ALEX CORNELL DU HOUX: While we were disappointed that the U.S. did not provide the leadership that is really necessary to take the issue of climate change on, we still have 50 percent of the U.S. population in cities representing over 50 percent of the U.S. economy really showing that the states and the local governments are leading the way. So while at the federal level the talks were disappointing and the focus on coal and energy is really the wrong way to go and detrimental to our health and our security, the state and local governments have made very strong statements saying that we are committed to protecting our planet and ensuring the health and safety of our citizens.
As you’re probably aware, if we stay on the track we’re continuing, the global temperature will rise at 3 degrees and the IPCC report – the report that really is one of the hallmark of climate reports – has shown that if we do not do something to keep it at 1.5, we will not prevent the catastrophic storms, the droughts and the fires that we are already seeing.
And the reality is, the effects of climate change are happening now and it’s a matter of how we can mitigate those effects. I mean, when I was deployed to the Marine Corps in the Middle East, I saw the effects everyday because the population unfortunately there doesn’t have the barriers and the protections that we have in America. Someone tried to blow my vehicle up and he wasn’t very good at it, fortunately. And we caught him and realized he was a farmer who had been paid a couple hundred dollars because of the massive drought and record-setting droughts that had happened and he was vulnerable to Al Qaeda recruiting him. He’s still accountable for his actions, but he was put in a situation because of the U.S., China and other major countries that are polluting – changing the climate that he was living in.
BETWEEN THE LINES: More than 300 mayors, state representatives and elected officials from 40 states across the U.S. signed a letter calling for a nationwide plan to phase out the production and use of fossil fuels – just reading from your press release here – in a real priority to develop renewable energy sources as part of a Green New Deal approach to energy and efficiency. Tell us about these local and state elected officials and what they’ve put their signature on. Meghan, did you want to address that?
MEGHAN SAHLI-WELLS: We’ve got three main points that we’re asking for: that we produce 100 percent clean renewable energy, starting with significant investments in disadvantaged communities and places that are most affected by pollution and where they’re currently dependent on fossil fuel jobs. The second point is that we want to end permitting of new oil, gas and coal projects and infrastructure and begin a swift, managed decline of fossil fuel production, starting with phasing out production within a 250-foot public health buffer zone of occupied buildings in vulnerable areas where the greatest harms occur.
And I’ll just add if you’ve ever been to Los Angeles, it’s a megalopolis that’s built on oil. And so, you’ve got oil in the unlikeliest places – right next to homes and apartments, schools, churches. We even have oil drilling in one of our malls. It’s behind a wall. You can’t see it, but it’s actually happening right next to where people are shopping and recreating. It’s a huge issue in Culver City as well.
And then the third ask is, we need to end the subsidizing of fossil fuels. We need to divest from fossil fuels, fuel companies and shift our public investments to accelerate the transition to a 100 percent clean energy and help pay for the harm fossil fuels have caused in our states and our municipalities. So we’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s great that so many leaders all over the country have signed onto this vision. We’ve just begun and I think we’ll be getting more signatures as we move forward.
