Posted on January 9, 2019
Tuesday Tip: Top 7 New Year’s Resolutions to Help Fight Climate Change
Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! Here at CREDO, we’re looking ahead to what we can do to make positive change for our communities, our environment, and our world.
To get you off on the right foot, here are seven simple, yet powerful New Year’s resolutions you can make to improve our planet, starting today.
Drive less
Climate change is no longer an abstract threat. Experts are now predicting a full-blown climate crisis within the next few decades unless we take immediate action to reverse our carbon emissions. And we’re seeing devastating impacts already in the form of wildfires, droughts, extreme heat and superstorms.
You can do a lot by driving less. Cars and trucks are responsible for around one-fifth of all emissions in the United States, coughing out an average of 24 pounds of CO2 and other global-warming gases for every gallon of fuel they burn. So this year, resolve to take public transit, carpool or ride a bike. If you like to cycle, read our post on how to start biking to work.
Volunteer one day a month
It’s not your imagination. Everyone really does have less time these days. And that leaves fewer hours for self-fulfilling activities like volunteering. But if you can make the time, you’ll be glad you did. Volunteers don’t just contribute to their communities, they enjoy numerous personal benefits.
You can volunteer at a local school or shelter, take part in a park or beach cleanup (find one here) or sign up to be a docent at the museum or zoo. To find a volunteer opportunity near you, check out VolunteerMatch or United Way.
Take grassroots action
As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Sign a petition, call a decision-maker, send a letter. A good place to start is CREDO Action. You can even pressure Congress to support a Green New Deal (click here to sign the petition).
Avoid plastic
You surely know that plastic is choking our environment. But you may not know how bad the problem is. Here’s how bad: By the year 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This is a significant contributor to the threat of marine species collapse, which could come as soon as the year 2048. That’s bad.
You can help by resolving not to buy products packaged in plastic whenever you can. Take your own canvas tote to the store. Bring a mug to the cafe. Don’t use straws. Participate in Plastic Free July.
A personal-health note on plastic: you probably have microplastics in your body, and this is almost certainly not good for you. Exposure to plastics has been linked to cancer, birth defects, lowered immunity, endocrine disruption, and other health problems. One way to avoid plastic is to get a non-plastic water bottle. Read our post on alternatives.
Eat less (or no) meat
There are a lot of good reasons to eat less meat. You’ll make a major contribution to the health of our planet. Animal agriculture uses 56 percent of the water in the United States – the production of a single hamburger requires 660 gallons of water, which is enough for two months of showers. Livestock and their byproducts are responsible for over half of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, more than all forms of transportation combined.
Reduce your waste
Our planet has a huge garbage problem. People now produce more than 2 billion tons of waste each year, most of which is buried, burned or dumped in the ocean. The average American tosses out three and a half pounds of the stuff every day. An astonishing 99 percent of everything we buy ends up in the trash within six months.
To help, you can resolve to reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose and refuse to buy products that harm the environment. It actually does work. Sweden, for example, recycles almost 100 percent of its household waste and now imports waste to keep its recycling plants in operation.
Read our post on four easy ways you can reduce your own household waste.
Join CREDO
Switch your phone service to CREDO Mobile and your home electricity to CREDO Energy. You’ll power progressive change in the world just by doing what you do every day of the year because we donate to environmental organizations who are fighting the climate crisis every day. Take a look at who we fund and vote for the organizations we should fund this month.
Posted on January 8, 2019
Free Posters to Download for the Women’s March on January 19
Need posters for the Women’s March on January 19th? CREDO has you covered! You can download a high-resolution PDF of any of our posters for free! We look forward to being a part of the #WomensWave with you.
CREDO’s Women’s March Poster Slogan Winner
The winner of CREDO’s poster slogan contest is Christine D. with her slogan, “Equality has no gender.”
Equality Has No Gender poster download (5.55MB)
Brand New 2019 Women’s March Posters
Gender = Racial = Economic Equality poster download (30MB)
Download The Only Body poster (44.7MB)
Download Trust Women poster (21298_trustwomen.61MB)
Download Grace Lee Boggs poster (56.4MB)
Classic CREDO Women’s Equality Posters
Download Feminism is Another Word for Equality (2MB)
Download Women’s Rights = Human Rights poster (1MB)
Posted on January 8, 2019
How CREDO members’ support helped the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other progressive groups
Since our founding, CREDO has supported progressive nonprofits on the frontlines of the most important fights for civil rights, climate justice, equality and more. The donations we make to these organizations wouldn’t be possible without our members. And that’s why we want to share with you what our recent grantees have accomplished with their CREDO funding. Here’s how your support has helped the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Rainforest Action Network, Detention Watch Network and the Brennan Center for Justice.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
After receiving CREDO’s May grant of $43,005, EFF, in partnership with the ACLU, won its lawsuit arguing that the First and Fourth Amendments require border officers to get a warrant before searching our electronic devices.The court rejected the government’s motion to dismiss the case, signaling that the government’s invasion of people’s digital privacy causes constitutional concerns.
Rainforest Action Network
After receiving its $52,905 CREDO grant, RAN and partners launched a new U.S. campaign, “Insure our Future,” with the short-term goal of stopping U.S. insurance–company support for coal and tar sands and the longer-term goal to stop insurance-sector support for all fossil fuel expansion. RAN also stood with Indigenous & frontline communities during the Global Climate Action Summit in September to publicly condemn California state leadership’s lenient regulations for big oil and gas companies.
Detention Watch Network
Since receiving its recent $46,350 CREDO grant, DWN launched its new Communities Not Cages campaign, which works with local partners to prevent potential detention expansion and the spread of immigration detention and fights to shut down existing detention facilities.
Brennan Center Justice
CREDO’s $60,625 grant supported a critical Brennan Center for Justice campaign to fight voter disenfranchisement in Florida. Its work, in partnership with other local activists and policymakers, helped successfully pass Proposition 4 during the midterm election, which restored voting rights to more than 1.4 million people with past convictions in the state.
You can learn more about how previous grantees have used CREDO’s funding here. These efforts by our partners were made possible in part by the CREDO members who use our products and services everyday. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement today.
Posted on January 8, 2019
Victory: Cyntoia Brown granted clemency
Activism can help tip the scales of justice: Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam granted clemency to Cyntoia Brown.
In 2004, Brown was a 16-year old whose adult boyfriend was trafficking her for sex. When she killed a man who had hired her for sex – because she thought he was going to shoot her – the state of Tennessee charged her with murder, tried her as an adult and sentenced her to life in prison, even though it should have considered her a victim of sex trafficking.
This victory would not have been possible without massive, sustained organizing. Black women led the charge and drew in celebrities as well as groups like the ACLU and the NAACP. More than 56,000 CREDO members signed our petition and added their voices to the fight.
Cyntoia Brown “should have never seen the inside of a cage, ” said Brittany Paschall, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Nashville, adding that the victory is “a glimpse into a world in which all Black lives matter, a world in which Black women and girls are free.”
Thank you for helping to make that world possible.
Posted on January 8, 2019
Tuesday Tip: 3 Ways to Limit Your Facebook Data Usage
Overage charges. Like parking tickets and Sean Hannity, they’re one of those annoyances in life that we try to avoid. One way you can avoid overage charges on your bill is to limit data usage by apps like Facebook, which is one of the hungriest apps on your phone.
Normal use of the Facebook app—browsing your News Feed and looking at photos—consumes about 1.5MB per minute. Watching videos on Facebook uses around 2.6MB per minute. Spend 45 minutes a day on the Facebook app and it’ll cost you over 2GB of data in a month, which does not include the data the app drains while it runs in the background.
Here’s how to see exactly how much data the Facebook app is using on your phone. On your Android device, open Settings and select Data usage. You’ll see a graph that shows your monthly data usage and, below the graph, data usage by Facebook and other apps. On your iPhone or iPad, open Settings and select Cellular. Scroll down to view your data usage and scroll down a bit more to see data usage by Facebook and other apps.
If you’d like to limit the data your Facebook app uses, here are three steps you can take.
1. Stop videos from playing automatically in your News Feed
You can adjust your Facebook app’s autoplay settings to On, WiFi only or Off. If you choose WiFi only or Off, you’ll use less data.
To adjust the autoplay settings on your Android device:
- Open your Facebook app
- Tap the menu icon
- Scroll down and tap App settings
- Tap Autoplay
- Choose the option you prefer.
(If you don’t see the Autoplay setting on your Android device, log out of the Facebook app. When you log back in, Autoplay should be visible in App settings.)
To adjust the autoplay settings on your Apple device:
- Open your Facebook app
- Tap the menu icon
- Scroll down and tap Settings
- (you may need to tap “Settings & Privacy to expand the menu first)
- Tap Videos and photos
- (If you don’t see Videos and photos in your iPhone or iPad’s Facebook app settings, try updating your Facebook app.)
- Tap Autoplay. Choose the option you prefer.
2. Use the Facebook Lite app
Facebook Lite is a slimmed-down app developed to provide a more data-efficient Facebook experience. It uses over 90% less space on your phone, as well as less RAM and less CPU. It also uses considerably less data than the full-fledged app—yet it offers almost all the same features. The primary difference is the simplified interface.
You can download Facebook Lite to your Android device from the Google Play Store. There is not yet a version for iPhone or iPad.
3. Use WiFi whenever possible
This advice applies to all the apps on your phone. Using WiFi instead of mobile data will, obviously, save you a lot of data. Just go to Settings, tap WiFi and turn it on.
Posted on January 2, 2019
Our December grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups supporting progressive economic policies, standing up to the Trump administration and fighting for the rights of immigrants. In December, over 69,000 CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Americans for Tax Fairness, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action and Cosecha.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our November grant recipients thank you.
Americans for Tax Fairness
$70,095
“Thanks so much for your support! CREDO members help make it possible for us to amplify the voices of our hundreds of thousands of online members and our organizational partners to create an economy that works for all of us.” To learn more, visit americansfortaxfairness.org.
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
$39,480
“Bend the Arc: Jewish Action is proud and honored to partner with CREDO to turn up the volume of the Jewish community’s voice for a more just, fair and compassionate America.” To learn more, visit bendthearc.us.
Cosecha
$40,425
“Thank you for your support and leadership in these emotional times. As a funder of Cosecha you are instrumental in supporting undocumented families everywhere, and a big part of the fight for permanent protection for all undocumented people in the United States.” To learn more, visit lahuelga.com.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in January, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on January 2, 2019
Vote for these three progressive groups this January
Every month, CREDO members vote for how we distribute our monthly donation among three great progressive groups. This month, you can support civil rights, peace and women’s rights by voting for Color Of Change, Win Without War and Women’s March.
Color Of Change
As a national online force driven by over 1.4 million members, Color Of Change designs campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back and champions solutions that move us all forward, until justice is real.
Funding from CREDO members will help Color Of Change fight against racist voter suppression proposals in North Carolina through corporate accountability campaigns calling on Apple and Amazon to reject North Carolina’s bids for their headquarters unless the state’s proposed policies are withdrawn.
Win Without War
Win Without War knows our progressive values don’t stop at our borders. The organization unites people-powered campaigns and advocacy with a national partner network to reject violence-first U.S. foreign policies and build a more peaceful and just world.
As the 2020 campaign begins to heat up, Win Without War believes it will be essential to not simply wait on candidates to define their positions but to make clear what progressives demand and expect on foreign policy. A grant from CREDO members would help the organization support an initiative aimed at defining a bold, principled progressive foreign policy vision ahead of the 2020 elections.
Women’s March
Women’s March harnesses the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change. It is a women-led movement providing intersectional education on and mobilization for a diverse range of issues.
Support from CREDO members will help Women’s March continue to build out its programmatic offerings in all 50 states, specifically supporting its women’s agenda, an intersectional policy agenda that is being co-created by a diverse group of 65 individuals and organizations who are policy experts on the issues our unity principles address.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by January 31.
CREDO members who use our products everyday are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on December 25, 2018
Tuesday Tip: 12 Progressive Nonprofits to Support in 2019
The holidays are a time of giving—and a good time to choose progressive nonprofits you’d like to support in the year ahead.
The giving is the easy part because you know your donations can help these groups do vital work and make the progressive change our world needs right now. The hard part is choosing where to give, but since we donate to 36 amazing progressive groups every year, we have a few suggestions!
The 12 groups below are a short list of some of the great groups we’ve donated to in just the last few years – nearly $4 million in total.
This list is by no means exhaustive – we’re grateful for every progressive group we help fund! Read on to learn more about these groups and click here to see the complete list of groups we donated to in 2018.
We hope you’ll find one, two, or even more groups that you’re excited to support in 2019.
12 progressive nonprofits to support in 2019
Bold Alliance is a network of local groups in rural states that works to protect land and water from dirty fossil fuel projects while supporting clean energy solutions, protecting landowners from eminent domain abuse, and building an engaged base of citizens who care about the land, water, and climate change.
We’ve donated $121,768 to Bold Alliance since 2013.
The Brennan Center for Justice holds our political institutions and laws accountable to the ideals of democracy and equal justice. They fight for checks and balances, voting rights, fair courts, and an end to mass incarceration.
We’ve donated $340,415 to the Brennan Center for Justice since 2007.
Center for Popular Democracy builds power to ensure our country embodies our vision of an inclusive, equitable society where people of color, immigrants, working families, women, and LGBTQ communities thrive together.
We’ve donated $54,300 to Center for Popular Democracy since 2018.
Earthjustice wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat climate change. They are here because the Earth needs a good lawyer.
We’ve donated $809,309 to Earthjustice since 1998.
Fight for the Future defends the internet from the NSA, cable giants, and corrupt politicians. From saving net neutrality to beating back censorship and spying, they’re fighting for the future of free speech.
We’ve donated $96,134 to Fight for the Future since 2015.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance is working for improved conditions for domestic workers in the United States while building a powerful movement led by women in low-wage jobs, many of whom are women of color and immigrant women.
We’ve donated $94,788 to the National Domestic Workers Alliance since 2015.
Planned Parenthood provides expert nurses, doctors, educators, and health center staff who bring high-quality, affordable reproductive and healthcare services to every member of the communities in which they work. Its health centers offer a wide range of confidential, safe, professional care. One in five women in the U.S. has chosen Planned Parenthood for healthcare at least once in her life.
We’ve donated over $3.4 million to Planned Parenthood since 1985.
Social Security Works leads the fight to expand and improve Social Security and Medicare and lower drug prices. It works to safeguard the economic security of those dependent—today and tomorrow—on Social Security and to maintain Social Security as a vehicle for social justice.
We’ve donated over $504,597 to Social Security Works since 2013.
Transgender Law Center changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically and free from discrimination, regardless of their gender identity or expression. The largest U.S. trans-led organization advocating self-determination, it employs community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender-nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation.
We’ve donated $34,470 to Transgender Law Center since 2018.
UltraViolet is a powerful community of people mobilized to fight sexism and create a more inclusive world that accurately represents all women, from politics and government to media and pop culture. Its fast-growing network drives feminist cultural and political change and works to improve the lives of women and girls of all identities and backgrounds and all people impacted by sexism.
We’ve donated $168,661 to Ultraviolet since 2014.
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. It works to help undocumented people transform the discrimination they face—and the fear they feel—into finding a voice. It empowers them to develop their leadership and organizing skills and to develop their own campaigns to fight for justice and dignity, for immigrants, and all people.
We’ve donated $165,187 to United We Dream since 2013.
Win Without War is a coalition of groups committed to helping build a better, juster, and more peaceful world by advancing progressive alternatives to America’s over-militarized foreign policy. It supports the foreign policy and anti-militarism work of the diverse array of progressive organizations that make up its coalition, a movement working to shift U.S. foreign policy toward peace.
We’ve donated $57,123 to Win Without War since 2017.
Click here to donate to one, two or all of these great groups.
Made possible by CREDO members
All of the money we’ve donated to the nonprofits above—and to the hundreds of nonprofits we’ve funded over the years—is made possible by our members, who generate millions of dollars in contributions for progressive nonprofits annually just by using our products and services. These donations cost our members nothing extra. But they mean everything to the groups we support.
If you’re not already a member of CREDO Mobile or CREDO Energy, please think about joining in 2019 and making a positive difference in the world every day of the year.
Posted on December 19, 2018
Victory: Scandal-plagued Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke resigns
Activism works. Thanks to more than 114,000 CREDO activists and massive public pressure by our progressive allies, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke resigned amid multiple scandals that plagued his tenure at the department.
Zinke has faced more than a dozen federal investigations into shady business dealings and unethical behavior, including violations of federal law, misuse of taxpayer money, threats to a sitting senator, illegal use of a private jet, the removal of references to climate change in scientific reports and multiple violations of the Hatch Act.
From the beginning, Zinke, who was the most prominent enemy of public lands in the Trump regime, was never fit to run Interior Department, let alone any agency in the federal government. But thanks in part to the activism of CREDO members, another corrupt Trump administration official was forced to resign.
Posted on December 14, 2018
Climate change is worse than we thought. Here’s what you can do.
The recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reaffirmed our worst fears: Climate change is progressing much faster than we all thought, and our planet is headed for catastrophe if governments and individuals don’t take drastic action now.
Without a major transformation of the global economy, the UN panel found that, as soon as 2040, the earth could experience devastating food shortages and famine, coral reef die-offs, more devastating wildfires, increased poverty and massive population migrations that could lead to armed conflict, with “no documented historic precedent.”
While scientists previously believed the worst impacts of climate change would come when the earth’s temperature rose 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the report found that a change in just 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit would trigger catastrophic disasters across the globe in just a little over 20 years time.
We’re already seeing the devastating effects of climate change now. Melting glaciers and polar ice. Sea level rise. Sinking land and eroding coasts. Ocean acidification. Rising global temperatures. More extreme wildfires and more intense hurricanes.
The IPCC believes stabilizing global temperatures will “require unprecedented efforts to cut fossil-fuel use in half in less than 15 years and eliminate their use almost entirely in 30 years,” which is made all the more difficult given the current anti-environment, pro-fossil fuel administration here in the United States, one of largest energy consumers and polluters in the world. Donald Trump packed his administration with climate deniers and fossil fuel executives, withdrew us from the Paris climate agreement and has begun dismantling the Clean Power Plan, so it appears unlikely the Trump administration will heed the warning, particularly when Trump himself has called climate change a “hoax.”
So in the face of such dire warnings, what can we do? In addition to a restructuring of the global economy and swift action by governments across the globe, we can do our part to pressure lawmakers, change our daily habits and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
First, we must keep up the pressure on the Trump administration and our elected officials to address the climate crisis immediately. That means rejoining the Paris agreement, reinstating the Clean Power Plan, stopping fossil fuel infrastructure projects, passing legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fighting for climate justice and tightening regulations on the fossil fuel industry. Right now, CREDO activists are taking action to stop coal exports at military bases, prevent Trump’s weakening of environmental regulations and preserving rules regarding methane emissions.
Second, we can do our part in our daily lives to reduce our impact. Even though many in our current government are putting their heads in the sand, we must take it upon ourselves to act until we elect new leaders who will. For example, we can reduce our waste, bike to work, eat less meat, plant trees and reduce our energy consumption.
Third, we must begin transitioning to clean, renewable sources of energy now. To keep our planet from hitting the catastrophic 2.7 degree threshold, the IPCC believes we must increase renewable energy production from sources like solar and wind, which accounts for roughly 20 percent of our current consumption, to as much as 67 percent.
Here at CREDO, we’re helping to make the transition to renewable energy a top priority and easy for consumers. With CREDO Energy, you can offset your home’s electricity usage with renewable energy credits to give you access to clean, sustainably produced electricity.
And with CREDO Energy, you will be powering progressive change, because we give to progressive causes fighting for the environment and climate justice, civil rights, women’s rights and more.
