I serve on the board of directors of a volunteer community organization. My faith was shaken last week when the board refused to support 350Eugene and other environmental groups’ quest to stop the use of fracked gas, a fossil fuel, in new construction in our fair city.

I was stunned by the board’s refusal. All members are intelligent, involved, aware citizens with a seemingly knowledgeable appreciation of our climate crisis. When  I opined that as citizens of planet Earth, each of us has a duty to mitigate climate harm wherever possible, their response was: It’s not our business; it’s not our mission.

Our support of this effort was but a small action; yet these good people were unwilling to step forward. My despair, which I try mightily to repress, reared its ugly head. If we, the good citizens of one of the greenest cities, in one of the greenest states, in the world’s richest country are unwilling to take the smallest action, who will?

If not now, when? If not us, who?

Susan M. Connolly

Eugene

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