This Wednesday, President Obama is scheduled to meet with about a dozen Democratic and Republican Senate leaders on developing a comprehensive energy bill that can get through Congress.
Leading up to that meeting, we all need to contact these Senators (see contact information below) - Harry Reid, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, Richard Lugar, Barbara Boxer, Jeff Bingaman, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Judd Gregg, Sherrod Brown, Maria Cantwell, Jay Rockefeller, and Debbie Stabenow - and let them know how strongly we feel about this issue. A few key points to emphasize as we make our calls and write our emails.
First, we should stress that this is something the American public is demanding. According to recent polls, comprehensive energy and climate legislation is broadly popular. For instance, the Pew Research Center released a poll on June 14 that indicated more than 2:1 support for limits on greenhouse gases, more than 4:1 support for "tougher efficiency standards," and nearly 10:1 support for "requir[ing] utilities to produce more energy from renewable sources." It’s not often that Senators have the chance to do the right thing and also the overwhelmingly popular thing at the same time. This is one of those chances, and they must not mess it up.
Second, we need to remind the Senators that this is a moment we need to seize. With the polar ice caps melting, with record-setting warmth around the globe, with our national security and economy being harmed by our addiction to oil, and with a daily reminder in the Gulf of Mexico regarding our failure to switch away from dirty, fossil fuels, this is indeed – to use a popular cliché - the "perfect storm." After decades of failure in Washington, DC to come up with a serious, long-term, sustainable national energy plan, if we can’t do it now, it may be that we never will. And that’s not acceptable.
Third, as President Obama has said, "inaction" on this issue is not an option. Every day that goes by, as Obama said last Tuesday in his address to the nation, "we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil." In addition, as Obama pointed out, "Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America." And every day, we send money to countries that are not our friends, countries that use this money to build nuclear weapons programs, fund terrorist groups, and do damage to U.S. national interests.
For more reasons on why a comprehensive climate and energy plan beats the energy-only approach, please click here. Also see "Every Day We Delay..." by NRDC Campaign Climate Director Pete Altman.
The bottom line question is, how long is the U.S. Senate going to let this continue? The answer should be "not a day longer." So, please call or email the Senators who will be meeting at the White House on Wednesday and let them know what you want them to do. Their contact information is below, it’s easy and will only take you a few minutes. The impact of what you do today, however, could be felt for generations to come.
Thanks.
NRDC Action Fund
Harry Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/...
John Kerry: http://www.facebook.com/...
Joe Lieberman: http://www.facebook.com/...
Lindsey Graham: http://lgraham.senate.gov/...
Richad Lugar: http://www.facebook.com/...
Barbara Boxer: http://www.facebook.com/...
Lisa Murkowski: http://www.facebook.com/...
Susan Collins: http://www.facebook.com/...
Debbie Stabenow: http://www.facebook.com/...
Judd Gregg: http://gregg.senate.gov/...
Sherrod Brown: http://brown.senate.gov/...
Maria Cantwell: http://www.facebook.com/... or http://cantwell.senate.gov/...
Jay Rockefeller: http://rockefeller.senate.gov/...