NRDC Mourns the Loss of Rep. McEachin: “a towering leader of conscience”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Va., died Monday after a long struggle with cancer, just weeks after being elected to his fourth term in Congress.

NRDC President Manish Bapna made the following statement:

“We have lost a towering leader of conscience, a climate champion who put environmental justice at the center of his mission to create a more promising, more equitable and more sustainable future - for the people of Virginia and of the nation. What will endure are the lasting fruits of his labors and their daily impact on the lives of the public he so proudly and honorably served.

“Donald McEachin worked tirelessly, and effectively, to invest in our cities and rural areas. He had a gift for gathering diverse groups to stake out common ground. And he brought the power of a clear and courageous voice to his advocacy in partnership with communities too long underserved.

“His legacy is a tribute to his belief that government must be a force for progress, that it must be a force for good, and to his unyielding insistence on making it so. We will remember how he did just that and the lasting ways it will serve us all.”

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.