Environmental advocates share legislative ideas with Prince George’s County leader
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (DC News Now) — There’s an effort in Prince George’s County to address environmental concerns and climate change.
On Wednesday, county leaders met with advocates to discuss solutions through legislation.
The meeting was hosted by District 6 County Council member Wala Blegay. They focused on a variety of ideas to address concerns like funding, air quality, recycling and more. Advocates say it’s time for some action – not just for the environment but to save lives.
“This is about the impact on saving lives and our community,” said Antoine Thompson with Sierra Club Prince George’s County.
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Environmental advocates say the county’s climate action plan to help reduce 50% of carbon emissions by 2030 is going to take a lot of work from everyone.
“So many people in our county have higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses that are a direct consequence of…energy and transportation and environmental policies. We also have a number of contaminated sites in the county as well. And so we’ve got to do more and provide leadership to clean up those toxic sites and clean our air,” said Thompson.
The goal is to create a healthier and more environmentally friendly Prince George’s County.
“How do we make sure we protect our green space? Now it’s impacting us… It’s time for us to really be a leader – we want to be a leader in our region,” said Blegay.
Blegay also announced she’s working on legislation that would require future developments to make charging stations for electric vehicles.
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“Some people have electric vehicles. When they’re looking in the county, they don’t see a lot of support for those vehicles and they look elsewhere. We want to make sure that they move here,” she said.
“I believe in the next 30 years most people will have electric cars. So we do think that that will be a way to really look to the future,” she added.
And they’re encouraging everyone to do their part in a number of ways.
“Composting is one of them, transition to renewable energy in whatever way we can is also another one. Those are decisions that responsible consumers should be making on a regular basis. And the legislation can help with making some of those things easier,” said Janet Gingold with the Sierra Club.
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