February 16, 2023
To: Senate Committee on Environmental Affairs
Re: Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Supports SB 335
Dear Chairman Niemeyer and Committee Members,
I am contacting you on behalf of the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club to urge you to support Senate Bill 335 and pass this bill on to the full Senate for consideration.
As you know, this bill would create a Climate Solutions Task Force, which would be charged with studying a number of concerns that we at the Hoosier Chapter find of extreme importance, including highlighting the need for greater conservation efforts across the state - through preservation of public lands, wetlands, and floodplains as well as support for Indiana’s farmers to address and mitigate the impacts of climate change through various methodologies and practices. Additionally, the establishment of (and funding for) a statewide Climate Action Plan is long overdue in our state as we face continued impacts from a shifting climate - and is something that I have personally been advocating for over a decade. A thoughtful, scientifically based approach to dealing with the impacts of climate change is absolutely critical as we deal with a changing energy market, increasing renewable technologies, and a need to uplift Indiana as a leader in these shifting markets, as well as in conservation efforts. It is in not only our state’s best environmental and public health interest to take the lead in planning for this changing landscape, but also in our best economic interest in order to get ahead of increasing energy rates and occurrences of natural disasters like flooding and severe storms. Indeed, it is more fiscally responsible to address our future needs now - through conservation and thoughtful energy transitions - than it will be to pay for the potential losses to come as our day-to-day reality continues to shift.
Finally, we are incredibly grateful for the thoughtful and intentional leadership displayed by the youth with Confront the Climate Crisis and want to thank them for their perseverance and their passion. It would be a shame to see all of their hard work come to an end when the legislation sitting before you makes so much sense - and could serve as a signal to other young leaders across the state that their elected officials are approachable, amenable, and grateful for the partnerships available to them with the future leaders of Indiana - as these young people so obviously are.
With that, I thank you for considering SB 335, and urge you to please vote yes and champion it moving forward.
Amanda Shepherd
State Director
Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
amanda.shepherd@sierraclub.org