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Renewing Our Commitment to Protecting Our Planet

April 21, 2015
Speeches

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) urges his constituents to renew our commitment to protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we all call home on the 45th anniversary of Earth Day.

Below is a video and transcript of the speech.

Hello, I'm Mike Quigley.

This April 22nd, please join me in celebrating Earth Day.

Every year, this worldwide event is a time to renew our commitment to protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we all call home.

As a nation, we made significant strides in protecting our environment and preserving our natural resources.

We've made a commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and increasing our use of renewable energy.

But the founder of Earth Day, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, was asked in 2005, just before his death at the age of 89, if Earth Day should still be celebrated.

He said, "Our works not finished. There's a lot more to be done."

And I couldn't agree with him more.

In our own backyards, we've seen the devastating effects of climate change from stronger, more destructive storms pummeling Chicago at an alarming rate.

It's threatening the quality of our drinking water, eroding our natural resources and creating massive amounts of property damage for individuals and businesses.

But Chicago is not alone.

Across this country the effects of climate change are having drastic impacts on our environment, our communities, and even our health.

We need to buckle down our efforts to improve the environmental well-being of our planet, its resources and its inhabitants.

The reason I first got involved in politics was to protect the environment because, ultimately, the most important thing any of us can do is leave a better world for our children and our children's children.

So this Earth Day, I encourage you to join me in learning more about protecting our environment and its impact on our future generations.

Thank you.

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