Saturday, May 08, 2010

The Time For A Comprehensive Climate Bill Is Now

Amidst the terrible tragedy in the Gulf and the (so far) failed attempts at stopping the flow of oil, some good things have happened. Unfortunately there have been idiotic governmental decisions as well, so the good points cannot overshadow the fact that we do not a have a holistic way of trying to shape our environment for the better. What we need is a climate bill that will make sure we protect our environment and at the same time meet our demand for energy. Not only does it have to be done now, it has to be done like any other proactive piece of legislation, in spite of Republican attempts to kill it outright.

From RawStory:

Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) announced on Friday that they would press ahead next week with an energy and climate change bill despite losing the support of Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC).

Graham had called on his colleagues earlier on Friday to freeze their efforts on the legislation, citing a feud over immigration and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

"I believe it would be wise to pause the process and reassess where we stand," Graham said, pouring cold water on predictions that he would eventually support the bill.

According to Graham's failed logic, because our lack of a bill to address energy and the environment helped to cause this disaster (e.g.) we must now not do anything for an undetermined amount of time. Of course, Republicans love to block everything from this to all of that and energy concerns in the 21st century are certainly within that range. Democrats in Congress must follow Senator Kerry and yes, Senator Lieberman (he's not 100% bad) so that we do not set ourselves up for another Exxon Valdez, BP spill, Three Mile Island or any other named man-made disaster you can think of.