What: ‘A Flood of Voices’ storytelling and climate change discussion

When: Thursday, March 19 at 7 p.m.

Where: Union United Church of Christ (877 Goff Street, Norfolk, VA 23504)

Speakers: residents directly affected by area flooding, Virginia Climate Fever author Steve Nash

Norfolk, Va.—Virginia Organizing, the Sierra Club, and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network will host “A Flood of Voices” gathering in Norfolk to lift up the stories of those directly affected by area flooding and discuss action on climate change.

“This event is what I’ve been waiting for,” said Virginia Organizing Environmental Justice Issue Team member Dorothy Rawls. “Having dealt with the trauma of flooding in my home, I felt like I was a lonely voice of one, but I’m excited for this opportunity to begin to lift our collective story and find a way to make a difference. Hearing stories and possible solutions gives me hope!”

Flooding in the South Hampton Roads area has been an environmental concern for years. Participants at the gathering will listen to others’ experiences, learn how to raise their voices on important policy issues, and become engaged in working for change in the social and environmental justice movement.

One key policy that participants will learn about is the Clean Power Plan, the first federal policy designed to specifically address climate change by cutting carbon emissions.

“This event comes on the heels of a General Assembly session in which the EPA’s Clean Power Plan was attacked multiple times and the Virginia Coastal Protection Act, a bill that would have limited carbon emissions and provided much needed funding for sea level rise adaptation in Hampton Roads, didn’t make it out of committee,” said Sierra Club Conservation Program Coordinator Zachary Jarjoura.

”There is a big disconnect between the needs of the people and the policies coming down from Richmond. This event is about elevating the voices of South Hampton Roads residents to spur the Commonwealth to take bold action on climate change.”

Virginia Climate Fever author Steve Nash will also participate in story sharing.

To interview a spokesperson for this event, please contact Amanda Pohl at 804-337-1912 or amanda@virginia-organizing.org.

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Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.

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The Chesapeake Climate Action Network is the biggest and oldest grassroots organization dedicated to fighting climate change in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. We’re building a powerful movement to shift our region away from climate-harming fossil fuels and to clean energy solutions.