When past generations faced immense challenges, our society found ways to pull together and rise above – the Civilian Conservation Corps and other New Deal programs pulled our country out of the Great Depression, they didn't create another one. In World War II, we defeated global fascism by reorienting our entire economy, not by continuing the economy of the past. And when the promise and ideals of our country did not extend to black Americans, a principled social movement wrote new laws for our country, sharing a dream that inspired a generation even if it has yet to be fully fulfilled today.

But for the past twenty years we have heard nothing but denial, delay, and hollow rhetoric on the issue of our time, global warming. And what more consequential issue has ever faced humanity? As our problems have become larger and more complex, our politics have become more and more trivial, more tragically beneath the tasks before us. The politics of today are not worthy of our American heritage.

So it is time to restore our American spirit of resolve and hope – yes, learning from past achievements, but also writing our own, unique generational story.

We can build our own Clean Energy Corps, providing millions of young and retired Americans with service opportunities retrofitting tens of millions of low-income homes helping those who most need to save money on their energy bills and reducing pollution.