43rd Anniversary of the First Earth Day - Yes We Can.

As we approach the 43^rd anniversary of the first Earth Day, the celebration of our many gains is tempered by our recognition of their fragility. On the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, thousands of people came together to protest the degradation of our environment: oil spills, toxic dumps, pollution, pesticides, loss of habitat and more. Powerful legislation resulted from our collective efforts, including the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. Since those heady days, even as devastating new threats to the environment have emerged, America’s corporate giants have spent billions of dollars successfully lobbying Congress to vote not in the public interest, but in their own self-interest. The result has been a chipping away of laws aimed at protecting the health and well-being of our shared planet.

In late March, the Senate voted on a series of amendments to the federal budget which were aimed at rolling back protections from mercury and other forms of toxic air pollution. The amendments included an attempt to stop the EPA from limiting carbon pollution. Thankfully, the rollbacks were narrowly defeated - this time.  I am saddened that we as a country are still fighting the logic that protecting the health of our planet protects the health of us all.

I understand that in a still struggling economy, many Americans are less concerned with climate change than with paying bills, buying gas, or simply having enough food to feed their families. Yet if we aren’t able to live in a mutually symbiotic relationship with our planet and all the beings that share it, the critical needs of our day to day existence will become the least of our concerns.

While some are unhappy or frustrated with President Obama’s actions or inaction in the area of global climate change, he has done a number of things to get us on the right track and is promoting a vision for a greener future. President Obama has proposed fuel economy standards that will double the fuel efficiency of cars and some trucks by 2025. According to the White House, this alone can save consumers $1.7 trillion in gas and eliminate six billion metric tons of CO2 from the air. The President also drafted a national fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards for commercial trucks, vans, and buses built in 2014-2018. The White House projects this measure will save more than 500 million barrels of oil or $50 billion in fuel costs. According to Environment Illinois, we spend nearly 10 percent of our monthly income on gas, so the more Congress can do in this area, the greater the overall impact.

Becoming more efficient in the use of oil and more gas, however, is not really a solution for our energy demands. We need to eliminate tax breaks ($4 billion annually in an era of record-breaking profits) for Big Oil and Big Gas and redirect them toward alternative forms of energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal. Investments in clean energy technologies will encourage more sustainable economic growth and will help drive down costs.

President Obama has pushed through the largest investment in clean energy in American history, but it must be an ongoing process, and making it happen is something that he cannot do alone. It takes the power of the people to force the hand of Congress to take meaningful action. As FDR once told a group of activists, “You’ve convinced me. Now go out and make me do it.”   We must force Congress to allocate resources to drive innovation and move our country into the 21^st century and beyond.  Quite literally, our lives depend upon it.

In 2008, supporters of Obama rallied around the notion of Yes We Can. I remain convinced that we, the people, can force our representatives to stand up and do what is right for us, for our children, and for our planet. Our country can lead the international community on sustainable growth and climate change. This is our time, and the time for action is now. Together, we can make it happen.