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Climate change is a scary monster that we have to begin attacking now or we won't get control of it at all. This is the prevailing thinking of our best and brightest military minds in this nation. The top-flag Admirals and Generals of the CNA Military Advisory Board say so. And the United States Department of Defense listens.
Of course, I've paraphrased in layman's super-summed-up sound bite terms that we all understand- the military likes to use terms like "threat multiplier." Global warming pollution is a severe problem, and the greatest military in the world can't fix this problem alone. It's going to take everybody, even businesses . And not just Americans, it's going to take people from all nations to come together for a comprehensive set of solutions. With the international climate treaty negotiations only 52 days away and counting, at this moment the most important thing that America can do is to signal to the rest of the world that we want to fix this problem as a nation, and we would be proud for the rest of the world's nations to join us. We must pass strong climate legislation in Congress so that the President will be armed with a great set of goals for the rest of the planet's leaders to reach for. UK's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, wrote today, Blog Action Day, asking for all of us to take action.
I'm writing this from Fargo, North Dakota, and I can tell you from personal experience that North Dakotans are very passionate about seeing climate change legislation pass. You see, I've been working with North Dakotans to help them raise their voices to the level that will be heard by Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, asking them to vote for strong climate legislation before the Copenhagen negotiations happen. One of these volunteers has lived in Fargo for more than a decade, and came from Sudan. He loves Fargo and North Dakota, and tells me so. A Sudanese friend of his was assisted by Senator Dorgan to live here, and he tells me there is a very large Sudanese community here.
This volunteer recounts how desertification is already causing major shifts in population migration due to shifting water-supplies and land resources (a.k.a. "climate refugees" of the land-locked type). And most of his family still lives in these conditions. He fears for their well-being. And just yesterday, he came to me exasperated that one of his contacts didn't follow-through on what they said they would do- contact some friends and family to call the Senators' offices to ask for strong climate legislation. I had to remind him of the great success he has had with others up until this point.
When I see this man, handicapped with many medical ailments, making labored special trips around town, and to my office to do everything in his power to make a difference in collectively attacking this great beast that we call climate change, he renews my spirit. He convinces me with his success with so many people he reaches to take action on this, that for every 1 person I've met who expresses their passion for wanting a clean energy future, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands more in North Dakota.
We have accumulated literally hundreds of these people's expressions for wanting millions of new clean energy jobs, a set of scientifically-based carbon-reduction goals, and to put a moratorium on old, dirty coal technology in favor of investing instead in renewable energy. Just imagine how many have not spoken out to reach their senators who otherwise would favor these same solutions! I bet you know them, and could talk to them about this.
That's why I am so incredibly baffled when such a large, influential, and politically-connected organization such as the United States Chamber of Commerce uses the dues of its 3 million members to actively pursue an obstructionist position for ANY climate change solutions now or ever presented to our legislators. Does anybody really believe that 3 million businesses, faith organizations , and a diverse array of others are following their lead? If you are a Chamber member, and I were in your position, I'd be telling my local Chamber not to take it anymore, and to pass a statement of disagreement on this issue with the U.S. Chamber. Nike withdrew as a member of the Board, and a whole slew of other major corporations have resigned their memberships altogether.
"Support legislation that fosters energy development and transmission and provides for diversity and security of energy resources including wind energy and hydrogen
Support establishing a policy to address climate change issues at the national level, providing for impact on local and regional economies"
Out of the entire United States, North Dakota sits comfortably at the top of the list for the potential of wind power. Yet, how many wind turbines do you see? And North Dakota is sitting-pretty compared to the rest of the nation when it comes to unemployment rates, at less than half the rate. But wouldn't it be nice to reduce the rate by about a fourth? North Dakota stands to gain thousands of new jobs. Not only that, but as Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn stated at a recent engagement in Fargo at NDSU, North Dakota could set the example for the entire nation if that potential were realized by its leadership. Senators Conrad and Dorgan, we know, realize at least that climate change is a problem and that it needs their attention. But they haven't taken a position on the legislation before them right now in the Senate. Tell them you want a clean energy economy, and you want North Dakota to be a national and global leader for climate change.
Or will we tame the beast and put a leash on these variabilities by creating a clean energy economy and thousands of new jobs here in North Dakota, by setting achievable and realistic targets to reduce global warming pollution (if we start now), and by restraining the amount of carbon we're pushing into our atmosphere by not building any new coal-fired power plants using old and dirty technology and by instead investing in renewable energy? Right now, we have an opportunity to lead the world, let's not sit on our hands.
Take a stand- Senators Conrad and Dorgan can move the entire Senate to vote for strong climate legislation if you tell them to do so. Call them right now.
Then write a letter to the editor in one of your favorite newspapers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). They pay close attention to what's said about them, and North Dakota, in the public eye.
Even if man made global climate change *sigh* (how stupid does that sound) is real. There is nothing we can do now to stop it. The only thing we can do is reduce emissions that will hang around in the air long after that put there. Nothing we can do will stop the "change". The only you could do now is mitigate the effects through sea walls and moving populations away from soon to be blah hahaha, (sorry can't say this with a straight face) inundated shorelines.
Sick~o. I will rejoin the climate change argument next week (maybe this weekend). I am going to San Diego, meet up with friends with whom known forever, and we're going to the MNF game. (my company has club season tix).
So don't expect too much out of me until Wednesday.
........if this CO2 thing is so horrendously bad, why are the liberals and the Democrat party not getting the government to build HUGE carbon suckers to pull all this carbon out of the air? We all know why.......it is NOT about "climate change"..........
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