Tell Your Senators: the World Can't Wait for Clean Energy

Now that the House has acted, I am writing to urge you pass a strong clean energy bill out of the Senate to spur a transition to clean energy alternatives and away from our over-reliance on fossil fuels -- creating jobs and fighting global warming at the same time.

The Senate must pass a strong bill that sets science-based enforceable caps on carbon emissions. The EPA must have the authority to ensure those reductions are actually achieved. In particular, we cannot afford to allow the old dirty coal plants most responsible for carbon emissions to continue business as usual. It is past time for them to clean up or shut down so that emission-free alternatives can compete.

Shifting away from the fossil fuels that cause global warming will create good new jobs for millions of Americans. The U.S. can either lead and take advantage of this shift or miss the boat as other countries act more swiftly.

As President Obama has said, the time for delay has passed. We are now at a crossroads with a choice between responsibly addressing the problem and achieving the emissions reductions science tells us are necessary now or dealing with severe consequences of climate disruption later. Those consequences include irreversible sea level rise, biodiversity loss, changes in the foods we grow, availability of fresh water to drink, and the spread of infectious disease.

Again, I urge you to act quickly on clean energy legislation that will create millions of jobs and protect our planet from a climate catastrophe and not reward the old, dirty power plants that have played such a significant role in creating the climate crisis in the first place. There is not a moment to waste.