Is the federal government financially prepared to handle the rising number of catastrophic weather disasters? It's an excellent question for Illinois in particular after this year's massive spring floods along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
Think Progress blogged about Durbin's speech in an appropriations subcommittee hearing. His last comment reminds me why he's still my favorite member of the Senate.
“We’ve stopped talking about this on Capitol Hill,” Durbin concluded. “We’ve decided that the debate over global warming is too contentious. I think it’s a big mistake.”
He's absolutely right. We can't afford to ignore climate change even if some pundits and special interests have decided it's not a convenient time to tackle the issue.
Think Progress includes a short clip in their blog post but I strongly recommend watching this longer five minute video of Durbin's comments, especially if you've never heard a Senator start their speech by quoting Bob Dylan lyrics.
Polluting industries have tried to convince people that protecting the environment will cost jobs. The real question is how many homes, jobs and lives will be lost in weather disasters because we waited too long to deal with climate change.
Creating green jobs by building clean energy projects is the best plan anyone has come up with for reviving the economy. We can pay for clean energy projects that create jobs now, or we can pay much more later for disaster relief because we failed to slow climate change. I'm glad Dick Durbin understands that reality.