The following statement was made in reaction to the White House meeting today concerning comprehensive climate and energy legislation:
“Today President Obama made very clear to a bipartisan group of Senators that the time had come to limit carbon pollution and make polluters pay. The Wilderness Society fully supports this urgent call to action.
“Carbon pollution from power plants, industry and transportation is fouling our atmosphere as surely as the crude oil lapping the marshes of Louisiana, but with potentially even more devastating results to every American. A warming world threatens our communities, our wildlife, and our national heritage of parks, refuges and national forests.
“The Senate has the power to stop the greenhouse gas gusher – not with a half-measure that allows most emissions to continue, but with an economy-wide solution that ends the era of free dumping of carbon pollution into the skies. Directing new resources to protecting natural resources and rebuilding and restoring degraded forestland will protect our clean water, clean air and vital wildlife habitat in the face of a warming climate, and create quality jobs that can’t be outsourced.
“New jobs, a clean energy future and increased national security are all at stake. The time to act is now.”
Statement by David Moulton, director of climate policy and conservation funding for The Wilderness Society in response to President Obama meeting with Senate Climate leaders