People’s Climate March takes to the streets of Washington D.C. on April 29

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently stated on CNBC that he would “not agree” that carbon dioxide is “a primary contributor” to global warming. That statement is just breathtakingly wrong.

But it makes one thing clear: We need you more than ever. We’re counting on you to fight back against President Trump’s backward agenda: dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, turning away from America’s international climate commitments, and rolling back the clean air and water protections we spent decades putting in place.

It is up to all of us to protect and defend these critical safeguards. On April 29, people from all walks of life will be taking to the streets of D.C.—and cities across the country—to demand climate action.

We need everyone—young and old; Democrat, Independent and Republican—to tell the Trump Administration that if they won’t protect and defend the climate, we the people will. Will you stand with us at the People’s Climate March?

Let us know you’re interested, and we’ll send you details as soon as we have them—for the march here in my town of D.C. (and how out-of-towners can get here), or for activities happening online and right in your own backyard.

As we face the greatest environmental challenges of our time, I can’t help but reflect on how history can inform our actions today.

When Richard Nixon was inaugurated in 1969, the environment was in crisis. Rivers were catching on fire, our air was filled with suffocating pollution, and lead poisoning was an epidemic, with the dangerous toxin seemingly lurking around every corner.

But the American people did not stand by in silence. The call for action rose up so loudly that it could not be ignored—and it worked.

Richard Nixon went on to sign 14 major pieces of environmental legislation—including the creation of the EPA and monumental expansions of the Clean Air Act, all in spite of the fact that he once declared that environmentalists “wanted to go back and live like a bunch of damned animals.”

Our path forward was paved decades ago, by men and women who refused to silence their voices.

We need to recreate that call for action here and now. RSVP today, and we’ll send you details on how to get to D.C., where to find us, and what you can to do help both at home and in the nation’s capital.

Heather Shelby, Environmental Defense Fund