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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I listened to my friend, the Senator from Kentucky, and his remarks really brought to mind a division in the United States that most of us are aware of when it comes to the issue of climate change.

You either believe that human activity is having an impact on the weather of the world or you don't. You either believe that it is not in the best interest of our country or the world for us to continue to heat this planet to levels unheard of in history. You either believe that the extreme weather situations which we are witnessing on a regular basis are just a run of bad luck or, sadly, maybe the product of a design in energy that makes a difference. You either believe that fossil fuel creates emissions which make it tougher to live in this country and this world or you don't. You either believe that our generation has a responsibility to do something different to try to preserve the planet that we live on for our kids and grandkids or we don't. You either believe that low gasoline prices are really the absolute pinnacle of success politically, or you believe that the use of fossil fuels needs to be somehow changed if we are going to save this planet.

It is just a clear difference of thinking. When a prospective candidate for Presidency of the United States for reelection talks about ``drill, baby, drill'' and has no concern, obviously, for the impact of those words on energy and the future, you really know that there is a difference coming in this election for voters to make a choice.

I want to err on the side of making this a safer planet for my kids and grandkids. My wife and I have tried to make decisions--large and small--in our lifestyle that reflect this feeling. We drive a hybrid car and get 33 miles a gallon--I wish we got more. Maybe the next car we buy will reach that. We put solar panels on our home in Springfield, IL. We were the first in the area to do it. I hope others will follow.

Those things and many others can make a little difference. And if we all do them together, they can make a big difference. And I think it is our moral responsibility to do that.

We can argue on the margins about the science of what I have just said, and that, of course, is time well spent. We should discuss science in honest terms.

But we all know something is going on in this world that we live in, and it is not good. Heating up this planet is going to make life a lot more difficult and create challenges we never even dreamed of.

So when I hear the Senator from Kentucky talking about bring down those gas prices, ``drill, baby, drill'' from a candidate on his side running for President, I think to myself: I would rather err on the side of being a little more cautious and careful in my lifestyle and the lifestyle of my family in the hopes that the little granddaughter of mine will have a planet she can live on when she reaches that stage in life.

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