Showing my best environmental ethos, I recycled some text I wrote for my last rant on global warming to call on my Representative Mark Kirk to see that the House play catch-up with the Senate on cap & trade legislation, per the latest action alert from Environmental Defense.

This week and next, leaders from industrialized nations around the world gather in Bali to plan the next steps beyond the Kyoto Protocol in reducing greenhouse gas pollution to stem the coming climate chaos and its potentially devastating consequences. The United States must take our cue from the 150 corporate signatories of the Bali Communique, who recognize that the scale of this looming problem puts its solution beyond the scope of individual good intentions and in the arena of decisive government action. When even corporations recognize that a legal framework for addressing greenhouse gas pollution is in their self-interest, we know the time has come to act. As the top contributor to greenhouse gas pollution, the U.S. must demonstrate leadership on this front. The U.S. Senate Public Works Committee has come to this recognition, having just passed the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. I urge you as my Representative to see that the House now turns its attention to this issue. Please request that the House leadership heeds the call of responsible corporations and follows the lead of the Senate in introducing and passing its own compatible cap and trade legislation as soon as practicable so that our economy may begin making the necessary adjustments to limit greenhouse gas pollution while we still have time to avoid the worst effects of climate destabilization.

We should not see the imposition of controls on greenhouse gas pollution as a purely reactionary or negative measure. The transition away from fossil fuels represents a tremendous opportunity for America. We still have the world’s largest economy and retain an enormous capacity for innovation. Agreeing to limit greenhouse gas pollution aligns us to lead the world in creating the next generation of clean energy sources, spurring growth in our own economy through the creation of new industries, as well as increasing our national security by lessening our dependence on foreign oil with all the financial, military, and political entanglements that entails. Please see that Congress takes on this urgent legislative challenge to lead the world to a more secure future.