Guest Blog: "Dirty Air Act" actions on Capitol Hill

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This post is from 1Sky intern Emma Fernandez, a former intern from last year [2]. Emma returned to 1Sky for the summer, so we gave her and all our interns a grueling assignment: head to Capitol Hill on a hot DC morning, put on a stifling oil barrel costume, and speak out against Sen. Lisa Murkowski's appalling "Dirty Air Act" resolution as it was being debated on the Senate floor. Emma -- along with Florencia Foxley, Amy Plovnick, and Ines Ware -- did a great job and we're proud of their efforts on the Hill yesterday. --Garth

We’re feeling especially proud of the climate movement today as we're all celebrating a good victory in the defeat of Sen Lisa Murkowski's resolution to gut the Clean Air Act.

Yesterday morning, while my friends and colleagues were frantically tracking the latest vote counts, I was standing in front of the Senate office buildings dressed as an oil barrel. I joined excited volunteers from many different organizations who turned out to participate in Clean Energy Works’ day of action to increase pressure on the Senate. We covered every corner, handing out flyers to pedestrians and asking them to call their senators and tell them to say no to Murkowski’s Big Oil bailout, while other volunteers distributed informational materials directly to senators' offices.

Besides encouraging citizens to tell their senators to stand up for a clean energy economy, the goal of yesterday’s action was also to create a visible presence on the Hill in opposition to Murkowski’s bill – and with all our volunteers dressed in oil barrel costumes, we definitely accomplished that goal! No one on the streets could miss us, including several senators who passed by!

The oil barrels were a fun touch, but our action definitely had a serious affect. When we explained Murkowski’s resolution, many people promised to call their senators, and a few were even on their way to meetings with them. It was heartening to hear so many people express their support for the cause, and we clearly sent the message that Americans are fed up with giveaways to Big Oil and Coal and ready for a clean energy future.