Call, call again!

It's just possible that Senators are going to show some backbone on climate legislation.  Here's an article from Grist giving evidence for hope.  Of course, there's nothing like us, their constituents, calling them and telling them we support strong climate legislation to help them develop backbone.  If you haven't called them yet, now is a great time, while they're enthusiastic, and before the fall elections when Republicans, few of whom have shown any interest in fighting climate change, may gain seats in the Senate.  Go here to find your Senator's contact info.  If you absolutely can't call, email, but calling is many times more effective than email.  See my last post for more details on Senate climate legislation.

If you're going on vacation, or even if you're not, remember that once you've selected the lowest-impact method of transportation possible, you can offset the rest.  Here's my blog post exploring the controversial world of carbon offsets.

Stay cool,
Bonney

Call Your Senators If You Haven't Already

Despite conflicting opinions in the blogosphere on the merits of the American Power Act (quite a macho bill title--are they compensating for something?), it does seem clear that it's time to pass climate legislation.  If Congress turns more Republican after the fall elections, and most pundits think it will, the chances of passing decent legislation shrink dramatically.  Here, on Grist, is another good discussion of the American Power Act and why it's an improvement over the Clean Air Act alone.  (Warning:  Fake graphic "gutting" photo.)  I haven't seen a good discussion of why the APA is either an improvement over the CLEAR Act or just more likely to get passed (I asked that question today in a comment here on the Grist post).  So my recommended strategy is still to call your Senators (find their numbers here) and urge them to pass the strongest climate legislation possible as quickly as possible.  You might also want to mention that you don't think big government subsidies for nuclear power are a good idea. New Mexico's Senator Jeff Bingaman in particular needs pressure, since he's been lobbying for passage of an energy bill without strong climate provisions.  Let us know your thoughts and what happens, and
Stay cool,
Bonney