Time to tune in

So I realize that not everyone has been following every dot and tweet of the Waxman-Markey effort to get a clean energy bill through the Energy and Commerce Committee and to the floor of the House of Representatives (then to the Senate) which would mean a bill before the big world climate talks in Copenhagen in December.

Time to tune in. Our friends and allies lead by Reps. Markey and Waxman have been working day and night to keep the bill strong.

The bottom line is that this bill is the best chance we have of having a cap on carbon to bring to Copenhagen. While it is not the bill we would have written, it is the only train leaving the station now. We hope you will join us to fight for improvements in the bill.

Here are some good points for you to use to recruit your friends when you see them at a picnic this weekend.

We face a choice: A clean energy plan that will create millions of jobs or more of the same Bush-Cheney energy policies.

-- Investing in clean energy infrastructure will create four times as many jobs as an investment in the oil and gas industry, according to a recent study.

--While we stick with more of the same Bush-Cheney energy policies, we are losing ground in the space race of this generation – China is investing $12.6 million every hour to green their economy, six times comparable U.S. investments. We are falling behind Denmark, Spain, and Portugal in the use of wind energy, and only 6 out of the top 30 solar, wind, and advanced battery technologies are American today.

We tried it their way: The Bush/Cheney Energy Plan cost the average family $1,100 and left us with $4 per gallon gas and an addiction to oil. Guess who won? The oil companies. Really a surprise that there were record profits for Exxon-Mobile with Bush/Cheney in the White House.

--Republicans (and honestly, some coal state Democrats) want more of the same Bush-Cheney energy policies that gave huge tax breaks to oil companies and caused the average family’s spending on oil, gas and electricity to go up by over $1,100.

--For the last eight years, we gave huge handouts to oil companies and let their lobbyists write our energy policy – and all we got was $4/gallon gas and a continued addiction to oil.

--Companies like Nike, Starbucks, and Johnson & Johnson are supporting energy reform – and they’ve asked the Chamber of Commerce to stop misrepresenting their views by opposing it.

--Duke Energy left the National Association of Manufacturers over differences in energy policy.

--The CEOs of two of America’s biggest utility companies are calling for Congressional action on energy reform, saying it would keep energy prices “affordable."

Want to learn more?

Visit our resources page to read 1Sky’s analysis of the current draft of the bill and download our latest fliers and handouts to take around to your family cookout or Memorial Day events. Time to tune in.