ACTION ALERTS
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Together, we have the strength to resist. THANK YOU for being part of our growing community of medical and public health professionals, scientists, health and community advocates, staff and consultants.
ACTIONS & UPDATES
- APRIL 5: Join one of the HANDS OFF! rallies being hosted nationwide!
- READING: It’s hard to keep up these days. We hope this list makes it a little bit easier for you to stay informed.
- COMING SOON: 2025 Bills to Support and Oppose
- UPDATE: Dec 4 Air District Advocacy: ZE Appliance Rules
- UPDATE: CA BILLS: What did Governor Newsom sign & veto?
- UPDATE: San Francisco Jeopardizes Clean Water Act by Suing EPA
- UPDATE: Prop 4 Passed! Some good news!
- MAKE COMMENTS: Tell OSHA to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat
- SUPPORT: Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, RECA
ONGOING!
- UPDATE: No More Money for Nukes Week, by Intern Navreet Purewal
- Keep Coal Out of Oakland!
- Save Rooftop Solar in CA
- Peace Advocacy in the New Year: Please click here to read our newsletter and take actions to address violence in Israel and Gaza
- Ask San Francisco to fund their Climate Plan
- Urge U.S. Representatives to abolish nuclear weapons, H. Res. 77
- Close Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
- Sign: No Nuclear War over Ukraine
- Demand the Cleanup of Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco
- And more below
April 5: Join nationwide rally HANDS OFF!
Protect our Health, Climate, and Democracy
Dear Friends,
Many of us are feeling dismayed, angry, and afraid, and wonder what we can do. We see the current administration gutting the health, safety, and security of our communities while running roughshod over the rule of law and assaulting the democracy we’ve counted on to make our voices heard. Some of us are even avoiding the news, hoping it will blow over or not be that bad. The last few weeks make clear that we can no longer afford business as usual. “We are facing an unconstitutional threat to our country and our freedoms through an illegal power grab.” (Earthjustice)
What can we do?
Attend a HANDS OFF! Rally
Dozens of rallies are planned across the Bay Area and the country!
Saturday, April 5, 1-3pm PT, in-person
San Francisco: in front of SF City Hall
Oakland: Oscar Grant Plaza, 409 14th St
Berkeley: North Berkeley BART Station, 1721 Acton St
Richmond/El Sobrante: San Pablo Dam Road & Appian Way
San Rafael: Marin Center Exhibit Hall lot, 10 Avenue of the Flags
Palo Alto: Near Tesla Dealership, El Camino Real near Arastradero
San Jose: 180 N First St
Santa Cruz: 701 Ocean St, Water St. side of the building
And more….find more details and a rally near you at handsoff2025.com
Grab your white coat and demand this corrupt regime get their hands off everything that matters to us: our rights, freedoms, and government services; science, truth, health, environmental justice, and our democracy. Find info here to make signs and post on social media.
For information about Why turnout at this rally matters and Why now, as well as more details and background about HANDS OFF, please read here.
If you agree, please spread the word about HANDS OFF! through your personal networks ASAP, and if appropriate, through your organizational networks too.
Together we can defend the communities and issues we care about and join the movement to build a better future.
In peace and solidarity,
SF Bay PSR Team
SF Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. Our support for the Hands Off! rallies reflects our commitment to human rights and public health, not for or against any political party.
Special thanks to SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Committee member and co-founder of Voting4Climate&Health Cynthia Mahoney, MD, for her dedicated efforts bringing this action to the attention of the environmental community.
READING
It’s hard to keep up with the news these days. We are working to make that a bit easier for you by sharing a selection of the articles we are reading. Also, please share these articles far and wide—together we can help combat misinformation.
The Trump administration is descending into authoritarianism
‘The authoritarian playbook’: Trump targets judges, lawyers … and law itself
Donald Trump is seeking to erase the United States as we know it
Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship
Economic Policy Institute: Cutting Medicaid to pay for low taxes on the rich is a terrible trade for American families
Here are all the ways people are disappearing from government websites
Books:
Autocracy Rules for Survival by Masha Gessen
How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa
How Fascism Works by Jason Stanely
More articles:
Trump’s shocking purge of public health data, explained
Outcry as Trump withdraws support for research that mentions climate
First Trump threatened to nuke hurricanes. Now he’s waging war on weather forecasters.
Outrage as Trump cites ‘emergency’ to fast-track fossil fuel projects
Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign
CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health
US federal websites scrub vaccine data and LGBT references
Killing PEPFAR means killing millions of people: All to save 0.08 percent of the budget.
‘Will I be safe’? Transgender California youth feel threatened by Trump’s executive orders
Health care workers are rushing to learn about immigration law in case of ICE raids
Trump officials fired nuclear staff not realizing they oversee the country’s weapons stockpile
UPDATE: Air District Advocacy for Zero-Emission Water and Space Heater Rules
On Dec 4, 2024, we organized a striking turn-out of white coats, health professionals, to make public comments at the Bay Area Air District in support of the first-in-the-nation rules to phase in zero-emission water and space heaters. An Air District board member told us that our health professionals had a big impact!
These rules are expected to help prevent 15,000 asthma symptom incidents and avoid up to 85 premature deaths every year, and save an estimated $890 million annually in ER visits skipped, lost days of work and school avoided, and family members’ lives extended. These rules would greatly improve health equity and of course, help to protect our climate. Above: Drs. Mary Williams, Bret Andrews, Margie Chen, and CHN colleague Dr. Wendy Bernstein.
In the coming year, we will be laser-focused on the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to encourage their timely implementation of similar ZE appliance rules, and to support the creation of indoor air pollution standards; our work includes a new partnership with UCLA to study indoor air pollution in lower-income homes.
We are looking for more health professional volunteers to join our Building Electrification Speakers Bureau. We will train you and provide all the slides and materials. Give talks or table at community fairs and health events. It is impactful and inspiring work! Our Building Electrification program created and distributed health- and equity-focused information to educate about the benefits of electrification. In 2025, we will expand our community outreach through our collaboration with the San Francisco Environment Climate Equity Hub and a series of workshops developed in partnership with the Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates, ensuring that environmental justice communities benefit from the transition to electric buildings. Left: Bailey Ward, Julie Lindow, Crystal Loucel, and Bret Andrews.
Yes, that is PSR-LA’s Executive Director Martha Dina Argüello to the right of Newsom!
UPDATE: What Bills Did Governor Newsom Sign and Veto?
First, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who signed letters, sent emails, and made calls! Every action matters!
VETOED
AB 1992 (Boerner) Coastal resources: Blue/Teal Carbon Demonstration Projects
AB 2214 (Bauer-Kahan) Ocean Protection Council: microplastics
AB 2401 (Ting) Clean Cars 4 All Program
SB 1374 would have let schools and apartment buildings make their own solar energy. Vetoing this bill effectively blocks schools and apartment buildings from making their own solar energy. It means these consumers must buy all of their electricity from the utility, even if they have solar panels on their roofs.
READ HERE about utilities lies about reasons for rate increases.
LEARN MORE from Solar Rights Alliance about the next steps in the long battle for more rooftop solar in California.
AB 2513 would have required gas stoves in California come with a warning label about the health risks associated with gas cooking, so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions for their family. READ MORE below.
SIGNED
We have reasons to celebrate!
Make Polluters Pay Bills!!!
AB 1866 (Hart) Oil and gas: idle wells: Plugging Idle Oil Wells
AB 3233 (Addis) Oil and gas: operations: restrictions: local authority
AB 2716 (Bryan) Baldwin Hills Oil Field plugging low production wells/fines
SB 1221 will enable up to 30 neighborhoods slated for expensive fossil fuel pipeline projects to have the opportunity to opt for free electrification upgrades instead.SB 1053 (Allen, Blakespear) Bans plastic bags at stores
AB 1042 (Bauer-Kahan) Pesticides: Regulate seeds treated with pesticides
AB 1465 (Wicks) Non-vehicular air pollution: civil penalties
SB 1304 (Limón) Underground injection control: aquifer exemption
HERE is a complete list of the bills that Newsom signed and vetoed.
UPDATE: Vetoed by Governor Newsom: Gas Stove Health Warning Labels: AB 2513
Sponsored by CALPIRG and supported by SF Bay PSR, Climate Health Now, among others
AB 2513 (Pellerin) would have required gas stoves in California come with a warning label about the health risks associated with gas cooking, so consumers can make informed purchasing decisions for their family.
More than four decades of research shows that gas stoves are producing dangerous air pollution indoors – increasing the risk of childhood asthma and other respiratory problems, but this risk has largely been hidden from the public. Despite all the studies, lack of education and federal regulations leave consumers largely unaware of the risks associated with gas stove cooking. AB 2513 simply gives consumers more information by requiring gas stoves sold in California come with a warning label on the health risks associated with gas stoves and the importance of ventilation. Manufacturers are working hard to kill this bill and keep the public in the dark, so we need to show our state lawmakers that the medical and scientific community agrees we need gas stove warning labels.
In 2025, we will continue our efforts to educate policy makers, health professionals, and communities about the health harms of gas stoves.
AB2513 Advocacy Efforts!
Op-Ed published! Bravo to SF Bay PSR Board Member Dr. Bret Andrews for his piece, “Why Californians Need Gas Stove Health Warning Labels,” published in the Capitol Weekly on August 5, 2024. READ HERE!
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Hats off to SF Bay PSR and Climate Health Now health professionals who met with California legislators last week, in person and virtually, to educate them about the health risks of gas stove pollution and the need for health warning labels. Thank you to Jenn Engstrom of CALPIRG for organizing!
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Bravo to SF Bay PSR Member Dr. Bret Andrews for giving testimony in April to support AB2513. Left to right: Dr. Bret Andrews of SF Bay PSR; Professor Rob Jackson of Stanford; and Assembly Member Gail Pellerin.
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NEW STUDY: Professor Rob Jackson of Stanford released a new study that found gas stoves are a major source of indoor nitrogen dioxide pollution, and expose people to NO2 levels in their homes that exceed EPA & WHO safety levels. The study also shows that low-income households & families of color are exposed to more gas stove NO2 pollution than the national average. Gas stove pollution is a health hazard and contributes to racial health disparities. READ MORE.
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UPDATE: San Francisco Jeopardizes Clean Water Act by Suing EPA
Sponsored by Sierra Club—SF Bay, SF Bay PSR, and many more local environmental nonprofits
San Francisco may dismantle parts of the Clean Water Act through its lawsuit to avoid cleaning up its pollution of our waters. The EPA has sought to prevent San Francisco from releasing raw sewage into the ocean. Instead of changing its ways, San Francisco is asking the Supreme Court to take away EPA’s power to require the City to keep its coastline safe and clean.
UPDATE: PROP 4 Passed! Some good news!
Prop 4: Authorizes Bonds for Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevent, and Protecting Communities and Natural Lands from Climate Risks
This $10 billion bond would pay for water projects (to provide safe drinking water, recycle wastewater, store groundwater, control floods), wildfire protection, protection from sea level rise, create parks, protect wildlife and habitats, and address extreme heat events. SF Bay PSR joins California firefighters, conservation groups, clean water advocates, and others to urge a YES vote. Accountable, fiscally responsible, with independent audits, strict transparency. This proactive approach saves money and prevents the worst impacts of devastating wildfires, smoke, droughts, and pollution.
“Prop 4 comes at a pivotal moment. As fires rage and break records across the state, climate impacts are overwhelming our state’s ability to address them. We are paying the price for inadequate investments in proven climate solutions. The signs are all around us: record-breaking and deadly extreme heat, toxic wildfire smoke, severe flooding, and skyrocketing insurance costs due to the mounting risks brought on by these climate impacts. The most tragic part is that communities with the least resources to deal with extreme weather suffer the most — and not just from climate impacts, but also from exposure to the toxic fossil fuel pollution that’s driving the climate crisis.” The Climate Center
This bond contains significant funding for environmental initiatives that we may not have the opportunity to fund at this level again due to the downturn and state budget constraints the past two years that may continue for several more years.
Protect Workers from Extreme Heat!
Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
Proposed Rule by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
SUMMARY:
OSHA is proposing a new standard: Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings.
This standard would apply to employers in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors under OSHA’s jurisdiction, with some exceptions. The proposed rule would require employers to develop and implement a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplaces. It aims to clarify employer responsibilities and outline measures to effectively protect workers from dangerous heat. OSHA invites public comments on all aspects of the proposed rule.
READ MORE about the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule here.
Read a Fact Sheet about the proposed rule: Fact Sheet.
LEARN MORE
Join the webinar, From Concern to Action: Health Professionals Leading the Charge for Extreme Heat Protection, cosponsored by National PSR.
Tuesday, October 22, 11 am PT / 2 pm ET
REGISTER HERE
ACTION
Submit a comment about the proposed rule. The deadline is December 30, 2024.
SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENTS HERE.
Please reach out to our Executive Director Marj Plumb at director@sfbaypsr.org if you would like support in making a comment or to share a copy of the comment you made.
PUBLIC COMMENT IDEAS
OSHA is seeking input from those who have firsthand knowledge or expertise related to heat injury and illness. If you are a health professional, academic, employer, or employee, OSHA wants to hear from you about the proposed rule, which aims to “prevent and reduce occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities caused by exposure to hazardous heat.”
In about 800 words, you can submit a comment that includes:
- Who you are: health professional, academic, employer, or employee.
- Support for the rule: Express your support for OSHA’s proposed rule to prevent heat injury and illness.
- Your perspective: Share why the heat rule is important from your experience.
- Suggest changes: For example, some suggest lowering the “High Heat Trigger” from ≥ 90°F to ≥ 80°F, as heat-related illnesses can occur at lower temperatures.
You can also upload any relevant documents such as published articles or reports on hazardous heat exposure. Comments can be submitted anonymously if preferred.
Thank you!
Support the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)
In September 2024, radiation survivors from the Navajo Nation, Laguna Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo and Hopi tribe were in Washington, DC, to urge Congress to re-initiate and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Previously, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) successfully passed RECA expansion in the Senate (S. 3853) by a wide, bipartisan margin. However, since Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) refused to schedule a vote in the House, the previous iteration of RECA expired in June. PSR is part of the RECA Working Group, which continues to demand that the House pass S. 3853. The Working Group advocates bringing S. 3853 to the House floor for a vote in the lame-duck session, or else attaching an expanded RECA program to a Continuing Resolution.
Although nuclear weapons have not been detonated in warfare since World War II, the development and testing of nuclear weapons — as well as uranium mining — have caused great harm to Americans, including contributing to cancer in families for generations. And now, a step toward justice is within reach for thousands of people who have been affected by radiation exposure and need help.
ACTION
Tell your U.S. Rep: vote in favor of justice for radiation victims. Use SF Bay PSR’s easy tool to send an email to urge your U.S. Representative to re-initiate and expand RECA.
EMAIL HERE
LEARN MORE
ONGOING ACTIONS BELOW!
Update: No Money for Nuclear Weapons Week of Action
Hosted by ICAN
Nuclear weapons programs divert public funds from health care, education, disaster relief and other vital services. The nuclear-armed countries spend more than $173,000 per minute on their nuclear bombs, over $90 billion each year. Meanwhile, the companies producing these weapons of mass destruction and their investors make billions in profit each year.
SF Bay PSR Nuclear Weapons Abolition Intern Navreet Purewal researched what we could do with some of those funds and wrote to her representative. Here is an excerpt from her letter:
“Over the course of 2023 (FY 2024), Sacramento County wasted $430,732,262 on nuclear weapons. That is equivalent to $49,170 per hour. $49,170 is wasted on weapons of indiscriminate harm and mass destruction every hour.
As a member of San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility (SF Bay PSR), we know this money can be better spent. Nuclear weapons cost our communities with the resources they take up and the threat they pose to our security. We need to stop banking on weapons which could lead to our destruction and instead start investing in a healthier community and country.
With every passing hour, our Sacramento County loses $49,170 on nuclear weapons, which instead could fund the following programs:
~5 Public Housing Units for 1 Year: Calculated as $8,953.85 per unit per year.
~19 Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for 1 Year: Calculated as $2,544 per child per year.
~200 Households with Solar Electricity for 1 Year: Calculated as $246.32 per household per year.
Just one hour without nuclear weapons could fund these projects. Imagine what we could do if we stopped wasting our money on these unnecessary weapons altogether. Our community needs these funds to be invested in our future, not our demise. Spending this exorbitant amount on nuclear weapons doesn’t serve the interests of our community or country.”
Keep Coal Out of Oakland!
Sponsored by No Coal in Oakland
Help prevent the construction of a major coal export terminal on the San Francisco Bay. A recent peer-reviewed Health Impact Study quantifies expected increases in Bay Area negative health outcomes due to emissions from trains that would carry 7.5 million tons of coal per year to the terminal.
ACTION
Please sign your name—including any health credentials—to the attached open letter calling for a binding commitment against handling coal at a marine terminal planned for the Oakland waterfront. The letter is co-sponsored by SF Bay PSR.
ADD YOUR NAME
If you are a member of another organization that could sign on, the attached letter also contains a link to the Organizational Sign-On Form!
Live in Oakland? No Coal in Oakland yard signs are available!
REQUEST FORM
If the property is developed as a coal terminal, it could handle from 4 to 15 million tons of coal per year. Each day, one or more uncovered coal trains, each more than a mile long, would spew toxic coal dust and diesel exhaust from Utah to Oakland, including through densely populated environmental justice communities in the East Bay. After a fossil-fueled trip across the Pacific, the coal would be burned, polluting Asian power plant communities and emitting substantial greenhouse gasses. We cannot allow it.
The coalition coordinating this campaign includes: No Coal in Oakland, 350 East Bay, Youth vs. Apocalypse, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, SF Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club, SF Baykeeper, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, West Oakland Neighbors, Interfaith Council of Alameda County, Faith in Action
LEARN MORE at No Coal in Oakland.
Below: Image credit: “Fig. 1. Study Area with Estimated PM2.5 Concentrations associated with 2.1 μg/m3 Increase in the Peak of the Annual Average Increment,” from Health impact assessment of PM2.5 from uncovered coal trains in the San Francisco Bay Area: Implications for global exposures, Environmental Research v252 Part 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.118787
Save Rooftop Solar in CA, an ongoing battle!
Sponsored by Solar Rights Alliance
BACKGROUND
Rooftop solar has been jeopardized in California because of a string of reckless decisions made by the CA Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) at the behest of the utilities. They are working to end net metering, charge solar taxes and other penalties for having solar panels, and even take control of your panels and the electricity they generate. The new solar-user rules, net metering 3 (NEM 3.0), went into effect in April of 2023, and by December, year-over-year sales were down 77-85% and 17,000 solar workers lost their jobs.
- Before NEM 3.0, rooftop solar was growing fastest in middle and working class neighborhoods.
- Now, everyday people have fewer options to control skyrocketing utility bills. And rooftop solar is no longer financially viable for most apartment buildings, farmers, schools, hospitals, etc.
- Also, the state says rooftop solar must triple in order to meet the CA’s goal of getting 100% of our electricity from clean energy. That won’t happen unless rooftop solar becomes more affordable.
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WHAT IS THIS ABOUT? Utility profits!
- Utilities make profits by spending more money – your money – building and maintaining long-distance power lines.
- Because rooftop solar reduces the need to spend as much money on giant wind farms and power lines, utilities make less profit if rooftop solar keeps growing.
- However, utilities still stand to make tons of profit in the years to come, even with rooftop solar. Yet, they are still trying to kill rooftop solar.
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Thankfully, a group of state legislators have proposed a series of bills to fix the situation and get rooftop solar growing again.
ACTIONS
Tell Governor Newsom and your state legislators to support the series of bills to protect rooftop solar in CA.
EMAIL them here using Solar Rights Alliance’s easy tool.
READ MORE about the series of bills HERE.
In short, the bills would do the following:
- Reduce fees and taxes on residential solar projects in California.
- Repeal NEM 3.0, restore incentives for solar panels
- Require the CPUC to develop new rules aligned with the state’s clean energy goals.
- Address the negative impacts of NEM 3.0 on the solar industry, including job losses and reduced solar sales
- Aim to ensure California remains on track to achieve 100% clean energy by 2045.
Thank you!
MORE READING
Solar Rights Alliance Blog: CPUC blocks rooftop solar for farms, schools, and many renters. Will state lawmakers overrule them?
KQED CA Morning Report: Solar Industry Battered by New California Rule
LA Times: California needs to get its act together on rooftop solar
READ MORE at Solar Rights Alliance
Health Care and Public Health Professionals Call to Immediate Action to Address the Violence in Israel and Gaza and Its Health Consequences
Initiated by the Peace Caucus in affiliation with the American Public Health Association (APHA)
As health care and public health professionals, we unequivocally condemn terrorist attacks against civilians and violence during war against civilians. International law recognizes attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure as crimes against humanity and, when committed during war, as war crimes. The medical and public health consequences of this violence against civilians in Israel and Gaza have been and continue to be horrendous and catastrophic.
The health harms of violence to civilians extend well beyond morbidity and mortality from explosives and other weapons. Forced displacement and restriction of access to food, water, shelter, health care, and medicine lead to widespread suffering, illness, and death. When people live in crowded conditions during war, they are at increased risk of tuberculosis and other respiratory disorders. When they are denied access to safe water, they develop dehydration and potentially fatal diarrheal diseases, such as cholera.
Malnutrition makes people vulnerable to infectious diseases and causes long-term consequences on health and development. When people with diabetes, epilepsy, or chronic heart or lung disease cannot get their basic medications, they are at increased risk of serious complications and death. When pregnant women do not receive medical care and adequate nutrition, they are at increased risk of potentially fatal complications and delivering premature or low-birthweight infants. During war and terrorist attacks, exposure to violence and the threat of violence also causes mental health problems, which can persist for years afterward.
In addition, war violates human rights, damages critical infrastructure and housing, and diverts resources that support people’s health. It also contributes to environmental contamination, pollution, and degradation as well as climate change.
We call on all parties directly and indirectly involved in the violence in Israel and Gaza and its consequences to immediately:
1. End the violence against all civilians and ensure their security;
2. Free all hostages;
3. Protect all health care workers and health care facilities;
4. Ensure that humanitarian assistance is promptly provided; and
5. Begin to build sustainable peace by ensuring human rights and justice for all.
We also call on health care and public health professionals, as well as their employers and professional organizations, to promote and support these actions.
Robert M. Gould, MD, chair, Peace Caucus and SF Bay PSR president
Patrice Sutton, MPH, co-program chair, Peace Caucus and SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Committee co-chair
Barry S. Levy, MD, MPH, Peace Caucus member, and past president of the American Public Health Association
ACTION
We invite you to sign the call above, strongly supported by the Board of SF Bay PSR, which we hope to use to advance broader efforts to cease the violence and begin to build peace and justice for all people in the region.
SIGN HERE
THANK YOU for taking action.
READING
- PSR National: Statement on Gaza Healthcare Crisis and Demands for Immediate Humanitarian Intervention
- World Health Organization and UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP: Joint statement on humanitarian supplies crossing into Gaza
- IPPNW: Our goal must be peace, health, and the security of all people
- NY Times: We Must Not Kill Gazan Children to Try to Protect Israel’s Children
- NY Times: I’m Crying for All the Victims Who Are Going to Suffer
UPDATED: Tell Mayor Breed and Supervisors to Fund San Francisco’s Climate Plan
Sponsored by SF Climate Emergency Coalition, including SF Bay PSR
A UC Berkeley Center for Law Energy and the Environment (CLEE) report recommended that the first step toward funding SF’s Climate plan should be a general obligation bond. See page nine of the Executive Summary.
ACTIONS
Make your health voice heard! Tell Mayor Breed and the Supervisors that the City of San Francisco must do its part to address climate change by incorporating climate goals and actions into every aspect of city planning and to ensure the Climate Plan is fully funded.
1. CALL: Please call your Supervisors
Connie Chan (chair) 415-554-7410, ChanStaff@sfgov.org
Rafael Mandelman 415-554-6968, MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org
Hilary Ronen 415-554-5144, hillary.ronen@sfgov.org
Shamann Walton 415-554-7670, shamann.walton@sfgov.org
Ahsha Safai 415-554-6975, ahsha.safai@sfgov.org
President Aaron Peskin 415-554-7450, aaron.peskin@sfgov.org
2. WRITE: Or write a short email to the Supervisors.
Email Clerk of the Committee brent.jalipa@sfgov.org with File #230265 in the subject line.
Copy President Peskin on the letter for sure, and the other 5 Supervisors if you wish.
MORE INFO about the battle to gain funding for SF’s Climate Plan:
The San Francisco Climate Emergency Coalition has been actively meeting with the mayor’s budget staff and supervisors.
San Francisco has an ambitious Climate Action Plan (CAP), which Mayor London Breed proudly introduced in 2021. Confusingly, in the past two city budget cycles, she funded it at $0. The city is in danger of missing its climate goals without serious efforts to fund and implement the CAP.
After years of inaction, the passage of the federal Inflation Reduction Act means the US finally has a fighting chance at meeting our climate goals. But the IRA is just the start — now we have to do the hard work of implementation, everywhere. Cities, including San Francisco, have a critical role to play to ensure we get to net-zero carbon emissions as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, San Francisco is already behind. This year, the San Francisco Environment Department (SFE) is requesting $7 million for staffing and programs essential for achieving the CAP on schedule. This is a minuscule amount in the city’s overall $14 BILLION budget.
The climate crisis impacts the city in countless ways. It is a public health crisis, and funding climate initiatives will improve residents’ and the planet’s health. Such initiatives are also critical to address environmental justice and equity issues in San Francisco and improve the lives of underserved, low-income, and BIPOC communities. Climate initiatives will attract more businesses and tourists, create jobs, and elevate the status of San Francisco as a world-class city.
Mayors around the world are leading on aggressive climate policies in their cities. It’s time for Mayor Breed to show that she is a serious leader who recognizes that climate action is the path to a livable, equitable, and rejuvenated San Francisco, by committing to funding $7 million for SFE in her 2023-2024 budget and to a city bond that would help fund building electrification and other climate friendly projects.
Tell Your U.S. House Representative to Show Leadership on Abolishing Nuclear Weapons by Cosponsoring H. Res. 77
Last month, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved their iconic Doomsday Clock ahead to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest it’s ever come to symbolic global apocalypse. It’s time for action and leadership—especially from members of Congress whose voice and votes help shape U.S. nuclear weapons policies and the decisions of the Executive Branch.
ACTION
WRITE HERE, a template is provided.
Write to your Congressional representative today to urge them to co-sponsor H. Res 77, a resolution introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) that calls on the United States to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to adopt Back from the Brink’s common sense policies for preventing nuclear war.
Feel free to personalize your letter, including if you live in an area that has adopted a BftB resolution as a way to demonstrate broad constituent support for H. Res. 77.
Prevent California from a Nuclear Disaster
UPDATE: SB 846 passed. This is bad news!
The aging Diablo Canyon Nuclear power plant that is near four earthquake faults will remain active for at least five more years.
We remain OPPOSED to the continued operation of the Diablo Nuclear Power Plant for these reasons:
- It was built on the presumption of no active earthquake faults within 30 kilometers, it is now known there are 4 nearby active faults capable of larger quakes than the plant was designed for. One fault comes within 600 meters of the plant.
- The reactors are aging, with critical upgrades having been avoided because of the presumed shutdown in 2025.
- The attacks on the Zaporizhzhia reactor complex in Ukraine remind the world of the vulnerability of such plants to attack by adversaries / hackers, whether governments or terrorists, and the potential for massive radiation release.
- Spending billions of dollars on the aging Diablo nuclear plant would steal resources that should be used for far more cost-effective renewables and storage, essential for dealing with climate change.
No Nuclear War over Ukraine
Supported by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, SF Bay PSR, PSR National, and others
SF Bay PSR continues to stand with our global allies in support of the Ukrainian people. We have all been feeling a bit overwhelmed by Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine and the new United Nations Climate Change report. But history has proven that we can achieve power and hope when we take action alongside others who are standing up across the globe for peace and a healthy planet. Join us!
As of August 4, 2022, more than a million people have signed! Let’s keep it going!
SIGN HERE
As healthcare professionals, we call for NATO and the Russian Federation to renounce the use of nuclear weapons in this conflict and for an immediate cease fire and the withdrawal of all Russian military forces. We are extremely concerned about the heightened risks of nuclear harms, including from the use of nuclear weapons and from potential damage to the 15 nuclear power plants in the region. We must protect Ukraine’s people and sovereignty. Our own government must work for immediate and long-term diplomatic solutions that will provide for true security, both at home and abroad. And we must follow Ukraine’s lead in their negotiations for peace.
CLICK HERE for more info on our efforts to support peace in Ukraine.
SF Bay PSR Board Member Dr. Aude Bouagnon spoke at a rally on Earth Day 2021 to support Bayview Hunters Point community efforts to advocate for the clean up of toxic wastes harming the health of residents. Photo by Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai.
Demand the Cleanup of Bayview Hunters Point in San Francisco
Contact San Francisco Mayor Breed & Board of Supervisors to ask them to ACT NOW:
● Declare a Public Health Emergency in Bayview Hunters Point and Treasure Island!
● Declare a moratorium on shipyard development and Lennar’s unsafe soil excavation!
● Conduct full retesting, safe cleanup and removal of all radioactive and toxic contamination at Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund Site & Treasure Island!
The San Francisco Hunters Point Naval Shipyard site was home to a Naval shipyard repair facility from 1945 to 1974 and the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) from 1948 to 1960. These facilities contaminated soil, dust, sediments, surface water and groundwater with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, PCBs, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and radionuclides.
We are honored to support the Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates in their efforts to fight for environmental justice.
READINGS & RESOURCES can be found HERE.
Please join SF Bay PSR to support Bayview Hunters Point Mothers and Fathers Committee, Marie Harrison Community Foundation, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Literacy for Environmental Justice, Youth Vs. Apocalypse and other allies to demand a FULL cleanup of ALL contamination at the Hunters Point Shipyard Superfund Site and adjacent areas.
KEEP THE PRESSURE ON the Biden-Harris Administration
Let’s keep the pressure on the Biden-Harris administration and your congressional representatives. Tell them you want to see in a “Green New Deal” that justly transitions us to a green economy.
Support the Thrive Agenda and contact your representatives. Supported by 200 grassroots organizations and 83 members of Congress, the Thrive Agenda is a roadmap to a just recovery from our climate crisis, the global pandemic, and the intertwining of persistent racial injustice, Make your voice heard!
Also, please support the Third Reconstruction resolution, introduced on May 24, 2021, by Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Pramila Jayapal, in collaboration with the Poor People’s Campaign, “Realizing a Third Reconstruction: A Moral and Political Commitment to Fully Address Poverty and Low-Wealth in America by Building Up from the Bottom.”