In 1969, President Richard Nixon's adviser Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a memo describing a startling future. Fifty-three years later, Congress is on the cusp of finally responding to what Moynihan had termed 'the carbon dioxide problem'
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), left, and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) at a hearing about U.S. infrastructure on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 24, 2021. The Senate’s historic climate legislation avoided the political pitfalls of past legislative attempts by offering only incentives to cut climate pollution, not taxes. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)
WASHINGTON — In 1969, President Richard Nixon’s adviser Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote a memo describing a startling future. The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused by burning oil, gas and coal, Moynihan wrote, would dangerously heat the planet, melt the glaciers and cause the seas to rise. “Goodbye New York,” Moynihan wrote. “Goodbye Washington, for that matter.”
Fifty-three years later, Congress is on the cusp of finally responding to what Moynihan termed “the carbon dioxide problem.”
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