August, 26 2010, 11:00am EDT
5th Annual New Orleans Katrina Commemoration March to Honor Lives Lost Due to Hurricane Katrina and a Call to Action for Environmental Reform in the Gulf Coast
Hip Hop Caucus, New Orleans Katrina Commemoration and National Wildlife Federation Team Up to Bring National Awareness for New Orleans' Continued Need for Economic Support and Restoration
NEW ORLEANS, La.
The New Orleans Katrina Commemoration Foundation, Hip Hop Caucus and
National Wildlife Federation have teamed up to organize the 5th Annual
New Orleans Katrina Commemoration March on Sunday, August 29, 2010.
3,000 New Orleans residents, local officials and entertainers are
anticipated for the ceremony which will include the reading of names
from those lost during Hurricane Katrina and a 3 mile March to remember
the lives of those lost during the tragic hurricane.
The Hip Hop Caucus, National Wildlife Federation and New Orleans Katrina
Commemoration Foundation organized the March to continue national
awareness to the injustices that took place during the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina which caused additional death and suffering and has
yet to be addressed. The March also calls for a comprehensive recovery
plan of the Gulf Coast which focuses on areas such as housing needs, job
placement, environment restoration and oil spill response amongst other
initiatives necessary to put New Orleans and the Gulf Coast on track
for recovery.
"The 5th Anniversary Katrina Commemoration March and Secondline is an
important ceremony we've built here in New Orleans to show the families
of victims and residents we have not forgotten about their struggle to
resume their lives," said Sess 4-5, Co Founder of the New Orleans
Katrina Commemoration Foundation. "It is vital for the American people
and government officials outside of New Orleans recognize our hardships
continue and we still need their help to get many families back home and
on their feet after this disaster."
"Five years have gone by and New Orleans has still not received the
necessary backing from the United States government to help restore this
city to prominence," stated Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr., President of the
Hip Hop Caucus. "It is vital the people of New Orleans and local
officials unite and demonstrate our communities are still in dire need
of assistance as well recognize and create an action plan to restore our
coast and protect New Orleans for future generations."
"The Katrina anniversary and oil spill are both wake up calls that we
need to restore Louisiana's coastal wetlands, which are nature's first
defense against storms, sea level rise and flooding," said National
Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger. "Restoring the
coastal wetlands will not only help protect the communities and
ecosystems in south Louisiana but also help the region recover from the
BP oil spill."
The commemoration events begin at 10:00 a.m. with the reading of the
names of our lost loved ones at the Lower 9th Ward Levee Breach at
Jourdan and North Galvez. Following the Healing Ceremony, at 10:45 a.m.
the March Secondline will begin through the streets of New Orleans and
conclude at 12:45 at Hunter's Field. From 12:45, the Commemoration
Program will begin with community members, local musicians, hip hop
artists, gospel choir and spoken word performances.
For more information on the Commemoration Events, please visit, www.HipHopCaucus.org or www.KatrinaCommemoration.org.
List of Endorsers for 5th Annual Katrina Commemoration and Secondline March
1SKY
2CENT ENTERTAINMENT
350.ORG
ADVOCATES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS
AFL-CIO
AFRICAN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALIST ASSOCIATION
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE PROTECTION,
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL FUND
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE
AMERICAN RIGHTS AT WORK
ANTI-RACISM WORKING GROUP
APOLLO ALLIANCE
ASANTE FOUNDATION
BENJAMIN FOUNDATION
BLACK LEADERSHIP FORUM
BLACK LOVE MOVEMENT
BLACK MEN UNITED
BLACKS IN GOVERNMENT
BLOWOUT CONSCIOUSNESS
BROTHER UMRANI
CATHOLIC CHARITIES
CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENT COMMERCE AND ENERGY
CHESAPEAKE CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK
CODE PINK
COMMITTEE TO RE-OPEN CHARITY
COMMON GROUND HEALTH CLINIC
COMMUNITY BOOK CENTER
COMMUNITY UNITED FOR CHANGE
CRAIGE CULTURAL CENTER
CRITICAL RESISTANCE
CRESCENT CITY ANTI-AUTHORITARIANS
DC GREENWORKS
DEEP SOUTH CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF MILWAUKEE COUNTY
DIARY FROM THE DOME
DREAMING OUT LOUD, INC.
EARLINE'S PRALINES
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE
FM 98.5
FEDERALLY EMPLOYED WOMEN
FINDING OUR FOLKS
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
FYRE YOUTH SQUAD
GET FRESH
GLOBAL EXCHANGE
GRASSROOTS AMERICA
GREEN DMV
GRIND FOR THE GREEN
GRINDSTAFF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
GRIS GRIS LAB
HEADCOUNT
HIGHLANDER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER
HIP HOP CAUCUS
HOT 8 BRASS BAND
HOT OFF DA PRESS PROMOTION
INDUSTRY INFLUENCE
IRON RAIL BOOK COLLECTIVE
JUNEBUG
JUVENILE JUSTICE PROJECT OF LOUISIANA
LEVI.ORG
LOUISIANA JUSTICE INSTITUTION
LOYOLA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
MALCOLM X GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE--NEW ORLEANS
MIKE B. DA GRINDA
OLD SKOOL 106.7 FM
N'COBRA
NATION OF ISLAM MOSQUE #42
NATIONAL BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS
NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF BLACK MAYORS
NATIONAL CONGRESS OF BLACK WOMEN
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN
NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
NEW ORLEANS WELFARE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
NOLA.TV
NUTHIN' BUT FIRE RECORDS
PEACE KEEPERS
PRAXIS PROJECT KATRINA INFORMATION NETWORK
POWER 102.9 FM
Q93.3 FM
RAINBOW PUSH COALITION
RS SECURITY INC
SESS 4-5
SAFE STREETS
SLAM NEW ORLEANS
SOJOURNER TRUTH COMMUNITY CENTER
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT NEW ORLEANS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
STAND WITH UNITY
STOOGES BRASS BAND
SURVIVORS VILLAGE
TAMBORINE AND FAN
THE FRUIT WIZARD
THE UPTOWN WING SHACK
TRANSAFRICA FORUM
TRUTH UNIVERSAL
TULANE UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM
UNITED TEACHERS OF NEW ORLEANS
UPTOWN WING SHACK
VITAMINWATER
WBOK 1230 AM
WILD WAYNE
YOUNG SINO
ZION TRINITY
LATEST NEWS
As Historic Heatwave Grips Europe, Coalition Says 'No to a Climate Law for Polluters'
"Will the European Commission propose a climate law that ends fossil fuel use and reflects the E.U.'s fair share of climate responsibility? Or will it choose political convenience?"
Jun 30, 2025
As yet another dangerous heatwave pushes temperatures well into the triple digits across much of Europe, climate defenders on Monday renewed calls for stronger action to combat the planetary emergency—including by ensuring that the impending European Climate Law ends fossil fuel use and eschews false solutions including international carbon offsetting.
Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain are among the countries where near- or record-high temperatures have been recorded. Portugal and Spain both recorded their hottest-ever June days over the weekend. El Granado in southwestern Spain saw the mercury soar to nearly 115°C (46°C) on Saturday. The heatwave is expected to continue into the middle of the week, with authorities warning of elevated wildfire risk and potential severe health impacts.
"Extreme heat is no longer a rare event—it has become the new normal," United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Sunday on social media. "I'm experiencing it firsthand in Spain during the Financing for Development Conference. The planet is getting hotter and more dangerous—no country is immune. We need more ambitious #ClimateAction now."
On Monday, Real Zero Europe—"a campaign calling on the European Union to deliver real emissions reductions and real solutions to the climate crisis, instead of corporate greenwashed 'net zero' targets"—published a call for an E.U. Climate Law that does not contain provisions for international carbon offsetting, in which countries or corporations compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions by funding projects that reduce emissions in other nations.
🔴 OUT NOW📢 69 NGOs call on the EU to deliver a Climate Law that rejects international carbon offsetting & Carbon Dioxide Removals (#CDR), commits to a full fossil fuel phase-out, and reflects Europe’s fair share of climate responsibility!Read the statement👇www.realzeroeurope.org/resources/st...
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— Real Zero Europe (@realzeroeurope.bsky.social) June 30, 2025 at 2:40 AM
A draft proposal of the legislation published Monday by Politico revealed that the European Commission will allow E.U. member states to outsource climate efforts to Global South nations staring in 2036, despite opposition from the 27-nation bloc's independent scientific advisory board. The outsourcing will enable the E.U. to fund emissions-reducing projects in developing nations and apply those reductions to Europe's own 2040 target—which is a 90% net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels.
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This heatwave is brutal. Temperatures above 40°C in June across France, Spain, Italy...We still hear from right-wing politicians that “it’s just summer.” It’s not. This is the climate crisis courtesy of the fossil fuels industry. It’s not normal.
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— European Greens (@europeangreens.eu) June 30, 2025 at 7:01 AM
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also addressed the European heatwave on Monday, saying that "the climate crisis is a human rights crisis."
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On Monday, the Senate kicked off a vote-a-rama process where senators can demand an unlimited number of votes on amendments to the reconciliation package.
While negotiations on the legislation are still ongoing, the version of the reconciliation bill that was narrowly advanced in the Senate on Saturday includes $29.85 billion for ICE to "remain available through September 30, 2029" for personnel recruitment, technology for "enforcement and removal operations," and other priorities. It also includes $45 billion "for single adult alien detention capacity and family residential center capacity," also available through the same period.
The bill text also includes $46.5 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to spend on border infrastructure, to remain available through September 30, 2029.
Journalist Nicolae Viorel Butler, who reports on immigration for the outlet Migrant Insider, reported on Sunday that all told the measure proposes in excess of $175 billion in "direct immigration-related funding for fiscal year 2025."
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This money would be a big addition on top of what these agencies already receive. For example, a National Immigration Forum explainer focused on the House version of the reconciliation package noted that $45 billion for ICE detention capacity constitutes an 800% increase in detention funding compared to fiscal year 2024.
"This is the level of funding where all the possibilities for American politics that have been described as hyperbolic over the past decades—the comparisons to Nazi Germany and other nightmares of the 20th century—become logistically possible and politically likely," wrote the philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò on Bluesky, commenting on the infusion of funding.
In every state, immigration arrests carried out by ICE have sharply increased. Also the number of those arrested and detained by ICE who have no criminal record is up more than 1,400% compared to a year ago, according to The Washington Post.
Increased funding for ICE and immigration enforcement is not the only part of the bill drawing scrutiny.
In May, nonpartisan budget scorekeepers said that the U.S. House of Representatives-passed version of the legislation would, if passed, cut household resources for the bottom 10% of Americans while delivering gains to the wealthiest in the form of tax breaks. Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, called the House version of the legislation the "the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in a single law in U.S. history."
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Fossil fuel companies have for decades "instilled doubt about the need to act on, and the viability of, renewables," said U.N. climate expert Elisa Morgera.
Jun 30, 2025
As health officials across Europe issued warnings Monday about extreme heat that could stretch into the middle of the week in several countries—the kind of dangerous conditions that meteorologists have consistently said are likely to grow more frequent due to human-caused climate change—a top United Nations climate expert told the international body in Geneva that the "defossilization" of all the world's economies is needed.
Elisa Morgera, the U.N. special rapporteur on climate change, presented her recent report on "the imperative of defossilizing our economies," with a focus on the wealthy countries that are projected to increase their extraction and use of fossil fuels despite the fact that "there is no scientific doubt that fossil fuels... are the main cause of climate change."
"Despite overwhelming evidence of the interlinked, intergenerational, severe, and widespread human rights impacts of the fossil fuel life cycle," said Morgera, "these countries have and are still accruing enormous profits from fossil fuels, and are still not taking decisive action."
World leaders must recognize the phase-out of fossil fuels "as the single most impactful health contribution" they could make, she argued.
Morgera named the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada as wealthy nations where governments are still handing out billions of dollars in subsidies to fossil fuel companies each year—direct payments, tax breaks, and other financial support whose elimination could reduce worldwide fossil fuel emissions by 10% by 2030, according to the report.
"These countries are responsible for not having prevented the widespread human rights harm arising from climate change and other planetary crises we are facing—biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, and economic inequalities—caused by fossil fuels extraction, use, and waste," said Morgera.
She also pointed to the need to "defossilize knowledge" by holding accountable the companies that have spent decades denying their own scientists' knowledge that continuing to extract oil, coal, and gas would heat the planet and cause catastrophic sea-level rise, hurricanes, flooding, and dangerous extreme heat, among other weather disasters.
Defossilizing information systems, said Morgera, would mean protecting "human rights in the formation of public opinion and democratic debate from undue commercial influence" and correcting decades of "information distortions" that have arisen from the public's ongoing exposure to climate disinformation at the hands of fossil fuel giants, the corporate media, and climate-denying politicians.
Morgera said states should prohibit all fossil fuel industry lobbying, which companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron spent more than $153 million last year in the U.S. alone—with spending increasing each year since 2020, according to OpenSecrets.
"More recent research has documented climate obstruction—intentional delaying efforts, including through media ownership and influence, waged against efforts for effective climate action aligned with the current scientific consensus," wrote Morgera. "Fossil fuel companies' lobbyists have increased their influence in public policy spaces internationally... and at the national level, to limit regulations and enforcement. They have instilled doubt about the need to act on, and the viability of, renewables, and have promoted speculative or ineffective solutions that present additional lock-in risks and higher costs."
While a transition to a renewable energy-based economy has been portrayed by the fossil fuel industry and its supporters in government as "radical," such a transition "is now cheaper and safer for our economics and a healthier option for our societies," Morgera toldThe Guardian on Monday.
"The transition can also lead to significant savings of taxpayer money that is currently going into responding to climate change impacts, saving health costs, and also recouping lost tax revenue from fossil fuel companies," she said. "This could be the single most impactful health contribution we could ever make. The transition seems radical and unrealistic because fossil fuel companies have been so good at making it seem so."
In addition to lobbying bans, said Morgera, governments around the world must ban fossil fuel advertising and criminalize "misinformation and misrepresentation (greenwashing) by the fossil fuel industry" as well as media and advertising firms that have amplified the industry's disinformation and misinformation.
Several countries have taken steps toward meeting Morgera's far-reaching demands, with The Hague in the Netherlands introducing a municipal ordinance in 2023 banning fossil fuel ads, the Australian Green Party backing such a ban, and Western Australia implementing one.
The fossil fuel industry's "playbook of climate obstruction"—from lobbying at national policymaking summits like the annual U.N. Climate Change Conference to downplaying human rights impacts like destructive storms and emphasizing the role of fossil fuels in "economic growth"—has "undermined the protection of all human rights that are negatively impacted by climate change for over six decades," said Morgera.
Morgera pointed to three ways in which states' obligations under international humanitarian laws underpin the need for a fossil fuel phaseout by 2030:
- The survival of states that contributed minimally to climate change is impaired by loss of territory to sea-level rise and/or protracted unsafe climatic conditions;
- People are substantially deprived of their means of subsistence because of the severe deterioration of entire ecosystems due to climate change due to flooding, drought, and extreme heat; and
- The cultural survival of the populations of small island developing states, Indigenous peoples, people of African descent, peasants and small-scale fishers is impaired by loss of territories, protracted unsafe climatic conditions and/or severe ecosystem degradation.
Morgera's report was presented as more than a third of Tuvaluans applied for a visa to move to Australia under a new climate deal between the two countries, as the Pacific island is one of the most vulnerable places on Earth to rising sea levels and severe storms.
Morgera said that fossil fuel industry's impact on the human rights of people across the Global South—who have contributed little to the worsening of the climate emergency—"compels urgent defossilization of our whole economies, as part of a just, effective, and transformative transition."Keep ReadingShow Less
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