Throughout my life, there have been poets and poems I’ve carried with me everywhere, like a briefcase that’s always packed and sitting by the front door. And while it might sound strange, I’ve found myself coming back to Auden in the past few weeks after two things happened in the climate world. First, it was the European Union effectively giving up on its emission trading scheme (ETS) for regulating carbon pollution. Then it was the news that atmospheric carbon levels had reached a new record concentration of 400 parts per million (ppm).

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It’s past time for a real conversation about carbon pollution, and how much we are already paying. We know what’s happening, and we know why. But when talk finally turns to solutions, we always hear the same refrain: We can’t afford to do anything about climate change. The reality is that what we really can’t afford to do is nothing.

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Today, Lisa Jackson says goodbye to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency she ran for four years. We’d like to thank former Administrator Jackson for her service. But oh heck, we’re not shy: Consider this a bit of a Valentine’s Day card to Ms. Jackson and the entire EPA.

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We’re already paying a price for carbon pollution. Extreme weather costs us billions of dollars in damages. Climate change makes our food and water less secure, threatens our coastlines with sea level rise, damages our natural resources, and affects human health.

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How is climate change affecting the United States right now? What about the part of the country where you live? These questions are now a lot easier to answer with the release of a major new draft report: The National Climate Assessment.

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How many things can you name that only happen once every four years? Leap years, U.S. presidential elections, the Olympics …

If you’re an American who cares about climate change, there’s one more answer you should add to your list: the publication of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) — the most comprehensive report on climate change impacts in the States.

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Our Chairman, former Vice President Al Gore, just announced a worldwide, online event taking place on November 14, 24 Hours of Reality: The Dirty Weather Report. Watch the announcement here:

MORE LIKE THIS: Climate Denial // Dirty Weather // Extreme Weather // Feature

How best to achieve a balanced budget is a topic of fierce debate, of course. But people on both sides of the political aisle seem to generally agree that a balanced budget is a good thing — that spending more than you’re bringing in isn’t sustainable, and comes with consequences, like debt. The same logic should be applied to our carbon budget.

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As climate activists, we feel it in our gut. Climate change is not only real, it is the challenge of our time. And it’s crucial that we act now — today, right this minute — to tackle it.

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Last week, we finished an inspiring three-day training for our Climate Reality Leadership Corps. After meeting so many remarkable people and experiencing their passion, I couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead. Roughly a thousand dedicated volunteers added to their skill sets and have returned home better trained and more engaged than ever to lead the fight to solve the climate crisis.

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