September 3, 2024
Our Energy Future
September 3, 2024
Our Energy Future
We are at a crossroads.
The climate crisis that scientists warned of is unfolding with global heat records, more powerful hurricanes and wildfires, and devastating floods and droughts.
Yet it isn’t too late to correct course on climate change — by transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Phasing out fossil fuels is the only way to reverse the rapid accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide that is driving the climate crisis.
By embracing renewable alternatives, we can also improve public health and protect air, water, and wildlife. Our energy future could be bright, instead of bleak.
The fossil fuel industry, like Big Tobacco, has actively misled the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels.
Major oil companies that earned record profits in recent years have spent millions on marketing and lobbying campaigns.
Big Oil creates significant health burdens for people residing nearby its operations, disproportionately affecting Latino, Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities.
Today, we can still choose whether to continue down this path or say "no" to the fossil fuel industry.
Dr. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak
Nuiqsut, Alaska
Dr. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak is founder and executive director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness, an Inupiat group dedicated to elevating the understanding and protection of Inupiat culture and people in the face of rampant oil and gas development and climate change.
Dr. Ahtuangaruak previously served as a community health aide in Nuiqsut, Alaska, and has held a variety of local leadership positions in the village.
She is an advocate of community rights in light of the oil development occurring in close proximity to her village.
Robert Thompson
Kaktovik, Alaska
An Inupiat hunter and wilderness guide, Robert Thompson lives with his wife in Kaktovik, Alaska. He has spent decades advocating against oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Arctic Ocean.
Robert runs trips from Kaktovik to the nearby Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, helping wildlife photographers, nature enthusiasts, and others to experience the Arctic and catch a glimpse of endangered polar bears and other iconic wildlife.
He is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
Protecting America’s Arctic presents an unparalleled opportunity to protect public lands on an unprecedented scale, fight climate change, and sustain the biodiversity that we all rely upon. For decades, Earthjustice has worked tirelessly using the power of the law to defend the Arctic Refuge and the Western Arctic Reserve from oil and gas development,
Ava Ibanez Amador
New York, New York
An associate attorney with Earthjustice’s Oceans Program, Ava Ibanez Amador’s practice focuses on domestic and international matters, including fighting fossil fuel development and protecting marine biodiversity. The ocean has inspired Ava’s career.
In 2016, Ava received a B.S. in Marine and Freshwater Biology from the University of Texas. After shifting her focus from science to law, Ava received her J.D. from Penn State Law, where she focused on environmental law.
Offshore drilling hurts frontline and coastal communities in the Gulf who already bear the brunt of climate change, with the continued inevitability of oil spills, public health harms, and disastrous effects for the tourism and fishing industries. It also contributes to climate emissions.
For example, recent evidence shows that offshore activities contribute massive amounts of methane to the atmosphere, which results in both ground-level ozone pollution and climate impacts that have harmed the Gulf ecosystem and communities through sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and more intense and more frequent storms. The refineries that accompany offshore drilling emit hazardous air pollution that exacerbates respiratory disease.
At a minimum, additional leasing of our public waters to the oil and gas industry is no longer necessary. Industry already holds about 2,000 leases that are not yet in production, covering over 10.5 million acres.
For the past seven years, Earthjustice has challenged every single proposed offshore lease sale in the U.S. On behalf of clients defending the Gulf of Mexico, we are in court pushing back against Big Oil’s attempt to force the government to hold even more lease sales. We also work with partners to Protect Our Coasts from offshore drilling.
Gus Schumacher
Anchorage, Alaska
A professional cross-country skier, Gus Schumacher competed in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022.
Gus is heavily involved with Protect Our Winters (POW), an organization that works with the world’s most inspirational athletes to advocate for policy solutions to tackle the climate crisis.
Gus graduated from the University of Alaska Anchorage with an engineering degree in the spring of 2024.
Instead of being sacrificed to boost oil companies’ profits, public lands should be part of the climate solution. Earthjustice has successfully challenged numerous Trump administration lease sales. And we’ve continued to do so when the Biden administration has tried to lease public lands without adequately protecting groundwater and wildlife.
Alongside partners, we’re also pushing for a comprehensive analysis of the climate impacts of the federal fossil fuel program so to align decision-making with national climate commitments. Learn about our work to protect public lands from oil and gas drilling.
John Beard, Jr.
Port Arthur, Texas
Founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network (PA-CAN), John Beard, Jr., serves as an advocate focusing on environmental issues, social justice, and community development in Port Arthur.
John retired from ExxonMobil Corp.
Jill Hunkler
Belmont County, Ohio
A mother, teacher, artist, writer, environmental advocate, and grassroots organizer, Jill Hunkler is a seventh generation Ohio resident in Belmont County, the most heavily fracked in the state. She considers herself a fracking refugee.
Due to the vast oil and gas infrastructure that polluted her country home in the Slope Creek Valley, Jill experienced negative health impacts and was forced to relocate.
Jill educates the public about the threats we face due to the polluting and destructive oil and gas and petrochemical industries.
Many of these facilities are planned in low-income communities and communities of color where people are already overburdened by pollution and a long history of environmental racism. If the buildout goes forward, it will lock in more climate pollution, plastic waste, and toxic chemicals that poison our communities. Learn how Earthjustice is fighting to stop the petrochemical boom in its tracks.
Roishetta Ozane
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Founder, director and CEO of The Vessel Project of Louisiana, a small mutual aid and environmental justice organization, Roishetta Sibley Ozane also serves as the Clean Energy Organizing Director with Healthy Gulf for the Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas regions.
Roishetta’s primary focus is championing for the rights of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities and advocating for clean air, clean water, and sustainable communities unburdened by fossil fuel buildout.
The fossil fuel industry is rapidly building new export infrastructure in the same communities that are already bearing the brunt of fossil fuel pollution. Oil and gas exports undermine our progress on climate and environmental justice and increase prices for consumers. Earthjustice and our partners are fighting the export boom — and the momentum is on our side. Learn about Earthjustice's work challenging oil and gas exports.
Dr. Mike Hoffmann
Ithaca, New York
A Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, Dr. Mike Hoffmann held multiple leadership roles at Cornell during his 30-year career.
Despite being an Emeritus Professor, Dr. Hoffman is not retired and is instead dedicating his time to educating audiences about climate change through food. We all eat, and it’s all changing.
Dr. Hoffman is the lead author of the book, Our Changing Menu: Climate change and the foods we love and need (Cornell University Press 2021), and the associated website, Our Changing Menu.
Building a Climate-friendly Food System
We must build a food system that supports responsible farmers and accelerates the adoption of climate friendly practices by strengthening requirements that control agricultural pollution, increasing incentives for safe, climate-friendly farming, opposing consolidation within the agricultural sector, and ensuring that resources are equitably distributed among all farmers.
Beth Wallace
Brighton, Michigan
With the National Wildlife Federation, Beth Wallace works to organize regional businesses to respond to water and climate issues that threaten the health of the Great Lakes — including the Line 5 pipeline. In 2010, Beth provided watchdog response to the 2010 Enbridge Kalamazoo River oil spill.
Through that work, she has testified before Congress and the National Academy of Sciences around pipeline safety issues and co-authored the report “Sunken Hazard: Aging oil pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, an ever-present threat to the Great Lakes.”
Line 5 runs through hundreds of interconnected waters and the treaty-reserved territory of tribal nations, including the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin.
The pipeline has leaked over 1.1 million gallons of oil over its lifespan, polluting important watersheds and surrounding communities. Line 5 is also a huge contributor to planet-warming emissions, spewing about 87 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually — the equivalent of 19 million gas-powered cars. Learn about Earthjustice's work opposing Line 5 and other pipelines.
Maritza Maymi
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Maritza Maymi is a resident of Puerto Rico and an environmental advocate. (Photos in Maritza’s video are courtesy of Gabriela Michele Ros / Sierra Club Puerto Rico.)
Rev. Sary Rosario
San Juan, Puerto Rico
A Disciples of Christ pastor in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rev. Sary Rosario Ferreira has long been involved in environmental justice work on the island, where communities are deeply affected by issues such as hazardous air pollution emitting from fossil-fuel powered energy facilities.
Rev. Rosario specifically studied eco-theology and justice, and her work addresses ecological justice in her community and how churches can help communities struggling with environmental issues.
Puerto Rico continues to suffer the consequences of a centralized, aging fossil-fuel system that jeopardizes the health and safety of its residents, who at the same time face the brutal consequences of more frequent and intensified hurricanes, wildfires, and floods due to climate change. But it doesn’t have to be this way: The abundance of sunlight that Puerto Rico receives year-round could make it a global leader in renewable energy. Learn about Earthjustice's work in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Heather Price
Seattle, Washington
A climate scientist specializing in atmospheric chemistry, Dr. Heather Price is a chemistry professor, researcher, and climate justice activist. She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry and conducted her postdoctoral research with the University of Washington's Program on Climate Change.
Dr. Price’s current teaching and research at North Seattle College focuses on improving undergraduate STEM education through the integration of climate justice, equity, and civic engagement.
These state regulatory bodies influence the cost of gas and electricity bills and determine whether power is derived from fossil fuels, hydroelectricity, or renewables like wind and solar. Decisions by public utility commissions offer enormous opportunities to speed the transition away from fossil fuels, alleviate the climate crisis, and ensure we have affordable and reliable electricity. Learn more about Earthjustice's work with PUCs.
The electric grid in the United States was designed for burning fossil fuels, but we can transform our energy system to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Here’s why it matters for our energy future.
About Earthjustice: At Earthjustice, we believe the fights for justice and our environment are inseparable. We are committed to the law, our clients, and the planet. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.