Sens. Stevens and Murkowski passed up a golden opportunity last week to help Alaska when they did not show up to vote on the Climate Security Act.

Alaska is "ground zero" for climate change, warming at a rate four times that of the U.S. over the past 50 years. The impacts from that warming are widespread throughout Alaska and growing more and more costly every day.

The U.S. Senate started the debate on climate change with the introduction of a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and John Warner, R-Va. The bill would have reduced global warming pollution, assisted low- and middle-income families with energy costs, and recharged our economy by investing in a clean-energy future. This legislation also had a section in it providing about $50 billion to Alaska for adapting to destructive changes brought by global warming.

But the bill stalled because opponents blocked meaningful debate by filibustering the legislation. Sixty votes were needed to move forward with amendments and meaningful discussion, and sadly, both our senators were absent from the vote.

Murkowski cited unanswered questions on the bill's effect on Alaska's economy as one reason she couldn't support the bill, but she failed to mention the escalating cost to Alaskans and our economy if we continue to do nothing.

Solving global warming is the greatest challenge of our time. It is urgent that Congress act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and protect consumers, workers, vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

We need our senators at the table for this debate to make sure that legislation helps us avoid the worst impacts of global warming, those that will hit Alaska the hardest, and deal with the impacts that we cannot avoid.

Alaskans can no longer afford to watch our elected officials in Washington sit on the sidelines. We need strong leadership from our delegation to develop meaningful solutions to global warming and help secure the resources that we will need to respond to the devastating impacts Alaska is already facing.