Political Quotes

“Mr. President, while the Senate was out of session, the American people celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that historic anniversary. We first celebrated Earth Day in 1970 when then-Senator Gaylord Nelson brought more than 20 million Americans together to mobilize in defense of our planet. In the half-century since, our Nation has benefitted from a passionate environmental movement that has pushed lawmakers, businesses, and communities to foster a healthier Earth. While this movement has yielded significant progress, we nonetheless must do more to address the gravest threat to our environment: climate change. I recognize that, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it might be difficult to wrap our heads around a second crisis, but we have an important opportunity here to learn from one global emergency about how to navigate another. The first lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic: We must listen to experts. Public health experts have long forecast the risk of a viral pandemic. Still, our leaders failed to prepare for COVID-19 and even denied the magnitude of the threat we faced when it was at our doorstep. The novel coronavirus has now claimed over 72,000 lives in the United States, a death toll higher than any other country. We are witnessing a parallel problem with climate change. For decades, experts have warned that human-caused climate change is heating the Earth.…”