Dear friends,
This morning, Nature's Trust
Rhode Island, along with
supporters, appeared for a
hearing in Superior Court in
Providence, to seek a court
order, as mentioned in detail
in previous emails.
Although the hearing was
scheduled for today, Judge
Melissa Long felt obliged to
recuse herself at the last
minute. The matter has been
reassigned to Judge Melissa
Darigan, who will take up this
matter next week, Friday,
September 6, at 2pm, exactly a
day and a year after we
submitted our petition to DEM.
Alex Duryea, a 24 year old
graduate student at the
University of Rhode Island and
one of the litigants,
commented: "The fact that this
keeps dragging is just another
example of why we need a
binding rule in place, not
false promises of change. The
responsibility of DEM is to
protect natural resources. I
am impatiently waiting for the
DEM to step up and be the
environmental leader that they
are supposed to be. We are
running out of time. According
to the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), we
have less than eleven years to
fight this climate crisis
before the damage becomes
irreversible. We need to start
implementing radical changes,
fast. We need binding rules in
place to hold fossil fuel
companies responsible for
polluting our environment,
perpetuating environmental
racism, all while reaping the
profits of our suffering and
the exploitation of natural
resources. I care about the
quality of my future and that
of future generations, why
doesn't DEM?"
Kelly Gorman, a student of
Barrington High School said in
response: "Only 45% of
Americans think that global
warming will pose a serious
threat in their lifetime, as
Gallup Poll found, but the
serious threats are already
among us and will get worse.
According to Live Science,
each year 250,000 people die
because of climate change, and
it's so frustrating that
humans, especially those in
power, aren't doing all they
can to help. The government
needs to listen to the science
and work together with the
people before it's too late."
For now, onward to the court
hearing next week and thanks
for your continued support,
Peter Nightingale,
For Nature's Trust Rhode
Island
