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*Brief announcement * I am elated to announce that next week I will be heading to the Gulf coast to work with the Good people of The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy - GCCLP in association with The United Houma Nation to put together a three day event. I will be creating a company mural for the event that will be used as a symbol of how imperative access to clean water is for all people. #bayourising18 #dulac #louisiana #gcclp #mural #unitedhormanation #uhm #announcement
*Brief announcement * I am elated to announce that next week I will be heading to the Gulf coast to work with the Good people of The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy - GCCLP in association with The United Houma Nation to put together a three day event. I will be creating a company mural for the event that will be used as a symbol of how imperative access to clean water is for all people. #bayourising18 #dulac #louisiana #gcclp #mural #unitedhormanation #uhm #announcement
*Brief announcement * I am elated to announce that next week I will be heading to the Gulf coast to work with the Good people of The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy - GCCLP in association with The United Houma Nation to put together a three day event. I will be creating a company mural for the event that will be used as a symbol of how imperative access to clean water is for all people. #bayourising18 #dulac #louisiana #gcclp #mural #unitedhormanation #uhm #announcement
Climate Change, Community Resilience, and Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy
620 Oak Harbor Blvd., Ste. 203
Slidell, Louisiana 70458
985.643.6186 office
985.643.6118 fax
www.gcclp.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Michelle Pichon, Director of Communications
April 10, 2015
On Friday, Apr. 10, Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy (GCCLP) Executive Director Colette Pichon Battle will be part of a panel of experts on a webinar on "Climate Change, Community Resilience, and Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico," co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative (GOMURC), and the four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs. Click here to RSVP.
Many restoration planning documents and programs in the Gulf of Mexico highlight the need to address climate change impacts as part of the restoration framework. While precedent exists on how to integrate climate change into restoration decision-making, many post-Deepwater Horizon restoration projects fail to adequately address climate change impacts. At the same time, coastal communities are both on the front line of climate impacts, as well as the ones hit hardest by the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster.
This webinar will bring together a panel of experts to discuss the complex intersection of climate change, community resilience and Gulf restoration, focusing on the challenges of and opportunities for creating restoration projects that both incorporate climate change considerations and are responsive to the needs of coastal communities.
What: Webinar: Climate Change, Community Resilience, and Restoration in the Gulf of Mexico,
When: April 10, at 1:00–3:00 PM CT RSVP: Click here
Panelists include:
Dr. Kathryn Mengerink Environmental Law Institute Dr. Robert Twilley-Louisiana Sea Grant Jonathan Porthouse- Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund Colette Pichon Battle- Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy Dr. Tracie Sempier - Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Andrew Shepard (moderator)- Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative
The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy is a public-interest law firm and justice center with a mission to advocate for structural shifts toward equity for communities on the front-line of climate change.
Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy
620 Oak Harbor Blvd., Ste. 203
Slidell, Louisiana 70458
985.643.6186 office
985.643.6118 fax
www.gcclp.org
For Immediate Release
Contact: Michelle Pichon, 985.788.7658; [email protected]
Gulf Coast Residents Applaud Obama Administration’s Commitment to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
GCCLP urges the President to set his goals based on people and not profit.
LOUISIANA – Today, the United States announced its commitment to climate action in the run up to the UN Climate Negotiations in Paris later this year. The Obama Administration set a goal that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.
In response, Colette Pichon Battle, Executive Director of Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, released the following statement: “After living the effect of extreme weather caused by climate change and the pollution caused by extreme energy extraction, the Obama Administration’s move toward “deep de-carbonization” sends a positive signal to residents of the Gulf Coast. Despite the denial that still plagues much of the elected leadership of the Gulf Regions, waiting or taking no action at all is the wrong direction when it comes to expanding extraction of coal, gas and oil from public lands and dumping these climate polluting fuels onto the global market.
Meeting the 26-28% target will not happen automatically under the existing Climate Action Plan- it will require the US to do more, and take action in new sectors. And reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent is a positive first step, but it alone will not be enough to avert future global catastrophes like hurricane Katrina.
The US government, corporate citizens and individuals must work to achieve a 40 percent reduction by 2025. The sacrifices of the Gulf South remind all of us that people must come before profits. As the world’s second largest emitter our nation needs a commitment to climate solutions and that provides a just transition away from fossil fuels and towards 100 percent renewable energy.
We cannot leave younger generations with a dangerous inheritance of a hotter and more extreme climate. Therefore, we applaud the President’s leadership in cutting carbon pollution domestically and taking a leadership role in the global negotiations. The next two US administrations will have to scale up action to meet the goal and the needs of frontline communities. We as community representatives and leaders need to keep this in mind as we go to the voting polls in 2015 and 2016.”
The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy is a public-interest law firm and justice center advocating for structural shifts toward equity and serving communities on the frontline of climate change. Visit us at www.gcclp.org
Selma Then, Selma Now
Written by Michelle Pichon
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement that took place in Selma, Alabama. I learned about the march, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks in school, in books, and in movies, but the older I got the more I learned about the bigger picture of what happened as a result of that march. Today, I am able to see that Selma was about more than Black people. It was, it is, about American People. It was the realization of an idea that all people have worth. And today that goes beyond Black and White. Ingrained racism is still an issue today reaching past, but not excluding, physical repercussions.
As I followed the events of the commemoration, I was able to see events of the present in a different light -- like how the law-makers and courts of this country have taken the very Voting Rights Act sparked by Selma to try and make it harder for racial minorities to register and vote. Even before the 21st Century attack on immigrant families, voter ID laws and shifting voting districts were tactics used to oppress democracy in the US.
The fight for Civil Rights today includes voting rights, migrant rights, climate justice, and more. As long as schools with predominantly Black enrollment are built on toxic dumps, or people who have lived, worked, and benefited this country are not given the opportunity to make this their home, the goals of the Selma march have not been reached. There are more bridges for us to cross.
The images from Bloody Sunday, images reenacted in films like Selma showed us that justice and freedom don’t come easily for everyone. We have to fight for it. We are the powers that be. We have to use that power to elect officials who have the interests of the people first and not the interests of corporations or their wallets. We have work to do.
Selma is about an inclusive America. When the courts, Congress, elected officials try to take that away, it is our duty to demand it. It is our duty to protect it. I watched the commemoration of the march from Selma to Montgomery and I listened to the lyrics of “Glory” written by Jon Legend and Common for the movie Selma. And then I wrote a poem.
Selma Then and Now
1.
On the Lord’s day
50 years ago
Americans crossed the bridge in Selma
named after a Dragon
Peacefully challenged
segregationist repression
for the right of Black Americans to vote
because the Constitution does not specify Race.
Beaten, battered, bitten, and bloody
the nation
the world
saw they would not be moved.
2.
Two days later
they returned
on a Tuesday
a half mile out of town
across the bridge, over the top
and down the other side
there as far as eyes could see
flashing lights, police cars, helmeted troopers
carrying shotguns
blocking the way.
There is where they stopped
and prayed
for peace and resolution
a revolution on their knees.
And then they turned around.
3.
Through chilling rain
over 50 miles and 5 days
to the Alabama state capitol
there were no police provocations
no dogs attacked
Jack had the protestors’ backs
all the way to Wallace’s front door.
How long will it take?
asked a King.
He assured them
he had faith
it would not be long.
4.
50 years later
Americans converged
on Selma again
For politicians who play with the Voting Rights Act
like a child with a toy,
reading the words
narrowly, stingily
For the right to
not have toxic ash coating our
backyards and our lungs
For justice for unarmed Black men
shot dead by police
For anyone to say “I do”
to whomever they choose
For dreamers who dream
of the chance to make it here.
The doors that Selma opened
for Black Americans
opened doors for all Americans.
Selma is now.
Selma is ours.
Glory
we believe.
Voting: Doing the Deed
Written by Michelle Pichon
Voting: Doing the Deed As this next election approaches I am very conscious of how important and serious a matter voting is. There are so many factors to be aware of. Lately I have had several conversations of varying topics, and many of them came around to voting. I’d like to share some of those conversations with you. Ferguson and Michael Brown – What does a murder in Ferguson, Missouri have to do with voting? My co-worker Marc was expressing his fear that the Michael Brown case is not being pursued fairly, mostly due to the fact that there are not enough people who care about this loss of a young Black life in positions of the law to demand justice.
“I think we are to blame for a majority of this because we are not moving people into position for seats of power. But, we have got to be ready to move, vote, and take those seats when the opportunities present themselves.”
What is also to blame, according to Marc, is there are too many people who do care but don’t act, who are content to moan and groan about it but do little else. “We can cry out or we can vote! We can register people in mass numbers in the city of Ferguson and all of our cities. With resources and materials to inform their vote we can encourage people to vote, and we can get people to the poles by any means that we can. We can encourage and raise a generation of young leaders to be part of the city council, who endeavor to be Mayors, and Police Chiefs and then go out and vote them into office!” Read this for more on how what happened/is happening in Ferguson, Missouri could influence Senate races. The Lesser of Two Evils – So, what are you to do when you have issues with the two front-runners of an election? I have had two conversations recently about this very thing. One note of hope was that neither conversation opted for just not voting. The two conversations were quite different though. One conversation was with my cousin, Maya. Her option is to vote for the one with the most power and influence for the cause that matters most to her. Then once that person is elected the people must demand that their voices be heard and tell the candidate what they want. “Look at what Mississippi just did. Black folks came out in droves to vote between two republicans – one of them a Tea Party member. They voted for the least harmful candidate and got him elected. Now they want pay back. We need to do that in Louisiana. We need Mary Landrieu to win, so we need to vote for her. And when she does win, we need to demand that she change her stand on Big Oil. We need to convince her to see people and culture before dollar signs.” This is a good article about the connection of voting rights and clean energy. The other conversation with my friend Oona went a little differently. In an election the most visible candidates are Republicans and Democrats. So when it’s time to vote, people think they only have two choices. Oona thinks the public should take it upon themselves to find out more about ALL the candidates. “So many people are uneducated about third parties that they don’t understand they have more choices. If third parties were considered people could vote for their issues rather than parties. If more people voted their beliefs outside of the two-party system there might actually be some change.” Voting Informed vs. Voting Stupid – Looking back at my 18 year-old self, I couldn’t wait to vote for the first time. I wanted to vote for Jesse Jackson not because I knew anything about his political career or what he stood for, but simply because he is Black. That year, and for many years after that if I’m being honest, I was voting stupid—stepping into a voting booth and not knowing a thing about who I was pressing buttons for. Voters must take it upon themselves be informed and educated about what and whom they’re voting for. My friend Gar, a very articulate fellow, had this to say: “Freedom isn’t the product of voting. Rather, the vote is both the fruit and defense of a free people when the power of the vote is utilized by the thinkers, the intelligent, and the educated. When those in the population hand the power over to the ignorant or the anti-intellectual, the vote becomes the tool of fanaticism and fascism, and our freedom becomes nothing more than a lie within which a despotic ruler hides. That’s why I vote.” And then he raises his fist up in the air. I think we should all do that. Learn about the issues and candidates. Make ourselves aware of all the choices.Know your voting process information. Step in that booth and do the deed. And come out singing this song with our fists in the air.
Hurricane Katrina Remembered
Question: Was this created in honor of Hurricane Katrina?
Answer: Yes, These are all over the coast carved from trees killed in the storm.
Photo taken by Gar Pickering August, 29, 2014 in Bay St. Louis, MS
