Max Baucus: “today, the Senate is addressing the most compelling environmental issue of our time--global warming. President Teddy…”

“today, the Senate is addressing the most compelling environmental issue of our time--global warming. President Teddy Roosevelt once said: I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use our natural resources, but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob by wasteful use, the generations that come after us. We all have a basic moral duty: a duty to leave this Earth to our children and our grandchildren in as good a shape or better shape than we found it. We should not rob future generations of a healthy climate and all the benefits that come from it. What will history say about us if we rob future generations of the chance to fish in cold water trout streams or see glaciers in Glacier National Park? By reasserting America's moral leadership and enacting a cap-and-trade program, we can leave a different legacy. We can protect our outdoor heritage, make our economy more competitive, and create more good-paying jobs. In Montana, we are already transitioning to a new green economy. We have increased our wind-generating capacity more than seventyfold in the last 2 years. The potential for this clean energy is huge. We can replicate this success with solar, clean coal technology, with carbon capture and sequestration, and other clean forms of energy. We must begin the process of developing the next generation of energy technologies at home. A cap-and-trade program will spur cleaner technologies and create good-paying jobs.”