Becker joins environmental leaders in Washington plea

WASHINGTON — Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker stood alongside environmental leaders in the nation's capital Wednesday in a call for stronger climate change legislation.

Alongside Earth Day founder Denis Hayes, Becker and others called for Congress to pass reforms before April 22, the 40th celebration of Earth Day.

"We need to use that momentum," Becker told the Deseret News in a phone interview from Washington.

Becker, who has helped spearhead a number of sustainability initiatives in Salt Lake City, said Wednesday's news conference at the National Press Club was a chance to "showcase" the city's environmental efforts at a national level.

"We need to think globally and act locally," he said. "We're focusing on what we as individuals can do."

Still, Becker said there is a "need for national partners" in those efforts.

Wednesday's D.C. news conference, organized by the Earth Day Network, also included officials from the League of Conservation Voters, the National Wildlife Federation and Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.

— Aaron Falk