From Interfaith Power and Light (http://interfaithpowerandlight.org):
We’ve been glad to see the early relief that has been extended to people hurt by this crisis. Expanding unemployment and providing funding to small businesses who keep workers on payroll was a great first step. But we know it’s nowhere near enough. Especially as we learn more about the ways that air pollution has made Covid-19 even deadlier, we know that investing in clean energy jobs is the best way to rebuild our economy and create sustainable, healthy communities.
Join us in faithful witness by calling on your national legislators to support investments that put our health and our neighbors’ health first at http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50836/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=26698.
We can do that by creating good paying clean energy jobs. Before the crisis, clean energy was a big economic bright spot. But in March alone, we lost 100,000 clean energy jobs. And without action, that’s projected to become 500,000. We can reverse those losses and create jobs right now by investing in clean energy tax credits.
We also need to do more to protect the health of our communities, especially our most vulnerable. One way we can do that is by freezing utility shut-offs nationwide. All our neighbors deserve access to clean water and electricity. Especially during a public health emergency, we must make sure that everyone has what they need to stay safe and healthy at home.
Keeping our communities healthy also means addressing environmental injustice. Communities of color have been breathing an unfair share of air pollution for far too long. It’s one of the reasons people of color have been hit harder by this virus. We need to invest in stopping pollution through initiatives like the EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants program.
And stopping pollution has to include preventing a bailout for fossil fuel companies. Propping up fossil fuels means more of the air pollution that makes our communities vulnerable to the virus, while also contributing to future climate catastrophes.
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