Over Mother’s Day Weekend, 1Sky organized families across 43 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to create murals calling for stronger climate leadership. My daughter and I held our own private event (we live in such a remote region that no one else signed up) by creating a photo collage of our Mother’s Day Hike. Unfortunately, we did not complete the project on time to participate in their trip to DC. The murals were brought to DC to remind Congress that the Americans want a strong, science-based climate policy.
1Sky was one of the few envrionmental groups that opposed the recently defeated Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. “The failure of the deeply-flawed Lieberman-Warner bill gives us a fresh chance to protect our childrens’ climate,” said Betsy Taylor, president of 1Sky’s Board of Directors. “New climate legislation must focus on reducing carbon emissions quickly and effectively, and on schedule with or even ahead of recommendations made by international climate scientists so the U.S. can be a leader in this field.” Hopefully a new Congress and new president will hear the message on the 1Sky murals.
What would effective climate change legislation look like? According to 1Sky:
- Conserve 20 percent of the nation’s energy by 2015, creating 5 million new jobs and pathways out of poverty focused on climate solutions and energy efficiency;
- Reduce global warming pollution at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050;
- Impose a moratorium on new coal plants and end fossil fuel dependence through strong standards and incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
This is what we need to do for our children now. Their futures are literally at stake.
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