As most Americans are packing up their cars and getting ready to go on their summer vacations, climate deniers in Congress are in full swing.
Our opponents in the U.S. Senate have been making plans to stop EPA from taking action to reduce carbon pollution. Behind-the-scenes maneuvers reached a peak this week in the course of negotiations over the bipartisan energy efficiency bill introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH). Their bill attracted climate change deniers who are seeking to hijack a widely supported bill to push their political agenda.
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S.761), is designed to achieve the widely supported goals of saving money, energy, and cutting carbon pollution. The measure would increase energy efficiency in buildings, industry and the federal government, reduce pollution while saving taxpayer dollars, and promote job growth. However, its broad support in the Senate has also made it a target for climate deniers seeking to score political points against the president.
I wish I could say I'm surprised. But, this isn't anything new. It's a play out of their tired denier playbook. Deniers continually attempt to ruin good bipartisan bills by attaching amendments attacking President Obama. This time it's the president's common-sense climate change action plan, which calls for cutting carbon pollution from power plants, investing in cleaner energy sources and improving energy efficiency.
So here we are again. These same climate change deniers are ignoring the scientific facts and misreading the public's support for these tactics.
We can't let this continue. The NRDC Action Fund is launching an online advertising campaign designed to build public opposition to the denier amendments.
Our online campaign is designed to put Congress on notice that their constituents are watching. We will hold them accountable if they try to block the president's plan -- a common-sense, practical proposal that has the public's support.
And while the deniers try to convince their colleagues that the science isn't real or that addressing climate change impacts will ruin the economy, we must show them that they can't keep ignoring the facts and that their constituents demand action.
In fact, recent public opinion research has showed strong support among voters for taking action to address climate change by cutting the carbon pollution from power plants that fuels climate change and extreme weather, diminishes air quality and threatens public health. Sixty-five percent of Americans support setting limits on dangerous carbon pollution -- including 49 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents -- and 61 percent of Americans back President Obama's climate action plan, according to a July 2013 national survey conducted by Hart Research and Chesapeake Beach Consulting on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
If you're part of the majority of Americans who want to take action on climate change, now is the time to let your voice be heard.
Will you add one more item to your pre-vacation to-do list?