Yesterday was a truly inspiring day. I joined over 100 climate activists from across Virginia for the Virginia Conservation Network’s Conservation Lobby Day.
We descended on the General Assembly in Richmond for what was certainly the biggest climate lobby day of the year. We met, we rallied. We called for bold climate action NOW – urging our legislators to protect Virginia’s most vulnerable communities from climate-change fueled flooding by supporting the Virginia Coastal Protection Act (SB 571/HB 351), calling on Governor Terry McAuliffe to “do the right thing” when deciding how Virginia will respond to new federal climate rules, urging our leaders to oppose offshore drilling and hundreds of new miles of fracked-gas pipelines, and protect Virginia’s rivers from dirty coal ash.
For some of our most ardent activists, the day started at 6 AM, as nearly 50 community members from coastal Virginia climbed on a bus for the two hour ride to Richmond.
For all of us, kicking yesterday’s lobby day off with a pep talk from Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam was a big highlight. The Lieutenant Governor was an inspiring keynote speaker at CCAN’s celebration of Virginia’s Coastal Climate Champions in Norfolk last May, and he didn’t disappoint yesterday. The Lieutenant Governor urged us to ask for what we want, which, I’m proud to say, is exactly what we did!
Over the course of the morning, the 100+ activists met with just over 75 Senate and House offices, including members of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and the House Special Subcommittee on Energy, who will be the deciding votes on many of our biggest climate bills this year.
After intense lobbying, we joined the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Moms Clean Air Force, and Senator Donald McEachin (D-Richmond), among others, for a press conference to urge Governor McAuliffe and other state leaders to “do the right thing” when it comes to meeting the goals of the new federal climate plan.
In the coming months, Governor McAuliffe will be forced to choose between what’s good for Virginia’s biggest utility, Dominion Virginia Power, and what’s good for all of us when deciding how to respond to new federal climate rules. Moms, dads, grandparents, kids and other concerned activists at yesterday’s press conference urged him to stand with us.
Yesterday’s lobby day culminated with a creative action on the grounds of the capitol itself: as legislators walked from the General Assembly building to the Capitol Building, more than 60 of us chanted for climate action and coastal protection. Many of us donned yellow rain boots, and held up signs with images of hard hit coastal neighborhoods and residents. When Delegate Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach), House sponsor of the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, walked by, cheers went up and he smiled with pride.
I’ve been to lots of lobby days over the years. Yesterday’s felt uniquely powerful. The movement to call for real, bold climate action in Virginia, from our legislators and our Governor, is growing. I look forward to the days, weeks, months and years ahead, as we see some of the changes we were calling for Wednesday become a reality.
Whether it’s calling your legislator to urge them to vote for coastal protection, and against offshore drilling and fracked-gas pipelines, or signing our new petition to Governor McAuliffe to urge him make the right decision this spring, or joining us at a future rally or meeting: we need you to keep the movement going.
