By Howard Sherman, Delaware County Ready for 100 Team
Several months ago, our Sierra Club Delaware County Green Team began something new: At each monthly meeting, we’ve spotlighted an “Action Item of
the Month”—a piece of state legislation or administrative regulation currently being promulgated that is relevant to the Club’s environmental goals. One of our members summarizes the item, we discuss it, and we encourage attendees to contact their relevant elected representatives or agency administrators to take a pro-environment position on it. (It’s up to each member to get the email address of their state senator or representative.) We feature each action item in our monthly meeting announcement, and we plan to follow up with a between-meetings reminder to our members and supporters to support the Item.
So far, we’ve taken up the following action items:
1. RGGI – Action to contact Governor Shapiro recommending that he appeal RGGI to the PA Supreme Court.
2. Senate Bill 831 – Action to contact our state senators to oppose this carbon capture and sequestration bill in its current, pro-fossil fuel industry/anti-
taxpayer form.
3. Senate Bill 1032, the “Solar for Schools” bill - Action to contact our state senators to support this bill in the PA Senate.
4. Chester LNG plant siting – Action to contact Delaware County Council members to query whether they oppose this project.
5. House Bill 1607, the “Electronic Waste Recycling Modernization Act” – Action to contact our state representatives and senators in support of this bill, which would create a state-wide system to make electronic waste recycling more efficient and accessible to residents. Naming HB1607 as our current action item led to an unexpected benefit: Representative Lisa Borowski (168th House District), the principal sponsor of the bill, attended our January meeting and gave us a presentation about the bill.
We recommend that each PA regional group or county team feature an “Action Item of the Month” (or “Action Item of the Quarter”, for those who meet less often) in their regular meetings. Each group or team could select its own item. Alternatively, we could coordinate our efforts across the state by all choosing an action item recommended by Jen Quinn, our Sierra Club Legislative and Political Director. Imagine the impact if this becomes a regular, statewide Sierra Club activity!
This blog was included as part of the February 2024 Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!