Much To Be Thankful For
James Madison. The Founding Father who gave us a system of checks and balances that, for the past eight years, has stymied an Administration that was hell-bent on dismantling the environmental safety net of the past 100 years. George W. Bush will leave a limited (if devastating) legacy from coal, oil and gas extraction, but most of the infrastructure that was designed to prevent such destruction has been preserved.
Greg Nickels. The Seattle mayor who proved that if the federal government wouldn't lead on climate change, states and cities could. More than 1,000 Cool Cities, dozens of Cool Counties and almost half of the states have now taken leadership action and committed the U.S. to rejoin the rest of the world in the fight against the climate crisis.
Fran Pavley. The former California assemblywomen who led her state in adopting Clean Car Standards for CO2 that finally brought the auto industry to the table to compromise on its greenhouse gas emissions last fall -- perhaps (we'll see) even in time to save the U.S. companies from bankruptcy.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. For making it clear that Congress would act on energy and climate as soon as the White House got out of the way.
James Hanson. The NASA climate scientist who managed to keep open the flow of scientific knowledge on the growing climate crisis, even when the Bush administration tried to shut him down.
Senate Majority/Minority Leader Harry Reid. Reid's finest moment came in the Minority, when he stood up to Bush's attempt to pack the federal judiciary.
Al Gore and Rajendra Pachauri. The Nobel Academy recognized their achievement; the rest of us are in their debt.
Laurie David. The Hollywood environmentalist who conceived that a movie about a famously formal politician delivering a slideshow could win an Academy Award.
Green tech entrepreneurs. For getting us ready for the 21st century.
Henry Waxman. For holding the Bush administration's feet to the fire for the past two years, and laying the groundwork for the House of Representatives to deliver on President-elect Obama's agenda.
The federal judiciary. For remembering that, as James Madison intended, they took an oath of office to the Constitution, not the President of the United States or the Vice-President.
Democracy. For giving us Barack Obama.
How about you just focus on environmental initiatives and how you can leverage your organization to promote participation in outdoor stewardship and quit using your position in Sierra Club to spew your leftist rhetoric.
Posted by: Come on | December 17, 2008 at 05:12 PM