UCS Success Stories
Leveraging Our Work Together to Reduce Global Warming Emissions
Despite the fact that the Senate did not pass comprehensive, science-based climate and energy legislation before this summer’s congressional recess, we have a lot to be proud of, and our work together will pay off in the long run. For years, UCS, our supporters, and the scientific experts we work with have been a leading voice calling for policies based on sound science that can drive down global warming emissions and transform the U.S. energy system.
We’ve demonstrated not only that it’s technically possible to reduce heat-trapping emissions, but that doing so will also reduce our nation’s dependence on oil, strengthen our energy security, create jobs, reduce air pollution, improve public health, and save people and businesses money.
And we’ve demonstrated that scientists and economists, business leaders, and the American public all want science-based climate and energy policies implemented today.
Together we:
- Sent close to 90,000 emails to senators and nearly 15,000 messages to President Obama demanding action be taken now to address the critical issue of global warming.
- Held 31 emergency climate action meetings with 414 UCS supporters in 8 key states to build pressure on undecided senators to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
- Met with 31 state senate offices where activists and scientists delivered more than 3,000 postcards each with a scientific fact about climate change and a personal message from a constituent demanding climate action now.
- Brought more than 100 scientists, economists, and clean energy business leaders to Washington, D.C. who held 125 meetings with their members of Congress to share their expertise on why we must rein in global warming emissions now.
- Organized a scientist statement opposing a resolution that would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating global warming emissions. The statement was signed by more than 1,900 scientists from across the country and was mentioned by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) during floor debate on the resolution—which we successfully defeated.
- Generated hundreds of phone calls and thousands of emails into Congress from activists urging them to protect the EPA’s ability to limit global warming emissions.
- Hosted a well-attended briefing on Capitol Hill for Senate staffers about current climate science and solutions that are available today that can reduce heat-trapping emissions and help transition America to a clean energy economy.
- Delivered to members of Congress our U.S. Scientists and Economists' Call for Swift and Deep Cuts in Greenhouse Gases statement, signed by more than 2,000 Ph.D. scientists and economists with expertise related to climate change.
- Distributed copies of two recent UCS reports—Climate 2030: A Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy and Burning Coal, Burning Cash—to nearly every senate office. The two reports have been cited many times by policy makers and opinion leaders as containing critical information that can help shape policies that are technically feasible, economically smart, and that result in concrete reductions in global warming emissions.
- Worked with activists to submit more than 500 letters to the editor in papers across the country urging Congress to help America address the threat of climate change and transition to clean energy by investing in energy efficiency and home-grown clean energy sources—such as wind and solar.
- Teamed up with high-profile scientists and economists to place op-eds in major papers like the Washington Post, the Indianapolis Star-Tribune, and the Boston Globe.
We will leverage all this great work we’ve done together to continue to pressure policy makers to implement smart, common-sense solutions to climate change.
Given that Congress will be facing mid-term elections when they return to work in September, chances that the Senate will reconsider climate and energy legislation this fall are slim. While it’s critical that we let the Senate know they are not off the hook until they actually pass such a bill, we must also simultaneously turn our attention to protecting the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to reduce global warming emissions through administrative action.
In 2009, the EPA found that global warming emissions endanger public health and welfare. According to the Supreme Court, this finding means that the agency must legally limit these pollutants under the Clean Air Act—a critical piece of legislation passed in 1973 that has saved millions of lives.
Unfortunately, a handful of U.S. senators and representatives, along with climate skeptics and the coal, oil, and electric utility industries are attempting to block the EPA’s ability to do its job and rein in heat-trapping emissions. We must fight back against these attacks. If Congress won’t tackle the problem of climate change then we must ensure that the EPA can!
In addition, the EPA will need scientific information and public support to ensure that their own policies are based on the best available science. We will also continue to pressure the administration to enact stringent carbon emissions reduction policies, push state utility commissions to adequately represent the public interest by shutting down the oldest and dirtiest power plants, and press states and regional climate compacts to adopt strong carbon reduction measures.
UCS will continue to do what we do best—we’ll combine our scientific expertise, and the expertise of the thousands of independent scientists and economists who partner with UCS, along with public pressure from UCS supporters across the country to secure scientifically-sound policies that can achieve rapid emission reductions while creating economic opportunity. We’ll work to ensure the policymakers and regulators whose jobs it is to protect public health from dangerous global warming emissions get the technical details right.
Pennsylvania activists deliver climate fact postcards signed by constituents to Senator Robert Casey (D-PA).
