We moved into our home about ten years ago and I’ve known ever since that my U.S. Representative to Congress is Ed Markey. What I did not realize until more recently is that he has been a long time leader on climate change and the environment.
My first hint of Congressman Markey’s leadership on the environment was hearing about the Waxman-Markey Bill being discussed in Washington in 2009. I thought to myself, wait, that can’t be the same Markey that I voted for in the last election, but he was that Markey.
For those that may remember the bill by its official name, American Clean Energy and Security Act or HR2454 , which Congressman Markey co-authored, was the first and only legislation so far to pass either House of Congress with the goal of curbing green house gas emissions.
Given my passion for the environment and my recent return to political activism, I started to look deeper at my representative’s history on climate change. I was really surprised to find Congressman Markey delivering a virtual presentation in Second Life for the Bali Climate Conference in 2007. What I learned next surprised me even more. My brother-in-law Jeff was responsible for setting up that presentation on behalf of OneClimate.net. Here’s the video of Congressman Markey’s 10 minute speech.
OneClimate Video – Representative Ed Markey’s Speech on Virtual Bali
And here’s a fun 6 minute long video by Jeff on making Markey’s Speech happen in Virtual Bali.
Another area where Congressman Markey has been leading in Washington is in addressing the BP Oil Spill. He has been a long time advocate for stronger accountability for the fossil fuel industries and has fought to end fossil fuel subsidies from tax payers. You can find a plethora of specific speeches, legislation, interviews and more about the Congressman fighting for the environment in his Energy & Environment Issues section of his official website.
I personally met with some of the Congressman’s staff to discuss my Pennies Per Pound CO2 Tax & Energy Stamp idea and look forward to future conversations on making Massachusetts and America better.
Happy Greening!
Jon
That’s awesome. I wish you guys in MA the best of luck, that he wins!