Leah Bahramipour is a student at New York University and a California resident who participated in our Spring 2021 Climate Advocacy Methods Program. Leah is also a Legislative Intern with CCL.

While reading the article “Bay Area weather: Atmospheric river storm delivers heavy rain, high winds, power outages, flash floods,” I kept thinking about how us Californians have recently witnessed the tangible effects of climate change – from more frequent, devastating forest fires to severe storms. Scientists tell us that CO2 emissions fuel stronger weather events like the recent atmospheric river storm. So, to protect our communities, we must mitigate climate change. We can decrease our emissions with the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. The Energy Innovation Act is a bipartisan bill that places a fee on carbon and then funnels the revenue directly into the pockets of the people. The policy will reduce America’s emissions by at least 40% within 12 years. I urge Representative Mark DeSaulnier to support this bill in Congress and push for strong climate policy to protect our communities.