“Earth Day reminds us all that we have responsibility to safeguard this planet for future generations, to do all that we can to ensure that we leave a safe and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren. We have come a long way since we first began observing Earth Day in 1970. Forty-five years later, Americans are more aware of the planet’s fragility and the need to take steps to protect our air, waters, and resources, but there is a great deal of work still left to do.
“Today, unchecked climate change continues to reshape our world. And we know that the Earth is warming due to carbon pollution from fossil fuels. The science is clear, and those that blatantly ignore it and continue to do nothing are putting us all at risk.
“Acknowledging the reality of a changing climate, EPA has taken action by proposing a workable plan to reduce emissions of carbon pollution from power plants, which are the largest uncontrolled source of man-made greenhouse gases in the U.S. EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan gives us a reasonable path forward to reduce carbon pollution from the power sector and take an important step forward to protect public health, the environment, and our climate.
“My Republican colleagues, though, would rather continue to bury their heads in the sand. They want to gut the EPA’s proposal and undermine the Clean Air Act, instead of working with Democrats to develop viable solutions to the problem of climate change. And today, on Earth Day of all days, every single Republican voted against an amendment that simply acknowledged the problem of man-made climate change. We may disagree on how best to deal with the issue, but the facts are not subject to debate.
“We only have one planet, and so we have an obligation to protect it for future generations. Earth Day should serve as a reminder to us all that, regardless of party affiliations, we must prioritize environmental stewardship and come together to advance commonsense policies that seriously address the reality of climate change."
