The Environmental Legacy of Senator John McCain, 1936-2018
Reposted with permission from EcoWatch.
As news outlets around the country reflect on Senator John McCain’s life and legacy following his death at 81 on Saturday, one strand that emerges is his attempts as a Senator to push bipartisan action on climate change.
In early 2003, McCain joined with then-Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman to introduce the Climate Stewardship Act, which The New York Times editorial about his death called “the first serious bipartisan bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on carbon.”
While the 2003 bill failed, and McCain stepped back from climate leadership during and after his 2008 bid for president, his earlier efforts still stand as a model for future legislative attempts to combat climate change.