From the time I was a child I was concerned about the Earth and the affect we were having on her, especially on water. In the early seventies as a young girl I noticed a difference in my local waterways and that they looked polluted more than previously. This actually scared me because I did not know what the world would then be like when I grew up and had a child if we kept dumping poisons into our water. My mom told me the best way to learn about pollution was to read about it.

I went to my local library and asked the librarian to give me some books about the environment and pollution. She gave me a book on air pollution, water pollution, and a copy of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. And that was my wake up call. My mom and I sat on our porch that summer reading her book together, and I made a pledge that I would from that point on do all I could as one person to speak out for the Earth and us when I saw environmental injustice.

I was always involved in some sort of environmental event in school, even winning some awards for my community work. After that I went on to high school and joined an environmental club that did neighborhood cleanups and spread awareness of pollution. I then wrote about it a few times for my college paper and continued to write Congress about my concerns.

Since the seventies the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and many other bills passed in an effort to preserve our planet and hold polluters accountable. I even remember writing to President Nixon all those years ago when the EPA was born when I was but 12 years old to tell him that automobiles should be run without combustion engines and with solar power. Solar power was always the one way I believed and still believe that this world was meant to be powered.

My advocacy for this planet has not waned as I have become much older and wiser, now with my own teenage son who is informed about the climate crisis we face and what we must do to hold government accountable for laws that will help mitigate its affects. I also now write my own blog on water issues and am a vocal advocate for water conservation as the global water crisis we face is interlinked with the climate crisis. I suppose you could then say my love for Earth is generational. My mom passed it on to me and now I pass it on. Only now, it is much more serious in regards to the future sustainability of our climate balance. This is why I joined WE. Because my heart is this Earth, and still as a child I pledge to do all I can as one person to speak out for her when I see environmental injustice.

100 in 10.

"Freedom only exists where there is complete respect for rights of property ownership. When we go to another person's land, or home, or business, we should expect to be bound by their rules of conduct. And they should be free to protect their property and family as they see fit."

The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights. The strict enforcement of property rights corrects environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting.

In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor's land, air, or water. If your property is being damaged, you have every right to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right. After paying damages, the polluter's production and sale costs rise, making it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way. Currently, preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their problems.   Read More »