Because they must.

What is the alternative? It’s common wisdom now that we’ve just about reached the tipping point in terms of globabl warming. While the Dick Cheneys of the world seem to believe that their obligation to their descendants is met by leaving them a large inheritance of ill-gotten funds, most Democrats understand that future generations are owed a habitable planet. We have ten years or less to reverse the trend, not enough time for third parties to build enough power to step into the breach. We must rely on the new Democratic majority to assert some common sense and address the urgency of the problem. We must insist they do it.

Already, energy firms are adjusting their attitudes:

“We have to deal with greenhouse gases,” John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., said in a recent speech at the National Press Club. “From Shell’s point of view, the debate is over. When 98 percent of scientists agree, who is Shell to say, ‘Let’s debate the science’?”

[snip] Exxon Mobil Corp., the highest-profile corporate skeptic about global warming, said in September that it was considering ending its funding of a think tank that has sought to cast doubts on climate change. And on Nov. 2, the company announced that it will contribute more than $1.25 million to a European Union study on how to store carbon dioxide in natural gas fields in the Norwegian North Sea, Algeria and Germany.

These changes come as Democratic leaders prepare to take over key committees on Capitol Hill. Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.), who calls global warming “the greatest challenge of our generation,” will take the place of Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) as chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe refers to global warming as a “hoax.” – Washington Post

Let’s hope it’s not too little too late.

~Stef