When I was 14 years old, I was inspired by a woman who fought for what she believed in. She faced enormous pressure from loud voices who said she was too bold and outspoken, but she didn’t let them stop her. I was a nerdy, idealistic kid trying to find my place in the world, and she showed me one way to make a life out of making a difference.
That woman was Hillary Clinton.
Twenty-four years later, I still admire her toughness, her passion for making the world better, and her smarts. And I am desperately hoping that she will inspire me again, by standing up to the fossil fuel industry and showing that she is willing to fight for our democracy. Bernie Sanders has taken this pledge — now it’s time for Hillary Clinton to do so.
That’s why I’m asking Hillary Clinton to be bold and sign the pledge to refuse fossil fuel contributions and #FixDemocracy.
The climate movement has made so much progress in the last few years.
I marched with almost half a million people in the streets of New York at the People’s Climate March in 2014 and marveled at how big the movement had become. Last summer, I felt our people power in Seattle and Portland as my friends bravely put their bodies between Shell and the Arctic, on water and in the air. We’ve come so far.
But we have a problem.
Right now, Congress is not responding to the will of the people to solve our climate crisis.
And that’s because our voices are being drowned out by companies like Exxon and Shell, which spend millions on fake science, corporate lobbyists, and campaign contributions to bury laws that would fight climate change and manufacture doubt about climate science. Until we start to take our democracy back, we will only be able to do so much to solve the climate crisis.
So we’re challenging all the presidential candidates to stand up for our democracy and tell fossil fuel companies that they don’t want their money. Bernie Sanders has taken the pledge — Hillary Clinton should take it too.
This pledge alone won’t fix our democracy. But it’s a start. It’s a way for the people who want to lead our country to show us that they care more about people than the companies who try to buy the process.
We are so close to making a huge leap when it comes to fighting climate change. But we’re being held back by fossil fuel companies and the politicians they fund.
Tell Hillary Clinton to stand up for the people and pledge not to take fossil fuel contributions.
