Writing to our Federal Senators and Representatives is an effective way to inform our officials about climate solutions and to tell them how you feel about this issue. This month Jewish Earth Alliance is writing about protecting threatened species and millions of acres of their habitat.
Climate change is one of the causes of the Sixth Mass Extinction – the accelerating disappearance of wild species due to human pressures. The loss of this biodiversity is not just a threat to wildlife; it is a threat to humanity’s life support systems.
Join conservation organizations, sportsmen’s groups, outdoor recreation retail and manufacturing, and the energy industry, to recommend that Congress establish a dedicated fund to protect threatened species and their habitat. If passed, the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (H.R. 2773) will provide $1.3 billion for states and territories and $97.5 million to tribal nations annually for proactive efforts to protect threatened species and millions of acres of habitat. The Act has been introduced in three Congresses and currently has 140 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the House and 32 bi-partisan co-sponsors in the Senate (S. 2372), including Senator Casey, but not Senator Toomey. Advocates have set a goal of reaching 200 co-sponsors in the House, to set the stage for a successful House Natural Resources Committee markup. In the Senate, the goal is 60, where the bill is before the Environment & Public Works Committee. To see if your representative has cosponsored the bill go to https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hr2773/cosponsors.
Please forward your letters to both Senators Casey (thank him for his support of this bill), Toomey (ask him for his support) and your representative to me by Tues. January 18. I will bundle them and send them to the aides in these offices who know us and work on environmental issues.
For more information about this topic see https://www.jewishearthalliance.org/alerts/protect-wildlife-for-tu-bishvat and see https://jewish-earth-alliance.cdn.prismic.io/jewish-earth-alliance/77786efc-2524-439a-b666-cc4db4fc2e0f_Tu+Bishvat+Protect+Wildlife+Jan+2022.pdf for the template letter.
Phyllis Blumberg
PA organizer for the Jewish Earth Alliance
Lead PA ambassador for EDF-Action
Board member PA Interfaith Power and Light
