1Sky Applauds White House Solar and Clean Cars Announcements, Calls Upon Obama and Congress for Climate Leadership

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Contact: Adi Nochur, 301-270-4550 ext 224 or adi@1sky.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 1Sky Campaign this week applauded the Obama Administration’s plans to increase solar energy production and fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, while calling for even stronger action to address the climate crisis on the eve of the largest day of grassroots action on climate change in history.

The Obama Administration’s announcements come just days before a “Global Work Party” on October 10 coordinated by 350.org. This day of action will feature over 6,200 events in over 180 countries, representing millions of people across the world calling for climate action. From a flagship rally outside the White House to low-income housing retrofits in New Orleans to mangrove tree plantings in the Philippines, these events will demonstrate that local communities are ‘Getting to Work’ enacting local climate solutions, while challenging elected officials to follow their lead and also ‘Get to Work’ by enacting strong climate and clean energy policies.

“The White House’s commitments to put solar panels on the White House roof, to increase solar power on federal lands and to enact higher mileage standards for cars and trucks, all crystallize the potential for a clean energy economy,” said Liz Butler, Campaign Director for 1Sky. “They are also a testament to the grassroots efforts of 350.org <http://350.org>  and other organizations that have been advocating around these issues for many weeks now.

“But there is still much work to be done,” Butler continued. “In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, the need to reduce our fossil fuel dependence is more apparent than ever. The Obama Administration and Congress must support additional policies to unleash a clean energy revolution across America and address the climate crisis – including using the Clean Air Act to start reducing our global warming pollution, and robust international financing to help developing countries transition to clean energy and adapt to the worst impacts of climate change.

“While Big Oil and Dirty Coal have spent over $500 million in just the past year and a half to block progress, the scale and diversity of the Global Work Party show that the rapidly growing movement for bold climate action will not be denied. It will take continued grassroots pressure to beat back the special interests and ensure that our elected officials follow through on the solutions we need.”

Butler also noted that the upcoming United Nations climate change talks in Cancun, Mexico in December represented an opportunity for continued progress on climate and clean energy. “Governments across the world would do well to take note of the Global Work Party as they head into the Cancun talks,” Butler said. “Strong action from the U.S. is critical to progress on an international level, and we will be ready to hold our elected officials accountable if they take us in the wrong direction.”

1Sky is a collaborative national campaign for strong federal action to tackle global climate change and invest in building the clean energy economy of the future. As one of the largest national campaigns in the country, 1Sky combines the force of 640 allied organizations, 200,000 committed climate advocates, 3,900 volunteer Climate Precinct Captains covering more than 390 congressional districts in 50 states, and a team of 30, including 9 organizers and 13 regional coordinators in 18 states working to mobilize constituent support.

Founded by American environmentalist Bill McKibben, 350.org is an international campaign that works to build a global climate movement. On October 24, 2009 they organized what CNN called the “most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.” 350.org is named after the goal of reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere from its current level of 390 parts per million to below 350 ppm, the safe upper limit according to the latest science.