Thursday, May 29, 2008

MEETING: 5/29, 6PM

For our next monthly meeting on:

Thursday, May 29th at 6pm
@ the City Market!
Please check in at member services for instructions;
we'll be meeting at one of the conference rooms upstairs.

During the meeting we will be reviewing the overall goals of the Climate Equity
Campaign and strategizing actions for the coming months and ensuing legislative
and political events, as well as getting to know each other a bit more and
hearing each others' ideas, stories, and thoughts about Climate Equity. We
will focus part of the meeting on breaking down the Lieberman-Warner bill that
will be voted on in the Senate early next week and deciding on ways to share
our input with our representatives.

See you there!

Nathaly

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Highlight on our Washington, D.C. Lobby Visit


Recently, the Oxfam Action Corps, has begun to share the message of Climate Equity with Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders in their Washington, D.C. offices.


During this visit, we met with congressional staffers specializing in issues of environment and global warming to discuss our two main asks for this visit. Please read our leave-behind message, below, for highlights of our meeting.


CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON POOR COMMUNITIES
AND CREATING FAIR AND EQUITABLE CLIMATE POLICIES


While least responsible for causing climate change, poor people bear the brunt of its impacts. Oxfam America is launching a campaign to respond to the crisis. We believe that the U.S. should dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also increasing funding so that poor people, both domestically and around the world, can survive the effects of global warming.


At the same time, we have to ensure that climate policies are enacted in an equitable way. In the U.S., that means neutralizing the impacts of any increased costs for low-income energy consumers due to climate legislation. And we should increase investments in green energy technologies for developing countries in order to cut harmful emissions, while producing new jobs in the U.S. and promote development internationally.


  • Climate Legislation Should Ensure Adequate Resources for Public Purposes
    A cap-and-trade system should ensure that a high percentage of the emissions permits are auctioned and that the revenue is used for public benefits, including adaptation for vulnerable communities, neutralizing impacts on low-income energy consumers, and promoting green energy technology internationally.



  • International Adaptation Funding
    Climate change is forcing vulnerable communities in poor countries to face unprecedented climate stress, including water scarcity and drought, severe weather events and floods, reduced agricultural productivity, and increased disease. A comprehensive climate policy should include significant funding for hard-hit areas around the world to adapt to severe climate change impacts. At least 10% of the revenue from the auction of emission permits should be used to help vulnerable communities in developing countries.



  • Domestic Low-Income Energy Consumers
    Climate change legislation could affect low-income energy consumers, but can also be an opportunity to benefit those same people. Climate change legislation should provide funding to neutralize the cost of higher energy prices to low-income consumers, while also providing new “green job” opportunities.



  • Developing Countries and Clean Energy Technology
    As part of a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential to address the significant need for clean energy technology in major developing countries. The U.S. should help those countries, while also stimulating our own economy, by providing clean energy technology internationally.


For more information, go to www.oxfamamerica.org/climate



Monday, May 19, 2008

MONTHLY MEETING

Our 2nd Monthly Action Team Meeting will take place on:


THURSDAY, MAY 29th, 2008
from 6 - 7 p.m.
@ the Conference Room in City Market
**tentative location**
We will be reviewing the overall goals of the Climate Equity Campaign and strategizing actions for the coming months and ensuing legislative and political events, as well as getting to know each other a bit and hearing each others ideas/stories/thoughts about Climate Equity. Colin and I have met many of you in person, over the phone, or via email, but look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it for the evening!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the Vermont Oxfam Action Corps blog!

The co-leaders for the group are Colin Henkel and Nathaly Agosto Filion and we are very excited to work with people throughout Vermont to share this very important message.

If you would like to learn more about the greater scope of our work or have specific questions, please email us at OxfamActionCorps.Vermont@gmail.com. We are just getting started with this multi-year campaign and, although we have participated in several events around Burlington this spring, we are still just getting started!

We hope this site will serve as both a resource to Vermonters as well as a call to action for folks seeking to help find equitable solutions to the climate crisis. Please continue to visit the site as we will post new information, photos, links, videos, and more in the coming weeks and join us in our next Action Team meeting on Tuesday, May 27th.