On Aug. 26, Northampton County Councilor Tara Zrinski joined small business leaders for a press conference at Blended by Bru Daddy’s, 27 N. 7th St., Allentown, thanking Congresswoman Susan Wild, D-7th, for supporting the Build Back Better Budget and strong federal investments in clean energy and clean transportation.

The event is part of a $10 million grassroots campaign conducted throughout the month of August in 12 states to demand ambitious investments in clean energy, environmental justice and climate solutions organized by the Climate Action Campaign.

“We have a great friend in Susan Wild, and now we need the rest of Congress to step up and make a bold investment in clean energy and transportation, for Allentown and communities across the country,” said Matt Tuerk, former vice president of Economic Development for the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation.

Over 75 businesses in Pennsylvania’s Seventh Congressional District have signed a letter in support of bold climate investment, with several of those signers speaking at the press event.

Small business owners are the pillars of our communities, and the impact of climate on small business can be seen in infrastructure, extreme weather among many others.

“As a small business owner and health practitioner, I know how vital it is for Congress to make the needed budget investments so that we may transition to a cleaner, better way of life,” said Jennifer Herman, owner of Pine Laurel Wellness, Stroudsburg.

These climate investments are popular in Congresswoman Wild’s Congressional District.

Seventy-six percent of voters in the seventh district support addressing climate change by using more clean energy, reducing carbon pollution from vehicles and industry and making homes and buildings more energy efficient. Pennsylvanians and business leaders want Congress to follow through on President Biden’s promise to help build resilient communities and deliver transformational investments in clean energy infrastructure.

“While Representative Susan Wild’s vote for the Build Back Better budget is an important step in tackling the climate crisis, we need Congress to deliver on urgent and ambitious investments in our transition to clean energy to create jobs in Pennsylvania and across the country,” Northampton County Councilwoman Tara Zrinski said.

Climate change is making extreme weather events such as flooding more common and severe in Pennsylvania.

About 430,000 Pennsylvanians live in areas at elevated risk of inland flooding.

From 2010 to 2020, Pennsylvania experienced 37 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $10 billion in damages.

Business leaders called on Congress to seize this historic opportunity to pass the Build Back Better Budget and make significant investments in our future.