Senators Form Bipartisan Climate Caucus to Encourage 'Honest Dialogue'

The U.S. Senate's bipartisan climate caucus started with just two members, a Republican from Indiana and a Democrat from Delaware. Now it's up to eight members after two Democrats, one Independent and three more Republicans joined the caucus last week, as The Hill reported.
In unsurprising fashion, the eight senators who joined the caucus acknowledged the severity of the climate crisis without offering specific steps to address the crisis, as CBS News reported.
"We look a bit like Neanderthals," said Mitt Romney, a Republican senator from Utah, as CBS News reported. "It's real. We've got to take action."
That is a very different tune from what Romney was singing when he was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012. In his acceptance speech, he derided President Obama's efforts to combat the climate crisis.
"President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet," Romney said in 2012. "My promise is to help you and your family."
Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican, and Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, launched the Climate Solution Caucus at the end of October. After town hall meetings in their respective states, they both realized that their constituents were concerned about the climate crisis, as NBC News reported.
"Our caucus seeks to take the politics out of this important issue. Instead, members will commit to an honest dialogue, through which we can develop solutions that solidify American environmental leadership, promote American workers, and make meaningful progress on protecting our environment," the two senators wrote in an op-ed in The Hill.
Sen. Coons addressed the caucus' first steps, offering the type of answer that infuriates environmental activists.
"My expectation is that we will start by listening," Coons said, as CBS News reported. The idea that listening is a first step is a dramatic difference to the immediate action and often sweeping overhaul of energy infrastructure put forth by the Senate Democrats vying for president.
The Republicans joining the caucus seem to have taken an important step in moving away from their colleagues who deny that the climate crisis is real and often put forth the mistaken assumption that random weather fluctuations are proof that the climate is not changing.
"Science is more and more clear, and I think people will either be convinced or not as time goes on," said Romney.
"I think many probably just were not willing to say it," said Braun, as CBS News reported. "To me, it's chemistry and physics, and I'm not going to deny that."
The eight-member group met with industry CEOs last week to discuss federal climate policy, but the senators were non-committal about taking any reasonable action, despite scientists insisting the climate crisis demands urgent action, as The Hill reported.
When asked if policy makers have to impose a carbon cap or discourage emissions, Romney told CBS News, "Oh, I'm not going to say any 'have to' with regards to climate. I think all the ideas will be on the table."
However, as the crisis intensifies, bipartisan agreement in the need to address it is a positive step.
"My philosophy is, let's take small steps, find some things we can succeed on," said Angus King, an Independent from Maine, to CBS News.
The full Climate Solutions Caucus is Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Angus King (I-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and the architects of the caucus, Sens. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.).
In July, Senators Murkowski and Graham joined the environmentally minded Roosevelt Conservation Caucus.
- Greta to Senate: Sorry, but Please Do More - EcoWatch ›
- The Best and Worst Midterm Results for the Environment - EcoWatch ›
By Brett Wilkins
One hundred seconds to midnight. That's how close humanity is to the apocalypse, and it's as close as the world has ever been, according to Wednesday's annual announcement from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group that has been running its "Doomsday Clock" since the early years of the nuclear age in 1947.
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
North Atlantic right whales are in serious trouble, but there is hope. A total of 14 new calves of the extremely endangered species have been spotted this winter between Florida and North Carolina.
- Scientists Discover New Population of Endangered Blue Whales ... ›
- Endangered Blue Whales Make 'Unprecedented' Comeback to ... ›
- Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Calves Spotted Off Coast ... ›
- Only 366 Endangered Right Whales Are Alive: New NOAA Report ... ›
Trending
By Yoram Vodovotz and Michael Parkinson
The majority of Americans are stressed, sleep-deprived and overweight and suffer from largely preventable lifestyle diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Being overweight or obese contributes to the 50% of adults who suffer high blood pressure, 10% with diabetes and additional 35% with pre-diabetes. And the costs are unaffordable and growing. About 90% of the nearly $4 trillion Americans spend annually for health care in the U.S. is for chronic diseases and mental health conditions. But there are new lifestyle "medicines" that are free that doctors could be prescribing for all their patients.
Use the Healthy Eating Plate as an evidence-based guide for creating healthy, balanced meals. ©2011, Harvard University, CC BY-NC
Taking an unconventional approach to conduct the largest-ever poll on climate change, the United Nations' Development Program and the University of Oxford surveyed 1.2 million people across 50 countries from October to December of 2020 through ads distributed in mobile gaming apps.
- Guardian/Vice Poll Finds Most 2020 Voters Favor Climate Action ... ›
- Climate Change Seen as Top Threat in Global Survey - EcoWatch ›
- The U.S. Has More Climate Deniers Than Any Other Wealthy Nation ... ›
By Tara Lohan
Fall used to be the time when millions of monarch butterflies in North America would journey upwards of 2,000 miles to warmer winter habitat.
A monarch butterfly caterpillar feeds on common milkweed on Poplar Island in Maryland. Photo: Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program, (CC BY-NC 2.0)