Good morning friends. We hope you are safely enjoying the snow. Due to hazardous road conditions, today’s Meditation for Earth will be online only.
To meditate with Waterspirit today, please tune in to our YouTube channel @waterspiritorg beginning at 12:15 pm ET.
CLICK HERE to read this week’s mailer, featuring:
tickets for our annual gala, Joys of the Sea;
a film screening heeding the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor;
beach cleanups, seal monitoring, and more!
It is important that people realize the severity of this update and heed the warnings to opt for safety. Here is the latest from Governor Murphy regarding the issued State of Emergency starting 5PM Tuesday. NJ Declares state of emergency ahead of dangerous January storm via NJ.com
“The Governor said part of the concern is the ‘hours of intensity’ are expected to be ‘right smack in the middle of the night’-meaning it would be dark, with power outages and possible water rescues. ‘If you don’t have to be out between tomorrow (Tuesday) sort of early evening and Wednesday morning,’ Murphy said, it is safer to remain home. If you are out, please be careful,’ he said.”
May we have no flood victims tomorrow and may we all connect preventable deaths to the potential for stormwater utilities and green infrastructure upgrades throughout the state. Again, our collaborative 2022 stormwater management and environmental justice webinar series covered:
an explanation of environmental injustices,
how the funding behind it works,
We encourage you to reach out for resources and expertise support in this area of stormwater management and environmental justice. Book us for a meeting, presentation, project, + more! https://www.waterspirit.org/stormwater-green-infrastructure
From December 2023: “In a state where politicians spend several millions of dollars on campaigns to win a state office that pays only $49,000 a year, there’s a real disconnect between the politicians and the people that worry about their bus fare.
These two cohorts are on different planets and there is nowhere in the nation where that is more evident than in the historic city of Trenton where well-heeled legislators can drive into their parking spaces in the bowels of the Capitol Complex avoiding entirely the dire economic circumstance of the people that actually inhabit the state’s capital, most of whom are people of color and often depend on mass transit.”
LISTEN to this full article “A golden dome above, 'street corners for bathrooms' below” by Bob Hennelly Here via Raw Story
This past legislative session, decision making power in Trenton saw significant solar advancement, translation services enhancement for the top 15 most common non-English languages, domestic workers bill of rights come close to reality, affordable housing pushed to the next session, and helped prevent dirty gas masquerading as clean energy. While we are entering into a new legislative session, let us remember the ever pressing need to focus on expanding the voices in the rooms of power in capital cities across the land. Fossil fuel interests and ill spirited efforts to ravage remaining sacred water and Earth are transparent. Education and advocacy work when we make inclusivity a priority and support our most vulnerable residents by reminding them they and their voice matters.
Like water, democracy should be accessible to all. It should not be confined or restricted but rather flow freely, empowering individuals to participate, express their voices and shape our collective destiny. Just as water knows no boundaries, democracy must transcend barriers, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued. This year, join Waterspirit for upcoming activities and visit our Calls to Action page for updates.
See our latest mailer HERE! Inside please find:
Our Joys of the Sea Honoree!
Request to prevent dirty energy in Trenton
Film screening with NJ Poor People’s Campaign
Beach Cleanup
& more!
CLICK HERE to read this week’s mailer, featuring:
our year in photos;
photos and video from the winter solstice ceremony;
an invitation to support this work with a year-end donation;
and more!
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
[Español]
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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