In response to the recent Supreme Court rulings in the US, Recover is releasing a three-part Sustainability Tips series throughout July on: How to tell your government officials you want them to take action. This week, we are bringing you Sustainability Tips on: How To Take Action for Clean Air and Climate Change Mitigation.
On Thursday, June 30, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that restricted the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to curb power plant emissions on a systematic basis. The EPA’s ability to do so is a significant tool for the agency to improve and protect air quality in the United States, and to combat climate change. Air pollution from power plants, particularly coal and gas, is known to cause significant respiratory ailments, neurological effects in children, and high blood pressure and heart disease in adults. Low income, Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities are disproportionately exposed and affected.
The economic, social, and environmental costs of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions from power plants are realizing increasingly every year as growing drought, flooding, and wildfire events threaten and destroy people’s homes and livelihoods throughout the country. While individual actions to curb climate change are very important, national guidance, action, and regulation for climate change mitigation is absolutely crucial.
Although the June 30 Supreme Court ruling did not take away the EPA’s ability to regulate power plant emissions on an individual plant by plant basis, for now, it took a significant stand on reversing legal precedent that, prior to the ruling, gave national opportunity to make it easier and less costly to achieve the goals of clean air and climate change mitigation in the United States.
The recent rulings by the Supreme Court, a body of nine individuals who are not elected by the populace of the country, is unprecedented in the history of the United States. This calls for action on all of our parts to speak up for clean air and climate change mitigation for ourselves and our communities.
We recognize that sometimes it’s hard to know what to do, so here’s a quick and easy start:
3 Tips for How to Take Action for Clean Air and Climate Change Mitigation
1. Vote.
Whether or not you take part in local, state, and national elections is proving to have significant impact on the trickle up and down of United States law and life. Tuesday, November 8, 2022 is the midterm elections in the U.S. for House, Senate, and gubernatorial races. Primaries and other local elections take place throughout the year. Check out Vote 411, an organization that helps you register to vote, verify your voter registration, and find what’s on your ballot. This makes it easier to consider ahead of time who’s on the ballot and what their agenda is, and what’s on the ballot and what the related implications are. If the information on clean air and climate change mitigation related-legislation is not readily apparent in the information provided by Vote 411, it still provides a great starting place for researching who and what is on the ballot related to taking action for women’s rights and equality. Register to vote now, and plan for an absentee ballot if it is best or easiest to ensure your vote and voice being counted.
2. Connect with local organizations doing good work.
Local organizations in every state are already working hard for clean air and climate change mitigation. Connecting with these organizations to learn more about their work on local and national levels and how to become involved is super impactful. For example, Mountain True offers information about attending public hearings and key points of consideration for NC’s carbon plan, and Clean Aire NC provides such take action tips as Help Shape the NC Carbon Plan, and Encourage a 100% Renewable Community. Volunteering and donating to local and national organizations doing work to protect and expand clean air and climate change mitigation in the United States is also impactful in terms of supporting those who are out there working every day for clean air and climate change mitigation for all of us.
3. Contact your local and state government representatives.
If government representatives don’t know that air pollution and climate change issues are important to the citizens they represent, they don’t know to prioritize them in the legislature. Communication from citizens about the importance of these issues also implies that related action is significant for future re-election. Tell your representatives that fighting for cleaner air and climate change mitigation is important to you, and request that they take action on these issues to protect our local and global communities. Check out our How To Tell Government Officials You Want Them to Take Action Sustainability Tips for more quick and easy info. Although these tips highlight the “how to” through the lens of encouraging plastic bag bans, these tips directly transfer to contacting government representatives about the importance of clean air and climate change mitigation. Communicating support for powerplant guidelines and accountability to support protection of human and environmental health helps representatives know clean air and climate are important to their constituents.
Take action for clean air and climate change mitigation today!
