I'm writing with some bad news: Last night, Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Republicans blocked efforts to pass any budget reconciliation package that includes the essential clean energy and environmental justice investments we need to fight climate change.
This was our best hope for more U.S. climate progress this year, and once again it's been held up by a lone Democratic senator acting in bad faith and 50 Republicans who have long stood in the way of climate action.
I'm angry. If Congress and the White House cannot find more ways to limit climate-wrecking pollution from fossil fuels, the consequences will be profound — at home and abroad.
Outrage today is understandable, but I am also filled with unflinching determination: We will keep fighting. We must. And we're ready.
This November, the Democrats have a realistic shot of picking up at least two Senate seats — with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the top of that list. That would make Manchin's vote far less important to getting big things on climate done.
A 52-48 split in the Senate would be a game changer. That's why we've launched a large-scale get-out-the-vote effort to mobilize voters in key states and districts to get out and help elect pro-environment candidates in the midterm elections.
Please, make an urgent gift to the NRDC Action Fund to elect climate champions in the midterms and fight for the strong, equitable climate action we need to avert catastrophe — in Washington, in states and cities across the country, and around the world.
But voting alone isn't enough — we must do everything we can to push the White House to make good on their promise of climate action.
So we're also pouring resources into helping make sure our government is part of the climate fix — like pushing the Biden administration to stop new offshore oil and gas leasing, and helping ensure that the billions of dollars the administration has allocated to upgrade America's infrastructure go toward climate and equity-focused projects.
And at the same time, we're escalating our work in states and cities across the country to win transformative change in places like Colorado, which recently decided to phase out climate-busting coal statewide.
But we can't do all this — and more — without your help. Please pledge your support to the NRDC Action Fund today.
Last night's decision is one more gut punch on top of the recent devastating West Virginia v. EPA Supreme Court ruling that narrows the EPA's ability to limit climate-busting carbon emissions from power plants. This ratchets up the pressure to tackle climate change anywhere and everywhere we can — and that's exactly what the NRDC Action Fund is doing.
We will be keeping you updated in the critical weeks and months ahead on our plans to confront the climate crisis using every tool at our disposal.
I take great solace in knowing that we are in this together, as an organization and a community of people fighting for a better world. We are the hope, and we will get back up to fight again. I hope we can count on you to stand with us.
Thank you for fighting alongside us, today and every day. We need you now more than ever.
Sincerely,
Manish Bapna President, NRDC Action Fund
Become an NRDC Action Fund member with a minimum donation of $10 per year. Donations to the NRDC Action Fund are used to mobilize the public and lobby Congress on behalf of our environment and are not tax deductible as a charitable contribution or as a business expense. Prefer to make a tax-deductible gift? Donate to NRDC. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.