The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, as a teach-in on college campuses initialed by Sen. Nelson of WI. It has grown to a worldwide movement.

Listen to the story HERE.

April 22, 2022

On Earth Day, two Georgia elected officials are joining more than 475 other lawmakers around the country to urge President Joe Biden to activate the Defense Production Act to accelerate clean-energy technology production for national security.

Ted Terry, a DeKalb County Commissioner, signed the Elected Officials to Protect America letter because of his interest in protecting the environment.

“I’m a millennial, been an environmentalist two decades,” Terry explained. “If we don’t do fundamental systemic changes to our energy systems then we are just dooming ourselves to repeat and have the same issues over and over again.”

Elected Officials to Protect America mobilizes state and local officials on topics related to public health and climate change. It believes if America leads the world in the production of clean-energy technologies, it can help Europe stop its dependency on oil and gas from Russia.

Terry also argued Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cannot go unanswered.

“The foreign policy response is to not reward a bad actor or a potential war criminal with buying their oil,” Terry contended. “I’m not opposed to more economic sanctions, and whatever we can do, whatever we can leverage to stop the killing.”

Rep. Park Cannon, D-Atlanta, also signed the letter to Biden. She said today, Earth Day, is the perfect time for Georgians to check their finances and decide the future for themselves.

“Look at their power bills, their gas bills, and see how much more Atlantans are spending than sometimes rural communities,” Cannon urged. “Get your personal story together on how we need to make this environmental equity transition.”