Nevada Congresswoman Jacky Rosen spoke at the Patagonia Outlet, flanked by Toiyabe Chapter ExCom member Cathy Schmidt and Senator Jeff Merkley
Take Care of Your “Stuff”
Words and photos by Faith Delfin, Special to the Sierra Club Toiyabe Chapter
Everyone can recall a time in their childhood when their parents told them to take care of a new toy or to clean up their room after making a mess. Regardless of the space or item that you’re trying to keep in good condition, the main lesson is still the same: take care of your stuff.
U.S. Senate candidate, Jacky Rosen, made this point at a small gathering in the Patagonia Reno Outlet recently, joined by Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon. The environment is our “stuff.” It belongs to every human being and it is our responsibility to take care of it. “Leave the earth at least as good as you found it,” she said. We can all do this. It’s as simple as respecting the environment. That doesn’t mean you need to become a “tree hugger,” or some sort of extreme environmentalist. It means you are leaving the environment the way you found it and not making efforts to harm it. Or even better, making simple efforts to improve it by picking up a piece of trash, for example.
Droughts, reduction of public lands, fossil fuels, air and water quality, and nuclear waste are among important environmental concerns in Nevada. Taking care of the environment and preserving it for generations to come means finding solutions to these problems. Electing leaders who will prioritize these issues is a necessity if we want to improve, or at the very least preserve the environment we are fortunate to have.
“Dirty air doesn’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Rosen said. She’s right. We’ve all become so wrapped up in partisan politics we forget the health of this earth was never meant to be political. We need this planet to survive. We need clean air. We need clean water. If we let ourselves forget this basic necessity out of bitterness towards the opposing party, we will all suffer.
The Sierra Club has endorsed Jacky Rosen. For full list of Sierra Club endorsements wherever you live, click here.
Patagonia has also endorsed Jacky Rosen (as well as Montana's John Tester). Click here for details.
Paid for by Sierra Club Political Committtee, www.sierraclub.org, and Sierra Club Nevada PAC, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.