Earth Day 2009
Legislation Clean Energy in the Recovery Act What You Can Do Green the Capitol |
The 39th Earth Day – Wednesday, April 22, 2009 – gives our country an opportunity to focus on the key challenges facing us in preserving our planet.
The Democratic-led House believes that, by focusing on rapidly expanding the production of clean, alternative energy and reducing our use of oil, our country can both reduce global warming and make America more energy independent.
As we celebrate Earth Day, we must rededicate ourselves to address a challenge as local as our neighborhoods and as global as our planet – global warming. The science is clear; we can no longer wait to take action to solve this crucial issue that not only threatens our environment, but our economy and our national security as well.
Global warming is already underway, but it is not too late to slow it down and reduce its harmful effects. Democrats in the House are taking bold action to combat global warming and achieve energy independence, beginning right here in the Capitol. Eighteen months ago, we launched our “Green the Capitol” initiative—our commitment to reducing the Capitol’s carbon footprint and make our operations more energy efficient.
Today, the House has reduced its carbon emissions by 72 percent—a remarkable achievement for the Congress. The Capitol—which serves as a beacon of freedom—is also now a shining example of sustainability.
Clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency will reduce harmful emissions that contribute to global warming, bring skyrocketing energy costs back under control, create new, good-paying jobs and put America back on the path toward economic growth and prosperity. The New Direction Congress has begun to reverse the failed energy policies of the past, committing instead to clean, renewable energy for the future.
Speaker Pelosi and Members of Congress announced the next steps for the Green the Capitol initiative>>
Watch Speaker Pelosi address Focus the Nation and discuss the need to pass strong climate legislation:
On this Earth Day, we have taken several major steps forward to begin to address the global warming crisis and spur a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous economy for the American people. More can and must be done to deal with these challenges facing us in preserving our planet and strengthening our economy, but the work of this Congress has taken America in a New Direction.
The Bible tells us that to minister to the needs of God’s creation is an act of worship, and that to ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us. On this Earth Day, and every day, let us pledge to our children, and our children’s children, that they will have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and the opportunity to experience the wonders of nature.