[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORTING EARTH DAY 2016

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2016

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate Earth Day, the 
day set aside to honor our planet and formerly renamed as International 
Mother Earth Day, in 2009 by the United Nations.
  For more than four decades, Earth Day has brought Americans together 
to honor our moral responsibility to preserve our planet, protect our 
environment, and address the pressing challenge of climate change.
  Across the country, families and students spend this day serving 
their communities, cleaning up their neighborhoods, promoting 
conservation, and participating in the effort to ensure clean air, 
clean water, and a cleaner planet.
  The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, originating in 
the United States, and becoming recognized worldwide by 1990.
  On the very first Earth Day, 46 years ago, 20 million people gathered 
in the streets of America to protest the environmental damage caused by 
industrialization and gave birth to the environmental movement.
  Every year on April 22, men, women, and children collect garbage, 
plant trees, clean up coral reefs, hold teach-ins, sign petitions, and 
plan for a better future for our planet.
  I commend the schools and communities celebrating Earth Day for a 
whole week to expand the time frame that people focus on the earth and 
how they can preserve it.
  On Earth Day 2012, more than 100,000 people rode bikes in China to 
reduce CO2 emissions and save fuel.
  In an Earth Day celebration in 2011, 28 million trees were planted in 
Afghanistan by the Earth Day Network.
  In Panama, 100 endangered species of orchids were planted and 
maintained to prevent their extinction in honor of Earth Day.
  This Earth Day we must take the opportunity to act to keep America 
number one in science, technology, and renewable energy.
  For Congress, Earth Day must be a moment to build on American efforts 
to invest in clean energy jobs, to strengthen industries of innovation, 
to decrease harmful emissions, to cut energy costs for consumers, and 
to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
  This day must represent a clarion call to renew our commitment to 
defend our natural resources and reverse the ill effects of climate 
change.
  On Earth Day, Democrats and Republicans should commit to working 
side-by-side with the American people to create a future of 
sustainability for our children and grandchildren, prosperity and 
opportunity for our families and communities, and security and energy 
independence for generations to come.
  I urge all Members to join me in celebrating our planet and assuring 
a longer and healthier life for all creatures inhabiting her bountiful 
realm.

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