Picking one important issue to spotlight on Earth Day is nearly impossible because all environmental issues are so interrelated. As Chair of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, I even have the privilege of bringing together the general public and experts to craft policies that address both our energy demand and our desire to guard our surroundings.
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| Earth Day 2021 |
As we craft policies that move us far away from fossil fuels and towards renewables, we'd like the eagerness of the interested public, and therefore the intellectual firepower of our local and regional experts, during a deepening and evolving conversation through our virtual Energy and Climate forums and stakeholder meetings. These are, and can still be, the launchpad for legislation involving our renewable-energy portfolio, commercial-scale and community solar, onshore and offshore wind, and emerging energy technologies.
This work is critical for addressing our imperiled ecosystems. Research from the University of Delaware and Professor Doug Tallamy has found a loss of nearly 40% of our native bird species that depend upon forest cover, a loss of 31% of our native reptiles and amphibians, and a loss of 20% of our native fish. We’ve seen a 50% reduction in bird population sizes over the last 50 years and 40% of our native plants are either threatened or already lost. The drivers are habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, global climate change, and invasive species. When a non-tidal wetland is filled in to form fast land for brand spanking new development or dugout for the development’s stormwater management system, many of the species that needed that environment to survive are lost. The loss of protection of our non-tidal wetlands and therefore the paucity of protection for our threatened and species is unraveling the tapestry of our ecosystem. These are difficult development issues that we must rededicate ourselves to solving.
The threatening presence of invasive species is one issue during which everyone can participate within the solution. Since only about 25% of the plants sold at retail home-and-garden stores are native, the likelihood is that you've got an invasive plant or two in your yard. Although the passage of Senate Bill 22, which I sponsored, will now halt the sale of invasive plants in 2022, this doesn't address the presence of the many of those in our yards and open spaces that still contaminate our forests, roadsides, and open areas. If you've got a Bradford pear, cut it down. Now. If you've got ivy, or a Burning Bush, or Japanese barberry, pull it up and replant with a native plant. By all means, invite native plants to the house and garden store where you shop. Visit the website of the Delaware Invasive Species Council for an inventory of invasive species.
Lastly, the impact of plastic pollution and emerging contaminants like PFAS (the chemical found in fire-fighting foam and lots of other applications) affect all folks. Recent studies have shown that microplastics are found in every environment, including our bodies, and became a menace to terrestrial and marine life. we'd like to try to quite just reduce our plastic usage and eliminate plastics properly. to make a dent in cleaning up the waste that exists, plastic waste must become a commodity, whether by becoming a sought-after raw product, fuel source, or something else.
So for Earth Day, try moving the needle a touch by committing to adjusting your habits. Bring your cloth or reusable bags to the grocery this weekend. go browsing to work out if you've got any invasive plants in your yard and replace them with a native plant. plan to abandon a touch little bit of your mowed lawn for meadow or plant a replacement native tree. Participate during a tree planting. Join us for subsequent virtual Energy and Climate forum and speak your mind on our state’s energy policy.
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