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State Representative Leon Lillie
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1188
For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873
NEWS COLUMN
Make Earth Day Everyday
For many of us Earth Day is a day of simple reflection. Our children spend the day learning about ways to ease and prevent pollution and litter. They have class parties and celebrate the many wonders and joys of our common home. Large companies pledge to use less energy by turning off the lights for specified periods of time. Concerned citizen groups head to the State Capitol Building to hold rallies, and communities around the state host events to raise awareness and promote action.
These are all great activities that are steering us in a positive direction. Personal responsibility and individual action will continue to move us forward in our quest for a cleaner and healthier home.
I applaud everyone who is working to make better, more environmentally friendly choices in their lives and encourage you to celebrate Earth Day everyday. Our legacy will be determined by what we leave the generations who come after us.
We must all do our part to end wasteful and harmful living practices and I am happy to tell you that my colleagues and I at the Capitol have been doing our part as well.
Minnesota's environment is one of our most important assets. In recent years environmental funding has been unfairly cut to balance the state budget. To correct this wrong and protect our state's resources, we overwhelmingly passed a bill that will give you an opportunity in November to dedicate millions of dollars to state wildlife habitat, arts and cultural programs. The Legacy Act will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that will dedicate a new portion of the state sales tax to provide reliable funding for arts and environmental programs.
The complexity, size, and expense of our environmental challenges have increased substantially, and impaired waters, invasive species, climate change, drinking water contaminants, and a number of other challenges have made protecting our natural resources increasingly difficult. This is our opportunity to fix many of these problems and ensure that our waters and forests remain clean and intact and that our arts and culture are preserved.
In addition to the Legacy Act, we passed the 2008 Bonding Bill with millions of dollars going to maintain and expand our state owned parks, trails, lands and waters. Locally, our own Gateway State Trail, an 18-mile long multiple-use trail winding through Ramsey and Washington Counties is receiving $750,000. We are also receiving funding for safety improvements at the Highway 36 and Highway 120 intersection. This is the most dangerous intersection on the entire DNR state trail system. The bonding bill will provide funds for the design and construction of an improved pedestrian crossing to ensure that everyone can safely travel in this area.
Thank you for all of the environmentally thoughtful things you do to reduce your waste and consumption: taking the bus to work, recycling your newspapers, turning off lights when you don't need them, unplugging unused electronics, using reusable cloth bags at the grocery store and everything else that you do. In honor of Earth Day make sure you take some time to get out this week and enjoy our parks and trails. While you're out there, take pride in our shared resources and help pick up any debris or litter that you see. Remember, we must all take personal responsibility in creating a more viable, sustainable and healthy future. Together we can make Earth Day everyday.
News Items
- SUPPORTING RESPONSIBLE HOMEOWNERS AND STABILIZING NEIGHBORHOODS - (Posted: 2012-03-01 00:00:00)
- Email Update -- Feb. 16, 2012 - (Posted: 2012-02-16 00:00:00)
- 2012 LEGISLATIVE SESSION PREVIEW - (Posted: 2012-01-26 00:00:00)
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