On December 21, we celebrated the arrival of winter with poetry, prayer, and song. Our winter solstice ceremony featured special performances (and original music!) by Patty Cronheim, Lesley Schierenbeck, and Kevin James. You can watch the recording on Waterspirit’s YouTube channel.
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SAVE THE DATE for March 2nd, 2024: A National Day of Mass Poor People's and Low-Wage Workers' Statehouse Assemblies and To The Polls! New Jersey will be joining over 30 states holding simultaneous days of action, at statehouses across the country, in the middle of the legislative session, one week ahead of national 'Super Tuesday,' and 35 weeks ahead of the 2024 national general election.
Poverty is the 4th leading cause of death in this country, and if we act together, we can make fundamental change. When we address the policy violence that denies millions of us healthcare, livable wages, voting rights, and the right to lead dignified lives, we lift from the bottom. And in order to get there, we must address at the same time, the policy subsidies and preferences that go to billionaires, the horrors of ecological devastation at the hands of greedy profiteers, and the billion dollar war economy fueling displacement, endless war, and further climate chaos. Because when we address one of these, we must address them all. And it is only together, in coalition, that we can accomplish this.
Nationally:
-People are dying every day from lack of access to healthcare. Between April 2023 and March 2024, an estimated 24 million people (including 5 million children) will lose their access to Medicaid after the end of the Public Health Emergency.
-While 52 million people across the US make less than a living wage, billionaire wealth increased by $1.5 trillion, or more than $2 billion per day, during the pandemic.
New Jersey is a microcosm of interlocking injustices: systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation and the denial of health care, militarism and the war economy, and a distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism and white supremacy.
Politicians who continue to make concessions for the wealthy, yet who leave families and children to die in poverty, are guilty of policy murder. And we won't be silent anymore! Please Save the Date, RSVP, let us know if/how you would like to help mobilize toward this event and beyond, and help us spread the word!
Forward Together
NJ PPC Coordinating Committee
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RESERVE LA FECHA para el 2 de marzo de 2024: ¡Un Día Nacional de Asambleas Legislativas Masivas de los Pobres y de los trabajadores con Salarios Bajos y a Las Urnas! New Jersey se unirá a más de 30 estados que celebrarán días de acción simultáneos, en las cámaras estatales de todo el país, en medio de la sesión legislativa, una semana antes del 'Supermartes' nacional y 35 semanas antes de las elecciones generales nacionales de 2024.
Confirme su asistencia al evento aquí
La pobreza es la cuarta causa de muerte en este país y, si actuamos juntos, podemos lograr un cambio fundamental. Cuando abordamos la violencia política que nos niega a millones de nosotros atención médica, salarios dignos, derecho al voto y el derecho a llevar una vida digna, estamos empezando desde abajo. Y para llegar allí, debemos abordar al mismo tiempo los subsidios y las preferencias políticas que reciben los multimillonarios, los horrores de la devastación ecológica a manos de especuladores codiciosos y la economía de guerra de miles de millones de dólares que alimenta el desplazamiento, las guerras interminables y mayor caos climático. Porque cuando abordamos uno de ellos, debemos abordarlos todos. Y sólo juntos, en coalición, podremos lograrlo.
Nacionalmente:
- Cada día muere gente por falta de acceso a la atención sanitaria. Entre abril de 2023 y marzo de 2024, se estima que 24 millones de personas (incluidos 5 millones de niños) perderán su acceso a Medicaid una vez finalizada la Emergencia de Salud Pública.
- Si bien 52 millones de personas en todo Estados Unidos ganan menos de un salario digno, la riqueza de los multimillonarios aumentó en 1,5 billones de dólares, o más de 2 mil millones de dólares por día, durante la pandemia.
New Jersey es un microcosmos de injusticias entrelazadas:
racismo, sistémico, pobreza, devastación ecológica y denegación de atención médica, militarismo y economía de guerra, y una narrativa moal distorisonada del nacionalismo religioso y la supremacía blanca.
Los políticos que continúan haciendo concesiones a los ricos, pero que dejan que familias y niños mueran en la pobreza, son culpables de asesinato político. ¡Y ya no nos quedaremos callados! Por favor reserve la fecha, confirme su asistencia, háganos saber si le gustaría ayudar a movilizarse hacia este evento y más allá y cómo le gustaría ayudarnos a correr la voz.
Adelante Juntos
Comité Coordinator NJ PPC
It was just announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will prioritize vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical commonly found in plastic production. This announcement comes in the wake of a devastating toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio earlier this year, where New Jersey was the intended destination.
Waterspirit’s Public Policy & Justice Organizer shared the following statement: The incident in East Palestine serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address the risks associated with vinyl chloride and its impact on our water resources. Vinyl chloride contamination poses significant threats to human health and the environment, endangering both the communities that rely on these resources and the water ecosystems that sustain them. Waterspirit was grateful to testify before the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee in support of A5605.
It remains disheartening to note that corridor communities, such as those in New Jersey, have been consistently burdened by these and other injustices without any meaningful penalties imposed on polluters. Thankfully New Jersey’s Attorney General, NJ Department of Environmental Protection and are suing polluters for knowingly poisoning sacred Earth and life giving waters. Regulations are overdue which would protect the welfare of rail workers, who are on the front lines of transporting hazardous materials like vinyl chloride.
We must invest in comprehensive monitoring systems to detect and prevent vinyl chloride contamination, particularly in areas susceptible to derailments and accidents. Moreover, we must support research and development efforts aimed at finding safer alternatives to plastic production, reducing the demand for vinyl chloride altogether.
Water connects us all, and it is crucial that we take immediate action to address these issues comprehensively. I urge the EPA to not only prioritize vinyl chloride but also to develop stringent regulations that hold polluters accountable for their actions. The EPA must work collaboratively with relevant stakeholders, such as state and local governments, community organizations, and rail industry representatives, to develop and implement effective measures to prevent future incidents and safeguard our water resources.
We kindly request that the EPA give due consideration to these urgent concerns and take immediate action to rectify the current situation. Together, we can work towards ensuring a safer, healthier future for all, where access to clean and safe water is recognized as a fundamental human right.
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See the Patch article reporting the source of the tar by Carly Baldwin here: Tar Balls Found on NJ Beaches Came From Bayonne Oil Spill.
The responsibility of being a watershed resident is such that we speak up when something is awry. Our Board Member Hugh Carola, Program Director Hackensack Riverkeeper, and mentor to many, shared deeply about this enduring responsibility for a Waterspirit Waterside Chat back in October 2020.
It is vital that residents report immediately any unseemly activity in our waterways, such as tar balls or injured marine life directly to the Coast Guard and/or the Marine Mamma Stranding Center. These entities support credible identification and guidance as to related ramifications or next steps, namely if there is an issue of environmental injustice.
The value of collaboration was emphasized to demonstrate the need to work together across agencies and even state lines to ensure our waters are as clean and safe as possible. To learn more about Waterspirit’s programs, connect with us! For more about upcoming programs related to celebrating and studying wildlife and water, visit: https://www.waterspirit.org/events-calendar
CLICK HERE to read this week’s mailer, featuring:
Our recap of the COP28 climate negotiations;
A call to action to stop dirty energy in New Jersey;
An invitation to celebrate the winter solstice with us;
and more!
March 2, 2024 New Jersey Mass Assembly: REGISTER HERE NOW TO JOIN US
Waterspirit’s Public Policy & Justice Organizer has spent the past couple of years helping to sustain and strengthen the New Jersey Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Here we link back to hers and NJPPC leader Pastor Hall’s experiences, takeaways and next steps, including radio syndicated coverage of the Moral Poverty Action Congress this past June. We, across Turtle Island, need a 3rd Reconstruction. The intersectionality of interlocking injustices remains ever transparent, ever ripe for change.
Checkout the latest related article via InsiderNJ written by Bob Hennelly: The Trenton Just a Few Blocks from the Gold Dome
CLICK HERE to read this week’s mailer, featuring:
a recap of what’s been happening at the international climate conference (COP28) and how faiths have shown up for a livable world;
a chance to support an urgently-needed, strong clean energy standard in New Jersey;
an invitation to watch our Remembrance of Lost Species Day ceremony;
an exciting announcement about the new NJ Kids in Nature coalition;
and more!
PRESS RELEASE
The People’s Water Project is calling on the Biden Administration to reject the recommendation of the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council to “remove barriers to privatization” of public water systems.
The People’s Water Project is a group of organizers, researchers, lawyers, advocates, and community members working together to combat water inequities and fight for bold, reparative changes that challenge corporate power and address issues of water affordability and accessibility, water quality and water privatization in low income and BIPOC communities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 30, 2023
CONTACT:
Mary Grant, Food & Water Watch, mgrant@fwwatch.org
Rachel Dawn Davis, Waterspirit, rddavis@waterspirit.org
Mary Gutierrez, Earth Ethics, earthethicsaction@gmail.com
The National Infrastructure Advisory Council’s recent recommendations would make it easier for private water corporations to access key public funds and place communities at further risk of water privatization. This is dangerous because water privatization removes public control and community oversight of water systems, jeopardizing public accountability. For communities, privatization has all too often led to unaffordable water bills and cost-cutting measures that endanger public health and safety.
“Water privatization is a terrible idea," says Mary Grant, Public Water for All Campaign Director at Food & Water Watch, “Wall Street wants to take control of our public water systems to wring profits from communities that are already struggling with unaffordable water bills and toxic water. Privatization would deepen the nation’s water crises, leading to higher water bills and less accountable and transparent services. Instead of relying on Wall Street advisers, President Biden should support policies that will truly help communities by asking Congress to pass the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity and Reliability (WATER) Act (HR 1729, S 938).”
It’s no surprise that the advisory council made these recommendations, considering its ties to the private water industry, most notably, Veolia, Suez, and Essential Utilities, which have long track records of abuse across the country. Corporations like these would stand to benefit from the privatization of our nation’s water systems, at the expense of residents, workers, and communities.
Private water corporations are beholden to maximizing profits for shareholders, not acting in the public interest. Studies have found that privatization leads to “higher water prices and less affordability for low-income families,” and that privately-owned utilities charge 59% more for drinking water service than publicly-owned utilities. Corporate cost-cutting measures can have terrible consequences for communities. In Pittsburgh, while under the management of Veolia, the city’s water authority switched the corrosion control chemical meant to prevent lead contamination to a cheaper alternative without the required state approval. A lead crisis soon followed, endangering residents throughout the city.
“Access to clean water is a fundamental right, not a privilege to be bought and sold. Water privatization is a stark reminder of the immorality and discrimination that can arise when basic human needs are treated as commodities,” Rachel Dawn Davis, Public Policy & Justice Organizer for Waterspirit. “By allowing profit-driven entities to control this vital resource, we perpetuate a system that prioritizes financial gain over the well-being and dignity of individuals and communities. It is a disheartening reflection of a society that values profit margins over human rights, and it is our collective moral responsibility to challenge and rectify this profound injustice. We strongly urge the Biden administration to act toward long term investments to safeguard what remains of sacred water.”
Private water corporations are beholden to maximizing profits for shareholders, not acting in the public interest. Studies have found that privatization leads to “higher water prices and less affordability for low-income families,” and that privately-owned utilities charge 59% more for drinking water service than publicly-owned utilities. Corporate cost-cutting measures can have terrible consequences for communities. In Pittsburgh, while under the management of Veolia, the city’s water authority switched the corrosion control chemical meant to prevent lead contamination to a cheaper alternative without the required state approval. A lead crisis soon followed, endangering residents throughout the city.
“Water is our first medicine; local water sources have protected its populations relying on them for millennia and are critical for every living thing. Privatizing water and water systems is an injustice that threatens to exacerbate existing environmental, economic, and health injustices. Elite capture of our water commons is the final frontier in the commodification of all living things and should be resisted as though our lives depend upon the water we drink. We demand that the Biden Administration reject the privatization of our public water systems and instead reinvest and reinforce our responsibility to them,” states Nickie Sekera, Co-founder, Community Water Justice.
“Water is a public resource and should remain a publicly controlled resource. For the Biden Administration to place several members on its National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) that are or have been directly tied to private water companies that generate billions of dollars in revenue is a travesty to public trust,” says Rebecca Malpass, Director of Policy & Research for The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans. This is yet another example of placing profits over people. While NIAC touts privatization as the solution to innovation, communities know all too well that, in reality, privatization leads to unaffordable and, in some instances, unsafe water services with no public accountability or transparency.”
Instead, we call on President Biden to support the Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability (WATER) Act in Congress (HR 1729, S 938), which would fully invest in our nation’s water infrastructure, address lead and PFAS contamination, expand funding for low-income and rural communities, and prioritize funding for publicly-owned water systems.
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We make a difference when we show up. For instance, a potentially weak bill in New Jersey establishing a “clean energy standard” will be stronger as a result of voiced oppositions and amendments, back in action 18th December.
Tomorrow the New Jersey Assembly Environment Committee will meet in Trenton to vote on a disastrous bill, a blow to environmental justice in the state with first related landmark legislation. This bill, A577, is masquerading as an alternative that is natural or renewable when, in fact, it would largely increase costs to consumers heating and electric bills ahead of a projected snow filled winter. It would increase pollution regardless of the intent not to do so. The bill’s proponents must be hoping this will fool the public from the destruction oil and gas continue to perpetuate upon the most vulnerable humans across the globe. No matter what gains these technologies may purport, there has been no evidence that these outweigh the disastrous costs, including exacerbating climate emergency.
Waterspirit and coalition partners have been advocating against so-called Carbon Capture and Sequestration, due to its failure to present as a viable solution. It is deeply disheartening that such a bill would be considered given the moral imperative to reduce and strive to eliminate emissions thrust upon overburdened residents.
New Jersey leadership can do better; we hope that they will hear from many and act accordingly.
Amplifying this list from our friends at NJSierra Club, Flood the phonelines of the bill’s sponsors, Karabinchak and Scutari, urging them to oppose it! See below a sample script and contact information.
How to Contact Bill Sponsors: Call via the below numbers.
*Assemblyman Robert J. Karabinchak (D) - District 18 - (732) 548-1406
*Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald (D) - District 6 - (856) 435-1247
*Assemblywoman Nancy F. Munoz (R) - District 21 - (908) 918-0414
*Senator Nicholas P. Scutari (D), Senate President - District 22 - (732) 827-7480
*Senator Steven V. Oroho (R) - District 24 - (973) 300-0200
Senator Vin Gopal (D) - District 11 - (732) 695-3371
Assemblyman James Kennedy (D) - District 22 - (732) 943-2660
Assemblyman Sterly S. Stanley (D) - District 18 - (732) 875-3833
Assemblyman Donald A. Guardian (R) - District 2 - (609) 677-8266
Assemblywoman Shama A. Haider (D) - District 37- (201) 308-7061
Assemblywoman Bethanne McCarthy Patrick (R) - District 3 - (856) 823-5516
Assemblyman John F. McKeon (D) - District 27 - (973) 377-1606
Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R) - District 13 - (732) 856-9294
*Primary bill sponsors.
Sample Script for Phone Banking:
"Hello, I am calling to urge you to oppose A577 (Karabinchak)/S1366 (Scutari).
This bill would encourage New Jersey to invest in perpetual gas, which is not natural or clean or renewable. If passed, utility costs will rise, greenhouse gases and co-pollutants will increase and there will be great detriment to already poor health and related air quality. The cost of these technologies are higher than actual renewable energy solutions, such as solar siting throughout the state. There is no monetary value worth the poor health and shortsighted consequences of investments in dirty energy. As a representative of New Jersey, I, again, urge you to demonstrate leadership for all and oppose A5777. “
Thank you for taking action; thank you for all you are and all you do to support sacred water!
CLICK HERE to read this week’s mailer, featuring:
an invitation to mourn the species we’ve lost this year at an online vigil for Remembrance of Lost Species Day
an urgent call to action to stop dirty energy in New Jersey
an opportunity to support this precious work with a Giving Tuesday gift
a hearty welcome to Lisa Maher, our new Development Director
and more!
