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New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, one of the Senate’s great conservation champions, highlighted how environmental justice and social justice are intertwined in his farewell speech.
“Our planet is in crisis, facing mass extinction and climate change,” Udall said on the Senate floor. “Our people are in crisis, ravaged by a pandemic that has laid bare the inequities of our society. And our democracy is in crisis, as the people’s faith in their government is shaken. We cannot solve one of these crises without solving the others.”
Udall also lamented the Senate's growing dysfunction, emphasizing that the chamber is “not working for the American people.”
E&E News notes that the bipartisan praise Udall received in floor speeches on Tuesday could signal an easy confirmation as Interior secretary, if he's chosen by President-elect Joe Biden. Republican Senator Mike Lee, who happens to be Udall's second cousin, said, “We have very different ideas, and yet you, Tom Udall, have always been someone with whom I've been able to communicate freely and frankly, and from whom I've always had positive, uplifting communication, even when we disagree.”
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We should never forget that we can do—all of us can do—the impossible, when we open our eyes to the challenge and work together to meet it.”
