Thank you to everyone who worked so hard with us this week on the Climate Security Act.
I am pleased with all the new and important voices that joined together as never before to fight this war we must not lose. The future of wildlife looks a bit more promising as a result.
Today’s historic vote on the strongest global warming bill ever acted on by Congress creates momentum we need to continue the fight. In all, 54 senators spoke up for the need to debate solutions to global warming, far surpassing the 38 votes in 2005 and 43 votes in 2003 for legislation that was significantly weaker than this year’s Climate Security Act. Supporters today included ten Senate converts who had not supported cap-and-trade legislation in prior votes in 2003 and 2005.
Go to National Wildlife Federation’s Climate Action Center to learn how your Senators voted, get the latest from the Hill from National Wildlife Federation’s Jeremy Symons, and learn what you can do to keep the momentum going.
The good news is that many senators who have previously buried their head in the sand and pretended global warming doesn’t exist now acknowledge the problem is real. The bad news is they are now throwing sand in the gears to prevent Congress from actually doing anything about it.
How could any senator vote against advancing debate on global warming legislation? What were they thinking? If we don’t tackle climate change soon, it will tackle us. It’s that simple. Climate change is threatening our national security, our economy and the natural resources all Americans depend on.
Every senator who voted against continued debate on the Climate Security Act has voted against investing in a clean energy future that will energize our struggling economy, voted against safeguarding our families and voted against protecting and restoring America’s natural resources.
Despite today’s vote, the results are vital to our plans for passing strong global warming legislation next year. We now know which senators are paying attention to science and listening to the public, and which ones are instead listening to oil companies.
Today’s vote was just round one. Round two will be when voters have their say in November. Round three will happen in 2009 when we have a new president and a new Congress who will listen to the vast majority of Americans who want real action.
I extend my deep gratitude to Senators Boxer, Reid, Warner and Lieberman, and other bill champions, who have been tireless leaders to address the urgent problem of climate change.
I have a note taped to my computer monitor with these simple words, "Keep your destination in view." It daily reminds me that climate stabilization must be our common destination.
All the extra effort from so many committed people this week has been deeply inspiring to me. Working together as never before, we will win this.
