From the Inbox: Who does clean air belong to?

If one law helped shrink the hole in the ozone layer, most people would think it was good. If the same law helped save our forests from acid rain, removed toxic lead from our gasoline and lowered the number of our children developing asthma, most people would consider it great. And if that same exact law saved our country nearly $22 trillion over 20 years, most people would call it a landmark piece of legislation and a model of American leadership. That law exists -- it's called the Clean Air Act. But right now, lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry are trying to gut this crucial law and roll back decades of progress for our economy, our health and our environment. Tell big polluters that clean air belongs to us -- and it isn't for sale. Join Alec Baldwin, Kris Kristofferson and Gloria Reuben by adding your picture or video to Repower America's Clean Air Act video today. The Clean Air Act has received overwhelming bipartisan support over the years. In fact, one of the biggest updates to the law was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. Yet the fossil fuel industry is targeting one of the provisions that makes this law so successful -- the section that empowers the EPA to limit greenhouse gas pollution threatening our public health and welfare. They're trying to weaken the law that's given us cleaner cars, lower rates of cancer and a huge increase in air quality. Add your voice to the new video and take a stand for clean air by midnight on Friday, September 10: www.RepowerAmerica.org/MyCleanAir We'll select the best submissions to be in our final video. The Clean Air Act is our last, best line of defense against the fossil fuel industry. Supporters like us need to take action today and save this vitally important law. Thanks for getting involved at this critical moment, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign

From the Inbox - Extreme Weather

Dear Friend, The facts are devastatingly clear. Around the globe, we are on track to see the hottest year yet in 2010. From the flooding in Pakistan to droughts in Russia and landslides in China, the effects of this year's extreme weather are catastrophic and undeniable. The recent pattern of extreme weather events is consistent with what scientists have projected to result from climate change: temperature shifts, severe rainfall and snow in some parts of the world, and major droughts in others. Check out Repower America's fact sheet on extreme weather and share it with your friends. Despite the overwhelming facts, skeptics -- like the now infamous Koch brothers1, Massey coal2 and Lord Monckton3 -- will no doubt continue to spend big bucks to keep spreading misinformation about global warming. But if we want to fight the skeptics, we'll need a growing number of people to get informed. As the evidence mounts, leaders like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are finally speaking out about climate change. President Medvedev spoke out at a United Nations Security Council meeting and said, "What is happening now in our central regions is evidence of this global climate change, because we have never in our history faced such weather conditions in the past. This means that we need to change the way we work, change the methods that we used in the past."4 In Pakistan, nearly 1,600 people have died this summer from the worst monsoon-related floods in living memory. And around the world, 2000-2009 was the warmest decade on record5, and 2010 is on track to be the warmest year the world has seen in 131 years. Extreme weather events are putting lives in danger all around the world. Make sure you get the facts and spread the word. Learn more about the link between extreme weather and climate change today. Thanks for getting involved, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager Repower America ________ 1. Jane Mayer, "Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama," The New Yorker, August 30, 2010. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer 2. Tom Zeller Jr. and Ben Werschkul, "A Coal Executive Pushes Back," The New York Times, August 17, 2010. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/coal-executive-pushes-back/ 3. Suzanne Goldenberg, "Climate change denier Lord Monckton meets Glenn Beck," The Guardian, October 30, 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2009/oct/30/lord-monckton-glenn-beck-copenhagen 4. The Kremlin, "Speech at expanded Security Council meeting on fire safety measures for strategic facilities," August 4, 2010. http://eng.kremlin.ru/transcripts/724 5. National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "State of the Climate in 2009," June 2010. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2009.php

From the Inbox - A Big Win and what's Next

Dear Friend, Yesterday, thanks to your hard work, the U.S. Senate did the right thing -- voting with the climate science and against a resolution that would have stripped the Clean Air Act's protections against climate pollution. The Senate is to be commended for defeating Senator Lisa Murkowski's disastrously misguided proposal. But the truth is, in the face of the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history, Senator Murkowski's resolution never should have even reached the Senate floor. The fact that we had to work to defeat this legislation is a testament to the continued strength of the fossil fuel lobby. But the fact that we did defeat it gives us fresh momentum for the months ahead, as our nation confronts the costs of our dependence on fossil fuels more directly than ever. This summer, we can and must set our nation on the path of independence from oil and other dirty energy. Will you donate to support Repower America's campaign to pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation this summer? We must confront the growing plumes of oil now consuming the Gulf Coast and soon to affect much of the Eastern Seaboard. We must pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation -- our best hope of staving off the catastrophic climate change that will dwarf the Deepwater Oil Disaster in scope and devastation. And we must accomplish all this despite the millions of dollars that big oil will spend to defeat us. Yesterday's vote shows that when we work together, we can defeat these forces. Over the last two years, over 250,000 of us have taken action to protect the Clean Air Act, including: Submitting over 180,000 comments to the administration urging the EPA to enforce the Clean Air Act's limits on greenhouse gases, Making over 30,000 phone calls opposing Senator Murkowski's proposal and Writing over 7,200 letters to the editor. This summer, it's time to take exactly the same tenacity and commitment we have shown on these attacks on the Clean Air Act and win the biggest prize of all: comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation that transitions our economy to clean energy. Donate now to support our campaign to Repower America: http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/cleanairvictorynd We've won an important battle. Now, it's time to win the war. Al Gore Founder The Climate Protection Action Fund Contributions or gifts to the Climate Protection Action Fund are not tax deductible.

From the Inbox: Your Gulf Coast Story

Dear Friend, By now, all of America has seen the horrifying news footage and the oil spill photographs coming out of the Gulf Coast. While the coverage of the spill demonstrates the environmental devastation, what the media can't capture is the more personal story -- the enormous impact that the Deepwater Horizon tragedy has on the lives of Gulf Coast residents like you. It's a story I'm sure you've been living with every single day for the past month. The effects on the Gulf Coast's economy and environment have already been profound, and this is only the beginning. Your fellow Americans need to hear these stories to understand the true impact of America's addiction to oil. As difficult as this time must be for many of you, we're hoping you will take a few minutes to share your thoughts and perspective on how the oil spill is affecting you, your family, and your community. Will you share your story from the Gulf Coast? In order to respond to this catastrophe, we as a country need an honest assessment of the damage -- and there are many questions that need to be answered. That's why we're calling for full transparency from BP, including providing independent experts with access to their data. But stories about the impact this spill has on families, communities, small businesses, and more are stories we can only get from you. Your story can help America get a fuller picture -- more than just numbers and figures -- of what the Deepwater Horizon explosion has meant for families like yours living on the Gulf Coast. Please take a minute and share your story with us. Together, we can and must end our addiction to dangerous fossil fuels -- not only to stop future catastrophes like this one, but also to create millions of clean energy jobs, to make our country more secure, and to solve the climate crisis. I am so grateful for your continued commitment to clean energy during this difficult time. Our team at Repower America would like to extend our deepest sympathies for everything you must be going through right now. Sincerely, Maggie L. Fox Chief Executive Officer The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America campaign

From the Inbox - Bill, Baby, Bill

With at least 4 million gallons of oil already poisoning the Gulf Coast and no end in sight for this environmental catastrophe, the alarm bell to end America's dependence on fossil fuels is ringing and has reached a deafening volume. We need a strong bill to transition our nation to clean energy -- and we need it now. Yesterday, we reached an important milestone in this fight when Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman released a draft version of their climate and clean energy proposal. This is the starting gun for the Senate to craft and pass the strongest possible climate and clean energy legislation. This week's proposal is not the only language on the table. Over the last year, a number of other Senators, including Senators Susan Collins and Maria Cantwell, have put forward several proposals that also help end our addiction to fossil fuels. The addition of the Kerry-Lieberman draft proposal is important because it is the final piece of the puzzle -- and now it's time for the Senate leadership to craft the strongest bill possible, drawing out the best from all of the ideas that have been put forth. The bill language that is finally selected for consideration by the Senate and the priority that it receives in the Senate calendar is driven by the Senate leadership. And how hard they push for this bill, and how strong it will be, will be determined by how much pressure Senators are feeling from us. Send an email to your Senators telling them that America deserves a strong, uncompromised climate and clean energy bill. This week's draft proposal from Senators Kerry and Lieberman is not perfect -- it does not by itself solve the climate crisis, and there are too many provisions within it that support our continued dependence on fossil fuels, including too few restrictions on offshore drilling. Critically, the proposal does commit the United States to reducing carbon emissions 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050 from 2005 levels -- meeting the commitments President Obama made to the rest of the world at Copenhagen's climate negotiations last year. On Monday, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that the Senator is waiting to hear the public reaction to this draft legislation before he decides if climate and clean energy legislation will be a top legislative priority this year. So we have to make sure our Senators hear from all of us. We cannot afford to wait any longer for climate and clean energy legislation, and we cannot afford weak legislation that won't get the job done. Please send an email to your Senators asking them to do everything in their power to ensure that a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill makes it to the floor of the Senate this year, and that this bill is the strongest bill possible. http://cpaf.repoweramerica.org/senateactionnow Congress's failure to lead on climate and clean energy has cost us far too much already. But the first step to a better future is simple: "Bill, Baby, Bill!" Thanks for making your voice heard at this critical time, Dave Boundy Campaign Manager The Climate Protection Action Fund's Repower America Campaign