|
On May 17, Pennsylvanians sent a clear message to our politicians in Harrisburg—when it comes to the environment, we need to do all that we can to protect and restore our natural heritage.
This is because on May 17 voters approved the Growing Greener ballot initiative, which increases funding for preserving open spaces and family farms threatened by encroaching overdevelopment, cleaning up the state’s polluted waterways, and other important environmental initiatives by $625 million.
The proposal met overwhelming public support—it passed by nearly a two-to-one margin statewide.
And the generous financial support of PennEnvironment’s members helped make this extraordinary victory possible. Our members’ support funded the much-needed advocacy of PennEnvironment’s lobbyists in the state capitol; it allowed us to deliver over 100,000 fact sheets to educate the state’s residents; and it funded our work to get 5,000 phone calls and 10,000 emails from concerned citizens to their elected officials, asking for this proposal’s passage.
The Growing Greener ballot initiative showed that the environment has bi-partisan support. Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh overwhelmingly supported the ballot initiative. And Republican-dominated regions also voted for Growing Greener—including Lancaster, Bucks and Chester counties.
The message from voters to our legislators in Harrisburg is simple: they have a clear public mandate to do everything in their power to protect our environment.
Too often our politicians forget this—lobbyists for polluters, developers and other special interests have the ear of our elected officials every day. But on May 17, Pennsylvanians spoke loudly and clearly to our legislators.
Let’s hope that the overwhelming support shown for Growing Greener motivates our legislators to be more proactive when it comes to protecting our environment. At a time of partisan politics and bickering, it seems like the environment is one of the few places where everyone can agree.
Sincerely,
|
