Greenpeace

It’s no surprise that people all around the country are still upset about the BP oil disaster in the Gulf. Personally, I go back and forth between sadness and anger and it’s been really hard to sit back and watch one of America’s worst environmental catastrophes and feel pretty helpless about what I can do for the people in the Gulf.

Even more frustrating are the recent reports that things are just dandy now that the oil leak has been capped. But thanks to the Arctic Sunrise, we are starting to see that the reality is much grimmer. Almost 80 percent of the oil is still there and now its threatening the fragile ecosystem and could bring the Gulf’s sperm whale population to extinction. And on top of all of this, BP is starting to drill in the much most turbulent Arctic Ocean on artificial islands. Are you kidding me!

Enough is enough with dangerous off shore drilling projects and Big Oil companies destroying our environment and heating up our climate. That's why I'm taking action with a local coalition of environmental and social organizations called the Mobilization for Climate Justice. Together we’ll be training hundreds of Bay Area folks in the philosophy and tangible skills of Non-violent Direct Action this Sunday, August 29th. And on Monday, we’re taking to the streets to send a message to Big Oil that we will not stand for their reckless drilling practices or the human toll that comes with them. You can find out more information here:
Aug 29 & 30th: Resist BP & Big Oil! Training & Action

Monday’s action is particularly significant for me because I have come to the point in my life where I am willing to risk arrest for my beliefs. I believe the time has come for action beyond words to really show my commitment to stopping the status quo of our unsustainable, unhealthy and unfair fossil fuel-based economy. I won’t be alone on Monday either — I’ll be standing side by side with fellow activists, some whom have been risking arrest for decades and some of who are new to it just like me. As I start to mentally prepare for Monday, I remember the rich history of non-violent direct action and civil disobedience that has significantly changed both politics and public opinion on some of the most pressing issues of our times. I’m looking forward to joining in this tradition and if you’re in the Bay Area, I hope you can join us as well. 

One of the many advantages of being a Greenpeace Field Organizer for Northern California is the incredibly diverse region I am responsible for. Not only do I get to work out of the sweet San Francisco office, but I get to travel from the ocean to the mountains, and everywhere in-between, for the sake of fighting for the future of our planet. One place I was particularly thrilled to work in is the famous wine country just north of the Bay Area. It is here that I met Ted Lemon, his dog Bo, and got a peek into the life of a Californian winemaker.

Lemon began his career by studying in France where he apprenticed at several highly esteemed estates in Burgundy. In 1993, Ted Lemon and his wife Heidi founded Littorai Wines to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines on the north coast of California. Lemon has worked as a winemaker and consultant to many prominent wineries and he owns or leases several small-scale vineyards throughout Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

I recently got the chance to visit one of his Sonoma County vineyards in the quaint town of Sebastopol. This biodynamically farmed vineyard serves as a self sustaining, integrated and diversified farm because Lemon follows a holistic approach to winemaking known as terroir. This concept posits that the quality and taste of wine depends entirely on the soil and climate conditions in which the grapes are grown. The pinots produced by Lemon and other winemakers depend on the climate of Sonoma's famed coastal influence. It lies just north of the San Francisco Bay and benefits from its moderating ocean breezes.


For centuries, the West Coast has been an ideal climate for grape growing and California alone makes up about 92% of the entire U.S. wine industry, with more than 90% of the profit in premium wines.  However, these homegrown wines face a serious threat from global warming. Scientists predict that global warming will bring higher temperatures, more heat waves and less precipitation - changes that could destroy the state's $15 billion wine industry. Furthermore, a study conducted by Purdue University’s Climate and Earth Systems research group projects that there will be over an 80% reduction in total premium wine production due to climate change . Lemon’s pinot noir is particularly susceptible to the consequences of a changing climate. If left unaddressed, global warming could make it impossible to grow Pinot Noir in California.

While concern for the impacts of global warming on his life’s work is not new to Lemon, he is now taking action beyond sustainable growing practices. He is calling for the necessary leadership from President Obama to meet this challenge of our generation head-on. Recently, world leaders met in Copenhagen, Denmark for the most important United Nations Climate Negotiation to date. Unfortunately, President Obama did not listen to the calls for real climate solutions from scientists, heads of developing countries and the tens of thousands of protesters that flooded into Copenhagen for the Negotiations. Leadership from President Obama is essential for both a global climate treaty and locally protecting the longevity and prosperity of the Lemon’s wine business.

 

Through my few years of experience with organizing, I’ve never had the pleasure to join with such a diverse coalition of organizations as I did yesterday when the US Chamber of Commerce came to town. With a crowd of over 100 strong, Greenpeace joined with local labor unions, a national worker’s rights group, Change To Win, as well as Sierra Club, MoveOn and many more to call out Tom Donohue, the president of the US Chamber of Commerce.



Our event kicked off with a press conference that included high-energy speeches from local business owners, local labor union members, and representative from the Sierra Club and yours truly. After a collective call for the US Chamber of Commerce to represent the small businesses and not a handful of CEOs, we all marched over to the Fairmont Hotel where the conference was being held. There we were joined by local San Francisco City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who jumped on the bull horn and called for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to continue distancing itself from Tom Donohue’s US Chamber because of their polices on climate, health care, and workers' rights.



Why so much attention on one guy? Well, because under Tom Donohue’s leadership, the US Chamber of Commerce has been pushing an agenda that favors corporate CEO profits at the expense of people and the planet. They have spent millions lobbying against important legislation, from climate to health care.

Due to previous protests in Chicago and Philadelphia at their conferences, registration for attendees was closed early and nearly half of the room was filled. I assume they suspected that San Francisco, and its business owners, would not be as welcoming to a climate denier and progress inhibitor like Tom Donohue. Well, I guess they were right about one thing.