Political Quotes

“Over this past week, it has been heartening to see the climate pledges and vows coming out of Glasgow. Our success in Glasgow, however, will not come from voluntary pledges and vows. It must include specific, effective steps that can be put in place now to begin making a difference. I have worked on the climate issue since 1991 when I was a member of the city council that enacted the Nation's first carbon commitments which we have met over those years. But the cascade of recent extraordinary weather events has made it clear--as if we needed further reminders--that we are entering a new era in terms of impact and public awareness of climate disasters. The Oregon experience has been searing. We had the worst air quality in the world last year due to extreme forest fires. And in my district when we set an all-time heat record of 116 degrees this summer after setting two other previous all-time highs, we recorded temperatures of 180 degrees in the heart of my district. No wonder hundreds of people died. Working on these issues for years, we have had some successes, but we can no longer afford to be nibbling around the edges. We need bold, transformative action to meet the scale of this problem. We must continue to fight to reduce emissions and improve our resilience by passing the Build Back Better Act and the bipartisan infrastructure bill together.…”