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Earth Day 2020

As part of UUP’s continued partnerships with the US Youth Climate Strike and the March for Science, UUP is encouraging members to get involved with the virtual events beginning on Earth Day, April 22

Day 1: Earth Day: 4/22/20

Focused on demonstrating our collective power and unity through community building and storytelling. Originally a day of mass mobilization, we are leaning into healing and togetherness to provide comfort and inspiration during this time of unknown. As with all three days, we are centering the stories and voices of frontline, Indigenous, and POC leaders.

DAY 2: Divest- 4/23/20

Focused on targeting financial institutions across the country, bringing attention to the fact that banks, insurance companies, and asset managers are complicit in funding, insuring, and investing in the climate crisis, and that stopping this money pipeline is one of the most important ways we can address the climate emergency.

DAY 3: Voter Registration- 4/24/20

Focused on the urgency of political change through a nationwide youth voter registration day, including by holding a digital, relational voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters, and call on elected officials to support our demands.


Ways for chapters and individuals to get involved:

  • Advocate on Social Media! Sample posts and graphics can be found here .
  • Fill out an Earth Day 2020 “postcard” and post it in your window, share it to your social media pages, and encourage your friends and colleagues to fill one out too! Postcards and instructions can be found here.
  • Spend some time coloring with UUP’s Earth Day coloring pages. Coloring pages for all ages can be found here . Post your masterpieces to social media and tag @uupinfo!
  • Host a chapter Earth Day event – Host a virtual lunchtime discussion with experts from your chapter to discuss the climate crisis and what we as educators and unionists can do to fight back. Please email Kristie Sammons, ksammons@uupmail.org, to reserve a webinar line and add your event to the statewide calendar.
  • Work with your campus administration, faculty senate, and student associations to develop a climate/environmental justice joint resolution.
  • Highlight your chapter plans or other ideas on the UUP Earth Day Webpage. Email Kristie Sammons, ksammons@uupmail.org, and we will add them to the list!

US Climate Strike Actions April 22-24:

The US Climate Strike Coalition is planning Earth Day Live, a 3-day consecutive livestream including speakers, performers and trainers with lots of content. All events will be streaming live beginning April 22 here.

The full three-day livestream schedule is available here. Here are a few highlights of events scheduled for Earth Day, April 22:

  • 9 am- Opening Ceremony (Thomas Lopez Jr.) & Musical Performance by Jack Johnson
  • 3 pm- Changing the Narrative: A Conversation on Activism, Climate Change, and Frontline Communities (Reverend William J. Barber II, Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, Andrea Manning)
  • 3:30 pm- The Link Between COVID-19 & The Climate Emergency (Moby , Joaquin Phoenix, Dr. Sweta Chakraborty, Dr. Michael Greger, Haile Thomas)
  • 5:00 pm- Women Leaders on the Climate Frontlines with Sharon Carpenter, Luke Baines, and Oxfam (Sharon Carpenter, Luke Baines, Ana Maria Mendez Libby, Ruth Santiago)
  • 6:30pm- United in the Fight: Making the Connections Between the Labor and Climate Justice Movements (Mary Kay, Kate Walton, Renata Kamakura, Adriana Alvarez, Ernesto Garnica)
  • 7:00 pm- Clapping for Frontline Workers Honoring Healthcare Heroes: Lisa Edelstein Interview with Frontline Healthcare Workers (Carol Lightle, Pat Sheran Diaz) Reimagining US: The Fight for a Green New Deal During COVID-19 (Varshini Prakash, Emma Lockridge, Rhiana Gunn-Wright, Lenore Friedlaender, Naomi Klein)
  • 7:30pm- Artists, COVID-19, and the Climate Emergency (DJ Spooky, Shepard Fairey, Amanda Palmer, Liam Neupert)

Another way to get involved is to participate in the Earth Day Live Peer to Peer Texting Program: Leading up to Earth Day Live and during the program we are going to leverage the collective power of the Climate Strike Coalition and Stop the Money Pipeline Coalition to do peer to peer outreach. Together, we'll be inviting people to RSVP to Earth Day Live, register to vote, commit to vote, and other actions. Goals:

  • Register 50,000 new - primarily youth - voters between now and National Voter Registration Day (September 24, 2020), using Earth Day Live as an opportunity to publicly announce and launch this program
  • Get 200,000 people to commit to vote/vote triple If you're interested in participating in this program, please fill out this form.

March for Science Actions April 22-26:

March for Science Earth Week 2020: Civic Forum Programmatic Panel

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, March for Science will convene a virtual international civic forum with curated panels and interactive participations, in the spirit of the first Earth Day teach-ins. The MFS Media Zone will provide a moderated, vetted space for sharing insights and highlighting impacts of the public health crises on different populations.

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday April 22, 2020- Flatten the Curve Forum: Pandemics and Public Policy

Saturday, April 25, 2020- Island Resilience Forum: Climate Crisis from the Front Lines

Sunday, April 25, 2020- Global Youth Forum: Champions of the SDGS

All events will be streaming live on the March for Science Facebook page here.

Stop the Money Pipeline National Day of Action- April 23

This is the day to pressure the largest financiers and backers of fossil fuel companies including:

  • Banker JP Morgan Chase: the world’s top banker of fossil fuels, providing $196 billion in financing to fossil fuel companies since 2016.
  • Asset manager BlackRock: the largest asset manager in the world, managing nearly $7 trillion in assets worldwide and the biggest investor in fossil fuels and deforestation-linked commodities.
  • Institutional investors: We also are continuing to support student and pension fund campaigns that call for divestment from fossil fuels and reinvestment in regenerative, community-controlled economies. Many of the country’s university endowment funds and state and city pension funds invest in fossil fuel corporations.

Consider signing these petitions:

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