Monday, October 9, 2017

Sierra Club Protests Zinke at Everglades National Park

South Floridians rallied Saturday at the Ernest Coe Visitors Center at Everglades National Park to send a strong message to President Trump's Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke about the urgent need to act on climate. The Secretary, who denies climate change and has consistently supported fossil fuel development on public lands and elsewhere, visited the Everglades and viewed damage from Hurricane Irma.

Ironically, the Trump Administration's climate denial and pullout of the Paris Climate Agreement and expansion of coal, oil and fracked gas on public lands mean we are more likely to see more powerful storms. Trump and Zinke are also a threat to public lands having crafted a plan to vastly reduce the size of national monuments (protected public lands) across the country.

Diana Umpierre, Everglades Organizer for the Sierra Club, who attended the rally responded:

“The threat of climate change is real—and the damaging effects can already be clearly seen in the Everglades. Even as the Secretary surveys the damage from Irma, we know that the forecast calls for more frequent, extreme storms. We are going to lose the Everglades if Trump and Zinke expand drilling for oil and gas and revive the coal industry. Burning more fossil fuels means the end for the Everglades and South Florida."

The protest was covered by WLTV Channel 23 Univision.


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 About the Sierra Club The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Posted by Jon Ullman at 3:52 PM
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