Act on Supreme Court Decision To
Save the Environment
By Nathaniel Baer, Environment Iowa Advocate
I don't
know if there's anything better than walking into the office on Monday
morning to discover that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Bush
EPA has essentially ignored the problem of tailpipe CO2 emissions for
too long, and that the EPA does in fact have the authority to regulate
these emissions.
What a
huge victory for activists like you who've done so much to make sure
our elected officials know how crucial it is that we take action now on
global warming. But, we're not home free. Tailpipe emissions are just
one source of global warming pollution.
Senators
Barbara Boxer and Bernie Sanders have introduced the Global Warming
Pollution Reduction Act — which would reduce all forms of global
warming pollution by 80% by 2050. Can you help by asking your
senators to co-sponsor the Global Warming Pollution Reduction
Act? To sign a petition to your senators, click on the link or copy and paste it into your web browser:
Then, ask your friends and family to get involved by forwarding this message on to them.
Background
Global
warming is starting to change weather patterns. Scientists predict that
these changes will accelerate in the future and say that we can expect:
*
Extreme weather. Scientists expect hurricanes to become more intense
and say that the hurricanes that hit the Gulf states in 2005 may be an
indication of what's to come.
* Public
health risks. Scientists also expect heat waves to become more
dangerous, causing more people to suffer heat stress and stroke. Other
impacts include the spread of infectious diseases.
* Less
snow, less water. Many of the rivers and streams that we rely on for
our water supply are fed by mountain snow. But warmer winters are
starting to cause less precipitation to fall as snow, which may cause
serious future water shortages.
Most
global warming pollution comes from burning oil, coal, and natural gas
in our power plants, cars, SUVs, and factories. Power plants are the
single biggest source, responsible for about 40% of U.S. global warming
pollution. Because there are no federal limits on global warming
pollution, industry can pump unlimited amounts of the pollution into
our skies.
The good
news is we can reduce global warming pollution by using existing
technology to make power plants and factories more efficient, make cars
go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and shift to cleaner technologies,
such as hybrids, biofuels, and wind and solar power.
These
are win-win solutions because they also will reduce our dependence on
oil, reduce air pollution, protect pristine places from oil drilling
and mining, and bring many other benefits.
Senators
Barbara Boxer and Bernie Sanders have introduced the Global Warming
Pollution Reduction Act — which would reduce all forms of global
warming pollution by 80% by 2050. Can you help by asking your
senators to co-sponsor the Global Warming Pollution Reduction
Act? To sign a petition to your senators, click on the link or copy and paste it into your web browser
Then, ask your friends and family to get involved by forwarding this message on to them.
Sincerely,
Nathaniel Baer
Environment Iowa Advocate
NathanielB@environmentiowa.org
http://www.environmentiowa.org
Blog For Iowa 