If anyone still doubts that North Carolina is a key swing state in the 2022 mid-term elections, we offer this evidence: Two members of the Biden Administration Cabinet have made separate trips to our state to talk about major initiatives just in the past week.
First, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan came to Warren County (a.k.a. the birthplace of the environmental justice movement) in order to announce the creation of the EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. The new office will oversee a $3 billion climate and environmental justice program created by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Administrator Regan told state officials and citizens gathered at the event, “I could not be prouder or more excited to announce today that EPA is creating a new national office charged with advancing environmental justice and civil rights. We are elevating environmental justice and external civil rights to the highest levels of EPA, placing this critical work on equal structural footing with the Office of Air, Office of Water, and all of EPA’s other national program offices.”
In a statement on behalf of the NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV), board member Angella Dunston said, “The creation of the EPA’s Civil Rights Division is truly historic as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ‘birth of the environmental justice movement’ in Warren County. We are grateful to the Biden Administration for taking this action. What we must do now is not rest on our laurels but continue the activism which brought us to this day, in order to obtain true environmental justice for people across this country and around the world.”
Just a few days later in Chapel Hill, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen brought a bookend message, warning of ‘economic calamity’ if climate change is not addressed immediately. Among other impacts, she warned of the “persistent, frequent shocks” caused by climate change (such as major storms and their costs).
“State and local governments may increasingly be forced to devote scarce resources to disaster mitigation, potentially at the expense of investments in areas like education and worker training,” she said.
With about five weeks left in this election, all signs point to the need for environmental advocates to step up our effective involvement in winning key contests across our state and nation.
