[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 27, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 22105-22106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08835]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 79 / Tuesday, April 27, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 22105]]

                Proclamation 10186 of April 22, 2021

                
Earth Day, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On April 22, 1970, millions of Americans rallied 
                together to protect the right of all of us to live free 
                from environmental hazard and harm. On that first Earth 
                Day, they gathered all across America--on college 
                campuses, in public parks, and State capitals--
                galvanized by a vision of a healthier, more prosperous 
                Nation where all people could thrive. Their untiring 
                spirit sparked a national movement for environmental 
                protection that endures today in the bedrock laws that 
                protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and 
                treasured wild places and wildlife.

                Earth Day was primarily conceived and brought to life 
                by a dedicated public servant: the late Senator Gaylord 
                Nelson of Wisconsin. Senator Nelson and his wife, 
                Carrie Lee--who herself passed away just last month--
                were both dear friends who changed my life; it was 
                Senator Nelson who helped persuade me to remain in the 
                Senate after losing my first wife and daughter in a car 
                accident in 1972. Senator Nelson changed the world, 
                too, by building a legacy of environmental protection 
                through Earth Day and all of the progress that has come 
                in its wake--not because it was popular, but because it 
                was the right thing to do for our children and 
                grandchildren.

                Over half a century later, that legacy lives on in the 
                chorus of courageous young people across the world who 
                are rising up to demand action on climate change. They 
                recognize the enormous economic opportunity to build a 
                brighter, more prosperous future, and the dire 
                economic, societal, and national security consequences 
                of failing to act. Our youth remind us that a better 
                world is within our grasp. Today, I say to young people 
                fighting for a brighter future: We hear you. We see 
                you. We will not let you down.

                In recent years, climate change has upended the lives 
                of millions of Americans. Record cold weather knocked 
                out the electric grid in Texas this winter, killing at 
                least 111 people and disrupting the lives and 
                livelihoods of millions more. Wildfires tore through 
                more than 5 million acres across the American West--an 
                area roughly the size of the entire State of New Jersey 
                burned to the ground. Last year, back-to-back 
                hurricanes and powerful tropical storms battered the 
                Gulf and East Coasts in the worst Atlantic hurricane 
                season in recorded history. Record floods, hurricane-
                speed windstorms, and severe droughts devastated 
                families and communities across the Midwest. People 
                have lost homes and irreplaceable memories of their 
                loved ones, small businesses built from years of 
                tireless labor and sacrifice, farmland meant to be 
                passed on to the next generation, and so much more.

                At the same time, Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other 
                communities of color continue to be hit hardest by the 
                impacts of climate change. They bear the highest burden 
                of pollution, face higher rates of heart and lung 
                disease, are least likely to have safe drinking water 
                in their homes, and suffer increased risk of death from 
                COVID-19. These communities have also frequently been 
                shut out of government decisions that directly bear on 
                their interests. We have an obligation to correct these 
                historic wrongs and to build a future where all people 
                have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, 
                healthy communities in which they can live, work, and 
                learn, and a meaningful voice in their future.

[[Page 22106]]

                That is why my Administration is advancing the most 
                ambitious climate agenda in our Nation's history. Our 
                clean energy plan will create millions of good-paying 
                union jobs, ensure our economic competitiveness, and 
                improve the health and security of communities across 
                America. By making those investments and putting 
                millions of Americans to work, the United States will 
                be able to cut our greenhouse gas emissions in half by 
                2030.

                Our success in confronting the climate crisis will not 
                be ours alone. It will be shaped, bolstered, and 
                ultimately won by a united pledge from global leaders 
                to set the world on a path to a clean energy future. 
                Today, on the fifth anniversary of the United States 
                ratifying the Paris Agreement, we have brought nations 
                from across the world together to meet the moment and 
                raise our climate ambitions.

                More than 50 years ago, a generation rallied to 
                confront the environmental crises they faced. They took 
                action in hopes that those in power would listen. 
                Today, a new generation is sounding the alarm louder 
                than ever, demanding that world leaders act. It is in 
                all our interests to rise to that challenge and let our 
                legacy be one of action.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 22, 
                2021, as Earth Day. I encourage all Americans to engage 
                in programs and activities that will promote an 
                understanding of environmental protection, the urgency 
                of climate change, and the need to create a healthier, 
                safer, more equitable future for all people.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-second day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                fifth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-08835
Filed 4-26-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P