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