We brought your voice to Washington DC.

Dear friends,

The campaign to take on the US Chamber of Commerce is getting bigger by the day, and yesterday in DC it blasted off.
Thousands and thousands of people--including youth from all 50 states who were joining the massive Power Shift climate conference--rallied on Monday in front of the US Chamber's headquarters. Their goal: to expose the US Chamber as a corporate front group that is polluting our democracy and stalling climate action.

We brought many of your voices directly to Washington yesterday. Our team in DC received hundreds of quotes from small business owners across the country--quotes about why the US Chamber doesn't speak for us. We printed these quotes on placards, helped rally thousands of people, and took a stand where the US Chamber couldn't ignore us: their front door.

Check out a couple of the photos from yesterday's event:

The US Chamber claims to 'represent American business.' In fact, last year more than half their budget came from just 16 companies. They don't say who those companies are, but since they spend most of their time fighting any legislation that might help slow climate change, it's not too hard to figure out.

Looked at objectively, the US Chamber is a radical organization: they filed a brief with the EPA urging them not to act on carbon emissions because if the planet warmed humans could "adapt their physiologies" to deal with the change. If someone on a street corner told you that their plan for global warming was changing your anatomy, you'd give them a wide berth--but if you have a few hundred million in campaign contributions to hand out, it buys you a lot of respectability.

It's now time to expose the chamber for what they are: a corporate front group that is blocking progress on the greatest challenges of our time. It's time to strip them of their respectability and political legitimacy. The events here in DC are a great start, but our mission doesn't end here in the nation's capital.
Across the country this campaign to get businesses to declare "The US Chamber Doesn't Speak for Me" has begun to make real progress--thousands and thousands of small businesses have already signed up to say they can speak for themselves, thank you--and that they're nimble enough capitalists to deal with a planet that runs on wind and sun. It's not just small companies either--Apple Computer has quit the chamber, and local chambers of commerce from Seattle to New York have broken their ties with the US Chamber.

But here's the thing: most people still don't know that the US Chamber is run by a handful of corporations. They don't know that 94% of the US Chamber's record-breaking lobbying expenditures last year were directed towards politicians who deny the basic science of climate change. They don't know that the US Chamber is blocking every possible effort to get our nation to lead on climate and clean energy. They don't know that the US Chamber lobbied against the Civil Rights Act, the Disability Rights Act, and are now lobbying aggressively to gut the Clean Air Act.
We're building this campaign to make sure that the truth about the US Chamber comes out. There will be much to do in the coming weeks and months, so expect more updates soon. But for now, just know that we've put The US Chamber on notice. They don't speak for us, and with your help, we'll make sure that they can't.
Onwards,

Bill McKibben - co-founder of 350.org and "The US Chamber Doesn't Speak For Me"

---

• You should join 350.org St Louis Chapter on

• Facebook by becoming a fan of our page at facebook.com/350org and follow us on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350

To join our list (maybe a friend forwarded you this e-mail) visit www.350.org/signup

350.org needs your help! To support our work, donate securely online at 350.org/donate

---

350.org is an international grassroots campaign that aims to mobilize a global climate movement united by a common call to action. By spreading an understanding of the science and a shared vision for a fair policy, we will ensure that the world creates bold and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. 350.org is an independent and not-for-profit project.

What is 350? 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Scientists measure carbon dioxide in "parts per million" (ppm), so 350ppm is the number humanity needs to get below as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change. To get there, we need a different kind of PPM—a "people powered movement" that is made of people like you in every corner of the planet.

--

Scott's Contracting

Green Me UP-Scotty

scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/StLHandyMan
https://www.facebook.com/GreenMeUPScotty

EPA-A BIG announcement

Friends, For too long, the fossil fuel industry has had its way on the climate issue--its money has overwhelmed the scientific facts, delaying action on the largest challenge humanity now faces. Right now, the the Clean Air Act is being threatened, the EPA is under attack, and big polluters are mounting an all-out onslaught that threatens to destroy our lands and scorch our planet.  In short, we are losing ground. In the face of these challenges, one thing is clear: if we want to win, we will have to come together like we never have before. That's why we at 350.org and 1Sky have important news to share: starting today, our organizations are officially merging. We'll be called 350.org, and together we'll be smarter, bolder, faster, and more creative than we were before. Find out more about the NEW 350.org: www.350.org/new Over the last three years, 350.org and 1Sky have frequently teamed up for U.S. campaigning. Many of you have been with us every step of the way. Together, we've coordinated over 5,000 climate demonstrations in all 50 states. We've helped protect the Clean Air Act and won a campaign to get solar panels back on the White House. We've launched creative projects to get science at the center of the climate debate, trained thousands of new leaders, and built a network of strong local groups. Despite all of this work, we haven't been winning enough. The truth is that we don't yet have the climate and energy policies our country and the world need. To get them, we'll need to do much, much more to loosen the stranglehold that corporations have over Congress. We'll need to be as strong as possible to take on the fossil fuel companies--and we can be stronger together. That's why we're merging organizations to create a NEW 350.org. The merged organization will be running an ongoing series of cutting-edge campaigns--online and offline--that can help usher in a new era of climate action: We will directly confront the barriers to climate progress--from Big Coal to the US Chamber of Commerce, from the cabal of corrupt politicians attacking the Clean Air Act to an administration too timid to defend it. We will train, empower, and mobilize a grassroots army of individuals, businesses, organizations, and community leaders pushing for climate solutions in the United States.   We will continue our work globally to build a diverse climate movement all around the world that unites for strategic mobilizations on a scale previously unimagined. In just a few short months, we've witnessed people power in action. From the Middle East to the Midwest, movements have risen up to overturn tired dogma and challenge entrenched power. Many of us were inspired by these events. And many of us were surprised. Perhaps we were growing skeptical that people power could still work. Maybe we had forgotten a vital fact about our world: that bold citizens, united around a common mission, can still come together to create major change against enormous odds. This movement will never have the money of the fossil fuel industry, so we'll have to use a different currency: people power. People power means you. It means your friends and neighbors. It means hundreds of thousands of us across the country, uniting to transform our future. We can do it, and we'll need your help--that's why we'll be in close touch in the coming weeks and months about exactly how anyone and everyone can plug into this vital mission. If the events of 2011 have taught us anything, it's that people, properly organized, can do amazing things together. On behalf of everyone at the new 350.org, let us be the first to say: we can't wait to do amazing things with all of you. Onwards, May Boeve - Executive Director of the NEW 350.org Liz Butler - Campaign Director, 1Sky Bill McKibben - Board Chair at 350.org Betsy Taylor - Board Chair at 1Sky

Build the movement in your community: Join the Climate Network. How do I donate? Fund the movement to help make bold climate action a reality. Join our network:

--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com