Twelve of America's largest environmental groups gathered with Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on Capitol Hill this morning to show America that they are united to push hard for global warming legislation during this session of the 110th Congress.

The press conference "Boxer and Environmental Leaders United on Urgent Need to Address Global Warming" came as people have been talking about a division within the environmental community concerning the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act -- with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth absent from the press event. The Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environment America and others were in attendance, and their CEO's offered strong remarks on what is at stake if America does not step up and take a leadership role in reducing global warming pollution, soon.

Boxer's opening remarks were firey: "It is the job of Congress - starting now -- to pass legislation to effectively reduce global warming pollution. We can't duck, we can't hide, we can't evade, unless we want our children and grandchildren to blame us and disparage us for walking away from this - our sacred responsibility. We can no longer fiddle while the planet gets ready to burn."

With each passing day, each scientific study that emerges, it becomes clearer that the U.S. "simply must take a leadership role," as John Warner (R-VA) said at a National Wildlife Federation press conference in February where Sportsmen groups called on Congress for global warming action.

For those of you who have not followed the current legislation very closely, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act calls for a more than 15 percent reduction in global warming pollution (from today's levels) by 2020, and a 62-66 percent reduction by 2050. The bill would achieve this through a cap and trade program. Beyond any controversy about the free allocation of carbon offsets to polluting industries based on their past emissions, or where the revenue from the sale of offsets will go, the very bottom line is that the reductions mandated by this bill do not match what the best available science tells us is necessary to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming.

At the press event this morning, however, Boxer and others made it clear that they will not allow the bill in its current form to become law, and they will look to strengthen it as it moves through the Senate this Spring or Summer...


Carl Pope, President of the Sierra Club, said: "It is only a first step. We need to improve it."

Larry Schweiger, President & CEO National Wildlife Federation, said: “Congress must pass legislation that starts us on the path to cut global warming pollution by at least two percent a year, protects consumers as we transition to a new energy future and defends America's natural resources from the climate changes already underway.”

It seems that Boxer and friends are setting this up for a great debate on the Senate floor, and that Congress will not be able to ignore the threats posed by global warming, especially if we continue to turn up the heat on them. It is good that global warming legislation is receiving so much attention. We can look to ensure that the bill is not weakened, only strengthened, and that a winning piece of legislation is crafted.

"I'm willing to settle for the necessary, no less," said Boxer. "So if it isn't a good bill, it isn't going to happen."

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