Environment: July 2007 Archives

Will California lead the way to curbing global warming and making the US less dependent on foreign oil? Or will we be held hostage by the dinosaurs in Detroit and Big Oil and Coal? A historic showdown is imminent in Congress. The time to make your voice heard is NOW.

For the first time in a decade, the U.S. Senate has voted to improve motor vehicle fuel economy, saving consumers at the pump and also reducing harmful pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. But the House is closely divided, with the auto, coal, and oil industries attempting to derail the momentum from the Senate victory. This is a critical moment for the environment, consumers, and the nation.

The burning question: Will enough lawmakers from California vote AYE for H.R. 1506, the Fuel Economy Reform Act of 2007, to offset the NO votes from members of states dominated by the auto, coal, and oil interests? H.R. 1506 will raise fuel economy 10 miles per gallon over the next 10 years, to 35 mpg, and 4% every year afterward. These gains in fuel economy are achievable and long overdue. Any added costs for the vehicles will be offset by savings at the pump. Oh, and did we mention that we also help save the planet?

While California has the most to gain from raising fuel economy standards, both in decreased pollution and in savings on fuel costs, some California lawmakers are wavering, thanks to a barrage of phone calls and faxes--not to mention campaign contributions--- from auto, coal, and oil interests. Those lawmakers are seriously out of step with public opinion. Yet another poll, recently conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, shows overwhelming support among Californians for increasing fuel economy standards and addressing global warming. This should be a no-brainer, but some wavering lawmakers need to hear from more of us to realize they are going to be held accountable for this vote--by the public.

How can you make your voice heard at this critical time for California, our nation, and our planet?

Call wavering lawmakers and let them know you care about the planet. Urge them to vote for H.R. 1506 when Speaker Pelosi and the authors, Representatives Markey and Platts, bring the bill to the House floor.

Here's who to call TODAY:

U.S. Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno)
DC office: 202-225-3341
Fresno office: 559-495-1620

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)
DC office: 202-225-2915
Bakersfield office: 661-327-3611

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman (D-El Segundo, Wilmington)
DC office: 202-225-8220
El Segundo office: 310-643-3636

U.S. Rep. Joe Baca (D-San Bernardino)
DC office: 202-225-6161
San Bernardino office: 909-885-2222

U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Solana Beach)
DC office: 202-225-0508
Solana Beach office: 858-350-1150

Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs)
DC office: 202-225-5330
Palm Springs office: 760-320-1076

Spread the word among your family and friends. The calls you make now will be among the most important you will ever make.

Thank you for speaking up, California!!

The Big Corporate Bullies are at it again! Just when we thought they'd be embarassed and hiding from their latest shenanigans---pawning off bad medicine (think VIOXX) or seeing their Chinese competitors getting caught trying to sneak tainted pet food, toothpaste and fish into the U.S., they're back themselves trying to slam the courthouse doors shut so they can't be prosecuted for their own often dangerous antics.

What is it now? It's a new initiative they've just filed with the California Attorney General's office which will allow them to avoid accountability when they get caught doing things like discriminating against their employees on the basis of race, gender, age or disability. If this initiative makes it to the ballot and passes, they'll be able to get away with refusing to pay their workers for their earned pay, be passing off known damaged and dangerous products, illegally pollute our air and water with inpugnity. The list goes on and on.

How are these profiteers planning their next attack on protecting the public? They're staking out an initiative which will all but end class action lawsuits in the state of California by making them so hard and expensive for the little guy to bring to court, that they'll all but vanish. Using Bush-like double-speak to hide their true identity, these greedy CEO's and corporate polluters go by the totally misleading title of " Civil Justice Association " otherwise known as C-JAC. Like Bush's cronies, they're anything but seeking justice---it's just more and more about their profits and the public be damned.

From The Courage Campaign

Santa Barbara, the beachside villa I am fortunate enough to call home, has just become one of the first cities to show, definitively, just how real the climate crisis is. The City Council approved a plan to paint a light blue line on the streets. Officially called an "art exhibit," the line will run through the city, showing where the new shoreline will be if we don't stop global warming from melting Greenland and the ice caps.

You may have seen how this works in An Inconvenient Truth: as global temperatures rise, more and more of the ice on Greenland, Antarctica, and in the Arctic is melting, meaning that there's more liquid water in the oceans. This will cause widespread, permanent flooding across the world, including in lovely places like Santa Barbara. Parts of Santa Barbara (and Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and New York...) will be underwater if we don't work to slow down our carbon emissions - pollution which increases the greenhouse effect and warms the planet.

As much as I'd like to see the beach move even closer to my house, it's pretty clear that if flooding on the scale predicted by top scientists happens, we'll have millions and millions of people displaced, and acres of land will be washed away.

So, I'm going to listen to the message sent by Al Gore and his rock star friends. They've sent out an SOS, sounding the alarm so that this light blue line in Santa Barbara remains just a work of art and not a prediction.