We, the undersigned elected officials believe it is imperative we take action on the climate crisis because it is a threat multiplier for water security, deadly disease, and environmental racism. It is time to enact a national Climate Emergency Plan that protects all our communities.

As an example of the racial and environmental injustice made worse by the climate crisis, in the predominantly African American community of St. Louis County, Missouri, radioactive and dioxin waste is being spread further by floods; this is exacerbated by climate change. The year preceding the recent Midwestern floods was the wettest on record. Now the community is a cancer and autoimmune disease cluster.  

Suffering from almost 20 years of megadrought, the Navajo Nation reached a grim milestone with the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rate in the U.S. At a time when access to clean water and handwashing facilities is a matter of life and death, a third of the Navajo Nation’s population does not have running water.

At least 40 states will face water shortages this decade. And yet, Saudi Arabia and China are extracting American water at an alarming rate.

Globally, 37 acute conflicts, many unresolved, are due to water insecurity. Our intelligence and military community understand the climate emergency as a threat to national security.

These are serious examples of the dangers created by the climate crisis that is driving drought, disease, floods, fires, extreme temperatures, and storms.

These are clear and present dangers, but innovation, resilience, and the American spirit have created many proven existing solutions that can unify and protect us. Despite political inaction and misguided regulations that have held us back, there is hope. For example, California’s first solar thermal desalination plant recently went online; it can even clean agricultural wastewater. 

In Maine, clean energy innovators have deployed a revolutionary floating offshore wind turbine. These are just two of the many already working innovations that energize our economy. Clean, renewable energy is already less expensive than using fossil fuels and can generate millions of jobs.

We call on the president and Congress to develop a federal Climate Emergency Plan that can include, but not limited to the following objectives:

• Transition to 100 percent clean energy
• Ensure everyone has access to clean and safe water
• Investment in communities on the frontlines of environmental injustice, including indigenous, communities of color, and economically vulnerable
• Investment in clean, accessible, and affordable transportation systems 
• Investment in a smart renewable-energy grid
• Transition to regenerative agriculture
• Phase-out of plastics and toxins that threaten our global oxygen supply
• Prevent foreign entities from unsustainably extracting U.S. water 
• Improve building energy efficiency
• Divest, phase out fossil fuels, and invest in new technologies

America must lead the world in protecting everyone from the climate emergency.

To contribute and view details of the Climate Emergency Plan please click here or give us a call at 207-319 4511.