Sharing a Letter from Environment California

I got an email I thought I'd share:

On Aug 17, 2008, at 5:21 PM, Dan Jacobson, Environment California Legislative Director wrote:

Should we endorse Barack Obama for president or stay out of the election?

What do you think?

[Click here] to tell us what you think.

Hi Peter,

Before we make a decision on endorsing a candidate for president, there's one thing we need to know: Do you think we should endorse Barack Obama or stay out of the presidential election?

Tell us today:

http://www.environmentamerica.org/action/voter-action/wdyt44440?id4=ES

We've done our homework.

We think electing Barack Obama offers the best chance for advancing the environmental progress we've worked so hard to achieve together.

As you might know, our national federation of state environmental groups and Washington, D.C.-based staff has formed Environment America Voter Action, the electoral arm of our network.

You can use this online form to send text comments or, if you prefer, a video or audio file, to let us know what you think:

http://www.environmentamerica.org/action/voter-action/wdyt44440?id4=ES

As you might imagine, we're not making this decision lightly.

We're proud of the progress our staff and supporters have made in promoting clean energy, tackling global warming, and protecting the rivers, lakes, forests and other places we know and love.

Yet, too often, the politicians in Washington, influenced by powerful special interests, have stood in the way or even made matters worse.

Given the environmental challenges that are staring us in the face -- not least our dead-end dependence on oil and coal and the need to break our fossil fuel addiction in order to solve global warming -- we can't afford to sit on the sidelines this November.

Think about it:

If we had the right president now, he would be pushing Congress to solve global warming and lay out a bold plan for a new energy future that ends our dependence on coal and oil.

If we had the right president today, with the stroke of a pen he could be raising gas mileage standards to 50 mpg or more by 2020.

If we had one more pro-environment vote in the U.S. Senate this year, we would be on track to supply 15 percent of our electricity with clean, renewable energy by 2020.

If we had one more pro-environment vote in the Senate, the wind and solar power industries could depend on federal tax credits for new clean energy production.

This November, we have a chance to get the political and environmental winds blowing in a new direction.

That's why, working together with the leaders of our national federation, we decided to join forces and take a stand in this election. And, as you might expect, if we're in it, we're in to win it.

Yet why Barack Obama?

We've studied the votes, the scorecards, the statements, the platforms and the plans. Our conclusion: Barack Obama is the right choice for our environment. Here's some of what we learned:

In 2008, Sen. Obama earned a 90 percent score on the Environment Illinois Congressional Scorecard. [1]

His pro-environment stands include adopting stronger gas mileage standards, protection for a pristine Alaskan national forest, and co-sponsorship of the most far-reaching global warming bill in the Senate. [2, 3, 4]

He has said, in response to how we should judge his performance as president: "If I haven't... created a new energy policy that speaks to our dependence on foreign oil and deals seriously with global warming, then we've missed the boat." [5]

He has backed up this pledge with specifics, including a cap on global warming pollution, making carbon emitters pay to pollute, a $150 billion investment in renewable energy, and within 10 years more oil saved than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela
combined. [6]

Make no mistake: John McCain is no George Bush.

He has, in the past, bucked his party's leaders to support action against global warming and to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

But he opposed making polluters pay for the cleanup of toxic waste sites, opposed giving the public the right to know more about toxic pollution in their environment, and opposed requirements to get more of our energy from clean renewable sources. In fact, our analysis of his voting record shows him on the wrong side of environmental protection 70 percent of the time. [7]

In the last month, we've seen Sen. McCain soften, and even reverse, some of the pro-environment positions he had, such as opposing the federal moratorium on drilling in the last remaining coastal areas that are protected. [8]

It's disappointing. This could have been a contest between green and greener. No more.

The closer we looked, the more convinced we became that Sen. Obama is not only the right choice, but a clear choice.

We think the record is clear, but maybe there's something we're missing. That's why we want to hear from you. Do you think we should endorse Barack Obama or stay out of the presidential election?

http://www.environmentamerica.org/action/voter-action/wdyt44440?id4=ES

And in case you're wondering if it's worth your time or whether we can make a difference, consider this:

We have a plan to hire thousands of organizers and canvassers to reach out and help persuade undecided voters, register new voters (especially younger voters who have the most at stake), and turn out pro-environment voters in 11 key states that could make the difference on Election Day.

Not only could this outreach effort help us elect the next president, but we will also mobilize to support more pro-environment congressional candidates, building a stronger majority for clean energy, stopping global warming and protecting special places and open spaces.

Of course, as you know from experience, we'll still be here on November 5, preparing to hold the feet of whomever wins to the fire when it comes to the health and future of our environment.

Thank you, in advance, for sharing your thoughts with us.

http://www.environmentamerica.org/action/voter-action/wdyt44440?id4=ES

And, as always: Thanks for making it all possible.

Sincerely,

Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
DanJ@environmentcalifornia.org
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org

P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, we're part of Sen. Obama's back story. As a young man, Sen. Obama worked as an organizer with NYPIRG (the New York Public Interest Research Group). As you might know, Environment California became the new home of [XXXPIRG's] environmental work not long ago. Small world.

BACKGROUND
[1] You can access Environment Illinois' scorecard at www.EnvironmentIllinois.org.
[2] Read more about support for increasing gas mileage standards here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy/
[3] Sen. Obama voted in favor of Amendment 1026 to H.R. 2361, which would have banned subsidies for road-building in the Tongass National Forest.
[4] Obama co-sponsored the Lieberman-Warner Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-280
[5] http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/21472234/a_conversation_with_barack_obama/print
[6] http://www.barackobama.com/issues/energy/
[7] McCain's lifetime Environment Arizona score is 30 percent.
[8] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/26/AR2008072601891.html

Paid for by Environment America at www.EnvironmentAmerica.org and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

This message was sent to petercorless{at}mac.com. If you want us to stop sending you e-mail then follow this link -- http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/unsubscribe -- to a web page where you can remove yourself.

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Tell them what you think too.

-Pete.