Here's something I came across while doing background research for our next video here at the Do Something Institute.
It's an open letter to Mitt Romney - no, not the one currently at the top of the rec list, but no less amazing. It's about the importance of building a sustainable future and accepting science. The next few years are critical for mitigating climate change and the extent to which we are able to do it will be a direct consequence of this election. Climate change should be part of our national conversation, especially now, from the presidential contest on down. From the letter:
WE NEED A LEADER who will make America the global arsenal of cleaner, sustainable energy, creating thousands of new jobs, and spurring billions of dollars in new investment.... WE NEED A LEADER who understands the legacy we owe to future generations.
What makes the letter amazing is that
it's from Republicans.
Posted on August 28, the letter acknowledges that...
...in recent years, our party has become known as the anti-science and anti-environment party.
WE NEED A LEADER who will change that perception.
One of the smartest and saddest campaigns by the fossil fuel industry has been the near-total convincing of one of this country's two major parties to disavow climate science.
Now, you can the decry the minimal influence of the group that wrote this letter, ConservAmerica (formerly known as Republicans for Environmental Protection) --- but when it comes to climate change, we all need to recognize that Republicans aren't the real enemy. Hundreds of millions (at the low end) of dollars from the fossil fuel industry is clouding this debate and creating the misperception that the science isn't settled.
And, to that end, I must pull a quote from Rebecca Leder and Joe Romm at Climate Progress in July:
...as recently as 2008, climate change was not a hyper-politicized issue — the presidential candidates’ position on climate science was a nonissue since both agreed on the science. Republicans today, however, have become synonymous with climate denialism, staying silent as the country bears the hottest 12 months on record.
~snip~
Indeed, {former GOP Rep. Bob} Inglis said in an interview with Grist’s David Roberts, that he believes there are conservatives “in foxholes on this hill,” who are remaining silent in order to avoid the Tea Party’s fire.
~snip~
Although Romney’s economic adviser supports the {Energy and Enterprise Initiative, a conservative campaign to deal with climate, headed by Inglis}, the candidate falls into the latter category Inglis describes, where “attacking the science is an easier way to dispense with the question” of how to change behavior.
More from Romney on climate here:
a must-read side-by-side comparing his and Obama's positions.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is no reason that accepting climate science should be a partisan issue. You want to fight about the right solutions? Fine, a policy debate is fair game. But Republicans need to realize that it really is okay for conservatives to want to conserve!
Hopefully, that's a good teaser for our next episode. :-)
Our most recent video, on oil from Canada and the Keystone XL pipeline (runtime 4:53) is here - we were thrilled to partner with 350.org for this episode's 'larger' action (I know that attention for non-election stuff is limited right now, but climate change isn't taking a break for the election!):
Thanks for reading, watching, and sharing!
Joylette
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