Dear Friend,
A critical responsibility of being a leader – of being an elected official – is to think not only of immediate consequences but also to think of the future and the next generation. Nowhere is this more important than when we consider the environment. The consequences of climate change are all around us, from more frequent and more severe weather events to increased forest fires to rising sea levels.
Scientists tell us this is only the beginning. The scientific community overwhelmingly concurs that climate change is real, dangerous, and has potential to make the earth uninhabitable. We see that as we see the extinction of too many animal species. They are yet another warning of the dire consequences to come.
But the governor and his Republican colleagues choose to fly in the face of reality and attempt to roll back even the modest steps Virginia Democrats have taken to avoid this upcoming crisis. Rising sea levels will inundate our coastline, destroying beaches, communities and lives. Flooding will harm critical security and military operations on the Virginia coast and make national security vulnerable.
Under Democratic leadership, Virginia joined RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is a market-based cap-and-invest initiative. Within the eleven RGGI states, regulated power plants must acquire one RGGI CO2 allowance for every short ton of CO2 they emit, and participating states have seen success as emissions have dropped 90 percent faster than anywhere else in the country. Yet the governor and his Republican colleagues have done everything they can to harm our progress.
That’s right – we attempt to combat a looming threat that could make life uninhabitable for our children and grandchildren, and the Republicans want to turn the clock back. |
