The old joke goes, “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it.” If Congress has its way, that may change.

The United States Congress is undertaking a legislative effort that some believe is the most complicated and far-reaching policy initiative in its 219 years. Over the next several years, Congress will conduct detailed hearings and attempt to craft legislation that will drastically reduce our country’s contribution to worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas thought to contribute to global warming, while at the same time trying not to do devastating harm to the economy. This will be no easy task. In fact, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, Michigan’s John Dingell, says climate change legislation is the most complicated issue Congress has tackled in his 52 years of service.

So what is the average American supposed to do—read the thousands of pages of testimony and all the studies, watch C-SPAN to keep up with all the hearings and let their Congressman know what they think about the issue? My guess is that very few people reading this column have the time or inclination to keep up with the climate change debate raging in Washington, D.C. Let’s face it: The issue is complicated and not very sexy. But climate change legislation will hit us all in the pocketbook. Some estimate the cost to the average household could be as much as $7,000 per year in today’s dollars by 2030. That’s a pretty big hit.

So, what do you do? How do you let your U.S. representative and senators know that you have concerns?

Here’s an easy way. Go to the website ourenergy.coop and join the national co-op dialogue with America entitled “Our Energy, Our Future.” When you sign up, an email will be sent to your members of Congress that expresses your concern.

So what is “Our Energy, Our Future”? It’s a campaign to ask Congress simply to consider three pretty basic questions regarding our energy supply and what they are doing in the context of the current energy debates to address some very basic concerns. We ask Congress:

• What are you doing to make sure we have sufficient generation capacity so that we can meet the increased demand well into the future?
• What are you doing to speed the development of new technology that will allow us to have the electric power we need while meeting our national climate policy goals?

• And finally, because we all know balancing electricity needs and environmental goals will be difficult: How much is all this going to increase my electric bill and what are you doing to keep it affordable?

  Pretty basic stuff: How do we keep the lights on, improve the environment, and keep our cost reasonable? These are three basic questions that Congress must answer with respect to any legislation affecting energy policy and climate change. We are not telling Congress to do nothing, but we are asking them to make sure whatever they do they consider the consequences to us and our families, now and for years to come. Please join our dialogue.