From Apollo 8 – nasa.gov
Tuesday, June 25, 2013 was a big day for the planet as we had two major developments in US politics regarding climate change. First, President Obama laid out his plan to address climate change and later that night, Congressman Ed Markey, long time advocate for the environment, was elected to be the next US Senator from Massachusetts.
See the full plan at whitehouse.gov
As President Obama addressed a nation that is already feeling the impacts of global warming (aka climate change), he was sweating up a storm thanks to a heat wave on the east coast. His climate action plan is divided into six main themes, which we will be discussing in more depth in later blog posts:
- Reducing Carbon Pollution from Power Plants
- Accelerating Clean Energy Leadership
- Building 21st Century Transportation Sector
- Cutting Energy Waste in Homes, Businesses & Factories
- Reducing Other Green House Gas Emissions
- Federal Leadership
Our family sitting with Congressman Markey discussing climate change.
On the same day, Congressman Ed Markey, who has been the strongest advocate for the environment to date in the House of Representatives, was elected as the next Senator from Massachusetts. He now moves that leadership and passion to the United States Senate. We have been fortunate to personally discuss climate change and the need for action with Ed Markey as he has been our Representative in Congress and we have been helping along the campaign trail.
One important point that both President Obama and Senator-elect Markey made in their speeches on Tuesday, is that we, the people, need to stand up and be heard about protecting our planet. It is not enough to elect the right officials, but we also must make it clear to all elected officials that we must act now to leave a planet for our children and their children that will sustain them.
Happy Greening!
Jon
Watch Senator-elect Ed Markey’s Acceptance Speech on Boston.com (10 min)
Here is President Obama’s Speech on Climate Change (49 min)
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