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Environment

I believe we have a moral obligation to protect our environment for current and future generations.  We need to fight harder for cleaner air, cleaner water, and our natural resources. Our national lands are valuable resources, providing tremendous benefits for wildlife and recreation, and we must preserve our forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife habitats.

Scientific consensus indicates that global warming will have an increasing impact on our society and will contribute to droughts, floods, more extreme weather, and the erosion of our coastlines. In fact, NASA scientist James Hansen, one of the country’s leading climate researchers, has said that "we have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change ... no longer than a decade, at the most.”

In the 112th Congress, I intend to make addressing global climate change a high priority. I am pursuing legislation that preserves our planet by exploring specific regional, environmental, and economic sector vulnerabilities to global warming.

Rep. Yarmuth talks to constituents about

environmental issues.

I have grave concerns about mountaintop removal mining, which has serious effects on our waterways and natural areas, especially in Kentucky. Mountaintop removal mining involves the removal of the top of a mountain in order to recover coal. Excess dirt and rock from the mountaintop are dumped into valleys below and often destroy streams and wildlife habitat. While regulations have been implemented to address the environmental impacts of mountaintop removal mining, they fall far short of protecting the environment and the people who live in mining communities. The federal government can and must do more.

Whether by addressing mountaintop removal mining and global warming; safeguarding our parks and wilderness areas; or improving the Clean Water Act, conservation programs, and other critical initiatives, I am committed to doing all that I can throughout the 112th Congress to protect our environment.