A few weeks ago, the U.S. House voted to lift the longstanding ban on crude oil exports. It’s now up to President Barack Obama and the Senate to stop this dangerous proposal — a big boost for the oil companies at the expense of the climate and our health.

Given all of the positive momentum around tackling climate change recently — such as the Clean Power Plan’s publication in the Federal Register and presidential candidates naming climate change as the No. 1 threat to national security, the bill moving through Congress that would lift our crude oil exports ban does not make any sense.

While the Clean Power Plan is set to reduce our carbon emissions nationwide by 32 percent by 2030, experts say that lifting this ban could increase global warming pollution 22 million metric tons per year. That is not the action we need to take to avert climate catastrophe.

I thank Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King for their support of the Clean Power Plan, but for the sake of our planet and future generations, I hope they stand strong against the oil exports ban as well.

Laura Dorle

Impact campaign organizer

Portland