Last Friday marked Earth Day, a time when we remind ourselves of our connection to the planet and our responsibility in safeguarding the environment for future generations.

Earth Day may just be one day a year on the calendar, but we should truly be fighting for better environmental policies all year long.

In today’s highly partisan America we can see our political divisions expressed on a day like Earth Day. The usual narrative seems to go that Democrats are associated with environmentalism while Republicans are about improving the economy and creating jobs. These goals do not have to be mutually exclusive. 

When Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin first imagined Earth Day after an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, it was connected to the idea that the environment is not political.  We all breathe the same air, drink water and rely on the soil to grow our food.

Earth Day should be about partnering with each other to ensure our children have at least as good a life, if not better, than what we had ourselves.

On this past Earth Day, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the launch of a new initiative designed to accelerate local action on climate change by providing technical assistance to municipalities working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to current and future climate change impacts.

The DEC is contracting with three regional partners to act as Climate Smart Communities Coordinators to serve as technical support providers and strategic planners to help guide local governments in the development of successful local climate action initiatives across New York State.   

“To support New York’s nation-leading actions to address the threat of climate change, we need all hands on deck. The DEC’s Climate Smart Communities program is designed to support on-the-ground efforts to reduce climate-altering emissions, ramp up renewable energy generation, and strengthen local infrastructure,” said Commissioner Seggos.

“The Climate Smart Communities Coordinator’s effort announced [recently] provides our local partners with the technical assistance and support necessary to advance community-led efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance resilience.”

No one can walk around carrying the weight of the entire world on their shoulders, but each of us can pitch in to make sure our corner of it is a better place.