Friends -
In Texas today, following an unprecedented winter storm, millions of people are without drinking water due to power failures at water treatment facilities. Millions were without electricity as a result of major disruptions to Texas's power grid and people were unable to heat their homes while temperatures were below freezing. And many experienced serious damage to their homes from frozen and burst water pipes.
Let me be very clear:
When we talk about the existential threat of climate change, this is what we are talking about. And unless we have the courage to take on the greed and lies of the fossil fuel industry, and transition to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, we will continue to experience the catastrophic effects of the climate crisis.
What the scientists are telling us very clearly is that if we, and countries around the world, do not act boldly within the next few years in transforming our energy systems away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy, the planet we will be leaving our kids and future generations will become increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable.
It is past time for the United States to treat climate change like what it is: an emergency that is an existential threat to humanity that requires an urgent, massive response.
The good news is that Congress will soon be taking up a second reconciliation package that will, among other things, address the climate crisis by creating millions of jobs to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy. The goal of this second reconciliation bill is to deal with the structural changes our country desperately needs and create a government that works for all of our people, not just the 1%.
The bad news is that we will be going up against the fossil fuel industry, which is one of the most powerful political forces in the country with an army of lobbyists, PACs, and bought-and-sold legislators. But it is a fight that is worth having if we care about saving our planet for generations to come.
The only way that we can be successful in the fight against climate change is if the American people stand up to the fossil fuel industry and make their voices heard. So I’m asking you today:
Let's be clear. Failure to act decisively on climate change will mean more drought, more famine, more rising sea levels, more floods, more ocean acidification, more extreme weather disturbances, more disease, more strain on electrical grids, more blackouts, and more human suffering. Climate change is about our survival of the human race.
But some people — including my colleagues in the Senate — will say, "Well, Bernie, how can we afford to act on climate change?"
The question we should really be asking is how can we afford to do nothing while climate change causes more destruction and human suffering?
The scientists have said very clearly that if we do not act boldly within the next few years to transition to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, the planet we leave our kids and future generations will be increasingly unhealthy and uninhabitable.
I wish I could say we could address our climate crisis with a few tweaks at the edges. But I cannot say that. Now more than ever, we need Congress to have the courage to act boldly to effectively address the existential threat of climate change.
We can meet the challenges of this moment AND create millions of jobs in the process. These jobs will be good-paying jobs building the new electric cars and high-speed rail systems that we need, weatherizing millions of homes and buildings, rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, and generating sustainable energy.
During this difficult time in American history, we must not turn to despair. Now is the time to fundamentally rethink our national priorities and imagine the kind of country that we want to become. That means ending the disgrace of the fossil fuel industry destroying the planet to make a profit.
I cannot do it alone, which is why I am asking you to say you will join me in this effort:
If we are going to save our planet for future generations, now is not the time to think small. Thank you for being a part of our fight to confront the climate crisis.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders
PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402
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