In the face of the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Senate must pass a clean energy and climate change bill now.

That urgent call today came not from the usual environmental advocates but from business leaders who see their economic landscape eroding along with the melting glaciers without some immediate action.

WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES

Contract workers from BP ferry contaminated waste from the Deepwater Horizon disaster while other workers use skimmers to clean oil from a marsh in Louisiana. This map helps to visualize the size of the disaster if it were here in Puget Sound.

Weyerhaeuser, Nike and other companies from around the Northwest joined Olympia-based non-profit Climate Solutions in urging the Senate to act. They spoke on a conference call with journalists this morning.

Unveiled last month in the Senate, the American Power Act aims to cut greenhouse gases, reduce oil imports and create millions of new energy-related jobs.

Climate Solutions' Ross Macfarlane said the bill has the backing of hundreds of Northwest companies for a variety of reasons, including increasing American competitiveness, creating a stable and predictable environment for investments, protecting national security and minimizing the damage that businesses are seeing in natural resources.

While the bill isn't perfect, the most important element is "a strong and escalating price signal on global warming pollution and carbon dioxide," Macfarlane said.

He also cited recent polls in Oregon and Washington that show public support for clean energy and climate legislation. Washington voters supported legislation by a 13 point margin, while Oregon voters supported it by an 18 point margin, according to surveys done in late May by Public Policy Polling.

The $730 billion U.S. outdoor recreation industry, which includes companies such as REI, Timberland, The North Face and Patagonia, supports 1 in 20 jobs, said Amy Roberts, vice president of government affairs at the Outdoor Industry Association. A warming climate is taking a toll on the ecosystem and the economy, she said, and among the effects is a decline in snow packs, which shortens ski seasons.

Clay Young, co-founder and CEO of Inovus Solar in Boise, said developing new energy technology is a huge opportunity, but he sees this country falling behind. The U.S. is facing strong competition from Chinese companies because of investments and incentives China is making in clean energy.

"We are more and more looking at sourcing energy technology outside the U.S.," he said. "I see our leadership in this sector as waning not gaining."

Changes to energy policy, with a focus on taxing carbon, are needed to stimulate innovation from the private sector, Young said.

Denny Gignoux owns and operates Glacier Wilderness Guides at Glacier National Park in Montana. As the park celebrates its 100th anniversary, the number of glaciers there has dwindled from 150 to 25, he said.

"We're looking at the loss of one of our main attractions," he said. "Where is it going to be for our children and grandchildren?"

Arlo Skari, a Montana farmer, said rising temperatures have brought more flies and insect damage to the state's wheat varieties. As snow melts earlier, spring runoff depletes water supplies, leaving shortages in late summer.

For Nike, its typical consumers are young, active and concerned about climate change, and will be more impacted by it than generations before, said Sarah Severn, director of stakeholder mobilization for Nike.

The company's global supply chain relies on cotton production, which is vulnerable to changing weather patterns, she said.

For Weyerhaeuser, a national policy on carbon emissions makes more sense than state by state legislation, said Sara Kendall, vice president for environment, health, safety and sustainability. The company is looking at ways to turn plant fibers into cellulosic biofuels. "Good policy will allow us to accelerate these investments," Kendall said.

Convincing Northwest businesses to get behind the legislation may be a lot easier than bringing coal companies, automakers or other heavy industrial manufacturers on board.

Ultimately a lot more is at stake than the bottom line.

"Without leadership from the U.S.," said Severn, "the rest of the world will have difficulty coming together" on a climate change agreement.