About 26 Democratic senators, including Florida Senator Bill Nelson, and two independents pulled an all-nighter Monday in the Capitol to discuss climate change.
The talkathon was held by the recently launched Senate Climate Action Task Force. The task force, organized by California Senator Barbara Boxer and Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, was started to “wake up Congress” to issues surrounding climate change.
According to C-SPAN, the all-night session was the 35th of its kind in the history of the Senate. Senators could tweet throughout the night using the hashtag #Up4Climate.
Nelson wrote in an email that Florida needs to be concerned with climate change.
“With over 1,300 miles of coastline and most residents living near the water even a 1 - 2 foot rise, in the opinion of some experts, would have a disastrous effect on the state,” he wrote.
Unlike a filibuster, there was no legislation up for debate during the talkathon.
Carolyn Cox, coordinator at the Florida Climate Institute at UF, said although she was happy to see Nelson attending, she is not sure how much of an impact the talkathon will have.
“It’s going to take more than a night,” she said. “It’s good to see senators that are taking a stand now. It’s a positive step to getting something done.”
The institute reached out to Nelson on social media offering him its expertise for his talk.
At the talk, Nelson said he will be meeting with a commerce committee in April to have a hearing on how climate change is affecting Florida.
“Florida is ground zero for sea-level rise,” he said Monday.
Alix Kermes, a 20-year-old UF sustainability studies junior, said it’s important to have a Florida senator who took part in the talkathon.
“Florida will be greatly affected by the climate change,” she said. “Our water usage will depend on climate change.”
Republican senators were not listed to speak at the event.
UF biology professor Ted Schuur said participation from both parties will be needed to get any effective climate change legislation passed.
“Climate change is not a partisan issue,” he said. “The climate continues to change, and it’s not something we want to let slip to the back of our minds.”
Last June, President Obama unveiled his plan to fight climate change. The plan included actions to combat carbon pollution and prepare for climate change effects.
Alex Ahrenholz, a 21-year-old UF sustainability and the built environment junior, said more needs to be done to handle climate change, and the talkathon was a good way to start.
“Hopefully it gets the conversation going,” he said.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 3/11/2014 under the headline "US Senators — including Bill Nelson — up all night to talk climate"]
