Received this e-mail today from 350.org co-founder, Bill McKibben, in support of former NAACP Chairman, Ben Jealous’ (D. MD) gubernatorial campaign:
As wildfires ravage the West Coast, tropical storms devastate parts of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and millions of Americans are left without power, Trump and his cabinet remain immovable: neither floods nor hurricanes nor wildfires can keep this administration from their task of dismantling environmental protections.
In the wake of the administration’s latest attempt to withdraw the Clean Power Plan -- a crucial Obama Administration-era plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions -- we can resist and fight to protect our environment at the state level.
Come November 2018, we’ll all be worried about control of Congress, but there’s one race I’ll be watching with particular focus: Ben Jealous’ run for governor of Maryland.
Stand with me and Ben today in our shared fight to protect the environment. Chip in $3 today.
The track record Ben is running on leaves no doubt -- none at all -- about who he is. And here’s the funny thing: environmentalism is not even his main claim to fame. Once the youngest executive director of the NAACP, he’s been at the forefront of the civil rights movement, fighting against police brutality, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and the myriad other forms of injustice that are the nation’s ongoing shame.
But behind that is an equally deep commitment to the planet, one that stretches back to his boyhood, when he co-founded the first high school chapter of the Student Environmental Action Coalition.
And then -- well, then it deepened. As a young journalist in Jackson, Mississippi he covered the poisoning of a community after an explosion at a chemical plant, which provided a lesson in the links between poverty, race, and pollution. From there it was a natural step to Ralph Nader’s Public Interest Research Group where he helped launch Neighborhood Green Corps along the East Coast. And then on to the NAACP, where he launched the Climate Justice program.
Under his leadership, the NAACP supported the cap-and-trade climate bill in 2009. And when we launched the fight against the Keystone pipeline in DC, he came and talked with protesters and was one of the first national figures to lend support.
Just a year ago I remember sitting on the pavement next to him blocking the doors outside the Army Corps of Engineers building at the height of the Dakota Access battle. All of which is to say, Ben Jealous has the track record. There’s no question where his commitment lies.
I believe Ben Jealous will fight to keep Maryland moving forward and safeguard our environment for future generations. Chip in $3 to stand with him today.
Ben Jealous is only 44. He’s already done one lifetime of work and done it well enough to rest on his laurels. But he’s clearly got another lifetime to go.
Join us,
Bill McKibben
Click here to donate to Jealous’ campaign.