Photo: Nearly 9,000 people turned out in freezing weathering in Salt Lake City to protest Trump’s attack on national monuments. Photo by Carly Ferro, Utah Sierra Club.
I don’t have to tell you it’s been a rough year. Our environment and communities are under unprecedented assault from an Administration led by a megalomaniac misogynist who doesn’t believe in science and is willing to break the law to deliver favors to his friends in corporate America.
It’s been particularly heartbreaking to watch Trump-emboldened Republicans in Congress trample on the sovereignty and human rights of the Gwich’in people of the Arctic to ram through drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a way to pay for massive tax cuts for the rich and for corporations, in the same week that Trump himself took to the stage to dismantle protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments - continuing a shameful and violent history of broken promises to Native American Tribes and prioritization of extractive industries over the rights of local communities and native populations. It’s disgusting.
But - don’t stop reading yet! - there are silver linings amidst this insanity, and in the face of it all, a great hope is bubbling up from the streets.
First off, Trump is widely unpopular, with an overall approval rating hovering at 32 percent. And, if Virginia and Alabama are any indication, the actions of this Administration and their henchmen will only pave the way to their undoing. Remember, 70 percent of Americans favored staying in the Paris Climate Agreement, even as Trump and Tillerson pulled us out. Eighty percent of voters in the American West support keeping National Monuments in place, even as Trump and Zinke eviscerated Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante. Seventy percent of voters oppose drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, as Lisa Murkowski and Republicans in Congress ram it through as part of the budget reconciliation bill. And more than half of American oppose the Republicans’ terrible tax plan overall! These jokers are so hellbent on delivering political favors to their cronies, they’ve forgotten to check in every now and again with public sentiment - and that’s not a sustainable situation (as long as we can keep people engaged - more on that later). This overreach is paving the way for the undoing of this administration and the Republicans who are supporting it.
Second, more people than ever are fighting back. Activists are pouring into the streets to hold decision-makers accountable and remind them that most of us actually want clean air and water, and that we will fight to defend our environment and our communities in the courts, in the halls of Congress, and in districts around the country. For instance, it was so inspiring to see almost 9,000 people rally in Salt Lake City on December 2 in support of National Monuments in a pre-planned event, and then almost 2,000 show up again spontaneously, just two days later,to greet Trump when he landed on December 4, highlighting their support for keeping sacred lands protected and standing with the tribes on Bears Ears.
Thousands are rallying against dangerous fossil fuel projects, like the Atlantic Coast fracked gas Pipeline, demanding that their state leaders use their voices to highlight the real dangers of further investments in massive fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Earlier in the year, a diverse and powerful coalition of grassroots activists, labor partners, hunters and anglers, Native American community leaders, faith leaders, and business partners helped defeat an attempt by Republicans in the Senate to roll back the Obama-era methane regulations. And just last week, we scored yet another important victory in the courts (the venue that has become a critical backstop against this Administration’s anti-environmental agenda, and where we’ve secured several important wins) when the 9th circuit upheld an Obama-era ban on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
And as we flex our muscles to fight back against these unparalleled attacks on the environment, more and more people are signing up to join us - since the election, the Sierra Club has added nearly 1 million members and supporters. We are part of a growing movement, one that is horrified by the actions of this administration and ready to take action to push back. It is on us to continue connecting the dots, reminding people that their voices and their engagement does matter. We can turn our outrage into burning resolve to keep going - because these actions cannot stand, because our families, our communities, our planet, deserve better. And we’re going to keep fighting for the world we know is possible. Bring it on, 2018.