President's Message: Take Action to Protect Our Environment & Rights

Ann Paul, President

These days it seems that all the things that matter to me are being dismantled by elected federal officials or people appointed by them with little knowledge of the programs they are wiping out. The results will be devastating to the world we leave our children and grandchildren, and that makes me very sad.

For instance . . .

Clean air and water have been protected by the U.S. Government since the 1970s, protected by landmark legislation - laws that have improved our health and welfare immensely. The air is so clean that we don’t even remember what it was like before. Children with asthma and people with lung ailments can breathe. Cigarette smoking doesn’t occur in restaurants or on airplanes anymore.

The nation’s water is improved so much that we enjoy canoeing, kayaking, sailing, fishing, and swimming in our bays, oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams. People can even eat the fish!

I remember a highly polluted Tampa Bay, soiled by untreated sewage dumped directly into the water, a river in Ohio that caught fire, and plastic debris crowding shorelines of lakes and rivers.

We don’t have that anymore, but it hasn’t been easy, with installation of advanced wastewater treatment plants and stormwater ponds, and identification and removing pollution point sources – all very expensive and taking a long time to be accomplished.

Public media, television and radio and their excellent programs on the environment, history, society, literature, and education are threatened. The seas, atmosphere, and weather science are no longer protected.

This is scary for Florida in the summer and fall hurricane season.

Climate control actions that also provide safe, non-polluting and essentially free energy are being gutted, including solar and wind sources. This is so foolish, especially considering Florida’s abundant sunshine. And now solar for homes is actually affordable.

Meanwhile the effects of global warming are with us, as each year is warmer than any before. Glaciers and permafrost are melting, oceans are warming, fires are burning forests and polluting the atmosphere, storms are bigger, and sea levels are rising, threatening our survival, agriculture, homes, and cities.

And worse, most amazingly of all, our rights to congregate, to protest, to receive fair trials and judgment, and to be safe in our own country are being threatened. In America, this is an ultimate tragedy.

So what can we do about it? What can I do about it?

One thing, stop feeling helpless.

Let our government officials hear from us, over and over. That means city, county, state, and federal elected people. Call, write, email, and participate in rallies, if you can.

Help underfunded conservation agencies and land managers protect land and wildlife.

Spend time with our friends, family, and acquaintances, sharing our caring and love.

Get out in nature and receive its solace and comfort. Go on the water, in the water, walk in the woods and on the beaches, find birds and wildlife, feel the wonder of their beauty and nature itself.

And hope for the best, for our future. Good luck.