Mike Noland speaks at IL Clean Jobs Rally in Springfield on Earth Day
Happy Earth Day!
Earth Day is a time for us to celebrate our shared community and the beauty of our environment. It also holds very special significance for me.
As a child I vividly remember watching bulldozers level rows of 100-year-old trees near our family farm in central Illinois. I know now that the men driving those bulldozers were not working clean jobs.
A few years later, after I dove into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, my mother had to pull the oil out of my hair that came from a massive oil spill near Santa Barbara, California in 1969. I know now that that men working on those rigs were not working clean jobs.
It turns out, that spill back in 1969 helped fuel the modern environmental movement; a year later we celebrated the first Earth Day.
As a reserve corpsman in the Navy, I was recalled into active duty during Operation Desert Storm. While I was lucky to not be deployed, I knew that our involvement was a result of our nation’s dependency on foreign oil. I knew the job we were doing in Iraq was not going to support clean jobs.
My life experiences have helped shape my world view and remind me how important it is that we protect our environment and stand up for our shared community so that future generations my enjoy it the way we have.
I am honored to be a co-sponsor of legislation that will create 32,000 clean jobs right here in Illinois!
On Earth Day 2015, I hope that you will take a moment to think about how important our environment is and also sign-on to be a citizen co-sponsor of the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill! We need to show those that refuse to believe the science of climate change that we must act to protect our environment.
Thank you & Happy Earth Day.
Mike Noland
About Mike Noland
Mike is an Illinois State Senator, first elected in 2006. He has been one of the most progressive members of the Senate and is exploring a run for Congress in IL-8 as a populist Democrat focused on economic recovery, ethics reform, and fighting for universal health care. You can follow him on Twitter @noland4congress and Facebook at facebook.com/nolandforcongress.