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Friend, Our environment is also under attack from Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): Last week Murkowski announced that she will sponsor a bill to lift the ban on exporting crude oil and, in her own words, "look for every opportunity we have to advance it."1 Murkowski has already attempted to attach the bill as an amendment to less-than-related legislation including free trade bills and bills about Iran's nuclear program. For all her talk about how lifting the ban would be good for the U.S. economy, the true reason for her greasy gumption is to help out her fellow OILigarch sponsors reign in profits by destroying our planet. But don't take my word for it, just listen to the Big Oil executive who said, "If we can sell oil overseas and capture an extra few bucks a barrel we can go back to pumping even more crude."2 We need to tell our senators that The Ban Must Stand. Click here to tell your Senators to vote "No" on any bill or amendment that would lift the oil export ban?
This is no time to lift a ban that would result in increased extreme extraction activities that would further threaten critical resources like water, agricultural lands and our air quality.3 President Obama has already granted approval to drill in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans4, and last week we found out that global carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has exceeded 400 parts per million -- a critical benchmark that scientists have warned would result in even more extreme weather events like droughts and flooding. Add this to the fact that leading scientists claim that 80 percent of fossil fuels must stay underground to limit global temperature increases,5 lifting the ban would contribute to a perfect storm (pun intended) and make our trajectory to climate catastrophe even more acute. Here's how you know that lifting the export ban is a bad idea: Even a spokesman for a Big Oil company stated, "If Senator Murkowski hopes to pass an energy bill, it would be wise not to make oil exports as part of that package. Senators are going to be less likely to vote for it if that's in it - they don't want to risk being blamed for gas price increases." So there you have it, even Big Oil admits that lifting the ban would be bad for the economy. The verdict is in on lifting the oil export ban. It's bad for our oceans, lands, air quality and economy. This is your chance to be a judge in this case. Contact your senators today and tell them to keep the oil export ban intact. Thanks for all you do, Anthony for Environmental Action 1. Gardner, Timothy. Senator Murkowski Plans To Kill Oil Export Ban. Reuters. May 7, 2015. 2. Cook, Lynn and Eaton, Leslie. U.S. Oil Industry's Battle Cry: Exports Now! April 22, 2015. 3. Slocum, Tyson. Now Is Not The Time To End Oil Export Ban. The Hill. March 17, 2015. 6. Foran, Clare. Oil Exports Could Become Hurdle For Obama's Trade Deal. National Journal. May 7, 2015. |
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