SierraScape February - March 2002
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Energy policy is a top priority in 2002

The national Sierra Club had made energy policy its top priority for 2002.

The Senate has introduced a new bill, sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle, that offers genuine solutions, based on the premise that the best way to ensure our energy security is through higher fuel economy standards and greater use of renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

It recognizes that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a shortsighted solution and will not address our over-dependence on oil. The Senate bill stands in stark contrast to the bill passed by the House of Representatives, which has subsidies for coal, oil exploration and expansion production, and nuclear power plants, and supports drilling in ANWR.

February will be a critical month for determining U.S. Energy Policy. The energy policy legislators vote on in these next few months will impact our health, our environment and our nation's energy independence for decades.

"It's like the ninth inning of the World Series," stated Bob Bingamen of the Washington D.C. Sierra Club Office.

The efforts of Sierra Club members and other environmental organizations are needed now more than ever if we want to protect the Arctic Refuge, ensure clean safe energy and reduce our dangerous addiction to oil.

Please call, write or fax Senator Carnahan today to thank her for her support in protecting ANWR, and ask her to support raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks to 40 miles per gallon by the year 2012.

Studies by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the National Academy of Sciences show that this level of increase is achievable and cost-effective.

By raising fuel economy to 40 mpg we can save nearly two million barrels per day by 2012 and four million by 2020, reducing our dependence on oil and slashing carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.

Another important element of the Senates version of the energy bill will include Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). Ask your Senator to support a Renewable Portfolio Standard in which 20% of our electricity would be produced from new solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass resources by 2020.

The Global Warming Team will be working on a variety of events and activities to raise awareness on theses critical issues.

Please contact Carla Klein at the Sierra Club office at 7164 Manchester Ave., or call (314) 645-2032 to see how you can get involved.