Gore remains inspiration to LCV policy team

We were treated yesterday to a momentous and inspirational speech in downtown DC by former Vice President Al Gore. He challenged the American people to revolutionize our country by switching to 100% renewable energy sources within ten years.

His words were informative and backed by facts from world famous scientists and energy entrepreneurs. His is a truly thoughtful solution to the threat of global climate change. The message was confident, simple, and truthful, that the audience could not help but be inspired and rejuvenated with new hope for the energy future of our planet.

On another front, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid showed great leadership this week by continuing to stand firm against the pro-drilling lobby backed by the oil and gas industry. Our environmental champions continue to fight hard to protect our coasts and pass clean energy legislation that will create jobs, save us money, and combat global climate change.

Help to Solve the Climate Crisis

I just signed the We Campaign's petition urging Congress to renew tax incentives for renewable, clean energy. Will you join me? Just copy and paste this link into your browser:
http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/s/tax

The We Campaign is an effort launched by Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection to promote solutions to the climate crisis. It's an urgent issue, but the climate crisis is also solvable if we work together and unite our leaders around solutions like renewable power and enhanced energy efficiency. We can leave the next generation a healthy climate.

Thank you.

Gore Launches Climate Campaign

Today Al Gore will launch "We," a three-year, $300 million campaign to turn Americans’ awareness of global warming into concrete solutions. The campaign will encourage citizens to demand that their elected officials require the capping and lowering of emissions.

LCV is proud to be sponsoring the “We” campaign and is optimistic about its success. President Gene Karpinski told the Washington Post, “It heightens both the urgency and the sense we can get the job done with the broad middle that will make the difference, while having the resources to communicate in a sophisticated way in a more expansive fashion than the community has done before.”

The new advertisements can be seen tonight during programs including “American Idol” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

Fred Krupp's New Book Hopeful for Future

Today Environmental Defense’s President Fred Krupp described to Environment and Energy News how legislation signed by President Bush to lessen air pollution spawned an escalation in innovative clean energy technology. However he was referring to the first President Bush’s signing of the Clean Air Act Amendment in 1990, which created incentives for companies to invest in technologies that would lessen acid rain. Krupp compares that past success with the potential of today’s American entrepreneurs to become billionaires by introducing forms of clean green technology to the $600 energy sector.

Krupp and journalist Miriam Horn have just released what Al Gore calls a “fascinating book” entitled “Earth: The Sequel - The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming.” The book details why there are reasons to be hopeful about the energy future, and discourages people from doom and gloom pessimism about looming environmental catastrophes. In his interview, Krupp says that people feeling powerless is “the biggest obstacle to [their] participating in our democracy.”