The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is, as President Biden claims, “The single most aggressive action the U.S. is taking to tackle the climate crisis and create clean energy solutions in American history.” However, that is a low bar to clear. There is much more required to meet the President’s climate goals and much is needed to ensure that the IRA is implemented in a way that helps farmers, fenceline communities, and biodiversity. As stated by Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, “President Biden and his administration should take this moment not only to celebrate but also to recommit and refocus on addressing the environmental injustice and wildlife crises.” For more in-depth coverage, Beyond Pesticides’ Daily News.
Tell President Biden that funds in the Inflation Reduction Act must meet the need for a transformative moment to address the existential health (including environmental justice), biodiversity, and climate crises and shift society to organic practices by eliminating fossil fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers; and that further steps are needed to reach critical and urgent goals.
We cannot meet climate goals while maintaining dependence on fossil fuels. Eliminating that dependence requires more than a shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, shifting from oil- and gas-generated electricity to wind and solar generation, or adopting quick fixes like carbon capture. It requires us to think of systems differently. Conserving energy by reducing consumption, eliminating planned obsolescence in products, better urban planning, and improving agricultural systems are as important as producing power differently.
Organic agriculture, with its elimination of chemical fertilizers and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, is an example of an improved system. Organic producers are required to create and act upon an organic system plan that maximizes biological diversity and minimizes adverse environmental impacts. Organic farming increases the sequestration of carbon in the soil. Provisions in the IRA that enhance the success of organic farmers and encourage the transition to organic farming to promote a climate-friendly system.
The organic system should be applied to all land management. Organic farming and land management not only help meet climate goals but also reduce the impacts of hazardous chemicals and resource extraction on fenceline communities and ecosystems, making it responsive to environmental justice threats.
As monies are expended under this legislation, the government must prioritize programs that attack the existential crises associated with pesticide threats, including health, biodiversity, and climate. This mandate must come from the White House and ensure that all funds first and foremost affect a transformative change necessary to meet the current looming crises. To this end, 100% of funds dedicated to conservation (Conservation Stewardship Program and all other affected agricultural programs), environmental quality incentives program (EQIP), environmental justice, and other related programs, must go to organic transition that eliminates toxic pesticides and fossil fuel-based chemicals and fertilizers.
Experts have now identified the current climate emergency, a health emergency, and an ecological emergency. Advocates are calling on President Biden to heed calls to declare a climate emergency and initiate creative, systemic solutions to existential threats to human life and life on Earth.
Tell President Biden that funds in the Inflation Reduction Act must meet the need for a transformative moment to address the existential health (including environmental justice), biodiversity, and climate crises and shift society to organic practices by eliminating fossil fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers; and that further steps are needed to reach critical and urgent goals.
Members of U.S. Congress
Congratulations! The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed, “the single most aggressive action the U.S. is taking to tackle the climate crisis and create clean energy solutions in American history.” However, that is a low bar to clear. There is much more required to meet our climate goals, and much is needed to ensure that the IRA is implemented in a way that helps farmers, fenceline communities, and biodiversity. As stated by Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, “President Biden and his administration should take this moment not only to celebrate but also to recommit and refocus on addressing the environmental injustice and wildlife crises.”
We cannot meet climate goals while maintaining dependence on fossil fuels. Eliminating that dependence requires more than a shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, shifting from oil- and gas-generated electricity to wind and solar generation, or adopting quick fixes like carbon capture. It requires us to think of systems differently. Conserving energy by reducing consumption, eliminating planned obsolescence in products, better urban planning, and improving agricultural systems are as important as producing power differently to meet the existential crises of the day.
