Hope from Positive Citizenship

There are three positive, dare I say hopeful, points about this small news piece.

Here is an non-scientist or certainly not an enviornmentrallist per se directly connecting ocean health to a clean energy economy.  Hello BP, hello "beyond petroleum", are you listening?

Here is a citizen taking action and advocating in Congress for clean energy legislation.

Here is a non-sustainability expert speaking intelligently about sustainability.

I also like his line: "the fish have no voice." Shout out to Maliek Carrington.

Read the full story here from the Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina:

(Source: Herald; Rock Hill, S.C.)The Lake Wylie Pilot featured its own columnist Maliek Carrington, the Urban Angler, June 15 and June 22, after he was chosen to participate in Clean Energy Works "fly-in" to Washington, D.C., June 22-23. The program brings together African-American leaders representing the Clean Energy Works North Carolina delegation, the latest of several groups sent to advocate for clean energy legislation in the past year and a half.

"We haven't had the chance to specifically send a group of African-American constituents yet," said Alina Johnson, who heads the North Carolina program for Clean Energy Works, in the June 22 Pilot article. "We want to make sure that they are advocated for."

Here's what Carrington has to say about his trip:

"The trip was a success.

"As an angler I wanted to make sure not only did we work on sustainable buildings, but a sustainable future in which we, the human race, don't use all natural resources in our life time to have a healthy earth for our children's children. Scientific facts prove we are living unsustainably. So with outdoor conservation and education, we can live ecofriendly, while creating new green technology and protect our waterways. The ocean takes up 89 percent of the earth's surface, and fresh water only makes up 1 percent of that. The gulf is a prime example of why I was there as an angler. The fish have no voice and for our consumption of oil, we are destroying our future.

"I want to say thank you to all the North Carolina representatives who took the time to speak with us. I want to give a special thank you to Sen. Kay Hagan for the morning coffee and the great conversation, and her support on the energy bill. If I had to sum this up in a one-minute commercial, I would say the power of a vote is valuable. When you think it's not important to vote, you relinquish your power in society. Your vote does count, and the doors of Capitol Hill are open for anyone who wants to make an appointment to speak to our elected officials.

"America is a great place, and we have to be heard. Our future depends on it.

"My goal is to create training and education with partnerships with the Urban League and others to make sure we create jobs for all people, not just work, but sustainable jobs that last and create income for all families."