Virtual Democracy School by CELDF in October 2021

On October 9, 10 and 16, 17 at 10 am-12:30 pm, Snohomish County Community Rights (SCCR) will host the Virtual Democracy School by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF).

Registration and More Information

Please share this event and information with your family, friends, neighbors and community.

Democracy School is a stimulating and illuminating virtual course that teaches residents and activists an empowering new approach about how to reframe exhausting and often discouraging single-issue work – such as banning pesticides, halting overdevelopment, protecting water and watersheds, and addressing climate change – in a way that we can confront corporate control and government interference on a powerful front: the people’s right of local self-governance and Nature’s rights.

Educating yourself and your community is one of the most powerful steps toward change you can make.

Module 1: Where We Are Now – Exposing Intentional Barriers to Community Self-Determination
Saturday, Oct 9, 2021, from 10 am – 12:30 pm PT

Module 2: How Did We Get Here? The Power of Property
Sunday, Oct 10, 2021, from 10 am – 12:30 pm PT

Module 3: How We Could Make Change – Asserting Rights
Saturday, Oct 16, 2021, from 10 am – 12:30 pm PT

Module 4: Where We Could End Up – Building a Movement for Real Change
Sunday, Oct 17, 2021 from 10am – 12:30pm PST

Cost: $50 – includes all 4 modules.

Future event:

A Workshop by the Community Environmental Legal Defence Fund (CELDF)

“Preemption as a Lethal Weapon: How Corporations and Government are Deliberately Destroying Communities and Nature”

September 9, 6:30 pm

Website post

Facebook event

Past event:

Presentation“Watershed Health through Understanding: an Overview of Physical Processes and Interconnectivity Within Drainage Basins”

Facebook recording

Watershed Presentation PDFDownload

September 9 at 6:30 pm, Preemption Workshop by CELDF

“Preemption as a Lethal Weapon: How Corporations and Government are Deliberately Destroying Communities and Nature”.

Zoom Recording Pass Code:VY14NLs*

Facebook Recording

Please share this event and information with your family, friends, neighbors and community.

Facebook Event

Preempt means to take action to counter another action from happening. Massive use of toxics, mega-destruction of watersheds, rapid climate change, traffic nightmare, and overdevelopment are just some of the issues whereby preemption laws have been put in place, at the behest of corporate interests, by the federal and state governments to stop local communities from taking action to protect their quality of life. These laws work to deny local self-determination and democracy in order to benefit economic pursuits.

This 90-minute workshop/discussion session conducted by Kai Huschke, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), will tackle the issue of the legal doctrine of preemption, how widespread it is, the impacts to communities and nature, and what is being done to counter this powerful force.

Join Zoom Meeting

Future event:

Virtual Democracy School by the Community Environmental Legal Defence Fund (CELDF)

October 9-10 and 16-17, 10 am – 12:30 pm PST

Website post

Facebook post

More Information and Registration

Past event:

Presentation “Watershed Health through Understanding: an Overview of Physical Processes and Interconnectivity Within Drainage Basins”

Facebook recording

Watershed Presentation PDFDownload

Once Again Industry and Government Failed Ethics

Ethics – moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity. (Oxford Languages)

Morality – principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. (Oxford Languages)

“‘Historic Win’: CHD Wins Case Against FCC on Safety Guidelines for 5G and Wireless”, the Defender 8-13-2021

The Poison Papers

“Out of control: a growing area of high hazard clearcuts and plantations are fueling BC’s raging forest infernos”, Focus on Victoria 8-11-2021

“Effects of a Lack of Ethics on a Business Environment”, Chron 3-11-2019

Photo courtesy of WA State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

August 13, 6 pm SCCR Quarterly Zoom Meeting and Presentation

We are inviting you to join us for the SCCR quarterly Zoom meeting / presentation and learn more about watersheds of the Snohomish County, their protection, rehabilitation and importance for drinking water, ecosystems and climate.

Presentation title: “Watershed Health through Understanding: an Overview of Physical Processes and Interconnectivity Within Drainage Basins”

We will also share safety tips and have updates about alternatives to toxics for the yard and lawn care, as well as information about ground/aerial pesticide sprays on public lands and private industrial tree plantations in Snohomish County.

Maps of Watersheds

Please share this post and our Facebook event with your family, friends, neighbors and community.

Alternatives to toxic chemicals for yard and lawn

What to do before, during and after toxic spraying

2021 DNR NW ground sprays in our watersheds

2021 aerial spraying by Weyerhaeuser in Snohomish County

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9829014486?pwd=V2lhUFVvK0hsdGxNV2NsT0svMmtIZz09

2021 DNR NW Ground Sprays in Our Watersheds

Please share:

2021 Aerial Spraying by Wyerhaeuser in Snohomish County

Starting July 19, 2021 DNR Northwest Region is spraying public lands in the watersheds of Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties with commercial products that have Glyphosate and Imazapyr for site preparation before replanting clearcuts. Toxics are regulated by the corrupted EPA and WA State Department of Agriculture.

The Poison Papers

“Whistleblowers Expose Corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office”, The Intercept 8-2-2021

Only focused grassroots civic engagement and action can save our watersheds from consistent toxic contamination and destruction. Communities are powerful. Contact info2017sccr@gmail.com for information on how we can save our water and watersheds from toxic floods.

DNR Silviculture Contracts

DNR Contract # 1941, Site Prep Ground Herbicide and Maps

What to do before, during and after toxic aerial spraying

Watershed Maps

Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

2021 Aerial Spraying by Weyerhaeuser in Snohomish County

Please share:

2021 DNR NW Ground Sprays in Our Watersheds

This summer and fall, Weyerhaeuser Corporation is planning toxic aerial sprays in the watersheds of the Skykomish and Stillaguamish Rivers covering 102 and 288 acres with Glyphosate, Imazapyr, and/or Atrazine and many other ingredients. Sprays can take place any time. Please contact Weyerhaeuser for dates and times of sprays and your other comments and requests 360-424-2014, emily.conklin@weyerhaeuser.com.

Forest Practice Application (FPA) for aerial pesticide sprays is valid for 3 years. Sprays can take place any time during those 3 years from the date of approval and may occur multiple times. Ground sprays do not require permits by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or notifications.

FPA # 2918090 (288 acres, watershed of the Stillaguamish River) and FPA # 2818091 (102 acres, watershed of the Skykomish River) by Weyerhaeuser.

Spray Information, Maps and FPAs for the Skykomish River Valley Watershed

What to do before, during and after toxic aerial spraying

Watershed Maps

Summary of Toxic Pesticide Spraying on Industrial Timber Plantations

In the Snohomish County and beyond, pesticides are used for residential, timber and agricultural applications. These toxic synthetic chemicals detrimentally affect our watersheds, water, ecosystems, salmon habitat, the Salish Sea, people and climate. Young children and pregnant women are the most sensitive to toxics.

Of 400 pesticides used in residential, timber and agricultural settings across the U.S. watersheds, Glyphosate, Atrazine and 2.4-D are the most popular and have been sprayed for many decades. About 280 million pounds of Glyphosate are used annually only for agriculture, according to an analysis of data estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. This means that Glyphosate and other pesticides are commonly found in non-organic and even in organic food.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Washington State Department of Agriculture regulate use of chemicals.

The Poison Papers

“Whistleblowers Expose Corruption in EPA Chemical Safety Office”, The Intercept 8-2-2021

“The Department of Yes. How Pesticide Companies Corrupted the EPA and Poisoned America.”, The Intercept 6-30-2021

Clean water and healthy watersheds are highly valuable resources that need deeper consideration and active protection from toxic contamination and destruction. Quality of water and watersheds reflects quality of life. Only focused grassroots civic engagement and action can save our watersheds from consistent toxic contamination and destruction.

Watersheds of the Snohomish County

June 28 National PBS Airing of “The People vs. Agent Orange”

Tune in on Monday June 28 for the national airing of the award-winning film “The People vs. Agent Orange” on PBS’ Independent Lens!

National PBS Screening

The Poison Papers

2,4-D was a part of Agent Orange. Among 400 other pesticides, it has been for a long time and is nowadays the second after Glyphosate most widely used ingredient in the agriculture, tree plantations and consumer herbicide products. According to the EPA, current annual domestic 2,4-D usage is approximately 46 million pounds, with 30 million pounds (66%) used by agriculture and 16 million pounds (34%) used in non-agriculture settings.

The inspiring and enraging film follows women-led resistance to the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam war, and its use in Oregon, following the war. The viewer witnesses intimate behind-the-scenes access to grassroots resistance in Oregon and Vietnam and gut-wrenching first-person accounts of sacrifice and resolve.

The Oregon protagonist, Carol Van Strum, has supported lawmaking efforts in Lincoln County to ban aerial spraying and recognize rights of ecosystems. This work has led her to become the human spokesperson for the Siletz River watershed in active litigation coming out of a challenge to the aerial spray ban Lincoln County enacted in 2017. That law successfully banned aerial pesticide spraying for over two years.

Free Virtual Screening of “INVISIBLE HAND“

Please join us on Friday, July 16 at 6 pm for the free virtual screening of “INVISIBLE HAND” and afterwords for a community discussion at 7:45 pm during a Zoom Meeting with more information below.

SCCR Screening Page
Registration form

Password for viewing the documentary will be sent by email within one hour before screening.

From Executive Producer and award winning actor Mark Ruffalo comes the world’s first film about the Rights of Nature Movement and communities in the US and around the globe standing for their rights to clean air and water, health, safety, and for the rights of nature. A “paradigm shifting” story about the fate of nature, capitalism and democracy.

In the fall of 2014, for the first time in United States history, an ecosystem filed to defend itself in a lawsuit claiming its ‘right to exist’ in Grant Township, Pennsylvania. For attempting such a radical act, Grant’s rural community of 700 people were sued by a corporation, then by the state government, and are now locked in a battle to defend the watershed they call home through civil disobedience. The water they drink, the Rights to Nature laws they’ve passed are all on the line in this exclusive story.

In Toledo, Ohio an earth-shattering vote was passed to enact the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), granting personhood to international waters.

Half a continent away in Standing Rock, North Dakota, the same industry threatening Grant Twp. is using militarized force against indigenous tribes and allies fighting to protect Mother Earth.

Activists leaving Standing Rock are rejoined on the Pennsylvania and New York border where the Seneca Nation of Indians aligns with communities in the Triple Divide to stop radioactive fracking waste from entering Ohi:yo’ waters. Terry Pegula, owner of Buffalo Bills and Sabres, threatens to sue INVISIBLE HAND filmmakers and whoever continues to speak out about his oil and gas company and their efforts.

The four, Grant Township, Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Defend Oh:yo’ and Standing Rock, are joined in an international fight to protect more than just water. They fight for their community, democracy, and for Nature as a living entity unto itself.

In the end, “Who will speak for Nature?”

Post-screening community discussion starts July 16 at 7:45 pm. Please share with us your thoughts and your community problems.

Join Zoom Meeting

The Poison Papers
CELDF Democracy School & Registration

October 9-10 and 16-17, 10 am – 12:30 pm PST

Community Rights to Clean Water

We invite you to meet two communities that stood for their right to clean water: Grant Township, Pennsylvania and Toledo, Ohio.

Photo above shows the Western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom from September 26, 2017. The scum shown here near downtown Toledo stretched all the way to Lake Ontario. This photo is from Landsat-8 (a NASA/USGS satellite), NOAA https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/hab-solutions.html

In 2015, Grant voters adopted a new rights-based Home Rule Charter – a local constitution – and reinstating a court-overturned ban on injecting frack waste into the same ground from which they draw drinking water.

The Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) made history when 61 percent of Toledo, Ohio, voters approved the groundbreaking law to establish legally enforceable rights for the 11th largest lake on Earth. Gaining national and international acclaim, it has helped accelerate the Rights of Nature movement that has seen other significant developments in Bangladesh, El Salvador, Mexico, New Hampshire, White Earth Band (Minnesota), Yurok tribe (California), and elsewhere in 2019.

Pesticides in Our Watersheds

Of 400 pesticides used in residential, timber and agricultural settings across the U.S. watersheds, Glyphosate, Atrazine and 2.4-D are the most popular and have been sprayed for many decades. About 280 million pounds of Glyphosate are used annually only for agriculture, according to an analysis of data estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. This means that Glyphosate and other pesticides are commonly found in non-organic and even in organic food.

It is projected that the revenue of pesticide and other residential and agricultural chemical manufacturing in the U.S. will amount to approximately 13,9 billion U.S. Dollars by 2024. By buying those products, you support this corrupt industry with your dollars.

The Poison Papers

Watershed Maps

Summary of Toxic Pesticide Spraying on Industrial Timber Plantations

For a healthier watershed, please use Eco-friendly Products and Practices when caring for your yard, garden and home, and share this important information with your family, friends and neighbours. Healthy watersheds and clean water are valuable resources. Watersheds supply us with drinking water.

Source:

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/310869/pesticide-and-other-agricultural-chemical-revenue-in-the-us

Should Nature Have Rights?

Please share: This is an excellent podcast by the Climate One “Should nature have rights?”. Speakers at this event: Rebecca Tsosie, Regents professor of law, University of Arizona; Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin, attorney; Carol Van Strum, writer and activist. We welcome your feedback and thoughts.

https://www.climateone.org/audio/should-nature-have-rights

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