"From the farmlands and waterways of the Eastern Shore to our main streets throughout Central Maryland, to the mountains of Garrett County – Maryland has incredible natural resources that make our state a great place to live, work and raise a family."
"Unfortunately, climate change, which continues to pose a tremendous threat to our state, has cost us $10 billion over the past decade, and is expected to cost us $19 billion in real estate damage alone this century."
Wes Moore - Maryland Governor Elect
In just a few days, it will be 2023 and a dawn of a new day in our state. In another week or so, people representing a wider variety of experiences, genders, and colors in key leadership positions will be sworn in as our elected leaders. At the beginning of the month, we asked our Issue Leads to tell you their story and their vision for Maryland, all of which are posted on our website, www.UULMMD.org. Last week, Jan Bird and Betty Crowley, our Abortion Rights and Health Care Issue Leads respectively shared their vision. This week we finish our end of year series with Phil Webster, our Climate Change Issue Lead.
THIS IS THE MARYLAND THAT I WANT TO LIVE IN!"
- Sebastian, UU Kid for a Livable Planet
"I'd like to tell you about what I'd like Maryland to be like....
See last weekend we went to a national park and I went camping there with my friends on this island. And I got to see all this nature and the water was clean, it was so clean. And we were able to canoe there and there was a bald eagle's nest not too far from us. We saw them fishing and flying around, they were even raising their young inside this beautiful, beautiful place.
And, this is the Maryland that I want to grow up in.
This is the Maryland that I want to live in.
This is the Maryland that I want you to vote on."
Please Click on the Image to see Sebastian in
Sebastian, like so many youth and young adults, is crying out for all of us to live up to our responsibilities and not leave them with a climate characterized by significantly higher temperatures, more frequent and intense weather events, droughts, floods, sea level rise and events we may not have a word for, but that will definitely leave paths of devastation in its wake. All of these "events" are inevitable if we continue the "business as usual" combustion of carbon based fossil fuels.
To be clear, if we humans do not drastically change our craving for fossil fuels, and do it soon, human civilization of this planet will be significantly and negatively impacted.
Each day that we delay, the cost of remediation increases!
We must stop this madness now!
THIS IS NOT THE CULTURE I WANT TO LIVE IN AND BE A PART OF.… This why I volunteer to work with UULM-MD where we work for climate friendly laws that are effective, equitable and just for all!
We are now in a climate emergency and an emergency means there is still hope. And we must have hope.
"Hope is belief in the plausibility of the possible, not only the necessity of the probable."
Moses Maimonides, Jewish philosopher (1135-1204)
In last year's Maryland General Assembly Session, we helped pass the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. This legislation is far reaching and among the most progressive in the US. And it is NOT enough. Because powerful business interests were able to delay and/or remove some critical components of the legislation prior to passage.
In the upcoming 2023 Session, coalitions of environmental and justice organizations will continue to work on legislation that will reduce the impact of climate change for all Marylanders. UULM-MD is a long term member of these coalitions, and a founding member of several. The election of 2022 resulted in stronger progressive supermajorities in both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly. This, coupled with the election of a progressive Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and Comptroller raises hopes for stronger climate legislation. And, yet, there is much work to do!
NOW, THIS IS MY TYPE OF COMMUNITY!
The type I want to be identified with — justice seeking people who work to reform unjust laws and create essential innovative changes for our future. UULM-MD is a faith based community that focuses on equity for everyone (our Second Principle), the interactive web from which we all come (Seventh Principle), and the intersection of climate change and justice (Eighth Principle).
Please join UULM-MD in this work with your membership and/or financial support.
Phil Webster, UULM-MD Climate Change Issue Lead
