You have all seen the devastating pictures of ice
and glaciers melting in Alaska and at the poles. Most of you have heard the stories of some
villages in our largest state literally disappearing into the sea
because of rapidly rising sea levels. Clearly, is clearly the frontlines of
climate change – and they are losing the battle. You would think of all of the Senators in all 50 states,
there would be one who would stand up and vociferously urge their peers to
address global warming…. And mean it.
Don’t get me wrong.
Senator Murkowski (R-AK) can definitely talk a good game and has, in
moments of lucidity, called on Congress to address climate change.
Unfortunately, that changes today as Senator Murkowski
teeters on introducing
an amendment to environmental spending legislation that would
allow EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions only from mobile sources, and portends
to prohibit the agency from regulating heat-trapping emissions from the
greatest source of pollutions -- stationary
sources like power plants and industrial facilities.
I think David Moulton, director of climate policy and conservation
funding at the Wilderness Society said it best to the NYTimes
– “This amendment suggests that if global warming pollution comes from a power
plant, it is safe, but if it comes from a car, it is harmful…. That is a
preposterous distinction that cannot be supported in either law or fact."
Senator Murkowski, the melting ice, rising sea, displaced
people, and drowning polar bears don’t see the difference in the SOURCES of pollution – all they see are
the dire impacts of not cleaning up the pollution itself. It is time to address the impacts
of global warming pollution. You - of all of our elected-officials - should be
leading the charge.
Special note: When I worked as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, I had the
pleasure of working with Senator Murkowski’s office on the Mercury Export Ban bill,
which was sponsored by then-Senator Obama. We were successful in our quest to get it signed into law
and when the ban goes into effect, it will substantially reduce mercury contamination
in fish, prevent the contamination of our water, and shield our children
from a dangerous chemical. I
know that Murkowski can be a great, non-partisan leader. I hope that she will veer from this new
course that will harm the environment and put some of that know-how towards
climate change.