In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., we urge readers to check out King County Executive Ron Sims’ piece from last year on how his vision connected to climate change, green jobs and social justice. It addressed the poverty aspect of environmental issues that has yet to confront the mainstream, writing “climate change itself is fundamentally a question of justice, with the poorest and least resilient communities contributing the least to its cause, but bearing the brunt of its consequences.”

The article presented a model to emulate. For a solution, the King County Climate Team partnered with the King County Equity and Social Justice Team to educate how climate change impacted poor and vulnerable populations, and provided an opportunity towards a green professional pathway: “We want to make sure that these individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by climate change have full access and ability to get, keep and thrive in the long-term, family wage green work that can transform their lives, their families and their communities, and protect the health of our planet,” Sims said. More.

Also, visit Green For All, a national organization dedicated to fighting poverty and pollution at the same time.

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