Sterling Miller - June 18, 2009
National Wildlife Federation
Waxman-Markey
Old habits are hard to break. Addressing our energy crisis fits into this category. For almost a decade now, there has been clear and convincing evidence that burning fossil fuels like oil and gas add global warming pollution to the atmosphere, trapping more and more of the sun’s heat as more and more pollution accumulates. The more heat that is trapped in the atmosphere, the more Montana warms, the more formerly productive farmlands become arid, the more unpredictable day to day weather becomes, the stronger and more frequent severe storms occur, the more arid lands become uninhabitable to humans, and the warmer and more inhospitable to fish our streams and rivers become, the less snow falls and persists at high elevations, and the more wildlife habitats shrink and shift.
A new national report this week from the U.S. Global Change Research Program details the dangers. Unless we act now to end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and curb our global warming pollution, temperatures in Montana could rise more than ten degrees. I’m not talking about distant polar ice caps in some far-off future scenario – I’m talking about right here in Montana, and in the lifetime of a child born today.
This process has been known for more than a century and has become certain in the last few decades, but politicians in Washington have dragged their feet on getting us off of dirty fossil fuels, while big polluters have given big money to front groups that have confused the issue for Montanans. What needs to be done is simple, we need to move away from polluting fuels like coal and oil and towards clean energy sources like solar and wind. Even though the mechanisms available to accomplish this are far from simple, there can be no escaping that this is what must be done.
Fortunately, Congress is working to set America on a new energy pathway that combines clean energy incentives and firm limits on carbon pollution to help drive America’s economic recovery. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, or ACES, offers our country the most important opportunity in generations to jumpstart our economy, create millions of new, good-paying jobs and set the stage for America to compete and win in a 21st century economy while reducing global warming pollution.
The ACES Act was approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on May 21, by a bi-partisan 33-25 vote. The committee members who supported the bill include House members from 21 states and every region of the nation – from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt.
Some politicians question whether rapidly developing nations like China and India will continue to pollute. These are legitimate concerns but not doing what we can here in the U.S. will assure failure in the global fight to control climate change. The US, which has 5% of the world’s population, currently pollutes the atmosphere with 22% of the current global warming emissions. If we don’t address our problem, we can have no hope of successfully encouraging others to address theirs.
Montana’s lone representative who will vote on this legislation in the house is Denny Rehburg. Rehburg has a history of failure to recognize the threats of not addressing the root causes of climate change. It is up to us here in Montana to tell him it’s time to change his head-in-the sand approach to global warming. With gas returning to its summer highs and coal prices driving up electricity rates, the status quo is not a solution. Representative Rehburg must either get on the train that is at the station or very quickly assure that a faster and better train will be available that will assure that we reach our destination before it is too late. The leadership of the House intends to schedule a vote on the America Clean Energy and Security Act before the July 4th recess. Rep. Rehburg needs to hear from you that he needs to get on the train. He needs to hear that you are concerned about the future you, your children, and your grandchildren will inherit unless the problems of global warming are addressed. And if he doesn’t get on board the train, we’ll be looking for someone who will at the next station.
This is Sterling Miller for the National Wildlife Federation in Missoula. Thanks for listening.
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