Become An Advocate For The Environment

Yes, YOU! Feel Like There's Not Enough Action To Protect Our Water, Air, & Land? Here Are Ways You Can Help. Hint: Anyone Can Do It.

Many people desire to make changes in their lives, like moving to a new city, asking for a promotion, or spending more quality time with loved ones.

What about when you want to change the world around you? What are the steps needed to become an environmental advocate?

I know this stuff can seem daunting. I’ve been fighting for clean water for more than 30 years, and I’m still here.

Whether you are worried about the EPA’s latest announcement, launching the biggest deregulatory action in history or worried that the water in your tap might be contaminated, I want to give you actionable steps you can take to start now.

PS: In the above March 12 video, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced “31 historic actions that are “driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion.” As the New York Times points out, “nowhere in the video did he refer to protecting the environment or public health,” two tenets that have guided the agency since 1970.

It’s interesting that he uses the term “climate change religion.” Such an extreme term. I think about how our weather continues to shift and change. In fact, 2024 was another year of unprecedented or significant climate impacts, including $27 billion-weather disasters, the second-highest number of billion-dollar weather disasters on record in the U.S.

Nearly six months after Helene ripped through Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee with catastrophic winds and torrential rains, the National Hurricane Center’s final report shows the true devastation of the storm. It ranks among the country’s costliest weather disasters.

The report details how Helene brought life-threatening wind gusts much farther inland across the Southeast than other hurricanes, due to its fast forward motion and large size.

“Rainfall associated with Helene and its predecessor rain event resulted in catastrophic flooding impacts across western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, particularly in the mountainous regions, where landslides and debris flows destroyed numerous homes, roads, bridges, electrical infrastructure, and water treatment plants,” according to the report. “Helene is the most devastating natural disaster in western North Carolina’s history.”

Despite the growing urgency of the climate crisis, a Media Matters analysis found that corporate broadcast networks aired only 12 hours and 51 minutes of climate coverage in 2024—a 25 percent decline in volume of coverage from 2023. And when considering the 24-hour news cycle, that’s a staggeringly small amount of air time.

The media has the power to shape what we talk about and what we learn about it.

Only 9 percent of climate segments on corporate broadcast news, 28 out of 324 segments, mentioned “fossil fuels.” This is a decrease from 2023, when “fossil fuels” were mentioned in 12 percent of climate segments.

I shudder to think about how little media coverage we have about water issues.

Meanwhile climate misinformation exaggerates the future costs of emissions reductions; underestimates advances in energy efficiency and renewable technologies; and outright ignores the huge health and economic costs of climate change itself.

It’s just what industry wants.

Every time I talk about climate change in this newsletter, I get major pushback. For everyone in that boat, I urge you to think about where you get your information and who is influencing you. The fossil fuel industry and Big Oil? Or the scientists who study our planet? (More scientific perspectives here and here).

The Environmental Movement Is For Everyone

When I first started working in Hinkley, California, the people there felt like a lone voice. Would anyone care about this small town and its devastating pollution problems? Those voices rose without a platform or social media, and when the movie came out, viewers supported their story.

Now, Hinkleys are happening everywhere all the time. The need to speak up is greater than ever.

It’s a time to come together for a greater good. Sharing information and working together is our only hope. The solution lies with people in their communities, and at the local and state level, working for change.

I know that might sound like a tall ask, but talking to people in your community and pitching in where you can really is the answer. In most communities that have a pollution problem, it’s usually a very small group of people lifting the load. Imagine what we could accomplish if more people joined them.

The truth is anyone can become an advocate for the planet. The first step is to believe that you can make a difference, no matter the circumstances. Talk to yourself like you know you can do it.

Before the movie and before I became a name people recognized, I was just a foul-­ mouthed, short-­skirted blonde woman from Kansas. I was the youngest of four children but my parents didn’t baby me. They always told me that there’s no single way to do something. If you can’t make it work, find another way. They taught me to fight for what I wanted in my life, and for that I am forever grateful.

I am an advocate for awareness and a person’s right to know. That’s what this newsletter is all about—educating you on the topics that I think are most overlooked in the mainstream media.

Oftentimes, we don’t think about or understand what is happening to someone else until it affects us personally. Most people don’t think about their water, until the tap runs dry.

I still think about the people of East Palestine, Ohio, whose lives were forever changed in February 2023 when a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed and upended the lives of the 5,000 people who lived there, and the countless communities nearby.

No one was talking about the transportation of hazardous materials across the country, until black clouds of smoke from that explosion were shown on every major news network.

Chemical spills, fires, and explosions are occurring in the U.S. about every three days, and many of these incidents involve fossil fuels like petrochemicals, according to Spill Tracker. You can use this resource to track media and government reports of incidents involving carcinogenic petrochemicals like vinyl chloride, ammonia, benzene, and butadiene.

In 2024 alone, there were 132 petrochemical-related incidents, up from 96 reported incidents in 2023. Countless more go unreported. Media coverage doesn’t keep up with the amount of spills.

But you could start talking about them on social media. You could organize a group in your community to research these issues and bring them to your elected officials. You could find out if there’s a group working to raise awareness and donate to them, volunteer with them, or join their board.

If the current political climate has taught me anything, it’s that we need everyday people getting a little uncomfortable to make change.

And what I mean by getting “a little uncomfortable” is speaking up at a town hall meeting or taking time to pick up plastic bottles and trash off the sidewalk or at your local waterway. Maybe you decide to shop at the farmers’ market and meet local food folks rather than do your weekly shop at a big box store. Knock on your neighbor’s door to talk about a contaminant discovered on your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

You can pick your path. Whether you want to make art that educates people about the environment or lend your legal skills to help communities battle corporate pollution, the net is wide and the need is great.

Check out the trailer for independent filmmaker Wayne Degan’s documentary, “Unnatural Disaster,” which examines a decades-long struggle with PCB and PFAS contamination in Anniston, Alabama.

Here are a few other ideas to get started:

Cut the Noise

The first thing anyone needs to become a water warrior (or advocate of any kind) is to assess what you believe and care about, which can’t happen unless you learn to “cut out the noise.” The noise is all around us these days, from what’s happening in the news or on social media to the meeting you had with your boss or the issues your kids might be having at school.

We all have a lot going on. As someone who has been at this work for a long time, I want to tell you that you need to engage in self-­renewal in order to stay with it. For me, it’s taking the time to look at the sunset or watching my grandchildren play in the yard.

What could it look like for you? Maybe a short mindfulness practice, writing in your journal, or a hike in the woods. Do what you can to hear your own voice. Take the time to reboot as often as you can so that you can carry on with your cause.

Know Your Why

Knowing what you stand for is one of the most liberating feelings in the world. I would not have made it this far in my career without knowing why I fly all over the country or stay up late in strange cities talking to the local people about how they can enact change in their town. Take a moment now to get crystal-­clear by asking yourself a few simple questions and write down your answers.

• Why environmental cause do I care most deeply about? (One way to determine it is to ask yourself: what issue frustrates me the most right now?)

• What vision do I have for myself, my family, and my community?

• Who can I impact and what change(s) do I want to help with?

Once you know your why, consider sharing it with three people you are close to in the next few weeks. When you say something out loud, it gives the statement even more power. Maybe they will share their “why” with you too.

Manage Pushback

It’s so important to listen to your own instincts and not to get bogged down by other people’s opinions. The most important rule when it comes to other people is not to take their opinions personally. Remember, everyone has an agenda.

Usually, the people who are the most critical of my work are the ones who have the most to hide. Think about it. Some communities welcome tours of their water plant or publish their environmental plans online, while other remain remarkably quiet.

The cities and companies that are misappropriating funds or intentionally covering up pollution or other problems are the ones who will try to take you down. They will use harsh language or use personal attacks in an attempt to discredit you. They benefit when no one holds them accountable.

I’ve learned over the years that the more pushback I get, the more I know there’s a story to uncover. The truth always comes out, and it starts with your voice. Don’t be afraid to speak out and keep asking the hard questions.

Attend Meetings

One of the best steps to getting involved in local issues is to simply show up to your public meetings. It could be a city council, a board of supervisors, a public works commission, or whatever it is called in your town or city.

Decisions about local policies, whether it’s raising taxes, funding new parks, or approving new water treatment techniques, are made at these meetings. We need to show up.

If you have ever attended one of these meetings, you know that they are usually talking to themselves. Most of the time it’s a small group deciding on issues for the whole community. You need to tell them what’s going on. Tell them what you care about. What would it look like to start showing up en masse to these meetings? I think we would see more democracy in action.

City council meetings are set up to be a public affair, so anyone, and everyone is welcome. You can access the agenda at your city hall, on the city’s official website, or often at your local library. You can add agenda items, usually by submitting written or verbal comments to the city clerk. You can also request a speaker card at the meeting and speak about any agenda item already listed (usually you only get a few minutes, so be sure to do your homework before you attend).

Remember that every member on your council has been voted in by your community to represent the people, so they are there to listen to your opinions. Most of these meetings are happening throughout the country with too many open seats, but I’d like to see that change. I recommend just going to a meeting to see how it works. You might be surprised how much you will learn about what’s really happening in your town.

You can also create your own meetings. If the thought of researching these issues on your own is daunting, start your own study group with a friend or friends in your community. Each person can take on one aspect of the local water (or other environmental issue), such as understanding the chemicals found in your water quality report or understanding your water source, and then you can report back to your group. Imagine if you were to meet regularly and then take informed questions and ideas for action with you to the next city council meeting.

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You might be feeling overwhelmed by these issues,­ and that’s why I’m so passionate about waking everyone up to the idea that we need to be the ones to save ourselves. You can become your own superhero simply by waking up the hero within you.

Yes, the situation is huge and overwhelming, but you can’t eat a whole apple at once. You need to take it bite by bite.

When communities come together, they have the passion and smarts to create positive solutions. My best advice is don’t give up. Keep the energy building and find more allies who can support you in making change.

And don’t forget that no action is too small. How could I have known that simply driving out to a community and listening to people’s stories would help impact and inspire so many other people?

You never know what small action could create big change.

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Tell us more about what you’re working on. Or ask more questions about how to get started in the comments below.