Support the climate plan – La Opinion
Endorsement of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better program.
Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP / Getty Images
Everything suggests that President Joe Biden’s (Build Back Better) ambitious effort for social and environmental change will be reduced in coverage and resources, due in part to uncompromising opposition.
And several of its more popularly supported provisions such as the Clean Energy Program and its short- and long-term benefits appear to be among the biggest losers in the negotiations within Congress to get this entire legislative package through.
But the dynamics and severe effects of climate change on minority communities cannot be confined to the actions of a small group of politicians without a clear vision of the future.
It is necessary to seize the moment and press for the negotiations that still continue to give a good account of the popular clamor for a comprehensive plan for clean energy and employment that favors us all. We must not give up in the face of negative news.
This message is a clear call to action for us to support the efforts of environmental organizations that channel popular sentiment and remember that minorities always suffer first. Whether due to racial marginalization, exploitation or policies of ethnic persecution, members of minorities feel the effects of imbalances of power more than anyone else.
And they are also the most vulnerable victims of the real effects of climate change on such everyday issues as the lack of healthy products in so-called food deserts, the deadly effects of heat stroke on agricultural workers, devastating fires and the growing hurricane threat.
But it turns out that the environmental component of the plan is also a proposal that generates employment and economic benefits. And that investing in clean energy is an action that promotes social well-being, saves resources in needy communities and fosters economic growth for all.
But you have to be brave. You have to be daring to tackle environmental damage and invest the necessary resources to promote a less threatening energy future. And unfortunately not all are: shyness and personal commitments take the baton in Congress and many of its representatives work in pursuit of more powerful and less communal interests.
That is why it is imperative that the communities demand that their elected representatives comply with the popular will and respect the mandate that has been granted to them. That they demonstrate their commitment to the climate plan and do not allow themselves to be pressured by dark interests.
It is a crucial moment. It is time to act and not to wait. Demonstrate! Write to your representative! Protest! Make sure you connect with the leaders of the environmental movement in your neighborhood, in your city, in your state. May your elected official remember that you are attentive to their actions and their commitment to your priorities. And that you can punish him at the polls if he breaches you.
