Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper (a local chapter of National Waterkeeper Movement), said that politicians shouldn’t make it seem like economic health and environmental health are incompatible.
According to the poll, nearly 67% of Americans think the government is not doing enough in controlling climate change. a 2019 Pew Research Center study.
In a Recent press releaseThe United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned against inaction regarding climate and the environment.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argued that ambitious, fast-paced action is required to adapt climate change to prevent increasing losses of life, biodiversity, infrastructure, and other environmental impacts.
Although the report states that the infrastructure and tools required to combat climate changes are currently available and could be halved by 2030, emissions must peak by 2025 in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a threshold to continue living comfortably.
“When politicians say or imply that folks must choose between the environment and the economy, that is a false choice, Scribner said. According to the Outdoor Industry Association in Alabama, outdoor recreation is a multibillion-dollar business each year. Degrading Alabama’s beautiful waterways and land will diminish public participation in recreation, harming our environment and economy together.”
The Bureau of Economic Analysis will become operational in 2020 reportedOutdoor recreation accounts for 1.8% of the US gross domestic product at just over $370 billion.
2020: The Outdoor Industry Association reportedAlabama’s outdoor recreation income is comparable to the national level. It amounts to around 1.9% of the state’s gross domestic product and hovers just below $4 Billion.
Ellen Griffith Spears is an associate professor at New College who specializes in environmental history. She said that the state could be doing more to protect the environment, especially compared with its past.
“In the early 1970s, Alabama passed one of the tougher environmental laws in the southern states. … It added more significant fines for violations than many of its neighbors,” Spears said.
According to The Encyclopedia of AlabamaThe laws dealt with solid waste disposal, water pollution, safe water reclamation and hazardous waste legislation.
“It’s possible, and there’s a lot more leadership that could be shown at the state level, both legislatively from the executive branch, and from the regulatory agency that handles it,” Spears said.
According to American Bar Association articleUniontown, Alabama residents have been fighting environmental injustice for decades. The town is 93% Black with 40% living below the poverty level. It fought and lost a battle against a 2007. Allowance to dispose of waste33 states were allowed to bring toxic pollutants and coal ash into the local area. The Arrowhead Landfill continues to impact the health and well-being of residents.
According to the article Uniontown is a victim of environmental injustice. It still requires attention at all levels, including federal, state, and local. Some local officials in other parts of Alabama have taken note of the current environmental crisis and their effects.
Selected as a welcome speaker American Water Resources Association 2022 Spring ConferenceMaddox’s response to the crisis has earned him national recognition 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado53 people were killed and 1,200 more were injured by the incident.
Extreme weather events such as tornadoes will only increase in their frequency and magnitude if the climate isn’t controlled.
Maddox has made a commitment to himself and the city in TuscaloosaTo environmental stewardship: After the 2011 tornado, the city doubled its recycling efforts.
Maddox’s leadership, Tuscaloosa worked to protect Harris and Nicol lakes, created an environment coordinator position to ensure the city follows the law, and improved its stormwater management system. This earned the city an award. The Water Environment Federation in 2015.
Maddox signed the 2007 Climate Protection Agreement by the U.S. Conference of MayorsThe, which pledges to reduce carbon emissions and other climate protection measures. Although Tuscaloosa was already making progress in using cleaner energy sources and more efficient lighting at the time, it is not clear if they have maintained these efforts to combat climate change. However, Tuscaloosa remains on the 2019 agreements list of signatories.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is skeptical about the bureaucratic nature government aid for the environment. In 2017, she disbanded Alabama Water Agencies Working Group.The, which was created in 2012 to create a water policy for Alabama, was supported by almost 80% of Alabama voters.
Although required by state code to operate, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) is managed by a small independent board. This leads many environmentalists in the state to believe more state involvement.
This oversight by the state means that environmental stewardship falls back into the hands of concerned citizens. This is the kind of work Waterkeeper organizations do across the country, including the Black Warrior Riverkeeper branch.
Scribner stated that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. This federal statute is used by Black Warrior Riverkeeper to hold polluters responsible in the Black Warrior River watershed.
Scribner explained that Congress included citizen enforcement provisions when it passed the Clean Water Act in 1972. This was because they knew that local, state and federal agencies may not always have the same interest or be as effective as citizen-based organizations like Waterkeepers in addressing violations of Clean Water Act.
The Black Warrior Riverkeeper websiteThere are resources available to citizens who are concerned to reach out to elected officials or find environmental agencies and events.
Scribner also said that elected officials can be influenced by multiple messages received from citizens requesting different forms of environmental actions.
Spears stated that citizens are motivated to make a change by taking action on the environment and questioning the claims and promises of politicians.
Groups like the have been involved in the environmental movement. League of Conservation VotersMaking sure people know where the candidates stand on issues. Spears stated that ensuring that everyone has access to vote is an environmental issue because we want to ensure that conservation opinions are reflected in governance.
This type of activism is not encouraged blindly. Spears stated that results have been achieved through such participation in Alabama.
Amber Buck, the coleader of the Citizens Climate Lobby’s Tuscaloosa Chapter said that the organization makes progress in these areas.
They [Citizens Climate Lobby] train folks on how to lobby members of Congress as citizens and how to use various tools to convince members of Congress that this is a particular issue that constituents are concerned for … and then also trying to raise awareness around people in terms of climate change issues, Buck said.
Buck and Spears both mentioned the importance to vote with the environment in your mind. Marginalized and poor communities will generate less response from the environmental agencies and deal with environmental issues more effectively than their wealthy counterparts. Americans can make a difference for the environment by voting in national and local elections.
This story was published in The Environmental Edition. View the complete issue Here.
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