House bill limiting climate gasses passes
Jun 28, 2009
In a step toward real climate change, today the US House of Representatives passed a first climate bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
Whitebark pines losses to higher temperatures and pathogens mean many fewer pine nuts for grizzly bears. The pines are native to the Columbia Highlands and other interior forests. Image courtesy NRDC
In a step toward real climate change, and a welcome change from the stubborn reluctance of the last administration, today the House of Representatives passed a first climate bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). The Senate must pass a similar bill and a conference take place to resolve differences before the landmark legislation limiting global warming gasses becomes law.
Unfortunately, the bill was watered down in partisan politics. Many climate scientists, including James Hansen, maintain it's too little and not the right stuff. Still, it's a visible step in the right direction.
Conservation Northwest urged our members call on their Congressional representatives to vote for the bill as our best current opportunity to secure a healthy future for people, wildlife, and wild places. The bill caps global warming pollution; establishes the framework for a clean-energy economy with a target of 20 percent of America's energy from renewable energy; and funds clean energy and green jobs training.
The future of the Pacific Northwest is not a rosy one under most climate change scenarios. All of us will be affected from decreased snowpack in the Cascades, disrupted river flows, increased competition and costs for water, and increased wildfire, pests, pathogens, and invasive species. And it is our children and theirs who will ultimately bear the brunt of a changing climate, and change is in the air.
