You may not know this, Fresno County, but the idea behind Earth Day was started by a U.S. Senator and inspired by the state of California.
Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson traveled to California to see the devastating effects of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill firsthand. Spurred to action by what he saw, Senator Nelson decided our country needed a national day of public consciousness about protecting our planet. So he joined forces with Pete McCloskey, a Republican congressman, to put forward a “national teach-in on the environment.”
Together, they formed Earth Day.
Today, their work has been amplified and built upon over generations of activists and leaders. But all of that progress is at risk. Donald Trump and his advisors are gutting important regulations designed to protect our environment and combat climate change while actively considering pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords.
We’re at a tipping point in the fight to save our planet and our children’s future. Will you join me in taking direct action on Earth Day?
I was glad to see that climate change was the number one most important issue in our survey this month.
Courtney, a parent and teacher from Los Angeles, told me: “We cannot turn back the clock on climate change! Keep up the good fight — I am very proud to be from California these days!!”
Michelle from San Rafael is hopeful that we “…can provide meaningful action about climate change and environmental issues… Not just statements but legislation and action.”
That’s my hope too. I can assure you that our team is working tirelessly in the U.S. Senate to defend the progress we’ve made in protecting our environment and to address the global crisis of climate change. And we always will.
No state in the union has a more outsized role to play than California in this fight. I believe that our state’s great strength includes its dramatic beauty and environmental diversity: from the tall, mist-shrouded redwoods to vast desert vistas; from stunning sandy beaches to rushing rivers and the soaring Sierra Nevada mountains; from bountiful farmland to rolling, oak-studded hills.
Let us all use today to make whatever difference we can in improving our local communities — and to recommit to the idea that this is a moment to intensify the fight for our future, not abandon it.
Fight on,
Kamala Harris
U.S. Senator, California
P.S. I am proud to stand in solidarity with all those who are marching in California and throughout the country as part of the March for Science today. It’s simply inspiring to see people rise up to resist the radical agenda and attacks on scientific research we’re seeing from Trump.
