Environmental advocates call for more united effort from the public

NEW HAVEN >> State environmental activists believe there can be a future, both for jobs in Connecticut and for life on Earth, as long as people are willing to unite for a cause and find common ground.

Advocates from environmentalist groups, unions, churches and the U.S. Senate said Tuesday at Common Ground High School, a farming and environmentally-focused charter school, that the need for climate action is urgent, especially as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to roll back environmental protections from the Obama era.

“It is literally a fight for the future in the most fundamental way,” said John Harrity, president of the Connecticut State Council of Machinists. “The solution to climate change rests with the people.”

The Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, which organized the event, is a statewide initiative that strives to find mutually beneficial solutions for environmentalists and laborers through solutions such as creating green energy jobs or improving public transportation infrastructure.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said climate change is “a meteor that is hurtling towards Earth” and “the clock is ticking on our ability to prevent disaster.”

Murphy, D-Conn., said things under Obama were “on the right path,” and the peeling back of regulations by the Trump administration is “an unprecedented assault on science.”

His colleague, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, agreed. He said Trump’s budget proposing cuts of 60 percent to enforcement within the Environmental Protection Agency will reverse progress on something that was proven to work. The Paris Agreement, he said, must be maintained.

Several speakers emphasized several coming events: on April 22, Earth Day, there will be the ninth annual Rock to Rock fundraiser at which more than 1,000 cyclists will ride from West Rock to East Rock, immediately followed by the local March For Science, an event happening across the nation, at the finish line.