Washington Monument

I had the privilege of traveling to Washington D.C. to campaign for the Environmental Justice For All Act. The concept of environmental justice is based on the fact that some people, especially minorities and underprivileged citizens, are disproportionally more affected by climate change than others. Everyone is entitled to the same basic necessities of life, clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a healthy environment to support them. Some people’s rights to these essentials have been deliberately robbed or ignored for too long.

The Environmental Justice For All Act aims to provide those disproportionally affected with legal protections. The Act will allow victims to sue those who have intentionally or unintentionally negatively impacted their environment, and protect them in the future. I was part of a school group working with FCNL (Friends Committee on National Legislation) to convince our New York senators to back the Act. The Act has already been passed in the House and FCNL is trying to get it to pass the Senate and become law. It was a great experience to actually see the process of how lobbyists help legislation get passed in the capitol.

We virtually met with the representatives for Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and campaigned for the Environmental Justice For All Act, explaining why it was so important. The conversations were at times productive, and the Senators’ offices asked good questions but it was hard to know if we made a real breakthrough. I saw first-hand why the legislative process takes time. Even though the Act is so vital for environmental justice it still hasn’t made it to the floor of the Senate. Which just means that we have to keep trying.