Joe Henderson
One of the surest signs of the change about to come to Washington is the appointment of U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor to lead the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.
To say the least, it was a good move.
While the nonstop news cycle has been focused on the government shutdown and border security, Castor’s ascension means the House is ready again to have serious conversations about a vital topic that affects everyone.
Castor, a Tampa Democrat, is smart, tough and believes in things called research and facts. Her appointment by incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was a pointed finger at the deniers who continue spewing their smirking drivel that climate change is a liberal hoax.
Yeah, a liberal hoax that is eroding Florida beaches, flooding coastal areas, fueling some of the most powerful hurricanes in recorded history, melting polar ice, causing some of the state’s highest temperatures ever, and so on.
The debate over climate change has been going on for many years and the lines are completely drawn.
On one side are those who believe the volumes of scientific research around the globe offering fact-based proof that man-made pollution is a major contributor to the violent climate swings we’ve seen.
On the other are those who respond, paraphrasing here, “pffffftttt.”
The assault on environmental sanity began in 2010 when Republicans gained control of Congress. One of the first things to go was the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which Pelosi had formed in 2007.
She promised during the lead-up to the 2018 midterms to bring back the committee, which she has done — albeit under this new name. And Kathy Castor’s name quickly emerged as the person who would lead this effort to change the mindset in Washington.
It didn’t completely appease the progressive wing of the Democratic Party because, they argue, the new committee doesn’t have enough power to issue subpoenas or draft legislation. That could come later though.
For now, it signals to the Trump administration that the nation needs a more coherent policy than, oh, what’s the word?
Pfffftfttt.
Yeah, that’s it.
“Congresswoman Castor is a proven champion for public health and green infrastructure, who deeply understands the scope and seriousness of this threat,” Pelosi said in a statement announcing the appointment.
“Her decades of experience in this fight, both in Florida and in the Congress, where she has been an outstanding leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee and on the House Democratic Environmental Message Team, will be vital.”
As a lifelong Florida resident, Castor knows the long-term climate threat to this state is real.
“We must act with urgency to reduce carbon pollution and we can do so by unleashing American ingenuity and creating clean energy jobs to power our future. We cannot delay. The costs of the changing climate and extreme weather events pose greater risks every day to American families, businesses and our way of life,” she said in a statement.
“The Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the new generation of leaders in Congress — who understand the scientific imperative — will tackle the crisis head-on. Failure is not an option.”
