The Environment and Energy

Earth is the only home we have. We must protect and preserve its finite resources so that our grandchildren and their grandchildren can experience this beautiful place we call North Carolina. We must leave behind clean drinking water, breathable air, uncontaminated soil for food production, an ocean that is fit for swimming, and mountain streams that sustain wildlife.

Our reliance on fossil fuels is causing irreversible damage to our planet, and cannot be sustained. We must develop economical ways to utilize clean, renewable sources of energy, and we must do it now.
 
I believe we can grow our economy without destroying the planet on which we live.

Those who argue that it is too expensive to develop and produce renewable energy sources, may not be taking into consideration the real costs of reliance on fossil fuels. Asthma and other respiratory diseases result from mining and burning coal, and are expensive to treat. Water quality is compromised by extracting coal and oil, and cleanup is costly. Burning fossil fuels is causing real climate change, which negatively impacts agriculture, tourism and recreation, and quality of our everyday lives.

As your representative in Congress, I will work for development of renewable energy sources and will advocate for measures that protect and preserve the beauty and the bounty of our beautiful home.

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