Concerns are growing that a climate change bill for the U.S. may be delayed, possibly until next year, due to recession concerns and disagreement over implementation of the legislation.  I certainly wouldn’t want to see any proposals struck down over cap and trade squabbles, but I also don’t think we can afford to delay implementing some sort of rules on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.  I’m hoping that Rep. Henry Waxman, one of the proposals authors, can develop a consensus with fellow democrats, many of whom believe time would be better spent on health care legislation right now.  I’m all for health care, but we also have an urgent need to address the health of our planet and there may never be an ideal time start making big changes. Perhaps the images from the new book Climate Change: Picturing the Science will help motivate those who are dragging their heels:

I think Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) sums it up well,  when after hearing encouragement from President Obama, he said:

We don’t want to be looking back 20 years from now and kicking ourselves and saying we were this close in doing something really good for the environment.

Let’s hope they can get organized up there on the hill and sort through their priorities.  We can no longer afford to wait around and hope things get better on their own.

Photo:  Screenshot from New York Times