Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. Our focus this Earth Day week is Environmental Justice.
HR 1, a bill recently introduced and passed in the House, is a sweeping attack on this country’s bedrock environmental laws and an unequivocal rejection of every principle of environmental justice.
Unofficially called the “Polluters Over People Act” (which says it all), it includes attacks on the National Environmental Policy Act, effectively whittling away tools for community members to protect their interests and health from unscrupulous development projects. This especially exposes many frontline communities, who are already disproportionally suffering from the effects of industrial expansion and existing fossil fuel infrastructure, to dangerous pollution and climate impacts.
The legislation stands in direct opposition to the urgent warnings of scientists in the most recent UN climate report and the historic climate action that climate advocates have fought so long for. This includes the Inflation Reduction Act, aimed at combatting the climate crisis, lowering energy costs, creating healthier communities, and advancing environmental justice.
It doesn’t stop there. The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to hold a minimum of four oil and gas lease sales in certain states each year, ravaging the climate and endangering communities and wildlife habitats in the pathway of related fossil fuel infrastructure.
The bill is now in the Senate and it’s important that our Senators hear from us and know we won’t tolerate dangerous bills like this which benefit Big Oil — especially at a time when the fossil fuel industry is experiencing record profits and expansion — at the expense of our communities and cut valuable investments in good jobs, clean energy, and our country’s future.
Options to Take Action:
- Sign a letter at the Action Table on Sunday.
- Download, sign and mail an action letter to your members of Congress.
Letter for California Residents Letter for Residents of Other States
- Go to the Climate Justice Project and participate in the action there.
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If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.
To find contact information for your California State Senator or California State Assemblymember check here: www.senate.ca.gov and www.assembly.ca.gov.
Take Action
Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. Our focus this Earth Day week is Environmental Justice. HR 1, a bill recently passed in the House, is a sweeping attack on this country’s bedrock environmental laws and an unequivocal rejection of every principle of environmental justice. The bill is now in the Senate. It’s important that our Senators know we won’t tolerate dangerous bills like this which benefit Big Oil — especially at a time when the fossil fuel industry is experiencing record profits and expansion, at the expense of our communities.