This week in Iowa organizing…
Did you hear - Bruce Rastetter's proposed CO2 pipeline scheme was dealt a blow by North Dakota regulators this past Friday.
In what shouldn't be a surprise to those who know anything about Bruce Rastetter and ethanol profiteers, the regulators noted that Summit did not sufficiently explore other options nor adequately address numerous concerns raised by the project.
Maybe members of the Iowa Utilities Board could take a page or two out of the North Dakota's Public Service Commission's playbook! We've got countless examples over the years of Bruce Rastetter and his companies not adequately addressing the concerns of everyday Iowans in his quest for corporate profiteering and political clout.
Anyway, let's get on to it! There's opportunities to weigh in on Summit Carbon Solutions up in Floyd and Mitchell counties, our Summer Member Meeting (and pies, did we mention pies?), movies and more!
For the people and places we love,
Matthew Covington (he/him)
Strategic Operations Director
Take action
Tomorrow - August 8: hearings on proposed Summit pipeline extension
Summit Carbon Solutions is trying to add 31 miles of pipeline that would run through Floyd & Mitchell county.
Attend one of the public meetings to voice your opposition to the proposed CO2 pipelines:
Mitchell County Public Hearing
Where: Cedar Rover Events Center
1006 Chestnut St Osage, IA 50461
When: Tuesday August 8, 12PM- 3 PMFloyd County Public Hearing
Where: Floyd County Fairgrounds
2516 7 Mile Rd Charles City, IA 50616
When: Tuesday August 8, 6PM - 8 PM
If you can't attend one of the public meetings in person you can still voice your concerns with the Iowa Utilities Board commissioners at boardmembers@iub.iowa.gov
August 19 (part 1... the meeting!)
On August 19 you'll want to be in the Des Moines metro for our annual Summer Membership Meeting.
We're excited to reconnect with friends and CCI members from across the state for a day of information, inspiration, and action. We'll celebrate the victories we've achieved together and make plans for the future of CCI and the state we love so dearly.
And true to form, we've got a great line-up of guest speakers. We'll dig in on:
Clean water and climate with Silvia Secchi, a University of Iowa professor, fearless truth-teller and ally on clean water and CO2 pipeline issues
Racial justice with Lori Young & Harvey Harrison, long-time CCI members who lead Just Voices Iowa, an ally who produces important resarch and reports on police accountability issues
Iowa elections with Jon Green and Glenn Hurst, rural elected officials working to put people before profits and communities before corporations
Policy making with Chris Neubert, Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee staff and former staff with Sen. Bernie Sanders (and a former CCI organizer!)
Register today to save your spot!
August 19 (part 2... the pies!!!)
We're bringing back the much-loved tradition: our silent auction pie fundraiser for our Saturday, August 19 Summer Membership Meeting. It's a delicious and fun way to raise funds to help cover the costs of the event and serve up a slice of people and planet first justice all year long.
Are you interested/available to make and donate a pie? If so, please reply to this email or email katie@iowacci.org to let us know what type of pie!
Pies can be delivered to our headquarters in Des Moines on Friday, August 18, or dropped off at the event between 8:30-9:30 am on Saturday, August 19. We can accommodate pies that need refrigeration, too. Thanks!
CCI's 'Clean Water Fight!' - what would you tell the EPA?
We believe clean water is a human right, and that's why we're calling on the EPA to enforce Clean Water Act permits to crack down on factory farm polluters. These permits would create higher standards for factory farms, a track record of their pollution, and the ability to shut repeat offenders down!
In June we sent an invite letter to the EPA asking them to meet with CCI members here in Iowa. Nearly 150 of you signed onto this invite and it worked - the EPA agreed to meet with a leadership team of CCI members later this week!!
Here's how you can help our Clean Water Fight:
Share your story and demands for the EPA here! At our leadership team meeting with the EPA in August, we want to hand them the stories of Iowans across the state to clearly show the need for them to take bold action.
They dump it, you drink it. We won't stop until they clean it up!
August 24 in Scott County - let's go to the movies!
Iowans are raised hearing the phrase ‘we feed the world’, but we can’t even feed ourselves - did you know that Iowa imports up to 90% of the food we eat?
What if we could do farming differently? The Biggest Little Farm captures how a couple left their city life behind and set out on a mission to grow food for their community while creating a farm that doubles as a functional ecosystem for both people and planet.
Join us on Thursday, August 24th from 7-9PM for a screening of The Biggest Little Farm at West Lake Park in Davenport.
It's time for Pres. Biden to declare a CO2 pipeline moratorium!
Iowans across political party have been fighting to protect our communities and land from the proposed CO2 pipelines. Now, we need elected officials to do the same.
Rep Omar (D-MN) and Rep Garcia (D-IL) created a sign on letter urging President Biden to enact a moratorium on CO2 pipelines.
Will you contact your representative to ask them to add their name to the letter?
Here are three reason we need a moratorium on CO2 pipelines:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is on the record saying it will take at least a year to create safety regulations and that current standards aren't adequate;
Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator, and Wolf/ADM cannot prematurely promise safety before standards are created. We should not consider any permits for CO2 pipelines until they are in place; and
A moratorium on CO2 pipelines could delay these projects for years, which is an important part of our strategy to stall and stop CO2 pipelines for good.
We won't be guinea pigs so Summit, Navigator and Wolf executives, like Bruce Rastetter, can make billions of dollars on these dangerous projects. Contact your Representative here!
Updates
Thank you! Fundraiser report-back
Before too much time passed, we wanted to share the results of our PROUDLY People & Planet First sticker fundraiser from June.
[drum roll please...] Together we raised $1,008! That total was split between CCI Action and One Iowa Action, Iowa's largest LGBTQ advocacy group.
Your donations came in from all across the state, including Iowa's small towns, rural areas and big cities. Your donations ranged from $3 to $50 - each gift a way to show that you care about LGBTQ Iowans and about creating an Iowa that truly puts people and planet first.
Thank you.
Still time to join Clean Water Book Club - August read!
Holy cow! Over 100 of you are signed up for our first ever Clean Water Book Club. We've lined up two brilliant books by two Iowa authors (read more below) and first up: This month we're reading WATER, a novel from award-winning author Jennifer Wilson.
WATER is an incredible introduction to the water issue in Iowa - but packaged in a "sexy thriller" with compelling characters and familiar Iowa story lines.
Here's how to participate:
Sign up to host or participate at this link. This is the best way to get updates and announcements of all the fun things we have in store.
Then, we'll do this all over again in September with Chris Jones's hot new book The Swine Republic. If WATER is the intro, Jones's popular collection of essays will give us a deeper understanding of this issue in Iowa - with a healthy dose of humor and derision.
Let us know you're in! Sign up for the book club here.
What We're Reading
These are a few links that are informing our work - we've shared them so that you can read, too!
New charges against Trump focus on lies. Scholars see an authoritarian playbook [NPR]
Polluters Rely on Old Rhetoric to Block Clean Energy Future [DeSmog]
The Sun is Not Chicken, it's Yellow [Chris Jones]
Iowa Department of Education does not commit to clarifying K-12 book restriction rules [Iowa Capital Dispatch]
Iowa's culture war: Pronouns, nicknames, and LGBTQ kids' rights [Bleeding Heartland]
What Can Social Movements Learn From Gramsci in Today’s Uncertain Times? [Common Dreams]