Earth Day Call to Action: Thank Elected Officials for the Environmental Provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

As women of faith, our ethic of environmental stewardship is informed by scripture and prophetic counsel. President Russell M. Nelson proclaimed: “We should care for the earth, be wise stewards over it, and preserve it for future generations.” MWEG’s Principle of Ethical Government 2f states: “Governments and members of society have an obligation to exercise responsible stewardship of the earth, thereby protecting not only the wellbeing of their citizens, but also that of both future generations and other citizens of the planet (see D&C 59:18-21 and D&C 104:13-15).” 

We are at a critical juncture for taking effective action and implementing policy to mitigate the effects of climate change. The climate is changing independently of partisan interests or national boundaries — it is a concern that must be tackled collaboratively. The bipartisan infrastructure bill, signed into law on November 15, 2021, includes a number of environment-related provisions, such as programs to conserve water in the West, improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, improve air quality by investing in public transit and wildfire mitigation, and increase access to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Additional proposed legislation and environmental policies emphasize land conservation and market-based strategies for carbon reduction.

To Do

In honor of Earth Day, which falls on April 22, contact your senators and members of Congress to thank those who voted in favor of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, express disappointment for votes against this law, and let them know you support further federal efforts to combat climate change and improve the environment. (Not sure how your federal officials voted? You can find the House votes here and the Senate votes here.)

In less than five minutes, you can submit a letter to all of your elected representatives at once via our website. You have the option to either write your own letter or answer some short prompts to have a personalized letter created for you. 

You can submit a letter to all of your elected representatives at once via our website. (If your members of Congress voted differently from one another, use nuance to express your reactions.) Go HERE to submit a letter.

Background

Caring for the environment is a spiritual responsibility and a commandment. For example, in the book of Numbers, we are commanded to neither pollute nor defile the land wherein we dwell. As women of faith, the obligation to safeguard the earth and her resources for our children and the generations that follow is of the utmost importance. Because environmental issues occur on a large, even global scale, we must implement broad solutions founded in institutional reform if we are to achieve lasting impact. Accordingly, one of the most important actions we as citizens can do is to urge policymakers and elected officials at all levels of government to enact these solutions.

We must remember that this responsibility to exercise stewardship over the earth and its resources is not a partisan issue but a human one, and environmental protections have historically motivated compromise across ideological and party lines.

Global Climate Change

Global climate change has far-reaching effects. Carbon released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as from other industrial processes, has caused the average global temperature to rise. This in turn causes extreme weather events, polar ice melting, sea level rise, impacts on biodiversity, and disruption to human systems, including agriculture and food supplies, migration, national security, and economies.

Elder Steven E. Snow stated: “Climate change is real, and it’s our responsibility as stewards to do what we can to limit the damage done to God’s creation.” Other faith leaders signed a joint appeal calling on world leaders to address climate change at the Conference of Parties 26 (COP26) in Glasgow Scotland in October 2021, saying, “Climate change is a grave threat. We advocate for common but differentiated climate action at all levels. . . . All governments must adopt a trajectory that will limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” On April 4, 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at the United Nations released the Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Jim Skea stated, “It’s now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible.”

There is widespread agreement among the international and business communities regarding the importance of addressing climate change. One hundred ninety-seven nations participated in the COP26 to discuss further efforts to implement the Paris Accords of 2015. The U.S. government actively participated in the conference. Members of the business community have also called on the U.S. government to prioritize action on climate change. Executives of more than 300 businesses in May 2021 issued a statement that a bold target is necessary to “catalyze a zero-emissions future, spur a robust economic recovery, and create millions of well-paying jobs.”         

Other Environmental Issues

Other important environmental issues include healthy water systems, clean water supply, clear air, land conservation, and plastics pollution. Climate change, pollution, and overdevelopment disproportionately impact members of society who are most vulnerable, so as we care for the Earth, we are in turn caring for each other. As emphasized by Sister Sharon Eubank: “[A]re they not linked so inextricably that we can’t do one without caring for the other?”

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle approved the plan. The act is targeted at improving the country’s infrastructure and includes various related investments that address environmental concerns. Among those are a program to conserve water in the West, improve drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, improve air quality by investing in public transit and wildfire mitigation, and increase access to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. State governments will be major partners in implementing the bill.  

While the infrastructure bill makes important contributions to addressing climate change and other environmental issues, it is just the first step in mitigating and adapting to climate change and cleaning up the environment. Future policy options could include natural climate solutions (including land conservation), carbon pricing or markets, investments in renewable energy and the transportation sector, and limiting methane emissions.  

Mormon Women for Ethical Government supports bold and creative strategies to protect the environment and care for the earth. In particular, we seek policy and legislation that effectively curbs global climate change and reduces carbon emissions, that protects water and air, and that mitigates the impacts of pollution and climate change on marginalized communities. We implore leaders at the state and national levels to set aside politics in pursuit of policies that will aggressively and immediately address this worldwide threat. We proclaim, with leaders of our Church, that “We should live for future generations, not just for our own. This means learning about the earth and having a responsible relationship with it; we can become informed, engaged, and attuned to sound science.”

We urge our members to identify personally pressing issues — from local to global levels — and advocate accordingly.  

---

Photo by Ingrid Martinussen on Unsplash