Finally, Climate Sanity after 30 years - 227

On Sunday the 7th of August 2022 the US Senate, by the slimmest of margins, passed the Inflation Reduction Act, (IRA) with its 369 billion dollars of clean energy and environmental incentives.

Just weeks prior to this vote meaningful legislation seemed impossible. Perhaps the last holdouts in the Democratic Party were nudged along by the fact heat records in July fell like flies dropping from heat stroke. There were 9000 heat records set in July, 6000 in the USA alone. While London, hitting 104 with its melting runways caught the headlines, Abilene, Texas set a three consecutive day blazing heat record of 110.

Joe Manchin’s West Virginia was hit hard by floods, and next to West Virginia, many homes in eastern Kentucky literally floated away. This, after Kentucky’s city of Mayfield was disappeared by a tornado in December. Senator Manchin, much to his credit, is figuring this climate stuff out.

It has been an ugly hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere and scientists tell us if you found this one interesting, and if we had done nothing, the sequels would be even more eye popping.

Despite the grim data, gruesome weather events, and scientific warnings there were no Republican votes in support of putting the brakes on the climate emergency.

The Republican Party has obstructed action to save the climate for over 30 years! It is now the only political party in the world to do nearly nothing about the changing climate.  In 1988 the Head of NASA’s Goddard Institute, James Hansen gave congress a climate science testimonial. The world’s Noordwijk Climate Conference in 1989 was torpedoed by Republicans. At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 climate change was recognized as world-wide threat. Despite this, at the follow-on Kyoto Protocol, we failed to attain congressional ratification.   

There cannot be meaningful worldwide action to save the planet if the largest economy in the world chooses not to lead.

Therefore, today’s Senate vote, led entirely by Democrats, was the most important government action in our history. It may be the most important governmental action in all history. We have chosen to lead against the greatest foe of humanity.

Will this be the last governmental intervention needed? No, hopefully we will find the courage to do more. But it is action and action validates hope. The passage of the IRA gives us the foundation to be hopeful.

Thanks to all the citizens who have shown foresight and compassion for generations to come by supporting the transition to clean energy and the creation of carbon conscious environmental standards. Your selfless tradition is best described by the words of the late Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, “The Ultimate Test of a man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”


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