[OAKLAND, CA] On the heels of the first UN Climate Negotiations since Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, Sunrise Bay Area is taking part in The Climate Legacy Time Capsule Project’s national Day of Dedication on November 18.
California’s time capsule, which will be filled with citizen-contributed letters and other objects meant to represent California’s legacy on climate change, will be opened simultaneously with other time capsules across the country in November 2067. Today’s event will take place at the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building, 1515 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
“The Climate Legacy Time Capsule Project was launched by Sunrise, a movement of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process,” according to a press advisory from Sunrise. “In California, the goal of the project is to highlight the need to end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives as well as Jerry Brown’s legacy of crafting environmental legislation that caters to the oil and gas industries rather than the communities most affected by climate change and extraction.”
The event is timed to take place right after the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) talks in Bonn, about two years after the Paris Agreement was negotiated.
Sunrise Bay Area, along with supporting organizations including the Sunflower Alliance, Friends of the Earth (US), Rootskeeper, IdleNoMore SF Bay, and the Soil Not Oil Coalition, and others are sponsoring the event.
Speakers at the event today will include Patricia St. Onge of Defenders of Mother Earth-Huichin, Ash Lauth of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Ted Franklin of No Coal in Oakland.
“We’re here today to support the young people whose future is at stake in every decision we make about what to build and where to build it,” said Ted Franklin, an organizer with No Coal In Oakland. “We’ve been fighting for over two years to stop the use of Oakland’s waterfront to extend the coal industry’s lifespan. If coal survives for the next 50 years, today’s youth will spend their final years on a struggling planet.”
"In light of the events of COP 23, it's especially important for people to rally together against climate change and to hold our leaders accountable for their legacy," said Abby Carlstad, 23, member of Sunrise Bay Area. “It’s time that Jerry Brown show that he’s ready to truly lead on climate — or future generations won’t forgive him for it.”
The Climate Legacy Time Capsule Project was launched by Sunrise, a movement of young people to stop climate change and create millions of good jobs in the process. The event was made possible with collaboration from other groups who signed onto the letter to Governor Brown, including 350 Bay Area, Amazon Watch, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Bay Area - System Change not Climate Change, Beacon Presbyterian Fellowship of Oakland, Californians for Energy Choice, Climate Hawks Vote, Communities for a Better Environment, Defenders of Mother Earth-Huichin, Ecumenical Peace Institute/CALC, Electric Auto Association Central Coast Chapter, Environmental Protection Information Center, Fresnans against Fracking, Friends of the Earth - U.S., Helping Hand Tools {2HT}, Idle No More SF Bay, No Coal in Oakland, Our City San Francisco, People of the Land, Rootskeeper, Soil Not Oil Coalition, Sunflower Alliance, SustainUS.
For more information, contact: Jake Soiffer, (646) 734-8580 (mobile), Rachelle Robley (808-277-4046).
EVENT IMAGES: Facebook Event Page and Twitter Account
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Websites: www.climatetimecapsule.org, sunrisemovement.org, facebook.com/sunrisebayarea