As Harvey touches down in Louisiana as a tropical storm and moves north, we have so many thoughts on our minds.  If you find yourself mourning, remembering, or worrying, we hope these suggestions might help.

• Donate locally.  Organizations such as t.e.j.a.s.have been working on the Texas environmental justice front for years and know best how to allocate resources on the ground. There are many other Houston-based organizations as well with strong track records helping people in particular need, both inside and outside of disasters.
• Educate yourself.  Not just about how to help, but about what causes these disasters and maximizes their damage and what policies communities can adopt to prevent them from happening again.
• Advocate for decisive and proactive action on climate change.  Goodwill and charity tend to flow during times of disaster, which is a wonderful characteristic of Americans.  But this is not enough.  In an era where terms like “100-year storm” and “500-year flood” beg for new definitions, what will ultimately save us is a commitment toward prevention and mitigation– and that starts with urging our policymakers to name climate change as a very real threat and holding them accountable for meaningful action.
• Don’t give in to despair and paralysis.  Stand up and act, in any small way, and you become part of the resistance for one more day keeping our hopes for a liveable climate alive!  2 upcoming opportunities: help us have conversations with people along the Bayou Bridge pipeline route this Saturday Sept 2nd (sign up here – we will provide resources and transportation) and attend our 350LA monthly community meeting on Thursday Sept 7th at 6:30 at First UU Church, 2903 Jefferson Ave.

In love and solidarity,

350 Louisiana- New Orleans