Dear Elected Officials:As moral actors, we each have the responsibility to become informedabout the issues that have the greatest impact on those who inhabit our world, now and in the future – always with an eye toward what each of uscan do to help achieve solutions.

e are trying in every way we know to do

our

part – and pledge tocontinue to do all we can to learn and act in a way that will help preventneedless suffering for others, including young people and later generations.We implore you to do

your

part as an elected official. You have aspecial duty, which you accepted when you became an elected official andwhich you carry with you every day. Your office carries with it a sacred public trust. What you do impacts others, including those not yet born.Your decisions, particularly in connection with the climate crisis, willimpact the quality of life for generations to come, our local economy, our national security, and, indeed, the habitability of our planet. You owe it tothose you serve, and you owe it to the future, to make certain those decisionsare well-informed.What we are conveying in this letter is not a matter of belief, prejudice, or pre-existing notions. We are basing what we say here on well-established science and on fundamental principles of morality.Even if you don’t presently “believe” the science, please ask yourselves: What if we really

are

facing, in the absence of urgent andeffective action, an irreversible catastrophic global climate crisis? Will the

record reflect that you helped solve it – or will it reflect that you helped bring about the tragic consequences? In the end, it all comes down to agrave moral decision.Today we face the greatest threat ever in human history to theinhabitants of Earth. The spread of misinformation, the refusal to act in theface of overwhelming proof of a climate crisis, and the profiteering in theshort-term at the expense of global catastrophe during the lives of our children and grandchildren, equates to an historic moral abdication leadingto human tragedies and species extinctions of unprecedented scope. Never has there been a more crucial time for people of good will,compassion, and care for our children and later generations to come together in taking effective action to prevent irreversible, catastrophic climatedisruption. If you will not join in that crucial effort, we urge you to get outof the way so someone else can take informed, responsible action.Those who fail to take action – both in elective office and elsewhere – are creating a far more dangerous planet for our children and grandchildren.In partial fulfillment of

our

responsibilities, we are joining together todemand that you and other elected representatives take effective action todramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. We willnot tolerate inaction and will fight for our children and later generations inevery way possible. Too much is at stake for anyone to stand by any longer.For those who have been confused by the intensive campaign of misinformation, please consider that leading international scientific bodies,national science academies worldwide, the United States Academy of Sciences, and Utah’s top scientists are

all

in agreement: We are facing aclimate crisis caused by the burning of coal, oil, and gas – and if we continuealong this path, tragedy and untold misery will result to billions of people,

including, very likely, our own descendants. Even former President GeorgeW. Bush, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown are in agreement: Climate change is a serious problem andthe US needs to help lead toward solutions by vastly reducing the emissionsof greenhouse gases.

The state of the science is astoundingly consistent:

•

The largest scientific collaboration in history, theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has beenunequivocal in its findings that the mean temperature of Earthhas increased substantially due to human actions, specificallythe burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – and that a failureto radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions will result inimmense, catastrophic consequences for our Earth and itsinhabitants.

•

The US National Academy of Sciences has stated:[Mean global] [t]emperatures have already risen 1.4˚ F sincethe start of the 20

century—with much of this warmingoccurring in just the last 30 years – and temperatures will likelyrise at least another 2˚, and possibly more than 11˚, over the

See, e.g., “Bush Says Global Climate Change ‘Serious’ Problem,” Agence France-Presse (June 7, 2005)(“Bush told a press conference afterwards, ‘I’ve always said it’s a serious long-term issue that needs to bedealt with . . .’ . . . Bush said that the United States will have to change its high energy consuming habitsand move away from ‘a hydrocarbon society’.”); “Climate change fight ‘can’t wait’,” BBC News, October 31, 2006 (“Tony Blair said the Stern Review showed that scientific evidence of global warming was‘overwhelming’ and its consequences ‘disastrous’. . . And Chancellor [now Prime Minister] Gordon Brown promised the UK would lead the international response to tackle climate change. . . Mr. Blair said theconsequences for the planet of inaction were ‘literally disastrous’. ‘This disaster is not set to happen insome science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime,’ he said.”)

“Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, An Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange” (“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increasesin global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global averagesea level.” p. 30. “Global GHG emissions due to human activities have grown since pre-industrial times,with an increase of 70% between 1970 and 2004.” p. 36. “Most of the observed increase in global averagetemperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHGconcentrations.” p. 39. “Continued GHG emissions at or above current rates would cause further warmingand induce many changes in the global climate system during the 21

century that would very likely belarger than those observed during the 20

century.” p. 45.)