Public Comment
ECLECTIC RANT: The Climate Crisis: Now is the Time to Act
Amidst raging wildfires exacerbated by prolonged drought, and three-digit temperatures, too many Americans are treating the climate crisis with resignation bordering on acceptance. As our government seems unwilling or unable to solve this coming calamity to planet Earth, Americans have understandably moved to more immediate concerns that effect their daily lives: higher prices for groceries, housing and gasoline.
Meanwhile, we see the effects of climate change scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases. Some of the effects of climate change are already irreversible. As the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses after China, the U.S. has an obligation to act now.
On July 25, 165 staffers at federal health and environmental agencies as well as 75 Congressional offices published a letter calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Joe Biden to act more aggressively on climate. "Every day you do not act, the climate crisis spirals further out of control. The coming days represent our best opportunity to address the climate crisis and save countless lives with robust climate justice policy, . . .”
There Is, however, a glimmer of hope. Senator Joe Manchin (D.WV) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.NY) have agreed on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that would among other things, invest $369 billion in Energy Security and Climate Change programs over the next ten years, which would reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. However to get to 50 votes and Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote, Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D.AZ), another holdout on her party’s domestic policy measure, must agree to vote for the proposed legislation.
If passed, the U.S. will be able to show by example progress at the next climate conference in November. But remember Sens. Manchin and Sinema have disappointed us in the past.
Passage of the Act should also help Democrats at the midterm elections.
