I recently had the opportunity to represent Defend Our Future, testifying before the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in a public hearing on the proposed gutting of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is a landmark environmental protection that is essential to safeguarding both our health and communities who could be impacted by significant environmental challenges.

Without NEPA, corporate polluters would have more power to dump toxic waste into our water streams, public lands, and communities and would in effect, harm wildlife caught in the cross-hairs of it all. For the past 40 years, NEPA has served its purpose in adhering to the care of our environment.

It was a true honor being able to testify this week and I am hoping after the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality has heard countless testimonies advising against the proposal, that they consider the future of young people who will be disproportionately affected by this reckless proposal. The public deserves a voice in the review process considering the climate impacts we are currently facing and will face, if we do not act on them accordingly. In a time where de-regulatory action is all too familiar with the current administration, what we as young folks need to be doing is to advocate for more safeguards on landmark policies like NEPA and work towards viable solutions for generations to come.

This week, we made sure the Trump Administration heard our voices when it comes to protecting essential environmental and public health safeguards. We will continue to sound the alarm until our leaders put our well-being and our planet before the interests of corporate polluters.

You can watch video of my testimony here on Twitter.