U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, Champion of the Environment and Clean Energy, Dies at 77

U.S. Sen. Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy died yesterday [Tuesday, August 25, 2009] of a brain tumor at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He was 77.

Kennedy was the third longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate in American history. The voters of Massachusetts first elected him to the Senate in 1962 and sent him to the Senate as their representative a total of nine times, a record matched by only one other senator.

Ted Kennedy was often referred to as the “Lion of the Senate.” He was respected on both sides of the aisle for his legislative ability, his willingness to compromise, and his bi-partisan approach to important issues.

"I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly?" Kennedy once said during a speech to a conservative audience. "There are those who do, and their own words testify to their intolerance."

Kennedy was a leader on issues ranging from education to human rights, but he considered health care “the cause of my life” and worked tirelessly to extend high-quality, affordable health care to all Americans.

In describing Kennedy’s accomplishments, President Obama said: “For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health, and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.”

Kennedy was also a champion of the environment and a leading proponent of clean energy. He was a strong advocate for clean air, clean water, wildlife preservation and wilderness protection. He supported mass transit and better fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks. Kennedy consistently place public interest above corporate greed, fighting to end government subsidies for oil companies and calling for environmental justice for low-income families who were battling air, water and soil pollution in their neighborhoods. He was also a strong supporter of clean, renewable energy and a green economy.

Ted Kennedy was in his first year as a senator when his brother President John F. Kennedy was killed by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas. About five years later, while Ted Kennedy was still serving his first term in the Senate, his brother Robert was assassinated in the midst of his 1968 presidential campaign.

Like his brothers before him, Ted Kennedy eventually ran for president, losing his bid for the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy’s concession speech, intended to encourage and comfort his supporters, also seemed to speak for his family’s legacy of service: “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

Another of Kennedy’s own quotes serves as a fitting and poignant epitaph as the nation mourns the loss of a great leader: "For all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make