It's great to be back here at DailyKos -- now in the majority! As we told the country last November, elections have consequences -- and one of those consequences was the change in leadership of the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee.
I just finished up our first hearing on global warming as the new Democratic Chair of the EPW Committee. Instead of a Chair who says global warming is a hoax, I said today that global warming is the challenge of our generation, and we must step up and meet it.
To that end, I hope you will help me move forward a bill that will be a meaningful start. We have lost so much time, so we must act quickly.
Many people have already offered suggestions to meet the challenge of global warming, and many other proposals are about to be put on the table. But I'd like to hear your ideas on the best way to move forward as well. What ideas do you think we should pursue? Let me know so that I can share your comments with my colleagues in the Senate at our next hearing.
Please click here to rank your preferred approaches to stop global warming now: http://ga4.org/...
Eventually, I hope we will be able to put forward legislation that moves to mandatory caps on greenhouse gases and one which moves economy wide, so we can avert the predicted disasters of temperature rise.
I am optimistic because there really seems to be a consensus building -- we heard much of that bipartisan consensus from more than 1/3 of the Senate at today's hearing -- and I'm proud that my home state of California has set the pace. Other jurisdictions across our country have done so as well, including the mayors of many of America's leading cities.
So today, the battle in the Senate to reduce global warming across America has really begun, and I want you to be a part of it. But there's still a lot of work to do. There will be a series of hearings, week after week, where my committee will hear from every part of America on this issue. This is the time I want to hear from you before we sit down and write the legislation we believe will become law this year.
After listening to my colleagues in today's committee hearing, and now gathering your feedback online, I've scheduled another hearing for next Tuesday -- to start putting these ideas into action. I want to share your ideas with the committee next week, to begin acting on them, so please rank your priorities for solving global warming today:
http://ga4.org/...
I sincerely ask that you continue to be a part of the solution -- until we get the job done!
Thanks so much for your input, your vigilance, and your continued support.
-- Barbara
P.S. I'll be back in about 30 minutes to respond to some of your questions and comments below. But please take a moment to make your views known at http://ga4.org/... as well so I can collect your feedback before next week's hearing. You can read my opening statement from today's hearing here. Thanks!
UPDATE (5:45pm ET): Thanks for all of your wonderful comments and questions. I'm impressed and inspired by your ideas and your enthusiasm for this important subject. I'll be checking back often in these coming weeks. If you haven't already, please take our quick online survey to let me know what your priorities are -- and share other ideas with me. Thank you so much!
