Kelly Sheehan Martin
It has been an incredible week in the fight to move beyond dirty fuels. Watching the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline get canceled and the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines delayed into 2021, all in the span of just two days, felt like a culmination of years of relentless advocacy.
These victories are built through years of organizing, litigation, raising and sharing resources, building long-lasting partnerships, and investing in the momentum of the grassroots.
Across the country, we have worked in partnership with Indigenous allies and frontline communities, landowners, and climate justice activists. Together, we’ve built power strong enough to take on the power of the fossil fuel industry.
Our coalitions have challenged these destructive proposed projects every step of the way—by writing letters, protesting in the streets, holding agencies accountable in court to uphold environmental laws, and making our case in corporate boardrooms and the halls of Congress and statehouses.
It has been inspiring to be part of a movement that makes the impossible happen and that successfully fights back against a powerful, well-funded industry. I’m humbled by the opportunity to play my part to lead the Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign to demand climate justice and an end to fossil fuels, leveraging the strengths and power of the Sierra Club to invest and support an unstoppable movement.
It’s far past time to address environmental injustice and confront the climate crisis. The wins of this past week are proof that it can be done—now let’s keep going!