Don't let big polluters rewrite the Clean Air Act.

The Clean Air Act has helped Americans breathe easier for the last 40 years. But this week, energy industry lobbyists took a big step forward towards a long time goal: shredding the Clean Air Act.

Leaks from a closed-door meeting between the forces of dirty industry and Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) show a serious problem for the future of our fight against climate change. The new Kerry-Graham-Lieberman draft of a climate bill might gut the Clean Air Act and override existing state laws providing critical environmental protections.

To date, we’ve seen two Senate bills and seven House bills attacking the Clean Air Act -- and now coal and oil lobbyists have managed to include Clean Air Act attacks in the Senate climate bill itself! All three senators should know that, while compromise is the business of the day in a deeply divided Congress like the one we have now, you cannot compromise away the most essential basic protections for the environment and human health like the Clean Air Act that have served Americans well.

Whether or not the Senate ultimately passes a bill this session, it is critical that we keep the Clean Air Act intact. The Clean Air Act is already being used by the Obama Administration to ease our addiction to foreign oil by tightening fuel mileage standards and beginning to crack down on the oldest, dirtiest coal plants. The Act works and that’s why Big Oil and Dirty Coal are fighting tooth and nail to kill it.

So, what can we do? We can stand against lobbyists who are fighting to continue to pollute our air, disrupt our climate, and get away with it. 1Sky is asking everyone to call Senator Kerry and Majority Leader Harry Reid, along with the White House, to tell them that the Clean Air Act isn’t a bargaining chip. You can also send them message through our website.

A comprehensive clean energy bill outline is due on Tuesday, March 23. We can’t let dirty polluters rewrite the Clean Air Act. Otherwise, we will have lost one of our best resources to fight CO2 and push for a real clean energy future.

Who to call:

• Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
  (202) 224-2742
  
  
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)
  (202) 224-3542
  
  
• Carol Browner, Director or the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy
  202-456-1414