John Hall: “this week the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held two events that starkly presented the…”

“this week the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held two events that starkly presented the consequences of climate change and showed us the way forward to prevent them. Wildlife officials from Alaska showed pictures of polar bears and other species struggling to survive as the ice literally melts under their feet. The committee heard the gripping testimony of Mayor Stanley Tocktoo, whose village of Shmirsha, Alaska, is literally being wiped away by climate change. He showed footage of severe storms that polar ice once used to defend his village from, hundreds of feet of shore line lost during a single storm, and homes collapsing into the sea. We need to act to keep Shmirsha, Alaska, from being a harbinger for our communities around the continental United States. The next day, U.N. Special Envoys on Climate Change discussed how. Secretary Ban gathered over 150 countries in the largest discussion ever of climate change, and they testified of the need to change energy policy and bring emissions under control. We must act by passing the energy bill and taking real action on carbon control. The stakes are too high for soft, nonenforceable goals.”