Earth Day sparked needed environmental regulations that are being eroded by current D.C. administration
ROCKLAND, ME– Earth Day is an annual marker of the progress humanity has made as stewards of our planet. It’s a celebration of the work accomplished and the work that must happen to protect the earth we all love, now and for future generations. Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA), an organization of thousands of elected officials dedicated to helping solve the climate crisis, honors the father of Earth Day — Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. He proved that environmental legislative proposals with the backing of a wide coalition of engaged citizens become laws more frequently. This principle is the guiding light at EOPA.
After a major oil spill off the coast of California, the way people that came together to clean it up inspired Sen. Nelson to leverage the power and passion of student anti-Vietnam war protesters to raise awareness for the environment. Soon, Earth Day spread from college campuses with multiple organizations and citizens from all backgrounds taking part, and has become a worldwide day of action. This collective “power of the people” and Sen. Nelson’s legislation made lawmakers in D.C. aware that they could not continue to ignore environmental issues.
Sen. Nelson’s Earth Day led to the founding of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and catapulted an “Environmental Decade” of legislative reforms. The Clean Water Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Pesticides Act, the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Education Act, the National Hiking Trails and the National Scenic Trails Acts, and the establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. These laws have saved millions of people from disease and death while protecting countless wild species from extinction. Now all of them are under threat from the current federal administration in Washington D.C.
America’s current president is apparently determined to strengthen the fossil fuel industry by increasing production even by opening up national park lands to drilling and mining. This new push to turn away from regulations, policies, safety, and security endangers the world and has led to more conflicts over oil with America at the forefront.
“Our brave military personnel should never be sent to war for oil. Too many have already suffered from that policy. But a Presidential Executive Order (EO) declared that we need more fossil fuels for our national security,” said Pat Spearman, former Nevada State Senator, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel retired, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) National Leadership Taskforce. “Laws that have governed our nation are being rewritten, ignored or abolished to let the worst toxins and greenhouse gases loose into our atmosphere, land and water without regulations. It is an attack on public health, the environment and the planet. Only deploying more clean energy solutions will bring us energy security. Today we must follow in Sen. Nelson’s footsteps to ensure environmental justice becomes a reality.”
To a large degree, the current President of the United States of America is governing using EOs, even though the vast majority of them need the approval of Congress or they are not legally Constitutional. If Congress does not intervene to stop an EO then the checks and balances that keep our democracy in balance erode.
All this is happening in stark contrast to how nearly $370 billion for various tax credits and measures stimulated the adoption of clean energy technologies under President Biden’s leadership—putting the US on the road to a clean energy future. The law was America’s largest investment in climate, environmental justice, clean energy, and jobs ever. It was projected to cut climate pollution by an estimated 40 percent by 2030. But the president and his administration have systematically dismantled what programs remained when he took office from the law with EOs and other methods.
“While the legality of many Presidential EOs, and federal agency actions are being determined in courts across the nation more greenhouse gases are being emitted into our atmosphere making the climate crisis worse,” said Ramona du Houx, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Communication Director, Solon Center for Research and Publishing President. “Like Sen. Nelson, Elected Officials to Protect (EOPA) sees the urgency of protecting our planet for all of humanity. America did make the largest investment in climate action and clean energy ever, and we can return to those policies. They spurred new manufacturing, provided good-paying jobs, and accelerated the transition to a clean energy economy moving us toward energy security. Clean energy is the cheapest form of energy to build out and these companies know it. They won’t stop now, nor shall we.”
As sea levels rise, and the climate crisis worsens because the atmosphere is under siege from fossil fuel emissions, humanity needs more aggressive actions to combat this clear and present danger. Nine million people die annually from breathing in the toxic particulates that fossil fuel companies produce.
“Critical climate investments already made by the previous administration’s climate investment law are helping to mitigate the climate crisis in environmental justice and frontline communities where critical resources were distributed. We can reinstate policies that this administration has dismantled and live up to how Sen. Nelson inspired a nation to take environmental action with laws that hold polluters accountable.” said Debbie Sariñana, New Mexico State Representative Air Force Veteran, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) New Mexico Director, EOPA National Leadership Council Co-Chair, former school teacher “I have three schools in my district that run along the freeway. Health hazards from fossil fuel exhaust fumes are very real to the thousands of kids who attend those schools. We need to reinstate tax credits for electric vehicles. We need to reestablish rebates to buy new and efficient appliances, to weatherize homes, and tax credits for heat pumps and rooftop solar. These are not only major steps to protect public health, they are also critical to our energy security.
With the price of gas at the pump at record highs and costs going up people are suffering from bad policies and the nation is being pushed toward a recession.
“The war in Iran has led to instability in the oil markets and that economic ripple effect will be with us for a very long time. The world is living in uncertain times due to Presidential Executive Order led policies,” said Naweed Kawusi, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Chief Operating Officer, fmr. Afghanistan National Army colonel. fmr. Director General of International Cooperation for Afghanistan Ministry of Interior Affairs, fmr. USAID Senior Advisor, fmr. UNICEF, Senior Communications for Development Officer. The last thing any nation needs is to become more dependent on oil and gas. Fossil fuel greenhouse gasses have fueled not only global warming but also wars where nations are in pursuit of more oil and gas. The vast majority of people struggling for survival in Ukraine, Venezuela, and Iran would prefer being at peace. On this Earth Day we at EOPA are proud and honored to continue our fight to protect the environment with Sen. Nelson’s proven path.”
Congressional members are allowing the president to defy the Constitution, even though they take the Constitutional Oath—to uphold our democracy from threats foreign and domestic.
“Public servants and veterans take this Oath to our democracy—to our Constitution—not to any president. Senator Gaylord Nelson inspired and reminded us how to work with concerned citizens and lawmakers from across the aisle, as was intended by our Nation’s founders. His leadership creating Earth Day and heralding the creation of environmental agencies is a legacy we must live up to and can,” said Paul Evans, Oregon State Representative, Air Force veteran, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) National Leadership Council Co-Chair. “The challenges we face today are not insurmountable. We must stand united in the fight to protect our democracy to save our environment and humanity.”
In an age where autocrats have grown wealthy off the profits from oil and gas, United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) annual reports continue to find that nations are not doing enough to mitigate the climate emergency. America can return to implementing strong new federal standards on climate pollution and other toxic pollution.
“Exposure to airborne pollutants like soot is linked to chronic conditions, including asthma, heart disease, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, low birth weight, greater risk of preterm birth, and higher rates of infant mortality and death. This pollution affects more than 20 million Americans every year, according to the American Lung Association, and it disproportionately impacts historically underserved communities like those I represent. It’s time we bring environmental justice to these communities,” said Howard Watts, Nevada Assemblyman, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) National Leadership Council. “We have to stop the erosion of laws designed to protect public health and the environment. We need to cut more carbon pollution, protect our children and families, and remove toxins from our air, land, and water. We cannot let industries decide how much they choose to pollute us. America has already gone down that road. We need regulations to ensure accountability under the law. Sen. Nelson showed us how to right our wrongs. We must ensure his legacy continues.”
Petrostates, like Russia or Iran, use oil and gas profits to abuse human rights and wage war because democratic nations are addicted to fossil fuels. The wars in these countries highlight the urgency of becoming energy secure. The best way for America to weaken Petrostate autocrats is by slashing worldwide fossil fuel demand.“I still recoil from images of neighborhoods where I played as a youngster as they go up in flames and are reduced to rubble. The emptiness, and loss are hard to express. We owe it to our shared humanity to act decisively to help now. We can help protect democratic nations, who are reliant on fossil fuels, to become energy secure, by showing the way,” said Igor Tregub, Ukrainian immigrant, Berkeley City Council Member, Elected Officials to Protect America (EOPA) Leadership Council Member. “Bolstering our energy supply with renewable solutions like distributed solar is a viable local solution that can be catalyzed. On a larger scale, offshore wind’s potential is yet to be realized. These and other renewable energy investments will catalyze the creation of thousands of new, well-paying jobs, grow our economy, and, literally save lives.”
