Frelinghuysen Must Stand With Us Against Trump

NJ Sierra Club rallies took place yesterday at Lance, MacArthur, Smith and Frelinghuysen's offices where we delivered the attached letter. We are joining again at Frelinghuysen's office in Morristown tomorrow.

Frelinghuysen Must Stand With Us Against Trump

The New Jersey Sierra Club protested Donald Trump today outside Congressman Frelinghuysen’s office to stand up to President Trump’s attack on the environment. Last week, President Trump has announced his intent to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement that requires the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These actions not only hurt the environment, but threaten our economy costing us millions of green jobs. At the same time, New Jersey has been devastated by climate change, the Trump Administration has proposed to cut the Environmental Protection Agency budget by 1/3. This would end critical programs to protect us from sea level rise and severe storms, while increasing our impact on climate change. The groups plan to rally outside the Congressman's district offices as well as deliver a letter to demand action against Trump's anti-environmental agenda.

“We are here to tell Congressman Frelinghuysen that he has to take action to protect our environment and our future. We need Frelinghuysen to stand up to President Trump’s dangerous plans for offshore drilling along on coast, while dismantling all of our progress to combat climate change. Instead of protecting the people of this country, Trump is removing us from the historic Paris climate agreement and eliminating 1/3 of funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. What he is doing is a long-term sell-out for the environment and public health to take care of corporate polluters,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “While another Hurricane Sandy event is seventeen times more likely to happen again, he is making our coast suffer with increased sea levels and more severe storms. Places like the Meadowlands, Hoboken, and the Barrier Islands are already going under water. We are calling on Frelinghuysen to fight back to ensure we tackle climate change, stop offshore drilling, and protect our communities.”

Our rally urged the Congressman to stand up against President Trump’s latest assault on our climate by taking the United States out of the Paris Agreement. Future generations will suffer the consequences of this deliberate and irresponsible decision. We are standing up with Congressman Pallone against Trump’s recklessness and demand that the U.S. stay in the Paris Agreement. We must work together to resist the President’s dangerous anti-environmental agenda to protect our planet for future generations.

“We want Congressman Frelinghuysen to hold Trump accountable for his environmentally destructive agenda and demand that the U.S. stay in the Paris Agreement. By denying climate change he is denying our environment, our economic growth, and our future. Instead of benefiting from clean energy and clean jobs, Trump is turning his back on economic progress. While other countries benefit from the booming clean energy economy, Trump is sending our country backwards. This means China will be a leader in manufacturing solar panels and Germany will be making windmills, while our country is left in the wind,” Jeff Tittel. “All of Trump’s actions will have serious consequences because we see more flooding and devastation from severe storms and sea level rise. Since New Jersey will receive the brunt of these consequences more than most states, we must take the lead against Trump.”

We also need the Congressman to stand up to the President’s budget that will slash the EPA by close to a third. These cuts the state grants in half and New Jersey, disrupt water quality testing, while eliminating programs to clean up our water supply, promote clean energy and deal with climate change. It will also cut 3,800 jobs from the EPA leaving no staff to enforce laws to protect our air and water.

“Congressman Frelinghuysen needs to come out against all of the attacks to the environment in his budget. Trump’s budget would cut EPA by close to a third the biggest cut of any agency. New Jersey has many major environmental programs and we will see more cuts and more environmental damage than most other states. This includes major cuts to the superfund programs that help clean up contamination. His cuts will mean that there will not enough personnel to make sure our water is safe to drink, our land is clean, and our air is breathable,” said Jeff Tittel. “Trump is dismantling all of the progress that has been made by ending half a dozen programs to help stop climate change and reduce air pollution. Trump’s rollbacks to clean water will mean our water will be poisoned and there will be more flooding.”

Trump has even moved forward with plans for offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, which would threaten our $38 billion coastal economy if there was a spill. We are asking the Congressman to stand up against the President pushing forward with seismic testing and ultimately, offshore drilling, in the Atlantic Ocean. This will exacerbate dirty infrastructure in our communities, threatening our landscapes and drinking water supplies.

“Our legislators must come together against the Trump Administration opening up our coast to Big Oil and Gas. Drilling anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic would directly put our coasts at risk. Even a spill off of Virginia would find its way to our shores. One quart of oil pollutes a million gallons of water. This is really shortsighted because of the potential for a little bit of oil could jeopardize our coast, our multi-billion-dollar fishing industry, and our tourism industry,” said Jeff Tittel.

In the letter, we also asked the Congressman to sign onto the Republican resolution H. RES. 424 that expresses commitment to environmental stewardship and acknowledges the need to address climate change. We also asked him to join the Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives which explores policy options that address the impacts, causes, and challenges of our changing climate.

“We are here to tell Congressman Frelinghuysen that he represents us, not special interests, not Steve Bannon, and not Donald Trump. We need our to stand up to all of the attacks by the Trump Administration and become a leader in the battle to fight climate change. Trump is rolling back environmental protections by dismantling and eliminating programs in the budget to clean our air and protect our water. The President is being fossil foolish with our coast, putting us at risk to a spill. He has even threatened the entire planet by pulling out of the historic Paris Climate Agreement. That is why it is so important Congressman Frelinghuysen come out against Trump and take action to protect our environment,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “If Congressman Frelinghuysen doesn’t represent us, then we will get someone who will. We need our representatives to stand up for the environment and the future of our planet.”