Our hope for climate progress in 2014: Love Always Wins.

This week's guest blogger is PennFuture member Gretchen Dahlkemper-Alfonso. Based in Philadelphia, Gretchen is National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force. This "Air Force" is a national movement of more than 190,000 moms — and dads, too! — protecting our children’s right to clean air, much as parents fought for us 40 years ago when the Clean Air Act was passed. Gretchen collaborates closely with us at PennFuture to slow climate change, encouraging our leaders to act while inviting changes from each of us in our daily lives.

We asked Gretchen how she's feeling about the year ahead as 2013 draws to a close. We hope you'll enjoy her message as much as we do.

-- Joy Bergey, federal policy director, PennFuture

Gretchen and her kids by Tammy Bradshaw Photography

"This is my favorite time of the year. Each night, after the last child has closed its eyes, I sit down next to our beautiful Christmas tree and think about the joys and challenges of the past year, and set goals for the year ahead. This past year has been challenging in so many ways, so I'm ready for 2014. I was energized when the director of Moms Clean Air Force, Dominique Browning, announced that her theme for 2014 is Growth & Optimism.

We are at a turning point in our history. At no other time has the human race seen such a tremendous shifting in the natural world. Extreme weather threatens our homes, drought in America’s heartland is raising the price of our groceries, and our children who are suffering from chronic illnesses such as asthma are finding that longer allergy seasons and poor air quality are affecting their everyday activities.

There is hope: Renewable energy and energy efficiency are proven and reliable sources of cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that are threatening our way of life. We have the opportunity in Pennsylvania, right now, to make a choice: Stay rooted in the past, a past that has relied on the burning of dirty fossil fuels for over a century, or, embrace growth, innovation, and the promise of a healthier and stronger Commonwealth.

I have hope that the President’s Climate Action Plan, outlined in June, will make great strides toward reducing carbon emissions in the U.S. I have hope that the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania will become a platform for a serious discussion of the state’s energy policy, the health of our communities, and the unsustainability of fossil fuel extraction. I have hope that the recent changes in municipal elections across the Commonwealth will yield new and exciting ideas for addressing climate change in our hometowns.

With recent news about dirty backroom deals and corporate lobbying dollars flooding the political landscape, it is easy to feel disenfranchised with the political system. It is easy to think that the dirtiest corporate polluters will win when they stand up in court and use my family’s hard-earned money to fight the very life-saving mercury standards that aim to protect my babies. It is easy to think that the promise of a large campaign donation will sway the “swing” votes as another election cycle looms over the horizon.

It is easy to think that the polluters will win until you realize that Moms have the greatest power of all – Love.

And Love Always Wins.

I enter 2014 with a sense of optimism and invite you to join me. The power of Love will win this fight, and it must – our children are counting on us."