Author: Ecosocialist Working Group of DSA San Diego

Thank you to all of the kind folks who visited our booth at the 2022 EarthFair! It was a pleasure speaking with you about the work we do and the momentous task ahead of us – organizing working people to address the climate crisis.

If you want to learn more about us, the work we do, and how to get involved, we have a special new member orientation scheduled for Saturday, April 30th at 2:00 PM. Register here.

If you want to stay informed on what we’re doing, you can sign up for email updates here.

You can also find a list of upcoming events on our Events Calendar.

If you decide you’d like to become a […]

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Public schools across the nation have suffered from decades of disinvestment, redlining and cycles of poverty and trauma. The Green New Deal for Public Schools Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to meet the moment and prioritize our students. Every student, regardless of background, should be able to enjoy clean air and learn in a safe school environment, free from mold or broken windows. The Democratic Socialists of America launched our Green New Deal for Public Schools (GND4PS) campaign to support this act nationally, with DSA San Diego supporting the effort locally.

The ambitious new legislation — which aims to invest $1.43 trillion over 10 years in public schools and infrastructure to combat climate change — would make a transformative and […]

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Sent by email to each member 5/23

To the president, president pro tem, and members of the San Diego City Council,

On Tuesday, May 25, you will cast your votes on the proposed energy and gas franchise agreements with SDG&E, shepherded by Mayor Todd Gloria. As we have requested in communications across multiple media and as you’ve heard from hundreds of our members, the Democratic Socialists of America San Diego chapter urges you to vote no. Those of you who have already committed to vote against the agreement – we respect and appreciate your conviction. To those who are not yet decided, we urge you to consider the inescapable contradictions posed by signing a 10-20 year binding agreement with an […]

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The Mayor’s office is pushing forward a plan that would mean 20 more years of SDG&E – a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, a multinational fossil fuel conglomerate – as the utility with exclusive rights to provide San Diego’s electric and gas services.

Under SDG&E, San Diegans pay the highest rates for electricity in the continental US, while SDG&E rakes in hundreds of millions in profit per year. With SDG&E as our utility, there is no chance of San Diego taking the decisive action required to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

Thankfully, City Council can put a stop to this deal. This is where you come in – we need YOU to send a message to your council member, […]

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The City of San Diego’s 50-year franchise agreement with SDG&E for electric and gas services  is set to expire in June. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity to change the direction of San Diego’s energy future, to turn away from a private company owned by a fossil fuel conglomerate, towards a publicly owned and operated utility responsive to the people’s demands for lower utility bills, climate justice, and clean energy.

We don’t want a new franchise agreement with any private company – so we need our City Council members to vote NO on any bids, and to start working on establishing a public energy utility immediately!

For more information on how to take action, visit https://dsasandiego.org/energy-democracy

Thursday, July 16, 2020, San Diego City Council’s Environment Committee will hold a public comment meeting regarding San Diego’s energy franchise agreement with utility grid operators. Below you can find background information and recommended comments for the event:

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DSA San Diego’s Energy Democracy Campaign Committee sent the below letter to the San Diego City Council and city attorney on Sunday, July 12th, 2020.

Dear Council President Gomez and members of San Diego City Council,

As the coordinating committee of DSA San Diego’s Energy Democracy campaign, we write with great frustration over the unfolding process for the City to ratify a new franchise agreement for operation of the City of San Diego’s energy utility(ies). It is unclear how thoroughly each council member has been briefed on the process, as the Environment Committee has not convened since the last official milestone, publication of expressions of interest in utility operation. At that time, DSA San Diego submitted a letter describing our […]

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In May, our Energy Democracy campaign was designated a priority campaign by the chapter. The timing couldn’t be better. Energy Democracy is a movement across the country to convert privately owned energy utilities into public management and ownership, and to bring greater transparency and accountability to municipal utilities and rural energy cooperatives. The need to transition to renewables is too urgent to let corporate shareholders and fossil fuel lobbyists call the shots – public power is a public good, essential for climate justice.

SDG&E is owned by Sempra Energy, whose primary business is storing and shipping fracked natural gas. Sempra operates massive operations in Ensenada and Louisiana, and is building a new terminal on Texas’ gulf coast. Our Energy Democracy […]

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This week, DSA San Diego submitted the below letter to the City of San Diego in response to their Request for Expressions of Interest in the city’s Franchise for Electric and Gas Services, calling for a publicly owned utility for gas and electric services in San Diego.

This letter was submitted as a part of DSA San Diego’s campaign for energy democracy in San Diego County.

Re: Request for Expressions of Interest for Gas & Electric Services (1/21/20)

Dear Mr. Lee Friedman, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Council President Gomez, and Members of the San Diego City Council,

While most Americans receive power from private companies, most utility companies in the United States are publicly owned. The largest is the Los Angeles […]

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SAVE THE DATE – On September 8 DSA San Diego will join thousands of people marching locally and around the world in the Rise for Climate day of action, demanding immediate action on climate change. As proponents of ecosocialism, we hold there is no such thing as a capitalist solution to a crisis caused by the most world’s most affluent economies, and that real action means dismantling the global capitalist order and promoting just, ecologically sensible society in its place.

Activities begin 10:00 a.m. in Civic Center Plaza with a rally and short march to South Embarcadero Park. Join us and represent!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/159600528190342/

Rise for Climate website: https://rise4climate.org