Tomorrow, April 22, is the 35th annual Earth Day. One might even call it a "celebration," except that it is extremely difficult to celebrate when the environment is under relentless assault by the forces of ignorance, arrogance, and greed. Global climate change, mass extinction of plant and animal species, deforestation, and the strip mining of our oceans are all huge, man made problems that need to be dealt with on an urgent basis. Sadly, in large part due to the lack of leadership by our President and Congress, these problems are getting worse every day. As former Senator Gaylor Nelson, founder of Earth Day, says in a "Wake Up Call" statement" for Earth Day:
Unfortunately, the President and the Congress have not stepped up to the challenge of providing national and world leadership on the environmental crisis.In fact, on some key issues, they are actually resisting or reversing progress made in the past 30 to 40 years. And without strong, sustained leadership from the President and Congress the urgent challenge to protect the environment and create a sustainable society cannot succeed. Theodore Roosevelt made conservation a top priority for the Republican party, and many members of his party carried that torch over the years. Recently, however, the GOP leadership has abandoned this cause.
Sad but true.
Here in Virginia, environmental problems range from severe air pollution in the Shenandoah National Park (and elsewhere), sprawl and loss of open space, wetland destruction, toxic waste, and much more. These are problems that affect us all, and must be dealt with by our political leadership.
That is why, on this Earth Day, and in this election year for our state, the Virginia Grassroots Coalition - a progressive, community-based volunteer organization whose primary goal is to increase citizen involvement in government - has issued the following statement:
In the spirit of Earth Day, the Virginia Grassroots Coalition Environment Group urges all candidates for Virginia state offices to address Virginia's environmental issues by raising them to the top of their agendas.According to the National Wildlife Foundation, 71 species of wildlife are listed as endangered or threatened in Virginia. The Shenandoah National Park is one of the most polluted parks in the nation. Virginia companies emit 50 tons of mercury each year, polluting our skies and causing asthma, especially in children. Virginia should reward environmental friendly companies and penalize those that pollute.
In late March 2005, Gov. Mark Warner vetoed a bill that would have allowed drilling off the Virginia coast. The bill would have opened our coastline to harmful exploration and drilling for natural gas, devastating our fragile barrier islands, national wildlife refuges, national seashores, and many marine animals.
Also last month, Gov. Warner signed several bills into law which were praised by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as marking "an historic milestone in Virginia?s Chesapeake Bay cleanup effort."
This is the kind of environmental leadership we need in Virginia this year, and for many years to come. In this election year, Virginia needs legislators who will work to protect our beautiful natural resources for future generations.
We couldn't agree more.