Moms Clean Air Force has a button that simply states, MomPartisan. It sends a message to Republicans and Democrats that climate change is not a partisan issue. By acknowledging climate science and calling for policies to curb climate change, moms and dads will stand behind politicians who take a strong stance to protect our children’s health.
Today, 11 Republican members of Congress, led by my upstate New York representative, Chris Gibson, met the climate challenge when they introduced a resolution that recognizes humans have a role in causing climate change. The resolution puts climate change in the framework of conservation, stewardship, innovation, and conservatism. It acknowledges climate policy should be based on “science and quantifiable facts on the ground.”
“All too often, the conversation about appropriate and balanced environmental stewardship gets caught up in partisan politics. Yet, this conversation is key to the preservation of our great country for generations to come, as important as ensuring we have fiscally responsible policies to secure our future…For that reason, I believe the most important first step forward is recognizing that this is also a fundamentally conservative issue, and finding common ground on how to address it.” ~ Representative Chris Gibson
The resolution addresses extreme weather, wildfires, heat waves, and sea level rise as a financial consequence of climate change calling on the House of Representatives to address “measured changes to our global and regional climate.” and “constructively” address climate change, “including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have been found to have an impact.”
Going a step further, the resolution says pollution bears some responsibility for driving dangerous warming and,
“…if left unaddressed, the consequences of a changing climate have the potential to adversely impact all Americans, hitting vulnerable populations hardest.”
This resolution comes the week before Pope Francis addresses Congress in hopes of sparking a national discussion and engage religious sectors to his climate change encyclical, Laudato Si. Additionally, 34 faith groups sent a letter asking members of Congress to consider co-signing Rep. Gibson’s resolution “as a statement of our shared moral authority.”
“The general public, not the angry right or angry left, are taking notice and talking about it. People in pews around the country, in synagogues are talking about it, and I think after the Pope’s visit…I think we’ll see it pop up in the public’s mind pretty significantly,” ~ Rob Sisson, ConserveAmerica
With our MomPartisan button firmly clasped to our hearts — because we believe citizens deserve strong climate policy leadership from both political parties — let’s hope this resolution is just the beginning of a constructive bipartisan conversation that includes healthy clean energy solutions. Game on.