Top 5 reasons why the Senate must act now

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

The Senate is set to vote on landmark global warming legislationin early June -- just a few short weeks away.

Here are our top five reasons why legislators must act now.

1. Every year we wait means extra effort. If we delay this bill by just two years, we’ll have to make twice the annual cuts in carbon emissions to hit the same cumulative reductions by 2020.


2. The science is unforgiving. As the Earth warms, we approach a "tipping point", after which large destructive climate changes become inevitable.


3. The political opportunity is ripe. Seventy-nine percent of Americans want Congress to act on global warming. We should take advantage of the tremendous momentum that exists today.
   
   It would be a mistake to miss the opportunity to pass a good law in the hope we could have a more perfect one in the future.


4. It’s in our economic interest. Someone is going to win the global race to develop the low-carbon technologies we need. We’d like it to be America.
   
   Renewable energy, for example, promises to become one of the world’s most profitable industries. But advances in low-carbon technologies will not be fully realized without a national cap on global warming pollution. The sooner we act, the sooner these new industries will start to flourish.


5. What legacy will the 110th Congress leave? When future generations look back at this moment, they will either praise the Senate for starting us towards solving the global warming crisis or blame the Senate for squandering this opportunity.

As the Climate Security Act makes its way to the Senate floor next month, we must hammer these urgent points home. The Senate must seize this historic opportunity.

You can help by writing to Congress.