Happy Earth Day! The first observance of Earth Day was in 1970, when groups held environmental demonstrations and teach-ins across the country. Since then, a number of new environmental protections have been put in place. Still, in cities like Baltimore, systematic issues go unaddressed. 

Since the first Earth Day, recycling has increased dramatically. But in Baltimore, recycling pickup was recently cut in half, and there is no indication when weekly pickup of recycling will resume. Even more troubling, there is evidence that much of what gets picked up to be recycled is never actually processed, but just thrown away. 

Many states and cities have invested in parks, trails, and other green spaces. But on the streets where Baltimoreans live - particularly ones that were redlined by racist home sale practices - there is little tree cover, leading to higher daily temperatures, asthma, and other respiratory issues.

To make it worse, Baltimore takes advantage of state laws that define trash incineration as renewable energy, meaning that lower-income neighborhoods like Curtis Bay, Westport and Cherry Hill have to deal with dirty, cancer-causing trash incineration. 

These are a few of many examples...

Greens understand that despite big projects put on display at Earth Day every year, elected officials and advocates have to work to change environmentally destructive systems, which often work together with systemic racism. The Green Party works constantly to center ecological thinking in our advocacy and advocate for our city residents who feel the impact of short-sighted environmental practices. 

But...

We need your help to do more. In order to run great Green candidates in 2024 and 2026 elections, we need to collect signatures from 10,000 Marylanders and qualify once again as a political party.

We've done this before and we know that volunteer and professional help is needed. Having funds available to hire professional signature gatherers is an important part of the effort. 

We have set a goal of raising $5,000 in support of this effort. Can you contribute today? This is our most critical project. Without ballot access, we cannot nominate candidates for local, state, or federal office. We need your financial support now more than ever! 

Thank you for your support, and Happy Earth Day!