It's climate change ... stupid!
Of all the elements contained in the Build Back Better package approved by the House of Representatives this week, the one dealing with climate change floats my proverbial boat.
Republicans voted against the legislation because, I am left to presume, they think little of the crisis that is expanding across the globe because of human activity that has created conditions that have changed Earth’s climate. We have cut down too many trees, spewed tons of carbon pollutants into the air and the result has been shrinking polar ice caps along with rising sea levels.
What in the world are we going to do about it?
Build Back Better seeks to attack climate change on multiple fronts. According to Yahoo News: Perhaps the most controversial climate-related element of the House bill is a fee on methane emissions. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas in the short term, and the Biden administration led an effort before and during the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, to get countries to commit to reducing methane pollution by 30 percent by 2030. Methane is frequently leaked in oil and gas wells and pipelines, and the proposal is opposed by the American Petroleum Institute, the leading oil industry lobby.
Hmm. Well, why do some of us oppose that?
Some in the Senate, which has to approve the bill before it becomes law, don’t like what they describe as progressive overreach. My goodness! Is it overreach to want to protect the only planet we can inhabit?
Look, climate change is about as big a deal as it gets as far I am concerned. President Biden has vowed to keep it front and center. I endorse that policy emphasis. I want him and Congress to find common ground and fight to preserve our cherished planet Earth.
Legislatively, though, it appears that the president has a good bit of work to do to bring his (former?) Republican “friends” on board.