Landmark affirmative vote in House committee moves climate change legislation forward

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From: Environmental Defense Fund

[Due to the sheer gravity of current climate legislation, which in fact may be more important than our nation's financial deliberations, I have brought to your attention the climate bill's latest news. It is from EDF, a sober and experienced advocacy org. for climate policy that partners with businesses, governments and communities to find practical solutions. -ATR]

Breaking News: Historic Climate Vote. Now What?

Dear [friend],

You just changed history. Thank you.

Moments ago, the House Energy and Commerce Committee reported out a bill to reduce America's global warming pollution by 83% by 2050. This landmark vote sets the stage for full House action and provides a crucial roadmap for Senate action.

Keep the champagne on ice though -- we're a long, long way from our goal, to send a bill for President Obama's signature this year.

And to help us seize this momentum for climate action, an anonymous donor has agreed match your climate action donation dollar-for-dollar.

Please donate now to double your support for full House and Senate action this year.

This historic action comes at a critical moment. A new study from MIT warns that global warming could be "twice as severe as previous estimates indicate." (USA Today, 5/21/09)

Standing between us and ultimate victory is an army of right-wing ideologues and old school oil, coal and gas interests -- who have unleashed a torrent of fake science, scare-mongering statistics, and propaganda designed to stop climate progress in Washington.

They've made their intentions only too clear. In a leaked strategy memo, opposition leaders are urging their rank and file to unite in opposition while offering no climate alternative of their own.

And the big polluters and their well-paid lobbyists are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat this bill.

By one estimate, there are more than 2,000 paid lobbyists in Washington working to stop climate action.

We're at a make-or-break moment.

Your donation right now will go twice as far to help us ramp up our campaign efforts to continue our fight. With your support, we'll be able to target more districts, buy more ad time, and do more on-the-ground field work.

Now that the bill has made its way out of Committee, the wrangling over votes -- especially in swing districts -- begins in earnest. Our National Climate Campaign Director Steve Cochran tells me that the full House could vote on this bill within the month, giving us precious little time to ramp up.

That's why the opponents of progress are pulling out all the stops to confuse and scare the public right now. And it's why you and I must raise our voices as never before.

Please make a donation today to take advantage of our dollar-for-dollar match to support climate legislation.

Your donation will never make a bigger difference than it will today.One way or another, we are making history in 2009. Whether this becomes the year we changed America's direction or the one in which we lost one of our last great opportunities to act is up to us.

Please join me.

Sincerely,
David Yarnold
President, Environmental Defense Action Fund


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