Denial, delay and dithering.

For more than a decade, that’s all we’ve seen from Congress when we’ve asked our leaders to consider the bold, courageous action that many scientists have long told us is necessary to solve global warming.

Now that’s starting to change.

Two important global warming bills
Momentum is building around two bills: the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act in the Senate and the Safe Climate Act in the House. Both are more ambitious than any previous federal proposal on the issue. By the year 2050, the bills would reduce carbon emissions nationwide to a level that’s 80 percent lower than the levels that existed in 1990—a benchmark that scientific experts consider necessary if we’re to stop short of a dangerous tipping point on climate change.

As of this March, the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act had 12 co-sponsors and the Safe Climate Act had 107—a testament to the leadership of the chief sponsors, Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Henry Waxman, both of California, as well as the efforts of our staff, members and allies.

In addition, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has established a special committee on clean energy and global warming and tapped Rep. Ed Markey (Mass.), a longtime friend and supporter of ours, to chair the panel.

As you might guess, the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act and the Safe Climate Act, as well as any proposals that might emerge from Congressman Markey’s committee, face many political hurdles—not the least of which is the Bush-Cheney White House, which still offers tepid support, at best, for any step beyond “more research” or “voluntary measures” on global warming.

Still, the outlook for serious action on global warming is better than ever in Washington.

What has changed? What else needs to change to get us to where we need to be?

Global warming in the news
You can probably guess part of the answer. The news cycle over the last few months has been punctuated by stories on the issue:

• In late January, Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.) relinquished his role as chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Sen. Inhofe once called the threat of catastrophic global warming “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”

• In February, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported they’re 90 percent certain that human activity caused most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century.

• Shortly after the IPCC’s announcement, former Vice President Al Gore was recognized for his role in educating the public on this issue when he and his collaborators received an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth.

• Last but not least, a growing number of state government officials, prodded into action by environmental advocates, have demonstrated firm resolve to act on global warming—with or without Washington, D.C.’s help.

Our staff and supporters have played a role in all of these developments by contributing to the research on the issue through our reports and studies, raising public awareness through our citizen outreach and news conferences, and lobbying members of Congress.

A steady drumbeat
Our most important contribution might lie in convincing state leaders to take the initiative. The steady drumbeat of new laws and other initiatives adopted by state leaders from California to Maine over the last year has helped transform the debate around global warming.

Many observers no longer ask if long overdue changes such as clean cars and clean energy are going to happen. It’s a question of when. For example:

• Here in Maryland, we built suppport for the Global Warming Solutions Act and have been working with Gov. O’Malley to develop a pllution reductin goal. We alsoi put global warming pollution standards on the books with the Clean Cars Act.

• In California, our partner group, Environment California, helped spearhead the successful Million Solar Roofs Initiative early in 2006.

• In the Northeast, we prodded state governors from Maine to Maryland to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a plan to limit global warming pollution from power plants. In 2005, Massachusetts and Rhode Island pulled out of the deal at the last minute. Earlier this year, we helped convince leaders in both states to reverse course.

• In February, Western governors followed suit by forming the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative, involving Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington and California in setting ambitious goals for carbon pollution reductions.

• Our partners have also won support for statewide global warming pollution reductions in New Jersey and Illinois. We’re also pushing for more action in Colorado, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

There’s no question these developments have spurred changes in the political climate in Washington, D.C. Indeed, one reason that some major corporations, including Alcoa, BP America, DuPont and General Electric, have called for federal limits of carbon pollution is to avoid the so-called “patchwork quilt” of state regulation. The fight, of course, is by no means over. But thanks in part to the action of our staff and members, a historic victory that seemed improbable just a few years ago might soon be within our grasp.