Congress may be divided on the issue of climate change, but the vast majority of Americans agree that we must do more to protect our planet. According to EcoWatch.com, even people in red states understand that the our nation has “a responsibility to take steps to deal with climate change.” A new study from the Program for Public Consultation found that about 80 percent of people in both red and blue districts believe that global warming is real, and that we should be doing more to fight it.

Our elected lawmakers can't even agree on whether or not the climate is changing, yet 60 percent of Americans say they'd be willing to pay more for energy to protect our planet. A majority of those surveyed said that “climate change should be given priority even if it causes slower economic growth and loss of jobs.” These statistics prove that the Congressional divide on climate science has nothing to do with what voters want, or with what's best for the American people. Republicans blocking climate actions would rather protect their fossil fuel industry donations than protect the future of our planet.

As EcoWatch points out, the oil, coal, and natural gas industries have donated more than $320 million dollars to federal candidates, super PACs, and political parties over the last decade. Some members of Congress are perfectly fine with letting our planet burn, as long as they keep getting piles of fossil fuel industry cash. This is how it all comes together. In order to save our planet, we have to take our democracy back from the corporate elite. Let's get money out of politics and elect lawmakers who are accountable to We The People.