The Clothesline Report: Write to Congress!

You’re concerned about abuse of the creation. You want to protect it for its Maker, for your children, and for all people. But what, specifically should you tell your Senators and Congressperson? As much as you’d like to write your original thoughts, let me suggest you start with something from our pen. Copy and paste it, shorten it, add to it, personalize it as you wish. But at least this will give you a start.

And when you're finished, here's how to reach your Congressional representatives: Just click here.

Dear Senator/Representative ________________:

I am writing to urge you to respond to the growing weight of evidence that our present environmental policies are leading to disastrous and unjust results for us, for our children, and for those who are least able to adapt to the damage we are inflicting on the earth.

Despite the current political controversy, the National Academy of Sciences and virtually all leading scientific associations have made clear the reality of the following dangerous developments:

The global climate is rapidly changing due to unparalleled concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting in severe droughts, catastrophic flooding, intense tropical storms, and coastal damage;
Roughly one-third of all assessed species are threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction and over-exploitation, and climate change is now expected to threaten roughly half of all known species with extinction;
Oceans have absorbed much of the carbon we’ve poured into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, and are now one-third more acidic than they were a generation ago, imperiling countless marine species and ecosystems on which mankind depends; and
Sea levels are rising as oceans warm and ice sheets melt, and are projected to wreak unfathomable damage on the world’s coastal communities, including Miami, New York and New Orleans.

Unless our country acts promptly to protect the earth, our children will inherit a largely unrecognizable planet, beset by famine, displaced populations, altered disease vectors, mass human migration and desperate resource conflicts. In light of these risks, I ask you to take the following steps:

Support incentives and research for clean energy and efficiency technologies, such as wind, geothermal, solar energy and efficiency standards.
Support global agreements on climate change. Global warming is global, and so are its solutions.
Eliminate subsidies for polluting fossil fuel industries. Oil, coal and gas are mature industries that do not need – or deserve – taxpayer subsidies.
Establish a price on carbon emissions. No one has a right to profit from polluting activities, leaving the costs and consequences to our children and those on distant shores.
Defend the EPA from attacks as it acts to protect us from polluters. In particular, support the EPA’s limitations on emissions of heavy metals, sulfur, CO₂ and particulates from new and existing power plants.