I plan to be in Washington, DC, next week with more than 30 other Illinois residents and about 1,000 people from all 50 states heading to the Capitol for hundreds of climate-focused meetings with lawmakers. We will discuss the pressing need to reduce carbon pollution in the United States, focusing on legislative solutions that we hope Congress will support and ultimately pass into law.
Each of us is committed to solving the climate crisis, which seems to get worse every time I check social media, read a newspaper, or turn on the radio. Illinois residents have seen firsthand the negative effects of climate change: record ice cover on Lake Michigan last winter and record snowpack. Last month, Illinois scientists noted that certain disease-carrying ticks are now migrating to our area due to milder winters and earlier spring warming.
I am not a paid lobbyist and neither are people like me from Chicago, Collinsville, Naperville, Normal and other places in Illinois. We are everyday people from all walks of life who will be at the Capitol to address the effects of climate change – one meeting and one conversation at a time.
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Shyia Whiting of Markham, an Illinois State University junior who will join us, said she wants to “put action” on her climate concerns by speaking to “the people who have the power to change the way we protect our climate.” ”.
Another student who made the trip, Cristina Mac Cormac, a sophomore at Penn State University Lake Zurich, said she hopes to involve “more young people in the fight to pass environmental policies.” She relishes the opportunity to have “a direct impact on this fight.”
A recent KeynoteUSA poll showed that 70 percent of respondents were in favor of the United States taking action to try to reduce climate change, but many of our elected officials are not moving fast enough to implement solutions to curb carbon pollution that damages our environment. That’s why we’re taking a break from our normal routines and heading to Washington for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby summer conference, which includes a full day of meetings with our elected officials on Capitol Hill to push for bold climate action.
For years, others like me have advocated for Congress to take action to put a price on carbon pollution, and we will continue to do so. That’s because we know this is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help rapidly reduce carbon pollution in the United States—up to 50 percent by the end of this decade.
On top of that, while we are in Washington we will ask our representatives in Congress to pass laws that can accelerate permitting for new clean energy infrastructure and improve the resilience of the electric grid. Last year, lawmakers passed some permit reform measures, but it’s only a small part of what’s needed. We still need to boost transmission projects and improve early community engagement. The BIG WIRES Act, for example, which was introduced in the Senate and House last fall, will help ensure that the United States has a reliable, resilient grid that can provide clean, affordable electricity.
Over the past few months, as part of a CCL initiative, volunteers like me have been recounting our climate conversations. Since April, we have had more than 30,000 conversations across the country to discuss the climate crisis with our families and friends, with people at work, and with our neighbors.
Having regular conversations with Republican and Democratic representatives in Congress is vital to implementing the bold policy solutions needed to reduce climate pollution and accelerate a clean energy future that benefits everyone.
Are governments obliged to protect people from climate change? If so, to what degree?
Aljazeera – AJ+
Joe Tedino, a communications consultant in Chicago, volunteers with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
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