clean energy bill in response to the Gulf oil disaster

This is a big week. Tomorrow, President Obama is bringing a bipartisan group of Senate energy leaders to the White House to craft a clean energy bill in response to the Gulf oil disaster. And afterward, on Thursday, the Senate Democratic Caucus will meet again to decide its course of action.

But in the face of pressure from corporate lobbyists, there's a very real chance that the Senate will wind up with a bill of half-measures, slapping a band-aid over the approximately 3 million barrels spilled into the Gulf so far, while ignoring the untold damage we cause by consuming over 2,000 times as much oil every year. We have to address the underlying causes of our addiction to dirty energy, not just the symptoms -- and as President Obama said earlier this month, "The only way the transition to clean energy will ultimately succeed ... is by finally putting a price on carbon pollution."

Join Repower America and 17 other organizations in signing an urgent letter to President Obama and Senate energy leaders demanding they make comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation a reality -- and we will deliver your signatures directly to the White House.

Nearly one full year after the House of Representatives passed comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, the President is calling on the Senate to find consensus and pass a bill that addresses America's addiction to fossil fuels.

But time is running out to pass this legislation before Capitol Hill grinds to a halt in August so lawmakers can campaign for the November midterm elections -- even as oil may still be still pouring into the Gulf. To adequately address the disaster on our hands, this legislation must accomplish four essential goals:

1. Respond directly to the Gulf oil disaster to begin to remedy the damage and hold BP accountable
2. Reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels
3. Set limits on carbon pollution
4. Improve energy efficiency and expand renewable energy production

Our letter to the President and Senate leaders emphasizes these essential points and stresses the need to include them in a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill, and pass this bill as soon as possible. Seventeen partner organizations have already signed on, but that's not enough: We also need as many citizen co-signers as possible to demonstrate to our leaders in Washington that Americans all across the country demand a comprehensive solution.

Read the letter and add your name before the White House clean energy meeting tomorrow.

Thanks for your work to help America get the strong bill we deserve,

Maggie L. Fox
Chief Executive Officer
The Climate Protection Action Fund

Contributions or gifts to the Climate Protection Action Fund are not tax deductible.

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