Today, I had the privilege of addressing citizens in San Antonio, Texas that attended the Organizing for Action Climate Change Event at Congressman Lamar Smith’s office. Here is a transcript of my speech:
“Congressman Lamar Smith, who chairs the House Committee on Science, has recently said he didn’t want to act on climate change because of ‘uncertainties on how much human activity is causing climate change’ He should hold hearings in Texas to hear from scientists and citizens about how the ‘uncertain climate’ is effecting his home state.
There is no longer any uncertainty over climate change. Ninety-seven percent of the credentialed scientists who have studied this issue recognize the clear linear relationship between increased carbon emissions and human activity
A blanket of carbon dioxide keeps our earth warm enough to live on, but when that blanket is thickened by carbon emitted by our power plants, factories, cars and trucks, the earth overheats, resulting in increased uncertainty for Texans due to more severe droughts, heat waves, wildfires, tornados and hurricanes.
The ‘uncertainty’ now centers on how much or how fast the climate will change. No responsible scientist is saying we shouldn’t act now to reduce carbon.
Changing our energy sources is the fastest and cheapest way to do that. Two public utilities in the Congressman’s district, CPS and Austin Energy, are leading the nation in renewable energy and energy-efficiency programs that work, reduce carbon and costs.
Also, Congressman Smith should stop promoting the Keystone Pipeline and acknowledge that emissions from mining, refining and using this tar like substance are far more damaging than conventional crude, and will affect central Texans.
We ask Congressman Smith to hold hearings in Austin and San Antonio, away from the oil and coal company lobbyists of Washington, D.C., so his constituents and local scientists can tell him how climate change is creating uncertainty in their lives and livelihood.
As Congressman Smith’s fellow Republicans expressed in the New York Times Opinion Pages on August 1st, 2013, ‘The only uncertainty about our warming world is how bad the changes will get, and how soon. What is most clear is that there is no time to waste. Mr. Obama’s plan is just a start. More will be required. But we must continue our efforts to reduce the climate-altering pollutants that threaten our planet.'”
Unfortunately, similar speeches were having to be given at over 100 U.S. Represenatives and Senators offices today. Politians that are climate change deniers are out of the mainstream of both American thought and scientific fact. After the speeches were given, we presented Congressman Smith with a “Climate Change Denier Award.” This is one award that Rep. Smith, as well as the many others that recieved it, should not be proud of.
