John,
Our hearts go out to the people impacted by Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. As the death toll rises, and recovery efforts begin, the situation in Puerto Rico is dire. Fiona has destroyed infrastructure, leaving millions without electricity.
Though, this hasn’t been the first time. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria killed thousands in Puerto Rico and left many without power for nearly a year — the longest and largest power outage in U.S. history. These conditions were exacerbated by the Trump administration's restrictions on aid and politicians in Congress who prioritized politics over saving lives.
The climate crisis will continue to impact and devastate our most vulnerable communities around the world.
In Puerto Rico, the biggest factor complicating recovery is the privatization of the national energy grid. Initially an effort to mitigate the blackouts like the one experienced in 2017, in reality, privatization has made little progress. Despite Hurricane Fiona being less severe than its predecessors, Puerto Rico’s grid remains ill-equipped to handle the storms, and residents are expected to once again have to go without electricity for months.
This is becoming too familiar: a natural disaster slams a community, stakeholders scramble to provide help but get bogged down by politics, then disaster strikes again.
This cycle must stop. We must support the rapid adoption of safe, reliable, renewable energy for all, including in Puerto Rico.
Extreme weather events like Hurricane Fiona aren’t slowing down. Scientists have noticed a significant increase in rainfall during storms in places like Puerto Rico that is enough to significantly compound damage in the most vulnerable regions.1
We have to develop and implement lasting solutions to protect our most vulnerable populations. In Congress, Cori is working to ensure utilities like electricity are a right — from introducing the Public Power Resolution in 2021 to the Resolution Recognizing the Human Rights to Utilities just this month.
First, we must support the people of Puerto Rico. Today, we’re asking you to share your strength with the people of Puerto Rico by making a contribution to an organization on the ground, Taller Salud, to fund their relief work.
Taller Salud is a community-based, feminist organization dedicated to improving women’s access to health care, reducing violence within the community, and encouraging economic growth through education and activism. Taller Salud is an independent, non-government based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been working in communities since 1979.
Thank you for joining with us,
Adrastos
Campaign Manager, Team Cori
1https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/19/climate/puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona.html
