---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Adriana Gonzalez, Sierra Club Puerto Rico" <
reply@emails.sierraclub.org>
Date: Sep 25, 2017 7:16 PM
Subject: Puerto Rico is destroyed. Please help.
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It's impossible to overstate the horror of what's happening in my home of Puerto Rico right now. The worst storm to hit our island in 80 years has utterly destroyed us.
After taking out our entire power grid, submerging entire neighborhoods in contaminated water and killing nearly a dozen people, Hurricane Maria has now threatened the Guajataca Dam with collapse, meanwhile untold numbers of people are still trapped in their homes and may be running out of food, water and medicine.
Our situation is desperate. The distribution of gas and fresh water is far too slow -- and isn't reaching the most impacted areas quickly enough. The island's infrastructure is in shambles. And without power or communications, we can't even assess the environmental fallout. We need your help, and we need it now.
The Sierra Club is working with community-based partners in emergency relief efforts,including our Puerto Rico Chapter. These groups are working to create resilient communities that will transform our island -- building community microgrids so people have cleaner power that won't take 6 months to bring back online, ensuring building codes are met so coastal homes are safer from flooding, and so much more.
We're so grateful for your support of our storm relief efforts thus far -- thank you -- but if you can contribute again to help our neighbors here in Puerto Rico, your generosity will literally help save lives.
Please, make an emergency gift to the Sierra Club's Maria relief efforts now. Remember, 100% of funds donated will go directly to community-led recovery efforts in areas affected by the worst storm to hit Puerto Rico in 80 years.
The mood across the island ranges from tense to near-hysteria. Curfews are in place to deter looters searching for food. Hospitals are at capacity -- and running low on generator fuel -- and 15,000 people remain in shelters. And communicating with aid workers is extremely difficult, as only one cell phone company has even limited service.
Puerto Rico was in environmental crisis before Maria hit. Wastewater stations are at the mercy of the island's decrepit electricity system. The 23 Superfund sites here include a U.S. military bomb-testing site on the island of Vieques -- which contaminated 75% of the small island and, some believe, has heightened cancer rates among its 9,000 inhabitants.
Most estimates give us at least 6 months without power, meaning the ecological crisis will soon become a public health one. And, as always, my low-income neighbors will bear the worst of the contamination, illness and environmental injustice. You can help: your $5 donation today will help us keep our promise that no person or community will be left behind.
Please, contribute what you can to support on-the-ground relief and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. 100% of your contribution will support locally-led efforts to help communities devastated by Maria.
I won't lie -- the situation here is as frightening as I could imagine. The empathy and generosity of Sierra Club members like you keeps me going; we have a long, difficult road ahead, but knowing you're with us gives us all hope.
We'll keep you updated as the situation here develops. In the meantime, thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Adriana Gonzalez, Environmental Justice Organizing Representative, Sierra Club Puerto Rico Chapter
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