As the presidential candidates continue their rampage across the U.S. tackling such heated issues as health care, the war in Iraq and tax reform, there’s another issue that’s literally heating up as we speak: global warming. Global warming is an increase in the Earth’s temperature over time, and a large contributor to it is human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels to power our cars and factories.

Global Warming Gets Democrats Interested

Even though most Democratic candidates support legislation to stop climate change, Hillary Clinton, Christopher Dodd and Barack Obama have all cosponsored the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007. This bill was introduced in Congress on January 15, 2007 by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders and California senator Barbara Boxer.

A Bill with High Goals

The bill recognizes that the U.S. emits more global warming gases than any other country in the world, and this has become a threat to our health, security and safety. Here are some proposals of the bill:

• To make sure global temperatures do not increase by more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the average
• Carbon dioxide pollutants should not exceed more than 450 parts per million
• By 2050 to decrease U.S. global warming emissions by 80% below what they were in 1990
• Establish a motor vehicle global warming emission requirement
• Encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy sources
• Research and develop new technologies to reduce emissions
• To make the U.S. a worldwide leader in reducing the risk of global warming

I’m very happy to see a bill like this introduced into Congress and supported by some of the presidential candidates. It shows that they are willing to address a topic that may not be important to most people, but it’s certainly crucial to the future of the U.S.’s economy and standard of living.

You can read more about all presidential candidates and their view on climate change here.