Thanks to Margaret Gardiner for her recent piece about the Kentucky Conservation Commission’s efforts to curb climate change and protect forests in our state. Organizations such as KCC give me hope for the future of our planet. Another such organization is Citizens Climate Lobby, which recently formed a chapter in Danville.

CCL mobilizes folks from all political stripes to make sure our representatives in Congress understand the importance of a ground-breaking bipartisan climate bill now before the U.S. House of Representatives. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act is an effective and comprehensive solution for slowing the ever-accelerating effects of climate change.

This bill presents a market-driven approach to moving from fossil fuels to clean energy by charging a fee for fossil fuels at the point of extraction and distributing that money to all citizens in the form of a monthly dividend. It is estimated that over the next 12 years, this approach would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent and by 2050, the reduction would be an amazing 90 percent. That’s good news for all of us, since the effects of carbon pollution are being felt right now in the form of widespread health problems, catastrophic weather events and warming across the globe. These effects will continue to worsen until national governments take decisive action.

Citizens Climate Lobby members like me and the dozens of other local folks who are part of the Danville chapter are urging Rep. Brett Guthrie, who represents our district in Congress, to support H.R. 763.

It’s time we put aside partisan differences and take long-overdue action on climate change, if not for ourselves, for the generations to come whose lives will be severely impacted by our refusal to act. We, the voters, simply must make this happen.

Please let Rep. Guthrie know you support H.R. 763.

For more information on H.R. 763 or to join CCL, visit citizensclimatelobby.org.

Sallie Bright

Danville