Meeting Montana delegation to discuss climate change

Why did we talk with Sens. Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Reps. Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale and staff?

Mady: I grew up in the Flathead Valley, spending nearly every summer day recreating and forming a deep connection to Flathead Lake. I’ve taken for granted that the watershed is and always will be pristine. My community relies on our environment for tourism and our economy. If we don’t take steps to mitigate climate change, our thriving community will be harmed. What will it be like when we don’t have a beautiful lake and environment to enjoy? Will my kids have what I had? Tourism is also personal because of my Glacier National Park-related job. Glacier is so important to many people but the clock is ticking to take meaningful action before it changes irreparably.

Ava: I was born in Anchorage but raised in Billings. The great outdoors has always been at my fingertips. From backpacking the Beartooth Mountains to skiing the freezing slopes, I’ve explored our Big Sky Country, which holds untamed, unmatched beauty and inspired all aspects of my life. Our home is endangered due to climate change. Living on the prairie through the dry summers, I’ve witnessed countless wildfires rip through, destroying everything they touch. If climate change is not taken seriously now, it will fall onto me and the rest of the younger generation. My biggest fear — what if we’re too late?

Cherish: For thousands of years, my people lived in what is now Montana in a stable climate regime. Inspired by my great-grandmother, Zelda Morigeau and living on the Flathead Reservation, I’m deeply connected to the Mission Mountains. The increased droughts, wildfires, longer summers, and shorter winters have significantly impacted us. Winters used to be longer, and we had a lot more snow. I spent summers at Flathead Lake; lake levels were never as low as now. Climate change is disastrous and destabilizing. We lose culture, land, history, and it damages one’s identity. Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge is crucial for the changes we need to make.

Gracie: I grew up in California’s suburbs and came to Montana to educate myself about environmental science at MSU. As a kid, I remember seeing the sky turn dark and ash falling like rain from wildfires, and droughts that seemed to last decades. I’m very concerned about how climate change is exacerbating problems for families. Poor policies made daily, necessary activities like laundry and cooking extremely expensive. As the impacts worsen, I worry families’ finances, safety, health, and happiness will suffer. We need market-based solutions as a tool to address climate change.

We all attended Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s summer conference and enjoyed the inclusivity and camaraderie of the participants despite their various ages, backgrounds, political beliefs, and reasons for caring about climate change. We learned how to communicate and about effective climate mitigation policies, such as a carbon fee and cashback.

In our lobby meetings, we identified common interests and proposed bipartisan bills like the PROVE IT Act and geothermal energy. We stressed the need for enduring clean-energy permitting reform. Subsequently, Sens. Daines and Tester supported the bipartisan ADVANCE Act, one of the most significant actions Congress has taken toward clean energy.

Four other congressional members including Rep. Zinke co-sponsored the Increased Technical Service Provider Access Act as a result of CCL’s spring lobbying.

We have climate solutions that work. Our voices are more powerful than we think. Join us!