Missing in action
Toolbox
Published: November 6, 2009
Earlier this year Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said, half seriously, that he thought Texas ought to consider seceding from the Union. It appears the Republicans of the U.S. Senate have decided to secede from the Senate.
When the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved climate change legislation on Thursday, no Republican was there. It was a stark demonstration of the Republicans' failure to engage seriously with the issues of the day.
Sen. Bernard Sanders, the independent from Vermont, is a member of the committee, as were his predecessors from Vermont, Sens. Robert Stafford and James Jeffords. As he works to prod the Senate to action on environmental issues, Sanders thus continues a long Vermont tradition.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairwoman of the committee, was forced by the Republican boycott to resort to a rule allowing for passage of the bill without the presence of Republican members so long as the committee did not amend the proposed bill. Now the bill goes to the floor where senators will pull together several proposals, including one pushed by Sens. John Kerry, Democrat; Joe Lieberman, independent; and Lindsey Graham, Republican. The House has already passed its version of climate change legislation.
Already, negotiators working on an international climate change agreement for the conference next month in Copenhagen have had to scale back their hopes because of delays by the United States. The election of President Obama had raised hopes among diplomats that Copenhagen might succeed. But delays in Congress have caused negotiators to talk about reaching a political agreement that falls short of a binding treaty.
Such an agreement would have moral force, but it would not be legally binding, causing diplomats to describe it as a step in the process, a framework for future negotiations.
Thus, the intransigence of U.S. politicians continues to thwart concerted international action, even as consensus grows among European nations, developing nations, such as China, India and Brazil, and the Obama administration. Further delay flies in the face of the ever more urgent warnings from climate scientists that concrete action is needed now because climate change is happening more quickly than they anticipated.
Several strains in American politics continue to block action.. There is the know-nothing element that spurns scientific evidence, best exemplified by Sen. James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma, who calls global warming a "hoax." There is the power of self-interest that causes fossil fuel industries, utilities and others to oppose action because it will imperil their profits. There is the timidity of politicians afraid to lead because their constituents may not yet fully grasp the immensity of the problem.
The Obama administration understands that the problem of global warming also creates opportunities. Thus, Obama's energy program includes money to stimulate the creation of jobs in green technology in order to create energy efficiency and curb greenhouse gas emissions. Vermont has already learned it will receive $69 million in stimulus money to help the state's electric utilities adopt Smart Grid technology in order to improve the efficiency of the state's electrical power industry.
These initiatives will create thousands of jobs throughout the country. These changes have inspired opposition from sectors, such as the coal industry, which stand to lose jobs. And it is a fact: The point is to avoid burning coal and oil as much as possible or to burn it with technologies that reduce harmful emissions. The planet requires that we leave coal in the ground or extract it at a slower pace. Our senators need to be willing to stand up and say as much.
Sanders understands the nature of the problem. "Our challenge is to move toward energy independence and energy efficiency and sustainable energy by substantially reducing greenhouse emissions and, in the process, creating millions of good-paying jobs," he said following the committee vote.
Diplomats are swallowing hard and preparing themselves to expect less because of inaction by the United States. Congress is pressing ahead despite the abdication of responsibility by Republicans. The world is waiting for us. Earth itself is not waiting.
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