Politics, Schmolotics..Bi-Partisanship is necessary for change

We've seen super storms, such as Sandy, and droughts take huge tolls on our communities and farms.  Devastation that we are still recovering from has been noticed.  The public can no longer deny that climate change is real.  In 2009, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, and Lindsey Graham worked together with environmentalists and industries alike to propose a bill that would shift America's carbon consumption.  Upon sitting with the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, they introduced their bill.  Emanuel informed them if they could not get the 60 votes needed by the Senate to pass the bill, the White House would put little effort into climate change.  The senators had the backing of major green parties and even the biggest polluters in industry.  This was unheard of! But now they needed the backing of the Senate.  The Senate was comprised of 59 Democrats, just under the 60 required to pass the bill.  Of the 59 Democrats, certainly a few would deny the bill.  The three sat with Emanuel to assure him that five Republicans would pass the bill, one of which was sitting across from him, Lindsey Graham.  The trio, comprised of a Democrat, Republican, and an Independent, could change their reputations and that of the Senate by working together for a brighter future.  

In this year's State of the Union Address, President Obama vowed to make climate change a priority. The solution, it seems, is to introduce a market-based solution. It comes in the form of cap-and-trade.  The mechanism promotes innovation through incentives.  A company is limited to the amount it can pollute.  There are environmental taxes to be paid based on the amount of pollution created.  If a company chooses to innovate and comes in under the allowable pollution set by permits, they can 'trade' with other companies.  The 'trade' is when the company coming under their pollution allotment sells their permits to companies who may use more energy and create more pollution.  By adding extra incentive through the generation of extra income, a company will look for better solutions.  With the backing of the White House, it seems we are heading in the right direction.  Looking for alternative forms of energy will mitigate climate change, boost the economy, and lessen the dependency America has on foreign countries for sources of fuel.  

Many Republicans look at climate change as being a farse, but hopefully they will realize change needs to be made before it's too late.  The environment shouldn't be a party issue, but a priority of the people.  Future generations are dependent on what we do now!  Polls show a high support of President Obama's statement for climate change efforts.  Hopefully, the Senate will listen to the people and also show support.