Climate activist receives Green Ring Award

Laura Betts was so concerned about pollutants and increased childhood cancer rates in her Wisconsin neighborhood in 1998 that she wrote a letter to then-Vice President Al Gore. She still has the letter he wrote in response.

“I’ve always been interested in our environment,” Betts said. “I was the type of person who would look up the EPA stats on pollution and water no matter where I lived. It was important to have a clean environment.”

Twenty-one years after connecting with Gore via mail, Betts was in Atlanta in March to accept an environmental award from the former vice president and Nobel Laureate on behalf of The Climate Reality Project and her work with the organization. Gore serves as chairman.

Only five people — out of the 20,000 who have been trained as Climate Reality leaders — have received the Green Ring Award, TCRP’s highest honor, she said. It is reserved for outstanding Climate Reality leaders who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to their role as climate communicators and activists.

“Thank you for your incredible work and your unmatched ability to unite, inspire and impower your community to act on climate,” Gore told Betts. “Your passion, conviction and dedication truly exemplify what it means to be a Climate Reality leader.”

Betts was among about 2,000 members attending TCRP’s climate and environmental justice training in Atlanta.

“Through her work with Climate Reality’s Central Florida chapter, she has worked tirelessly to advance climate action and social justice, paying special attention to the climate crisis’ disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable communities,” said Ken Berlin, president and CEO of The Climate Reality Project.

A LIFELONG COMMITMENT

Betts said her “aha moment” came after reading Gore’s book “Earth in the Balance.”

“I don’t think there’s anyone else who’s a champion for the environment like Mr. Gore,” Betts said. “I knew at that moment that I needed to do everything to alleviate the climate crisis. I wanted to make sure that my children had a future.”

Her sons are now 29 and 31 — and Betts still is fighting for a cleaner environment and better sustainability practices in an effort to combat global climate change.

She recently retired from Walt Disney World, where she served on the environmental integration team that worked on sustainability measures within the theme parks and resorts.

Betts joined TCRP about nine years ago. After becoming a trained leader in 2013, she became co-chair of the local chapter and began building the movement for climate action in Central Florida.

“This organization has committed to undoing historic injustices and addressing systematic inequalities,” she said. “That means that we go out of our way to protect those who cannot protect themselves, to let them speak for themselves to let them feel like they’re included in the solutions.”

Under her leadership, the chapter helped the city of Orlando implement its Green Works Plan.

She works with several other local organizations to promote sustainability.

“I’m not trying to shove climate change down anyone’s throat; I’m just trying to find common ground,” Betts said. “We (must) move forward toward a future that’s not based on fossil fuels. … We have a moral obligation to leave this world a better place, or at least a livable place, for future generations. It’s just wrong for us to abuse what’s given to us. Especially when we have the answers.”