Tune in today to the fight to stop Manchin’s deal, and Manchin’s FERC

May 19 update – just a quick note at the end of the week to say: We did it! We did ALL of it! And it’s working!

If you didn’t get the chance to tune in, we had a busy morning at FERC with rallies, a non-violent direct action that blocked the driveway entrance to FERC, and we delivered the messages more than 3,300 of you sent to stand up for Environmental Justice live and in person. Quick shares here for Facebook, and here on Instagram, check out more recordings, photos and videos on our Social media accounts below.

We also made real progress in our fight to stop Manchin’s latest dirty deal, now being negotiated as part of the debt ceiling talks. We’re not out of the woods yet, but 11 Senate Democrats and more than 60 House Representatives have all spoken out to say there should be no dirty deal. In response, fossil fueled fascist negotiators from the House Republican caucus blew up the negotiations this morning, and are refusing to talk to the White House, for now. That’s good news for our work to stop the dirty deal, but they’ll have to get back to it sometime soon, before June 1, to avoid a default.

Unless, of course, President Biden can summon the courage to use his existing authority to make the whole “negotiation” moot – that would be a good thing for the planet, the economy, and a good sign that Biden is awake and alive to the posibility of transformative change. Not unlike what we need him to do on the climate by declaring a climate emergency and ending the era of fossil fuels 🧐 So stay on your toes even as you savor the moment of victory.

Thanks again to all of you who wrote, called, tweeted, posted or shared as part of this really busy week of action. Make sure to share some of the news with your networks online, and chip in to fund our fights for environmental justice, clean, renewable power, and no more dirty deals.

May 18 message: Today is the day we take on Manchin’s power over US energy policy. I don”t know exactly how this is going to turn out, so I’m asking you to tune in with us and our allies today online for two reasons:

First, your eyeballs help keep us safe as we risk arrest, and lend us power as we speak truth to politicians and officials who aren’t used to being challenged.

Second, a lot is going to happen today, and social media is a fast, effective way to spread the word and loop others into the fight. So, let’s go!

Here is some of what’s planned, and why:

Starting at 7am, we’ll join friends from Beyond Extreme Energy & Third Act to block driveways and part of the city street with elders in rocking chairs, banners, and a 10 foot tall puppet showing Senator Joe Manchin pulling the strings of FERC Commissioners.

We’re here to raise the alarm about FERC’s continued rubber stamping of fossil fuel infrastructure despite failing to produce a final rule on Environmental Justice, climate change impacts, or other critical issues. Together with our allies, we’re demanding that FERC leadership stop allowing Senator Joe Manchin to manipulate and dominate their decision making.

At 9:15 we’ll play host to a press conference and community speak-out. Frontline leaders from Texas and Louisiana will speak about LNG export terminals that have recently been approved or are still under consideration by FERC. Maury Johnson from West Virginia will tell us the latest on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a favorite of Sen Manchin’s, and which just received another permit from the Biden White House. And faith leaders will tell us of efforts in the Pacific Northwest to stop the GTN Express pipeline expansion.

At 10 am, some of us will march into the monthly FERC commissioners’ meeting carrying thousands of comments 198 methods activists like you helped send on climate and environmental justice. FERC closed the comment period earlier this week, and we delivered more than 3,300 of your comments before they did. Now, we’re showing up in person to make sure they not only hear us, but listen to us too.

Tune in with us on Facebook or Twitter to get all the news, and use our social media toolkit to spread the word about all the action at FERC!

Later in the Afternoon, we’re headed to Capitol Hill to stop the latest version of Manchin’s dirty deal. As we’ve been warning you, Manchin and other fossil fueled fascists in Congress have been working hard to get their dirty deal included in must-pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling.

Earlier this week, news broke that House Republicans think they’re close to a deal that would gut bedrock environmental laws, ram through more fossil fuel infrastructure, faster, and eliminate back any hopes of Environmental Justice for All.

Now, it’s all hands on deck as we try to scramble enough opposition to stop Manchin and House Republicans from once again hijacking the process.

You can follow along on social media, of course, and you can also use our tools to write, call, or sign petitions to your member of Congress backing us up. The phone calls are especially important. So click here or call (833) 971-2490 to tell your Senators not to accept and debt ceiling deal that expedites the Mountain Valley Pipeline, in particular, or fossil fuels, in general. 

Finally – all these actions, materials, memes, and social media cost time and money to produce. So pitch in if you can! Chip in $1.98. $19.80, $198, or whatever you can afford to help us cover the costs of these debt ceiling actions. Or if you’re into the FERC werk, click here to chip in $1.98 or more to cover the cost of delivering all the 3,300+ comments and taking action today.