Undam the Klamath and Trinity Rivers

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My advocacy group has been researching the effects of the dams on the ecosystem of Northern California’s rivers, and the way that this is affecting local tribes. I am proud to know many people who have advocated for the removal of these dams, including family members and friends who live on the Klamath River and have been involved in protests and projects to spread awareness. I am also thankful that I had the opportunity in the past to attend video showings and rallies aimed at gaining support. Check out this video for a glimpse of what the protests have looked like.  Here is another awesome video made by Yurok Youth voicing their concerns about the fish kills. Here is a PSA made to raise support.  And here is another powerful video of people addressing Warren Buffet about the dams, calling the dams cultural genocide. This is a really important topic that affects many local people, and I urge everybody to check out the Riverkeeper’s website and follow the link to sign the petition and find other ways to get involved!Klamath

Advocacy Project

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For our advocacy project, our group chose to investigate policy surrounding Water Rights for the Hoopa people and how the Klamath and Trinity Dams have impacted the health of the river.  Current policy surrounding water rights includes Prop 1, which Hoopa people were strongly opposed to and which unfortunately just passed on the ballot. Another bill on the table which is running out of time in Congress is the Klamath pact, which would ratify dam removal and conservation funding. The Klamath Riverkeeper also has a ton of information on the history of the dams, water rights, and the effect on the ecosystem. This is a short video that shows what the Trinity River looked like before and after water release. This is just a snippet of the policy we will address in our presentation.advocacy

Missing Voter Registrations of 40,000 Georgia Citizens

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40,000 voter registration forms have mysteriously gone missing from the public database and the Superior Court judge refuses to intervene. The missing forms are primarily from people of minority status and youth, who could have swayed the vote to the Left, but have now lost that Constitutional right. This act of ‘stealing the vote’ is incredibly outraging to say the least.  Check out this article for more information.

Persisting Racial Inequality in the US

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This article reminded me of the discussion we had at the end of class on Thursday about how some white people take it very personally when they see people of minority status holding protest signs demanding equal rights. “The truth is that injustice is easy not to notice when it affects people different from ourselves; that helps explain the obliviousness of our own generation to inequity today. We need to wake up.”

Passions/Anxieties

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I chose this song to represent both my passions and anxieties when thinking about public policy and the current state of our country.  I think John Mayer makes a good point that “it’s hard to beat the system,” however, I am disturbed by his solution, which is that we simply “wait for the world to change.”  As we have seen throughout history, the world is not going to change unless we as a people take action.  This song addresses my anxiety about a mindset that too many people have taken on, at times, myself included.  But I am not going to wait for the world to change; as Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world, and that is what I intend to do through my work with children and communities.