Our Co-Founder Laura Turner Seydel was honored to join so many amazing environmental and justice advocates participating in Earth X on April 24th.
She was honored to be on a panel moderated by Pat Mitchell “LIVE from Mother Earth: WOMEN LEAD for CLIMATE JUSTICE”. Her fellow panelists were Mary Robinson the first woman President of Ireland and former UN Climate Envoy and Deputy Secretary General for Human RIghts, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Leader of indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad and Co Chair of the UN’s indigenous Communities Climate initiative, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson Climate scientist, chief research/writer of the best selling book “Drawdown”.
Here is an excerpt from Laura’s comments:
“I’m honored to be here today to celebrate both the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and Women Leading for Change on climate. I am excited that 3 generations of women in my family are working together and participating in Earth x including my daughter Vasser.
We are here in solidarity with the thousands of women around the world who are speaking truth to power and taking action in order to address the imminent threat that climate change poses to our ecosystems and to our health. The two, the health of the planet and our health are inextricably linked. And taking action is the best medicine for hopelessness and despair.
As we rebuild post CoVid, it will be up to all of us to help implement and scale the Drawdown solutions that Katherine has referred to. We must not go back to the way things were.
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We have made progress towards a clean renewable energy economy, in fact our world is now powered by 30 percent clean sources and 70 percent fossil fuels. But this is not nearly enough, fast enough.
Greta Thunberg and youth globally have emphatically stated the situation correctly – our house is on fire and we must take action as if our lives depend on it because our lives do depend on it.
And there needs to be a clear understanding that our health and the health of the planet are inextricably linked. The former director general of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan, declared that climate change poses the single greatest threat to human health in the 21st century
The same dirty air causing the climate to change is making people sick. We know exposure to air pollution is linked to heart disease, emphysema, strokes, cancer, diabetes and kidney disease. We know the elderly, the sick, communities of color, the poor, and our children are disproportionately affected.
As we are seeing now these chronic conditions also increase people’s risk of dying from COVID-19. A recently published Harvard study shows people living in polluted areas have a 15% increased chance of dying.
1 million people globally die prematurely because of dirty air. It’s the kids that unjustly bear 88% of the burden of disease from climate change. Childhood Asthma attacks are constantly one of the top reasons for emergency room visits. With stay at home orders and the sudden dramatic reduction of pollution from travel and industry, we can breathe easier, but only temporarily as things are gearing up again, as they are in China, and we will see emissions begin to climb again.
Also, childhood trauma numbers are rising exponentially due to children witnessing weather disasters on a scale never seen before and experiencing a new condition known as Climate Anxiety. Families and their homes are being destroyed and communities displaced, in some cases permanently. From extremes floods, storms, wildfires not to mention school shootings, bullying, and now add to the list, the fear and tragedy of a global pandemic. We know trauma impacts the developing brain resulting in PTSD, insomnia, depression, hopelessness and other difficulties later in life. Greta Thunberg is a hope filled example of resilience. She was paralyzed with depression and didn’t speak for a year but she came out of it when she began to protest. Her story of healing and action is exactly what kids need to combat the fear and hopelessness pervasive in the world. Greta shows actions matter and that youth, by combining their power, can make a positive difference in the world.
We can help our kids heal and become more resilient by getting them out in nature. We must combat nature deficit disorder, which Richard Louv, founder of Children and Nature Network, featured in his book “Last Child In the Woods”. Studies show exposure to nature has positive effects on the body by reducing cortisol, anxiety, and stress levels.
Through the 90s the award winning Captain Planet and the planeteers cartoon featured youth working to solve the world’s toughest problems. When they work together it multiplied their power to defeat eco villains and their polluting and plundering ways. It was seen around the world by millions and inspired youth to take action and engage in being great stewards of the earth.
One of my favorite programs for youth which has a multitude of benefits, are edible gardens. The Victory gardens of World war 2 fame are making a comeback as people want to become more healthy, self-reliant, and resilient. And with the news of the massive increase in demand at food banks, and related food shortages, gardens are so important and healing for children spiritually, developmentally, physically, emotionally, and nutritionally.
The new world order has to include a reduction in wasteful consumption, single-use plastics and air pollution – as the youth around the world are begging and expecting of us. They are imploring us to do everything in our power and we will be held accountable. In the end, I want to be able to look my children and grandchildren in the eyes to say I did everything to leave them a healthier and safer world, as I know we all do.
As we have learned from indigenous peoples we must consider how our actions today affect the 7th generation.
Right now, our government is putting profit ahead of people’s health. They are denying science and rolling back critical public health protections during a global pandemic.
The US is 5 percent of the world’s population and we emit a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The US is a main contributor to the climate crisis dating back to the industrial revolution. It is our duty and responsibility to lead the world to a new energy economy and scale the many solutions that are available.
But what we currently have is a power structure that cherry picks what science is important and what is not. For the past few years we have witnessed over 100 rollbacks as a calculated dismantling of our hard fought and won health and environmental protections.
Over the past month the EPA released a new proposal, during the pandemic, to censor science by severely limiting studies it will use when making rules to protect public health. They only allowed comments for 30 days–usually comment periods are 60-90 days–plus there were no public hearings although a virtual hearing could have been conducted.
The EPA has also instituted setbacks in clean air protections that allow polluting industry off the hook including allowing coal fired plants to emit more dangerous neurotoxins like lead and mercury into our air.
This is unacceptable. According to the American Lung Associations 2020: State of the Air” report the air quality in the United States has been dramatically declining, leaving about 150 million people — nearly half of America’s population — breathing unhealthy polluted air.
So, what can we do? Listen to Greta and millions of youth worldwide. We must vote on their behalf for a livable planet and a secure future by electing candidates that are pro-science, pro-climate action, pro- health, pro-women, and pro-children.
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We must also continue to hold our current leaders accountable for their recent reckless actions. Please join me in fighting back against the dangerous rollback of public health protections by visiting MothersandOthersForCleanAir.org, a non-profit organization I founded over 16 years ago, and taking action today!
But don’t stop there.
The level and speed of change we need to curb the climate crisis will not be fixed just at the ballot box or by sweeping policy changes.
It will take every single one of you making a lot of seemingly small changes–and maybe a few big changes for some– in how you shop and travel.
As women we make 80% of consumption choices. That is a lot of power we can use immediately. We can vote with our dollars as Chief consumption officers to cut waste and consumption and support companies dedicated to our health and children’s future. We can strive to make our homes, houses of worship, schools and businesses Zero Waste Zones. We can drive less, fly less, telework, teleconference.”
