John —

In just a moment, I’m going to ask you to make your voice heard on the issue of climate change and drought. First, let me explain why this request is so important:

We’re in the middle of what some climate scientists call a “megadrought.”

When you examine tree and soil data, it tells us that we’re in the middle of the worst drought in 1,200 years. The last time a drought lasted this long was in the 1500s, and we’ve already beat that record.

And if you ask scientists, they’ll tell you these drought conditions are made worse by the effects of climate change, rising temperatures, and reduced snow melt.

Last week, I chaired a bipartisan Senate hearing on the issue of drought in Western states. I’d called for this hearing because this issue is a real priority for me.

It’s a priority for me because Arizona is on the front lines of this megadrought. But it’s also an issue that impacts all of us.

There are steps we can take to help. We can build more water infrastructure. We can increase the water storage behind the dams we already have. We can help farmers with measures that conserve water. And we can take steps to fight climate change, which is the driving force behind this issue.

But I keep emailing about this challenge because Congress needs to know that this is a priority for you. If we speak up once and go silent, nothing will change. Only when people come together and make their voices heard time after time will we get the change we need on this issue.

I need your help on this, so here’s the part where I ask — again — for your support:

Can you please sign my petition urging Congress to take action on climate change — including water recycling, resilience, desalination and more? This issue is so important to Arizona, and to all of us.

ADD YOUR NAME

The good news is, there’s no country in the world better at solving big problems when we put our mind to it. We can do that now.

Let’s get it done, together.

Mark Kelly