For Immediate Release: 2/25/20
Press Release: WEALTH Day of Education and Advocacy on Water, Energy, Air, Land, Transportation, and Health – Kansas WEALTH
Kansas State Capitol: Topeka, Kansas
Monday February 10, 2020
2020 Kansas WEALTH Day of Advocacy and Education at the Capitol-The Climate + Energy Project (CEP), along with partnering community organizations and businesses from across the state, returned to the statehouse to host the annual day of environmental advocacy and education. On February 10, 2020, WEALTH Day convened organizations, advocates, and legislators to connect on Water, Energy, Air, Land, Transportation, and Health. This year over 400 Kansans and 43 organizations and businesses convened at the Kansas statehouse!
WEALTH Day attendees participated in making history at the Comprehensive Climate Hearing that brought together a bipartisan, bi-chamber committee with experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Land Institute, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Kansas Interfaith Action, and the Climate + Energy Project. Discussions included the science of climate change, the impact on our agriculture, the economy, human health and environment, as well as solutions and strategies for resilience. The Climate Hearing was video recorded by Loud Light, it can be viewed online (link: https://youtu.be/nQbOHt3YtHg).
Following the hearing, participants heard from Senator Tom Hawk; Climate + Energy Project’s Executive Director, Dorothy Barnett; and Sierra Club lobbyist, Zack Pistora at the Climate Rally.
WEALTH attendees had the opportunity to hear about new ideas in the Solutions Showcase which featured the event’s sponsors, and had the opportunity to meet with legislators to discuss climate issues in scheduled meetings throughout the day and over the local foods luncheon.
Dorothy Barnett, CEP Executive Director, said, “the number of attendees at this year’s WEALTH Day reflects Kansans growing concern about climate change. Attendees called upon policy makers to take bold, comprehensive action to reduce emissions and build resilience, which will reduce risks of climate disruption and safeguard the future of our state.”
WEALTH Partners(*) and sponsors include: Climate + Energy Project*, Friends of the Kaw*, Kansas Rural Center*, Kansas City Kansas Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)*, Metropolitan Energy Center*, Kansas Interfaith Action*, Grassland Heritage Foundation*, Kansas Natural Resources Council*, Heartland Renewable Energy Society, Johnson County Community College Sustainable Agriculture, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Kansas Alliance for Wetlands and Streams, Kansas Appleseed, Kansas Permaculture Institute, Kansas Sierra Club, King Solar, Lawrence Ecology Teams United in Sustainability, League of Women Voters of Kansas, Lutherans Restoring Creation, Monarch Watch, National Nurses United, Oread Friends Meeting (Quaker), Pittsburg State University, Cromwell Environmental Inc., Good Energy Solutions, Green Factor Insulation Inc., Prosoco, Shawnee County Democrats, The Merc Co+op, Green Tech Academy, Native Lands LLC, The Bowersock Mills and Power Company, Mad Hatter Compost Tea, Southwind Sierra Club, Kansas Land Trust, Natural Grocers, Kansas Forest Service – KSU, Compost Collective KC, Loud Light, Flint Hills Renewable Energy & EfficiencyCooperative, Sunrise Movement – Lawrence KS, Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group, NSF FEWtures Project, Organic Crop Improvement Association, and RideshareKC.
The Climate + Energy Project seeks to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in America’s Heartland through the ambitious deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, in policy and practice. Connect with the Climate + Energy Project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For additional information or media inquiries, please contact Rachel Myslivy at (785) 764-2055 or myslivy@climateandenergy.org.
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Thank you WEALTH Day Sponsors!
