“Maine’s natural resources are a cornerstone of our heritage and our economy. Preserving them is vital to our public health and, in a sense, to the survival of our communities. Protecting these precious resources is not some partisan rallying cry, but a responsibility that all of us share and a recognition that the movement toward a clean environment has been led by Maine Republicans like Harry Richardson, Sherry Huber, Joe Sewall and Senator Bill Cohen, as well as Maine Democrats like Ted Koffman, Linda McKee, Senators Ed Muskie and George Mitchell. Maine people have always led the way in the pursuit of clean air, clean water and uncontaminated soils.”

“Today, on Earth Day, we recommit ourselves to that noble goal with more urgency than ever before as climate change takes its toll on our state and our country every day. I pledge that my Administration will work to prevent and mitigate climate change at every turn, helping communities become resilient to those changes already underway and embracing clean energy opportunities to create jobs and wean our state off fossil fuels. We will lead in this effort in order to ensure that our children and grandchildren will enjoy, as we do, Maine’s unsurpassed bounty and beauty.”

Governor Mills also proclaimed April 22, 2019 as Earth Day in Maine and encouraged “all citizens in our state to participate in programs and activities that will protect our environment and contribute to a healthy, sustainable future.”

ProclamatIon

WHEREAS, on April 22, 1970, over 20 million Americans came together to celebrate the first Earth Day, recognizing the importance of protecting our environment and preserving our natural resources; and

WHEREAS, in the months and years that followed, the United States Congress passed the Clean Air, Clean Water, Endangered Species, and Marine Mammal Protections Acts and founded the Environmental Protection Agency; and

WHEREAS, while we have made considerable progress, climate change has been increasingly threatening our jobs, harming our health, and damaging Maine’s historic relationship to the land and sea; and

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, to address our carbon footprint and to accept the challenge of preventing and mitigating climate change; and

WHEREAS, addressing climate change will require collaboration and long-term work, not just short-term solutions, to ensure a healthy planet for future generations; and

WHEREAS, all species play a unique role and contribute to the ecosystem on which all life on Earth depends and therefore must be protected for the survival of the planet; and

WHEREAS, climate change is one of the greatest threats ever faced by humans in modern times, the time is now to pursue innovative and serious climate change prevention and mitigation efforts; and

WHEREAS, Earth Day is an annual reminder of the constant need for environmental activism, stewardship commitments, and sustainability efforts, and helps build awareness of the drastic measures needed to avoid the worst effects of a warming planet;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the great State of Maine, do hereby proclaim April 22, 2019 as

EARTH DAY

in Maine and I encourage all citizens in our state to participate in programs and activities that will protect our environment and contribute to a healthy, sustainable future.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the
Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed
GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this eighteenth
day of April Two Thousand Nineteen

Janet T. Mills
Governor

Matthew Dunlap
Secretary of State
TRUE ATTESTED COPY