Can you believe that tomorrow, as oil continues to spew into the ocean, Congress is preparing to vote on a measure that would weaken regulations for the fossil fuel industry and other big polluters?
Believe it. Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (D-Alaska) amendment to take away the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate pollution that contributes to global warming is scheduled for a vote tomorrow.
Tell your senators to vote “No!” to the Murkowski amendment (officially “S.J. Res. 26″).
The Murkowski amendment seeks to reverse the EPA’s critical finding that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health. This endangerment finding triggers the Clean Air Act and prompts the EPA to take action toward curbing pollution that contributes to climate change.
We know that the fossil fuel industries like the amendment — they helped write it. Jeff Holmsted, a lobbyist for energy giants like Southern Co. and Duke Energy, admitted to The Washington Post that he worked with Murkowski’s staff on the exact language of the amendment.
This is after Murkowski received more than $124,500 from Holmsted’s clients.
Murkowski’s attempt to eviscerate our best existing tool for reducing greenhouse gas pollution not only threatens our ability to reduce the carbon in our atmosphere but also serves as another shameful example of the role big polluters are playing in stalling climate change action.
Allison Fisher is the energy organizer for Public Citizen.
Now that the biggest oil spill, in the history of our planet, has occurred; it’s time to acknowledge that off-shore drilling is not viable for our eco-system. We still have the sun and wind to tap into for energy and this could become quite a big business by switching our country over to healthy choices for heating and cooling.
The Senate must override Jim DeMint and limit “secret holds.” We are responsible for the planet we are leaving our children. And, I’m holding my senators responsible for this oil spill and not for contributing to clean air and renewable, free energy.