during our blogathon. There are so many reasons to oppose XL, including it crosses under the Ogallala aquifer used for drinking water and agricultural food for millions and will cross under more than a 1,000 rivers, lakes and streams. People's health, our economy, wildlife and many natural resources and ecosystems are at risk.
Bill McKibben: Eco Coalition Building at Daily Kos (Thursday Jun 23, 2011)
Over the past couple years, our eco community has created the structures we need for political advocacy and coalition building. In 2009, Meteor Blades, Land of Enchantment and I organized Eco Week to highlight environmental issues. Our logo for Eco Week was designed by LOE. LOE and I started with 14 diarists, and that number grew to 64 diarists and 80 diaries published during Eco Week that focused on how environmental issues were intertwined with issues not considered environmental
One last note before closing. Scroll through this excerpt from day 4 of our CCSOS blogathon to recall how powerful the eco community was here at DK just a few years ago. Then donate to the fundraiser here.
Climate Change SOS Blogathon - Daily Report for Thursday, August 23rd
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
If you want to donate directly through PayPal, please use lauramcclure01 at gmail dot com.
If you want to help and cannot use the fundraiser link or PayPal directly, please leave a comment, and we’ll sort it out in a private message.