A letter to our Legislator

This is the 1st Action Project for our Humanities class, Policy. In this unit, we really dug into all three branches of government, but specifically the Legislative branch. We focused on specific policies (rules, laws, bills, pending legislation, etc) and learned about the influence and power that our legislators have. We also learned about the individuals and their roles, in different levels of federal and state government. Once we learned the fundamentals of each branch, we began focusing on WW1, WW2, and a little bit of the Vietnam War. For this project, we were challenged to identify a piece of legislation that is currently pending, and it could either be State, City, or Federal. Once we did that, we had to identify someone who represented us, in either the form of our Alderman, our Mayor, our Governor, one of our State Representatives, or one of our State Senators that could vote in favor, or against our chosen legislation. I looked on multiple government websites and finally found something I was interested in, The Environmental Justice For All Act. Tammy Duckworth was already a cosponsor of the legislation, so I decided to write to her. Below, you will see an introduction to the Act and my letter. Enjoy!

Background: 

The Environmental Justice For All Act is legislation that is embedded with the principle that everyone has the right to pure and clean air, healthy water, and a stable environment for living. It is fueled by the belief that federal policy is capable and should use that capability to achieve, “environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all underserved communities.” It was originally introduced and is being led by Chair Raúl M. Grijalva and Rep. A. Donald McEachin, and it has not yet passed the House. I will be writing my letter to Senator Tammy Duckworth. Since she is a sponsor of the bill, below, I wrote a letter in support of her sponsorship, rather than using an argument to persuade her to support the bill. 

Letter: 

Dear Senator Tammy Duckworth, 

I am a high school Junior, and I wanted to write to you, in support of your sponsorship of the Environmental Justice For All Act. I think it is very important that these issues are finally getting recognized, on a federal level. Though, on a smaller scale, these things have been in the works for some time. Due to a continuing pattern of certain party-dominated states not believing in or caring about Climate Change, it is crucial that these policies are passed federally. This is so that it is not left up to the states to create their own environmental policies, which creates further division, nationally. Though I have no experience working in government, being surrounded by environmental policy, or being involved in any major decision past what time I should start my homework, I still feel that I have a basic understanding of the environmental needs of my city and country. I am also supported by the material I have learned this past year, through my school. We focused on the purpose of messages/ideas, and who/what sees those messages and ideas through to fruition. This past month, we have been learning about policy, making laws, and how our government works and connects through each branch. Additionally, I take part in community service around my neighborhood, by cleaning up the abundance of local trash. 

Getting into facts about the current Environment; There has been a continuing issue in this country regarding the lack of environmental responsibility, especially on the federal level. Within that lack of responsibility, states are left to create environmental policies on their own, which oftentimes gets overlooked, as a ‘non-pressing' issue. As a result, those who become most overlooked are the lower-income areas of cities and states. Those low-income areas, in Chicago for example, have some of the most unnecessarily high exposures to pollution (some reaching a level of 10/10) - mainly affecting black and brown communities. These areas also, according to nrdc.org are, “environmental racism hotspots,” and 5% of premature deaths can be attributed to overexposure to these pollutions, as well as severe lung and heart complications. 

The amount of environmental support one gets should not be based on their status, class, or income, but rather, it should be treated as a basic human right. It should be extended to every individual equally and without bias, which is what I admire about this act. I admire your work within Environmental justice and how you take the time to think of and fight for those, who would otherwise, not be thought of. I like that the Environmental Justice For All Act, if passed, will provide justice based on the principles that everyone deserves said justice, no matter their beliefs, race, gender, religion, origin, etc. I find this refreshing and much needed, in a time where there is still much bias in this country. I am sure that many states and Legislators, especially those who don’t believe in Climate Change, will be reluctant to accept or vote on this new act. One being, Senator Ted Cruz, where he states that Global Warming is, "liberal politicians who want government power over the economy, the energy sector and every aspect of our lives." And while this belief may be shared by others, I believe that regardless of the acknowledgment of Climate Change, taking care of the earth and of each other, should not be a second thought, nor should it have any exterior motive. 

In conclusion, I support your sponsorship for this Act, and I admire your hard work regarding this issue and many other issues. Especially, your fighting for Black and brown communities, and providing voices for those who would most likely continue to be ignored. I hope progress is made with the Act and it goes through! Thank you for taking the time to read this! 

Sincerely, 

MM 

Sources:

“Email Tammy.” U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, www.duckworth.senate.gov/help/email-tammy.  

October 29, 2020. “Environmental Justice in Chicago: It's Been One Battle After Another.” NRDC, 18 May 2021, www.nrdc.org/stories/environmental-justice-chicago-its-been-one-battle-after-another. 

“Scientific Evidence Doesn't Support Global Warming, Sen. Ted Cruz Says.” NPR, NPR, 9 Dec. 2015, www.npr.org/2015/12/09/459026242/scientific-evidence-doesn-t-support-global-warming-sen-ted-cruz-says. 

Yeo, Sophie. “A Clever New Map Shows Which Chicago Neighborhoods Are Most at Risk From Pollution.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 15 Jan. 2019, psmag.com/environment/which-chicago-neighborhoods-are-most-at-risk-from-pollution. 

Circuit Appliances

This is the 2nd Action Project of our Urban Planning class. In this Unit, we learned about electricity, AC and DC, the War of the Currents (Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla), energy, circuits, and how to be environmentally conscious, regarding our energy consumption. We had two FE guests from Farr Associates who came to talk to us about their work and focused a lot on energy consumption and emissions, specifically carbon. They also talked about their work to find efficient solutions on how to reduce the number of carbon emissions needed to halt the damaging effects of Climate Change. Throughout all the work from this unit, I am most proud of my understanding of the material, along with our experiments with building circuits. For this project, we were challenged to research energy-efficient appliances and further create a home/room, including these appliances. We also have a circuit kit with two batteries, two swtiches, and two light bulb holders. Our additional task was to make a parallel circuit with a third resistor (lightbulb) and to figure out how to make it connect. Without actually being able to build a model to scale, we used our circuits to represent each energy-efficient appliance. Below you will see an explanation of my work and my process. Enjoy!

For my house, I am modeling a basement laundry room. In the room, there is a Costway Washer and Dryer, and an Energy Star certified ceiling lightbulb. The light bulbs represent each energy efficient appliance, the main switch turns on the light, and the parallel switch gives power to the Washer and Dryer. I hope you enjoy seeing my process!

 

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun doing this project. The hardest part was probably that the building process took me 4 hours - don't ask me how or why, I'm not sure. I was mainly trying to plan everything, where to connect the wires, and placing furniture. I also had to start over on building my circuit because I was trying to get the third light bulb to stay and the circuit fell apart. I ended up getting it to stay by using a paperclip and a rubber band! Thank you for taking the time to read my project!