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Friends,
What a crazy year, full of twists and turns and chaotic uncertainty. Recently a colleague posted on Twitter that resilient communities are characterized by their capacity to deal with uncertainty. We at SEHN know a lot about uncertainty—it is the fulcrum of the precautionary principle which tells us to take action to prevent harm in the face of uncertainty. We’ve been advocating for precaution in public health and the environment for 25 years. Still, the uncertainty we have faced this year as individuals, as an organization and as a country has been daunting. For you too?
As I write this I am keenly aware of your role in our work. You have supported us financially and with your generous words. You have been partners in campaigns and projects. We need your help now more than ever. Will you make a gift to SEHN today?
We face more uncertainty in the days ahead. Many of the environmental and public health decisions that are being made today are building in the opposite direction of resilience.
As I write this, the state of Minnesota has just approved one of the last permits for a tar sands pipeline called Enbridge Line 3. Multiple states are heading into lockdowns to prevent a collapse of our medical system from Covid-19 because we did not take public health measures early. And in this year we’ve set records for hurricanes, fires and the Iowa wind storm known as a derecho.
Pipelines leak and contaminate water. We Know This. Pandemics can be controlled if we use strong public health measures early. We Know This. Refusing to address fossil fuel use (like pipelines) guarantees we will see an increase in climate catastrophes. We Know This. Still decision-makers, knowing that they are guaranteeing a sick and polluted world, shrug and say “we have to do it for the economy."
Here’s the thing. If we keep making decisions solely on economics, letting the free market “decide” we know what will happen. More suffering. More death. More destruction.
At SEHN we are challenging that failed way of making decisions. We can prevent suffering. We can prioritize public health. We can define the responsibilities of government to ensure well-being and care of our public goods. AND we can do all of this while buildin a strong economy that protects the health of everyone, including Mother Earth.
This is a big task. We need your support and participation to do this.
How are we taking on this challenge? We are partnering with other organizations in a new venture called the Bold ReThink. The working idea behind the Bold ReThink is that a robust democracy builds effective government that ensures a healthy and just world. Some of our partners bring a deep knowledge of the history behind the theft of our democracy and the undermining of government functions. That history includes the Powell Memo, the Koch Brothers, ALEC and others. Other partners are engaged in the necessary work to reclaim the notion of public goods and rebut the tired old idea of privatizing the commons. We at SEHN contribute strategic new ideas about how to analyze and structure public budgets, design a public interest research agenda, and so much more.
The Bold ReThink hosted our first Democracy Summit which you can view here.
At the same time that we are working on these big structural problems we are also hard at work providing grassroots groups with legal and scientific technical assistance. Whether it is working with pipeline construction watchdogs, drafting a statute for a tribe on endangered species or serving as an expert witness in court cases, SEHN brings its expertise to the table. We do this work pro bono. Your support of our work is not only a gift to SEHN but a gift to those groups that otherwise could not access a lawyer or a doctor.
We are in this together. Please give a gift to SEHN as you are able.
With gratitude and a hope for a brighter year in 2021 with more wisdom and resilience,
Carolyn Raffensperger on behalf of the Board and Staff of SEHN.
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