Wait, What? House Republican (Curbelo - FL) Says Legislation To Deal With Climate "Vital"

[hatrack]

Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo says it's "vital" that lawmakers begin working on legislation to address climate change, which he says could damage both the economy and environment of his district in South Florida. His views diverge sharply from those of other Republican lawmakers, including the state's two presidential aspirants in former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio. And although Curbelo has not endorsed a policy by which to reduce carbon emissions, some observers describe his openness to the issue as a thawing moment in the seemingly frozen congressional debate over global warming.

"I have concerns about the ecological impact that climate change has on our planet, especially as it relates to rising sea-levels," Curbelo said in a statement to ClimateWire. "It is vital Congress works in a bipartisan manner to mitigate the effects of climate change and I'm proud to be a pro-environment voice in the Republican Party."

Curbelo's remarks coincided with his visit Friday to a public school south of Miami where 200 fifth-graders gave him thank you letters for pledging to address warming last month. On Earth Day, Curbelo hitched a ride aboard Air Force One to the Everglades, where he attended President Obama's speech on climate change.

That appears to be the first time that Curbelo talked publicly about addressing rising seas and other climate impacts since he took office in January after defeating Democratic Rep. Joe Garcia by 3 percentage points. He said then that he's "committed to finding common ground to mitigate the effects of climate change." Curbelo's positions outdistance those of his party's leaders. Rubio questions the extent to which human activity will alter the climate, and he says any action to reduce emissions will badly harm the economy. Bush recently said he's concerned about warming but didn't address whether it's man-made.

EDIT

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060018287

[leftofcool]

1. I think you are a day late and a dollar short, Rep!

Climate change to GOPers becomes important only when one of their cities is underwater. Although, most of them think it's just Gawd's Plan.