Adam Beitman, adam.beitman@sierraclub.org or 202-670-5585
St. Petersburg, FL -- Communities spanning the entire state of Florida, in Puerto Rico, in Georgia and the Carolinas, and throughout the Caribbean have suffered through Hurricane Irma just weeks after unprecedented devastation throughout the Gulf from Hurricane Harvey.
In response to Hurricane Irma, Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director Frank Jackalone released the following statement:
“Our hearts are with the people of Florida, the Southeast, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean who have had their lives jolted and reshaped by this tragic storm. Our spirit and prayers are with the first responders who are doing their best to keep those who need urgent assistance safe and secure.
“Irma has wrought serious destruction in Florida, with devastation in the Keys and U.S. Virgin Islands, and floods and power outages up and down the state on both coasts. In Georgia and the Carolinas, homes have been flooded and destroyed. Many in Puerto Rico may be without power for months on end, and the environmental crisis brought by the storm there is layered on top of the unjust austerity crisis already striking the island. Communities and nations across the Caribbean that have been destroyed need all the help we can contribute.
“The unprecedented storms of the past few weeks demand that we ensure a just and comprehensive recovery for those affected that leaves no one behind.
“Sierra Club is carefully monitoring EPA's open ended permission to pollute, given to utilities at the request of Florida Governor Rick Scott. Any relaxation of environmental regulations to quickly restore electric power or protect public safety should use a precise scalpel, not a butcher knife. Federal and State regulators must not further harm victims of Hurricane Irma by indiscriminately gutting environmental safeguards and giving Florida utilities blanket permission to poison our air and water.
“The climate crisis hits low-income communities and communities of color the hardest, and our rebuilding efforts should be focused on ensuring that they are lifted up on the long road to recovery, not pushed aside. We must act now to tackle the climate crisis which it is changing our climate, heating our oceans, and creating stronger and more deadly monster storms like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.