Commit to a just, livable and vibrant future

For the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (and beyond), in the midst of a global pandemic exposing global inequities and failing systems, we must commit to a vision of a just, livable and vibrant future.

In 1970, on the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans rose up in the largest environmental mobilization in U.S. history, catapulting environmental protection into the mainstream, and winning sweeping legislation that formed the bedrock of environmental protections in the U.S. Now, as polluters and industry lobbyists work to dismantle those protections, at a time when they are most needed, there is no such thing as thinking too big.

We are living through both a public health crisis and a crisis of justice. It is more clear than ever that inequality and racism kill, that our fates are deeply interconnected, and that we cannot respond effectively to a crisis like this without strong social support networks.

COVID-19 is a precursor to what we can expect as climate breakdown becomes globalized, and the changes we make now will pave the way for our future. As we move forward, we must create solutions that center life, health and communities over all else.

Change happens when people without much access to power come together and shift the tide of the country. Change happens when people with more access to power choose to make decisions in line with a bold vision.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we offer this platform, and ask our leaders to address our interconnected climate, ecological, economic and racial justice crises, and implement solutions that match the urgency of this critical year and decade:

1. Support and champion a People’s Bailout for the coronavirus that prioritizes people who’ve been hit hardest, supports and centers health, prioritizes the growth of a regenerative economy, and protects our democracy.

2. Rethink any new and existing policies through the lens of the climate crisis in order to avert globalized climate breakdown.

3. Advocate to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and boost concerns of communities and tribes along the route.

4. Stop the money pipeline to polluting infrastructure projects and financiers of climate change, from institutional investments and municipal funds to federal subsidies and bailouts for oil and gas executives.

5. Enforce pollution standards in full and strengthen protections for air and water to protect public health in the short-term and long-term.

6. Commit to transforming our relationship to nature in line with science and traditional ecological knowledge and working towards protecting and restoring the planet.

We need a new normal, in which life is valued above profit, and where deep inequities are seen for what they are, failures that threaten the health of our entire community.

The seeds we plant matter. The stories we tell in this time matter. Life is fragile and precious. Let’s rise up in love and joy and fiercely protect it.

Please visit missoulaearthday.org to pledge your support and listen to a recording (soon) of the virtual rally that was held on Earth Day.