[This Diary is written by NRDC Action Fund's Director - Heather Taylor-Mieslse]
I am a pretty loyal Saturday Night Live viewer. Through the funny skits and um, the not so funny skits, I have often found myself in front of the TV at 11:30pm on Saturday waiting for someone to scream "Live from NY...." One of my favorite skits in recent years is a Weekend Update segment that mocks the bad decisions of famous people by asking, "REALLY.... Was that the best use of your time..... did you REALLY think you wouldn’t get caught.... You REALLY thought...."
Last week, after a visit to Capitol Hill to talk about climate to those Senators on the fence, that skit reverberated in my mind. As in –
Really?!? You would REALLY rather bet on archaic, filthy, polluting industries that subsidize rogue nations instead of helping create new, better paying, cleaner, home-grown jobs right here in the U.S.?
Really?!?! You REALLY think that U.S. entrepreneurs and renewable manufacturing companies won’t suffer if we don’t act quickly. REALLY, you don’t think it is a big deal that China is already the world’s leading manufacturer of solar panels and is quickly claiming the wind market?
Really?!?!? You REALLY think that the impacts of global warming are still unsettled and we need to fund more studies? Even though the Pentagon and military service arms have enacted their own scenarios to deal with Climate refugees? REALLY? You still choose to believe the pandering of the big oil & coal lobbyists?
The fact of the matter is that this is NOT a skit. This REALLY is about someone’s job here in America, our nation’s economic security; the health of our country and our children’s’ future hangs in the balance. I ask you Congress, are you REALLY going to fail to act? Now is the time for action.