Guest Op-Ed by AFN Executive Director Katie Sexton-Wood, published by the Arizona Capitol Times on April 6, 2021
The U.S. Senate has made history by confirming Michael Regan as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Biden. Not only is Regan the first African American man to lead the agency in its 50-year history, he also brings a distinct environmental justice focus to the role, in line with Biden’s commitment to centering justice and equity in his plans to tackle the climate crisis. At a moment when the window to meaningfully act on climate change is narrowing before our very eyes, and as low-income and communities of color continue to bear the brunt of environmental catastrophe in increasingly horrific ways, this is the vision and leadership we need to turn things around.
Our relationship to our environment underpins every other relationship we have: to ourselves, to God, to our neighbors, to the world. Climate justice is an integral part of social justice. In working together to fight climate change, we take responsibility both for our own contributions to climate change and for our brothers and sisters around the world. A strong EPA, led by a hand that can attend to the intersection of Earth stewardship and care for our neighbor, is the exact prescription that is needed.
[read more at the Arizona Capitol Times]