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The time for being delicate is over

The world watches Oregon's devastation on TV, but the truth on the ground is much, much worse.

Apocalyptic. Entire communities gone. Lost homes. Shattered lives. Death and incineration. It's unlike anything any of us have ever truly seen. Touring the destruction, the wreckage left in the fire's path, was a gut punch. I'll never forget what I saw.

Which is why, as much as it's important to take time to mourn, recover, and rebuild, we must also have a serious conversation about why this happened.

I'm talking about climate chaos, what's becoming a new normal that has brought us unprecedented fire season after unprecedented fire season, climate disaster after disaster.

By ignoring science, we've put our planet on the brink of crisis.

Climate chaos should no longer be a political debate. It's our new reality—the charred remains of communities; unbreathable air seeping in under doors, between cracks in windows; the brave men and women of our fire departments holding the line against further destruction.

The time for being delicate about this is over. These are conversations we have to be having immediately, because wildfire and devastation like this past week is just part of it. It's drought in the farm belt, catastrophic hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, encroaching seas in Miami, acidification of our fishing waters, and more.

Together, we've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for wildfire relief and recovery. Now, I'm asking you to pitch in and support our Blue Wave Project — to flip the US Senate and ensure that when we send Joe Biden to the White House, we're able to take bold, decisive action on the climate crisis.

We can do this.

Onward!

Jeff

Posted on September 15, 2020.

Born in the small town of Myrtle Creek, Oregon, Jeff Merkley has never lost touch with his working class roots.

As a U.S. Senator, he works every day to create opportunity for working families, stop the corruption of our democracy, and tackle the climate crisis.

A workhorse and a progressive champion, Jeff Merkley is leading a movement to get our country back on track.

Meet Jeff

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