Political Quotes

“Mr. President, Henry David Thoreau once said: ``What use is a home if you don't have a tolerable planet to put it on?'' We might just expand that question to say what use is anything if we destroy our planet because it is the only one we have. There is no planet B, no rescuing by going to some horrific other planet nearby. We have the gem, we have the treasure, and we have the responsibility to make sure we don't destroy it. Here we are. Within a single human lifetime, we have increased the percent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by a dramatic amount--about 30 percent in my lifetime and more if you are older--and that chemistry change is really unseen in geological history on this planet, such a rapid change with rapid, deep growth. That is why we are coming to the floor to keep talking about this issue, reach across the aisle, reach across the country, and find partners to say this isn't a blue or red issue. This isn't a city or rural issue. It affects us all, and we need to all work together to respond. As we do so, we need America to lead the world in responding. Senator Carper's resolution says a couple simple things. It says we recognize that we have a very warming climate on Earth. It says we recognize that human activity burning fossil fuel has consequences, and it calls on us to act. There we are. It is time to confront this enormous threat to our beautiful blue-green home in the middle of the cosmos.…”