MTP: Production Company, Sabrina Stoll: Producer, Michael Thelin: Creative Director
From every corner of the Earth we are surrounded by a natural beauty, a beauty that needs protection, a beauty that needs a voice.
Those words from this powerful video encapsulate this moment in time. We are surrounded by a natural beauty. As President Obama leaves office it’s clear that he has come to both see and understand the value of the natural world around us. He’s visited parks with his family, created programs to provide new opportunities for people to play and work outside, and helped to make America’s public lands more welcoming to everyone. He was the first president to venture above the Arctic Circle, and by many accounts came away with the sense of awe often inspired by nature. (By the way, science shows that experiencing awe—whether close to home or in the wild, makes us generally better, healthier people.) He has seen beauty not just in towering cliffs and deep canyons, but in the history and human stories wrapped up in our public lands. That connection of people to places is a powerful force that is often intricately linked to our identities as individuals, communities and as a nation.
A beauty that needs protection. That same connection is what drives a need to protect the places we love. Our public lands face a wealth of threats, from drilling and mining to climate change. Putting public lands on a map and setting them aside is not enough to ensure future generations can experience our special places. They must be actively safeguarded, especially in the face of a changing climate. As President Obama has said, “When it comes to climate change, I believe there’s such a thing as being too late. And that moment is almost here.” President Obama followed his words with action, withdrawing areas in our oceans from oil and gas leasing, putting some of our most sensitive natural areas off limits to dirty fuels, and pushing forward responsible clean energy development. He permanently protected natural areas important for mitigating and adjusting to climate change as national monuments. He granted a reprieve for the area around the Grand Canyon from uranium mining and recommended wilderness protections for the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Total, President Obama oversaw the creation or expansion of 34 national monuments, many dedicated to recognizing the full American story and the contributions of people like Cesar Chavez and Harriett Tubman, and movements like those for women’s and LGBTQ rights.
A beauty that needs a voice. President Obama didn’t enter the White House as a great conservationist, but he will leave having done more to combat climate change and protect public lands than almost any president before him. Behind each new national monument designated was as chorus of voices, from business leaders to Tribal Nations, urging action. At each step of the way, climate and human rights activists pushed back against unjust energy decisions and pollution that would threaten the most vulnerable. People visited our public lands, invited others along with them, and built new connections to our great outdoors.
There is power in nature -- power to heal and inspire, to explore our past and preserve it for the future. And there is power in united voices calling for change. As we enter a new era for our public lands the Sierra Club is committed to continuing the work to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.