Happy Earth Day! Now Let’s Mobilize!
A lot has happened since the very first Earth Day in April, 1970. At that time there was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, and no Clean Water Act. There were few, if any, legal remedies for protecting our environment here on planet Earth. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin founded Earth Day as part of an effort to make conservation a national priority. Twenty million citizens started a movement, demonstrating throughout the U.S. These actions led to bipartisan legislation forming the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December, 1972.
Now, over 50 years later, where are we? According, to the EPA, Alabama still has a long way to go to address environmental injustice. The EPA’s environmental justice mapping tool shows Alabama with the largest area of populations experiencing cancer at elevated rates.
(source: https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/)
The Biden Administration must enact new rules that reduce the contamination of air and water quality. Simultaneously, Congress must pass the THRIVE Act, making investments in projects across the country to create 15 million good jobs, cut climate emissions in half by 2030, and invest in communities most impacted by systemic racism and environmental injustice. (See: https://www.sierraclub.org/trade/thrive-agenda)
We need to do our part to end the toxic contamination of Alabamians as we mobilize to defend our planet.
As melting glaciers fall into a warmer and rising ocean, more powerful and more frequent hurricanes also threaten the Gulf Coast. Around the world coal is being phased out as we transition to renewable energy more than three times as fast as what was considered possible just a few years ago. In Alabama, the Sierra Club is doing our part by advocating for a transition away from dirty fuels such as coal which poison communities and harm our beloved wild spaces. But we could do a lot more.
Now, more than ever, our planet Earth is speaking to us. Every tree, every forest, every mangrove, every ocean reef, and every threatened species is speaking out.
We need you to get involved! Help us preserve nature and heal our communities. Join a committee, sign a petition, plant a tree, make a donation – do all four! If you want to play a role in the struggle for clean water, clean air, and the biodiversity that we depend on then please join one of the Alabama Chapter’s Teams here: https://www.sierraclub.org/alabama/outings
You are also welcome to start a Team if there is another issue that you are passionate about. You can find our Chapter leaders here: https://www.sierraclub.org/alabama/contacts
After all, reward comes stitched into the seam of sacrifice where future generations apprehensively wait hoping to celebrate Earth Day - just as we have done for decades.