Next Monday marks the 49^th annual celebration of Earth Day, a day to acknowledge the importance of clean air, vibrant waters, and productive land in sustaining life.  Since the first Earth Day in 1970, it has been a day to demand action to reduce pollution that compromises people’s health and quality of life. Today that also includes a call for action to aggressively reduce the emissions that cause climate change and accelerate efforts to ensure all communities can enjoy the benefits of clean energy technologies.

The organizing and momentum catalyzed by the first Earth Day resulted in important policy victories, including adoption of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act – statutes which remain fundamental to the environmental protection framework in the U.S. and which require vigilant defense in the current political era.

The environmental movement’s agenda has broadened over time to recognize the historic injustices communities of color and low-income communities have experienced. Activists of color have grown in power and influence to shape our understanding of what environmental work looks like and whose leadership is necessary to bring about needed change in the practices, systems, and laws that influence personal-, public- and environmental-health outcomes.

As Earth Day approaches, The Kresge Foundation is grateful for the courageous and sustained leadership of the nonprofit organizations we support. They are tackling climate change mitigation and adaptation and framing their work in ways that resonate with their communities.  Our Environment team’s Earth Day gift to you is to share a few of the reading materials that have shaped our thinking.  They include:

• Bounce Forward:  Urban Resilience in the Era of Climate Change  Published in 2015 by Island Press and Kresge, this document is an accessible primer on concepts key to equitable climate resilience.
• Pathways to Resilience  Published by Movement Strategy Center in 2015, this report offers a vision of climate resilience grounded in the realities of low-income communities and communities of color, and pragmatic pathways to achieve it.
• Essential Capacities for Urban Adaptation: A Framework for Cities  Researched and written by the Innovation Network for Communities, this 2017 paper offers helpful insights into the capacities local governments must develop to successfully pursue their climate change goals.
• Life After Carbon: The Next Global Transformation of Cities  While climate change poses daunting challenges, this 2018 book by Peter Plastrik and John Cleveland provides inspiring stories from cities across the globe that are implementing smart and bold strategies to move toward carbon neutrality.

We hope you enjoy them.

–— Lois DeBacker, managing director, Environment Program