The Future Shall Be Ours: Millennials R Us

Statement

Dear Friend,

Several months ago, my daughter--then 26--took me aback when, as we
discussed the state of the world today--she said: "Dad, I don't know if
I'm going to get to live to 50."

She told me that with all the bad things happening in the world
today--wars, global warming, and the like--that she wasn't sure that the
world would even be here long enough so that she could reach that age.

She has a good point, although when I was a kid and after that growing up,
the threat of nuclear annihilation was always present and, of course,
still is. Yet for some reason as I grew up as a child and older, it seems
like there was always a confident feeling that things would all work out.

When you look at global warming, however, you realize, if you are an
informed person, that unless we take appropriate steps to bring that under
control, our very existence on this planet is without a doubt in harm's
way. In today's USA TODAY/ARIZONA REPUBLIC, I encountered on the first
page of Section B this headline: "USA swelters through hottest summer
nights in 121 years." The article by Doyle Rice goes on to state: "The
summer of 2016 recorded hotter nights than any summer since records began
in 1895, according to data released Thursday by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration."

FURTHER: "A recent study noted that Alaska's glaciers have lost some 75
gigatons of ice every year from 1994 to 2013. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency, Alaska has been heating up twice as fast
as the national average over the last 50 years, and the rising
temperatures melt sea ice and thaw permafrost along the coast."

The village of Shishmaref on Alaska's Chukchi Sea faces an ecological
crisis: "Situated on a narrow barrier island, Shishmaref was founded over
400 years ago as a seasonal fishing settlement. Cold weather and natural
ice barriers used to protect the shore, but now the municipal village,
home to some 600 residents, faces the immediate threat of inundation."

Nima Taradji, a resident of Shishmaref, goes on to explain: "We hear about
climate change and we hear about foreign countries like Moldova or some
such island that is sinking and it's all very remote and nebulous," Mr.
Taradji said. "The Alaska folks are here in the United States. They are
folks on our team that are immediately threatened. It's not something that
is going to happen in several generations, it is something that is
happening to them right now as we speak." ("Nowhere to Go Amid Alaska's
Melting Ice," by Rena Silverman, NEW YORK TIMES, March 4, 2016,
www.nytimes.com).

Consider the village of Shishmaref a metaphor for all coastal areas on the
earth. This is not something that any reasonable human being can ignore.

Yet DAVID SCHWEIKERT, our incumbent congressman in District 6, IS A
CLIMATE CHANGE DENIER.

Here is a quote from my campaign blog in the last election cycle: "U.S.
Rep. David Schweikert, who was appointed the head of the House
Environment Subcommittee this past January, "has argued that the idea of
man-made global warming may be "folklore.'" ("House Republicans Pick
Climate Skeptic to Head Environment Subcommittee," by Kate Sheppard,
Huffington Post, Jan. 16, 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com)." (from "The
Future Can Be Ours: Schweikert Says Global Warming May Be "Folklore,'" by
W. John Williamson, October 19, 2014, www.williamsonforuscongress.com).

MOREOVER: "Climate change is happening, humans are the cause, and a
shocking number of congressional Republicans -- over 56 percent -- deny or
question the science." ("Here Are the 56 Percent of Congressional
Republicans Who Deny Climate Change," by Tiffany Germain, Feb. 3, 2015,
MOYERS & COMPANY, billmoyers.com).

Germain then quotes our head-in-the-sand incumbent:

"Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ-06): "When you think about the complexity of
a worldwide system and the amount of data you'd have to capture, and how
you adjust for a sunspot, and how you adjust for a hurricane and I think
it's incredibly arrogant for the Al Gores of the world to stand up and say
the world is coming to an end." [Interview with conservative activist
Marcus Kelley via Huffington Post, 6/26/14]"

Unlike Schweikert, I think it's incredibly brave and visionary for the Al
Gores of the world to stand up and say the world is heading for
catastrophe if we don't take global warming seriously.

If you would like to contribute financially to my campaign, check out my
website at: www.williamsonforuscongress.com. Click on "Make a Donation,"
then you may use your debit or credit card by means of safe and secure
PayPal. Or you may send a check to the address listed for my campaign
committee. Be sure to include your name, address, name of your employer
and your occupation, in accordance with Federal Election Commission
requirements. I appreciate very much those who have offered financial
contributions so far. Your money helps my Democratic candidacy in a
district benighted by Republican ignorance.

Friend, I just want my now 27-year-old daughter, and other MILLENNIALS, to
know that I want you all to live past the age of 50 and you are going to
do that because when citizens like me are elected, we will address
responsibly such problems as global warming and get those problems solved.
But the glib pronouncements of David Schweikert who denies climate change will get you
nowhere. I support the Paris Agreement of December 2015 on climate change
by which the world's countries are beginning really to get climate change
under control. President Barack Obama supported it and I'm with him on
this issue. MILLENNIALS are right to be worried about the future of the
world; they have the right to a safe and healthy future as do all of us.
THE FUTURE SHALL BE OURS when we recognize that MILLENNIALS R US, and that
all age groups must work together to solve the problems that threaten
human survival. And when we solve these problems, everyone will benefit,
regardless of their age.

Vote for me, W. JOHN WILLIAMSON, on November 8th!

Source