Photo © Ken Schles

In the Spring 2023 issue of our print newsletter Livable Future NOW, we celebrated New York becoming the first state in the nation to pass a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining powered by fossil fuels. 

Crypto mining companies were rapidly expanding across New York, reopening retired coal- and gas-burning plants to fuel their operations. This bill stops new permits from being issued for two years. The state is using this time to study crypto’s impact on New York’s emissions reduction goals. But Food & Water Watch will fight to make this moratorium permanent. 

This victory would not have been possible without you. Thank you!

More Milestones to Celebrate

Your commitment to protecting our planet’s health has led to several additional milestones in the past few months. Here are some standout accomplishments we celebrate with you.

Together we:

• Struck down an anti-whistleblower law in Iowa that would have criminalized undercover investigations into animal cruelty, unsafe working conditions, and food safety threats at factory farms, slaughterhouses, and other animal facilities. (September 2022)

• Blocked Senator Joe Manchin’s dirty deal, which would have fast-tracked fossil fuel projects, given the green light to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and diminished people’s right to have a say in what gets built in their communities. (December 2022)

• Pressed the Los Angeles City Council and County Board of Supervisors to vote unanimously against new oil and gas drilling. After nearly a decade of working alongside allies impacted by neighborhood drilling, as well as countless actions, protests, marches, and rallies, urban oil drilling in Los Angeles will soon be a thing of the past. (December 2022)

• Won a lawsuit forcing the EPA to begin a detailed study of factory farm water pollution to determine how to strengthen Clean Water Act regulations. This study is a critical opportunity for the agency to understand the true scope of factory farm water pollution, something it has ignored for decades. (January 2023)

• Successfully urged the Borough of Woodlynne, New Jersey to reject a liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Gibbstown. The transport of highly explosive LNG to the terminal would have endangered not only Woodlynne but densely populated urban areas in nearby North Philadelphia and Camden. The recent train derailments in Ohio and Michigan show how one accident with hazardous materials can devastate the health and environment of entire communities. (January 2023)

• Reintroduced the Farm System Reform Act, national legislation that would shift power from monopolistic multi-national food corporations to family farms; place a moratorium on new factory farms while helping farmers transition to crop production or pasture-based animal farming; and restore mandatory country-of-origin labeling on our food. (February 2023)

• Defeated plans for a blue hydrogen power plant in West Whiteland, Pennsylvania, a community thirty miles east of Philadelphia. Research shows that the carbon footprint of blue hydrogen production is greater than burning either natural gas or coal. Stopping this project is an important step toward powering the state with renewables like wind and solar. (February 2023)
  

Your investment in Food & Water Watch drives all the campaigns that have led to these incredible achievements. We don’t accept any corporate money, so these victories are entirely powered by you. Thank you for fighting like you live here!

Together we’ve made great strides toward sustainable food, clean and affordable water, and a livable climate for all. But we have so much more work to do. With the effects of climate change growing more severe by the day, there’s never been more at stake.

Your gift to Food & Water Watch strengthens our broad, historical movement of passionate and committed people like you who are willing to fight for what’s right and ensure a bright, bold future for generations to come.