On Tuesday, Repower America gave me a call from my cell phone. After bidding my parents a hasty farewell from dinner, I listened to former vice president Al Gore speak about the Waxman-Markey bill going on the House floor tomorrow. He spoke of the purpose of the bill: to lay in the groundwork for the steps we as a nation need to take to save our world. He also thanked everyone on the call (tens of thousands of Americans) for their efforts in environmental advocacy.

 

Gore went on to discuss some of the estimates concerning the new bill. The Waxman-Markey bill will cost the average American a postage stamp each day. In conjunction with Obama's stimulus package, the bill will provide 1.7 million jobs for Americans. In reference to the challenges the bill might face, while on the House floor, he spoke of the oil companies and their agendas with twisted numbers, and the spread of misinformation. Gore spoke of the strengths the bill has; "We have a strong ally: Reality."

 

With a hint of finality, Gore expressed hopes toward the U.S. bringing something to the table, having made some changes, during the negotiations in Copenhagen. Gore encouraged us to send a message to our representatives, implying that legislators are scared to take a step forward and need a push from their constituents to show that there is popular support for this initiative.

 

I left a message, an awkward unplanned thing, filled with "umm"s and "uuh"s and maybe an implication that I'm a voter...

 

My own little faux pas aside, I'd like to encourage you all to leave a message with your legislators about this as well. Perhaps I haven't given due time for this, and I apologize.