via @indybay

Tribes, enviros speak out against trailer bills to fast-track #DeltaTunnel project

“Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our ancestral homelands and waterways, or desecrating sacred sites and ancestral remains,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the #ShingleSpringsBand of #MiwokIndians.

by Dan Bacher
Mon, Aug 11, 2025 4:19PM

Sacramento, CA – "On an unusually mild summer day, Tribal leaders and environmental justice advocates met with legislators at the State Capitol on July 16 for the 2025 Day of Action for #WaterJustice.

"They urged the legislators to reject Governor Newsom’s proposed trailer bills that they say would fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project (#DCP) and bypass critical #EnvironmentalProtections at a time when the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in unprecedented ecological crisis — and a number of fish species are on the edge of #extinction.

"The day-long event started with meetings between Tribal members, environmental advocates and legislators to urge support for 'equitable, science-based water solutions' that protect the #BayDelta and to reject the financially reckless Delta Conveyance Project that threatens ecosystems, Tribal sovereignty, and public health, according to a statement from #RestoreTheDelta.

[...]

"At the press conference on the Capitol steps, advocates called on lawmakers to reject trailer bills that would provide CEQA exemptions for the #DeltaConveyanceProject, circumventing existing law, court rulings and public opinion.

"Specifically, the coalition called on lawmakers to:

- Vote NO on SB 72 that undermines the #DeltaReformAct and sets arbitrary water supply targets;

- Vote YES on AB 362 that protects tribal beneficial uses of water and to;

- Vote YES on AB 263, extending emergency protections currently in place for the #ScottRiver and #ShastaRiver, a high priority for the recovery of #CohoSalmon.

"Speakers at the press conference included representatives from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the #WinnememWintu Tribe, as well as elected leaders and representatives from Restore the Delta, #SierraClub California, #FriendsOfTheRiver, #DefendersOfWildlife, #SanFranciscoBaykeeper and the #DeltaCountiesCoalition.

"Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, began the press conference emphasizing the harm that the Delta Tunnel would cause to Tribes and #disadvantaged communities.

" 'Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our #AncestralHomelands and waterways, or desecrating #SacredSites and ancestral remains,' said Tayaba. 'Our culture and identities are intrinsically tied to the Delta. There is no price tag worth paying that would ever justify the harm done to us or the unquantifiable costs that Tribes and disadvantaged communities would ultimately bear.'

"Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, followed Tayaba by stating, “There is nothing about the Delta Tunnel Project that significantly benefits anyone except #BigAg and south of the Delta water agencies, while putting #EndangeredSpecies, tribal cultural resources, and disadvantaged communities and the viability of the S.F Bay-Delta itself at risk. #CEQA exemptions continue to attempt to erase Tribes from #WaterGovernance.”

[...]

" 'Instead of wasting ratepayer money to keep pushing this expensive environmental justice debacle, we need to sees investments in local water supply like #RecycledWater, and the Freshwater Pathways program that would improve Delta levees to keep communities safe and improve State Water Project reliability in an emergency. We urge a commitment to vote NO on the return the Delta Conveyance Project and Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan bills,' Wagner said."

https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/11/18878845.php

#WaterIsLife #TribalGovernance #CulturalPreservation #CulturalErasure #BigAgriculture #BigWater #GavinNewsome #CaliforniaPol #Graywater

Tribes, enviros speak out against trailer bills to fast-track Delta Tunnel project : Indybay

“Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our ancestral homelands and waterways, or desecrating sacred sites and ancestral remains,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.

Indybay

So what lessons can we learn today from the history of the witch trials? "Not to scapegoat vulnerable or isolated members of the community in order to shore up public confidence and security,"
#fascism #marginalized #disadvantaged #poor

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250516-how-historys-brutal-witch-trials-still-resonate-now

'People are still haunted by what happened': How history's brutal witch trials still resonate now

A new book How to Kill a Witch brings a dark period of history back to grisly life – and an official tartan is being released to memorialise some of those who were tortured and killed.

BBC

A quotation from Orwell

A good-tempered antinomianism rather of Dickens’s type is one of the marks of Western popular culture. One sees it in folkstories and comic songs, in dream-figures like Mickey Mouse and Pop-eye the Sailor (both of them variants of Jack the Giant-killer), in the history of working-class Socialism, in the popular protests (always ineffective but not always a sham) against imperialism, in the impulse that makes a jury award excessive damages when a rich man’s car runs over a poor man; it is the feeling that one is always on the side of the underdog, on the side of the weak against the strong.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1939), “Charles Dickens,” sec. 6, Inside the Whale (1940-03-11)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/orwell-george/75272/

#quote #quotes #quotation #darkhorse #defiance #disadvantaged #downtrodden #laws #littleguy #rules #underdog #weak

Disasters Like the LA Fires Always Hit the Poor the Hardest. Trump Wants to Make It Worse.

The LA fires hit rich, white neighborhoods and Black ones. Trump’s executive order helps ensure inequities of aid distribution will keep favoring one group.

The Intercept

https://phys.org/news/2025-01-social-economic-disparities-impact-wildfire.html

risk of homes being destroyed by #wildfires within 30 years is 29% greater in communities designated by the US government as #disadvantaged than it is in less disadvantaged communities. At the same time, the rate of roof renewals is 28% lower. This also has an impact on future risks, because a new roof can reduce the risk of a residential building being destroyed by fire by up to 27%.

Social and economic disparities impact wildfire protection in California

An international team of researchers at the University of Freiburg and Stanford University investigated how social and economic disparities impact the ability of communities in California to protect themselves against wildfires. The study focused on roof renewals, one of the most effective but also most cost-intensive measures for making homes more resistant to fire. The researchers published their study on significant disparities in wildfire protection in the journal Nature Communications.

Phys.org
"We speak for those who cannot speak. We have a duty to tell the stories for those who do not have the advantages that we have to tell stories. We must not speak falsely. The stories that we are entrusted to tell are stories of our tribes, or the tribes into which we have been initiated." — Billy Marshall Stoneking — — — #BillyMarshallStoneking #quote #quotes #speak #disadvantaged #stories #tribe #tribes #representation #underserved #entrust #truth

@gutocarvalho @isik5 @jt_rebelo @netblocks

#X operates in & generates profits within #Brazil. & it broke Brazil's laws.

On one hand, the judiciary is simply seeking some recourse to enforce their laws. This is commonplace & expected. X & #Musk have no leg to stand on.

But, is #blocking #domains an appropriate lever for #lawEnforcement to use?

I would argue it isn't. I believe #openInternet access should be a #humanRight. Restricting access always hurts the #disadvantaged.

1/2

#Trans #athletes could actually be #physically #disadvantaged in some areas, #IOC-backed #study #finds.

A #groundbreaking #study has highlighted the “#complexity” of #trans #inclusion in #sports, finding that – contrary to what some #farright #pundits and #politicians people would have you believe – #transgender #athletes could actually be #disadvantaged in some #competitive #events.

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/04/23/trans-athletes-sports-study-ioc/

Trans athletes could actually be physically disadvantaged in some areas, IOC-backed study finds

The research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine this month, studied 75 trans and cisgender athletes.

PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news

The #EPA awarded $20B to finance #CleanEnergy projects, marking 1 of #Biden’s biggest investments in combating #ClimateChange & curbing #pollution in #disadvantaged communities.

The money comes from the #GreenhouseGas Reduction Fund established by #POTUS’ signature #climate #law, the #InflationReductionAct. The #fund uses #public & private dollars to invest in #clean #energy #tech such as #solar panels, #HeatPumps & more.

#law #ClimateCrisis #equity
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2024/04/04/epa-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/

America’s new high-risk, high-reward $20 billion climate push

The Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $20 billion to nonprofit organizations to help finance projects that boost clean energy and reduce emissions.

The Washington Post

Disadvantaged children's struggles at school have 'little to do' with character, attitude or a lack of 'growth mindset'

https://phys.org/news/2023-12-disadvantaged-children-struggles-school-character.html

> The relative underperformance of disadvantaged students at school has little do with them lacking the "character," attitude, or mindset of their wealthier peers, despite widespread claims to the contrary, new research indicates.

#inequity
#inequality
#DisadvantageGap
#disadvantaged
#children

Disadvantaged children's struggles at school have 'little to do' with character, attitude or a lack of 'growth mindset'

The relative underperformance of disadvantaged students at school has little do with them lacking the "character," attitude, or mindset of their wealthier peers, despite widespread claims to the contrary, new research indicates.