Now It’s Up to You

The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a weekly “green tip” to our readers. This week’s tip was written by Sheda Morshed.

Last week, the Supreme Court restricted the EPA’s ability to regulate emission and pollution outputs from coal-powered power plants.

This decision is a monumental blow to the future of our planet. To make matters worse, it sets a precedent for whether the federal government has any authority to set pollution standards through regulations that have been helping improve air and water quality and tackling climate-changing emissions, according to a report in MSNBC.

No matter your politics, we all depend on a healthy environment to keep us safe, healthy and thriving. More air and water pollution, more cancer and disease, lower food quality, and unstable food supplies are just a few examples of what we can expect if states and industries are left to set their own pollution standards.

This at a time where California Legislature has relaxed dirty energy sourcing to meet energy demands due to a combination of factors recently made worse by a warming state creating higher energy demands and water shortages reduce hydroelectric energy supplies, the Los Angeles Times reported.

After celebrating our country’s independence July 4, shouldn’t we also take a minute to imagine the country we want to live in over the next few decades? Will it be an Eden or a wasteland? Then let’s agree to control the things we can all do in our daily lives to help rather than exasperate the problems:

Installing rooftop solar. Pollution free and energy independence are only two obvious benefits. Learn more at resilientpalisades.org/microgrid.

Reducing your reliance on single-use plastics. A staggering 91% of all plastics are single use, resulting in over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste leaching into our waterways, agricultural soil and livestock, according to a report in the UN Chronicle. The average American now consumes 70,000 microplastic particles a year, ScienceDaily reported.

Being conscious of your daily actions. From idling when parked for more than 10 seconds to continuing to favor a predominantly animal-based diet, to cheap fashion and other consumer habits, to ignoring the use of gas-powered equipment on your property, our actions (or inactions) are creating enormous amounts of pollution and detrimentally altering the natural systems that every living being depends on.

Learning more about how the EPA currently protects citizens with science-based laws and regulations. Visit epa.gov/laws-regulations.

Voting. A vote for science-based leaders is a vote for the planet you’re leaving your children and grandchildren. Vote for candidates who’ll protect our future, country and planet.

We are out of time. Will you accept the critical importance of becoming part of the solution and help shift the trajectory we have put ourselves on?