Photo courtesy of whitehouse.gov
It’s hard to hold the devastation in the world right now. We continue to grapple with an ongoing global pandemic. A power-hungry autocratic leader has invaded a sovereign nation. And we all continue to face the interlocking crises of climate change, racial injustice, and an economy that’s set up for the elite few instead of working Americans.
But our movement to bring about a livable future for all continues. The last two weeks have brought a number of major developments:
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In late February, President Biden made a historic nomination to the Supreme Court in Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated. Her profound legal and professional experience lends us great confidence that she will make a tremendous justice. Join us in urging the Senate to swiftly confirm her.
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Last Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a case that could have devastating impacts on our ability to fight for a cleaner and safer future. In West Virginia v. EPA, coal companies and extremist politicians are attempting to gut the Clean Air Act and threaten progress in the fight against the climate crisis by taking away the EPA’s power to regulate greenhouse gasses.
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Also on that Monday, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its latest report, sounding another alarm about the urgent need to act boldly to prevent catastrophic climate change. It names devastatingly “widespread and pervasive” impacts on people and the natural world from climate-fueled heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms and floods.
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We passed the 100 day mark since the House of Representatives passed transformative climate and social investments in the Build Back Better Act. Unfortunately, that version of the bill couldn't pass through Republican obstruction and the razor-thin Democratic majority in the Senate. However, work continues in Congress to negotiate and pass an amended climate, jobs, and justice bill to meet the crises we face.
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And last week, President Biden gave his first State of the Union address after a long first year in office. He pushed Congress to pass critically needed investments in climate action and environmental justice. Over the last year, huge strides have been made to reverse the harmful policies of the previous administration, advance clean energy manufacturing, and cut emissions. But there is more to do to tackle economic, racial, and climate injustices. We urge Biden to use all the tools at his disposal to push for bold executive actions and legislative solutions to create a society where all can thrive.
So what do we do with all of this?
The next few months will be a critical window to push Biden and Congress to pass bold climate, care, jobs, and justice legislation and executive actions before the midterm campaign season consumes all attention and energy. We're preparing to mobilize around Earth Day -- and beyond -- to push our leaders to keep fighting for the solutions we know are possible and necessary.
We want to hear from you. How might you like to get involved this spring and throughout 2022? Let us know in this 60-second survey! Your responses will inform our plans this year to push for the boldest actions possible to tackle the crises at hand, and by signing up, you’ll get all the updates about our upcoming Earth Month mobilization.
We need you in our fight for a liveable future. In order to create a world where all of us can survive and thrive, it's going to take all of us -- people of all backgrounds and with varied skill sets, with the energy and networks and resources we each have -- to make this vision a reality.