...I'm okay with being REALITY-based.




Wednesday, February 25, 2004
      ( 10:36 AM )
 
Action Alert!!!

I just got a notice from MoveOn that the Energy Bill could come up for a vote in the Senate at any time. The Repubs have said they'll give as little as 24 hours' notice. This bill is HORRIFIC. Call, email and fax your Senators now about this. If you're in Oregon: here are your targets:

Senator Ron Wyden
Washington, DC: 202-224-5244

Senator Gordon H. Smith
Washington, DC: 202-224-3753

If you need to find your Senators: GO HERE.

Your message: (To Dems:) Fillibuster the Bill! (To Both Parties:)VOTE NO!!
Why:

The energy bill is still terrible. Here's what it does:

1. Delays clean-up in smoggy cities, which would increase asthma
attacks and other health problems, especially among children and elderly people.

2. Pollutes rivers and coastal waters by exempting oil and gas drilling
from clean-up safeguards

3. Allows energy companies to rip off consumers by repealing the
Public Utility Holding Company Act.

4. Includes billions in subsidies for big oil, nuclear, timber, and
coal companies.

5. Increases air pollution and global warming with new incentives to
burn coal for electricity without adequate pollution controls.

6. Threatens drinking water by allowing the underground injection of
diesel fuel and other chemicals during oil and gas development.

7. Weakens environmental safeguards to pave the way for more oil and
gas drilling on sensitive public lands in the Rocky Mountain West.
At least sixteen national hunting and fishing organizations oppose
these provisions.

8. Locks in American dependence on foreign oil by adding new
roadblocks to better fuel economy.

9. Tramples on states' abilities to protect their coasts from harmful
oil and gas exploration by weakening their input on federal
coastal projects.

10. Promotes nuclear proliferation by reversing long-standing U.S.
policy against reprocessing waste from commercial nuclear
reactors, and using plutonium to generate commercial energy.

Okay - GO!


UPDATE: By the way, if you hadn't heard, the Pentagon itself is warning that Global Warming could bring earthly destruction a lot sooner than we'd like to think. This energy bill is just the thing to hurry that along. Thanks to Tom Burka for reminding us what we're not being reminded of.

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