Your voice makes a difference!

Dear League Leader,
 
Global climate change, a priority issue for the League, is one of the most serious threats to the environment, health and economy of our nation and our world.  The Senate is poised to take action on this subject beginning on June 2.  Now is the time to make sure your Senators know that they should strengthen and support America's Climate Security Act, S. 2191. 
 
You are receiving this special alert because your Senator or Senators will be key during the debate over climate change legislation.  Attached below is the list of targeted Senators that need your special attention.  
 
With the Memorial Day recess (or “state work period”) approaching, there are a variety of ways you can communicate a strong message. 
 
State and Local Contacts
 
The Memorial Day break for the Senate will be May 24 through June 1.  We are making a special plea to state and local League Presidents.  If you are a state President, please get in touch with your Senator's office as soon as possible and ask for a meeting while he or she is at home for the Memorial Day recess.  If you are a local President, please call your Senator's local office or meet with local staffers to make our message clear.  If the Senator will be in your area for a public event, this may also provide an opportunity to communicate our message.
 
If you get information about your Senator’s views on the legislation or would like to discuss your lobbying strategies, please let us know.  Christina Vamvas (cvamvas@lwv.org, 202-263-1328) on our staff can help.
 
Letter-to-the-Editor
 
Please send a letter-to-the-editor to your local newspaper on this critical subject.  A draft for the use of your League’s spokesperson (state or local League president) is below.  Please be sure to insert the name or names of your key Senator or Senators and the name of your League when you use this letter.    
 
Talking Points
 
In lobbying your Senators and their offices, please use the talking points listed below.  They make our three main points – support, improve, and oppose weakening amendments – and also provide additional detail on needed improvements for interested offices. 
•  America's Climate Security Act, S. 2191, which will come to the Senate floor on June 2, will establish the basic “cap and trade” framework that is necessary to curtail the pollution that is causing climate change.  We ask the Senator to strengthen and support the legislation.
 •  The League believes the legislation should be improved in four ways:   
 •  Pollution reduction goals must be based on the best science.  Currently, the legislation does not achieve all the reductions that will likely be needed, and advances in scientific knowledge may later indicate a need for quicker or greater reductions.
 •  Economic efficiency is essential.  Emissions permits under the “cap and trade” system should be auctioned rather than being given away.  We shouldn’t be subsidizing polluting industries.
 •  Our nation must move quickly to a clean-energy economy.  The proceeds from the auctions should be used to speed the transition to renewable energy and conservation.  There is tremendous economic opportunity in reforming the way our nation uses and produces energy.    
 •  Fairness is needed.  We must protect vulnerable groups and help to spur world-wide action against global warming.
 • Please oppose weakening amendments, particularly loopholes that undermine the emissions cap through such mechanisms as so-called “cost containment” or a "safety valve" that would allow sources to purchase unlimited emission allowances.
 
Action Alert Link
 
Please click here to send an email to your Senator's office so that they know you support strengthening S. 2191.  Please also feel free to send the link to your League members, friends and family.
 
Further Information
 
Click here for additional information on the League’s stand on climate change legislation, including my March 20 letter to the Senate outlining the League’s basic views, my May 16 letter providing further details and papers developed by the LWVUS Climate Change Task Force.
 
Ultimately, we must make sure that Senators are receiving our message from many angles and perspectives.
 
Thank you for all you can do,
Mary G. Wilson
President
League of Women Voters of the United States
 
 
Letter-to-the-Editor
The League of Women Voters calls on [YOUR SENATORS] to take strong action against global climate change and move our nation toward an economically secure energy future. 
 
Soon after Memorial Day, the Senate will take up “America’s Climate Security Act,” legislation that will establish the basic framework  necessary to curtail the pollution  causing global warming.
 
The League believes the legislation should be improved in four ways:   
 
Pollution reduction goals must be based on the best science.  Advances in scientific knowledge indicate the need for quicker and greater reductions in pollution.
 
Economic efficiency is essential.  We shouldn’t be subsidizing polluting industries.  Instead, we must speed the transition to renewable energy and conservation.
 
Our nation must move quickly to a clean-energy economy.  There is tremendous economic opportunity in reforming the way Americans  use and produce energy.    
 
Fairness is needed.  We must protect vulnerable groups and help to spur world-wide action against global warming.
 
Opponents will also offer amendments that will create loopholes in the legislation.  These must be strongly resisted.  
 
Global climate change is one of the most serious threats to the environment, health and economy of our nation.  Recent scientific studies show that global warming is already causing environmental changes that will have significant global economic and social impacts.  It is time for [YOUR SENATORS] to help lead our nation toward solutions. 
 
Sincerely,  
 
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR TITLE]
[YOUR LEAGUE]
 
List of key Senators
Alaska – Senators Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens
Arkansas – Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor
Colorado – Senator Ken Salazar
Delaware – Senator Tom Carper
Florida – Senator Mel Martinez
Indiana – Senator Evan Bayh
Iowa – Senator Tom Harkin
Louisiana – Senator Mary Landrieu
Maine – Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe
Michigan – Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow
Minnesota – Senator Norm Coleman
Missouri – Senator Claire McCaskill
Montana – Senator Jon Tester
Nebraska – Senator Ben Nelson
New Hampshire – Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu
New Mexico – Senator Jeff Bingaman
North Carolina – Senator Elizabeth Dole
North Dakota – Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan
Ohio – Senator Sherrod Brown
Oregon – Senator Gordon Smith
Pennsylvania – Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter
South Carolina – Senator Lindsey Graham
Tennessee – Senator Lamar Alexander
Virginia – Senator Jim Webb
West Virginia – Senator John Rockefeller

The Lake Michigan Interleague Organization - representing sixty League of Women Voters Chapters in the Lake Michigan watershed - wishes to draw attention to the following study.

The 400-plus-page study, Public Health Implications of Hazardous Substances in the Twenty-Six U.S. Great Lakes Areas of Concern, was undertaken by a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the request of the International Joint Commission, an independent bilateral organization that advises the U.S. and Canadian governments on the use and quality of boundary waters between the two countries. The study was originally scheduled for release in July 2007 by the IJC and the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

To read the Report and review other studies and programs related to concerns go to Center For Disease Control: Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Also The International Joint Commission.

Congress is currently investigating why the Study's release has been delayed. An analysis and excerpts may be viewed at The Center For Public Integrity.

Jeanette Neagu, Co-President
Lake Michigan Interleague Organization
3739 Lexington Rd.
Michigan City, IN 36360
219-879-0431

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