Climate Change Events Heat Up the Capitol

Last week, several Congressional groups dedicated to increasing awareness and action on climate change held a film screening and rally in Washington, D.C., with lawmakers from both the House and Senate present. On Tuesday, May 20, members of the Senate Climate Action Task Force and the Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) hosted a panel and screening of the new Showtime series, Years of Living Dangerously, along with a discussion concerning how climate change threatens health, security, and the economy.

Speakers for the panel included Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Executive Director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program which was responsible for releasing the recent National Climate Assessment; Sharon Burke, Senior Advisor at New America Foundation; Anne Kelly, Director of Public Policy at Ceres; and Dr. Sabrina McCormick, Associate Professor at George Washington University and Producer of Years of Living Dangerously. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Ed Markey (D-MA), and Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) also addressed the audience on the importance of combating climate change.

The Senate Climate Action Task Force, SEEC, the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, and the Congressional Safe Climate Caucus all banded together on Wednesday, May 21, to “wake up” Congress to the impact of climate change. The rally was spearheaded by Senators Whitehouse and Boxer, both of whom head the Senate Climate Action Task Force. Representatives and Senators from states ranging from Hawaii to Florida each spoke for approximately one-minute concerning climate impacts to their states, the need for action, and potential solutions to the climate crisis. Hundreds of people gathered in the Dirksen Senate Office Building to hear the speeches then “sound the alarm” by having all their cell phones go off at 5 PM in support of action on climate change.

The rally followed the all-night Climate Talkathon that was held in March with the same goal of “waking up” Congress on the need for climate action. Boxer and Whitehouse said in a statement released before the rally that, “the devastating effects of climate change are all around us right now, and it is time for Congress to wake up. We must sound the alarm and act now to reduce carbon pollution for the sake of our health, our economy and the well-being of our children and grandchildren."

Directly following the rally, Senator Whitehouse took to the Senate floor for his weekly climate change speech, where he provided several reasons for why he believes that “we are close to turning this issue around.” One of the reasons he cited is the upcoming release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new carbon pollution rules for existing power plants, which are set to be released next week. These rules will provide carbon dioxide emissions limits for power plants, ending the free reign that Whitehouse says polluters have had for far too long.

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA), a long-time advocate of climate change action who also spoke at the rally last week, focused more on the need to acknowledge the science of climate change when he addressed the audience. Waxman noted that, “Pretending the problem doesn't exist won't make it go away.”