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Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky is the latest Republican to try and stop President Obama's clean power plan. But this time, it passed the House with the support of eight Democrats. Donate here to help us expand our ad buy and stop this bill in the Senate.
Friend,
Poor, coal-loving politicians: They're so eager to defend their polluter paymasters, that they'll say, do or try almost ANYTHING to block the President's Clean Power Plan and stop America's first-ever rules to limit global warming pollution from power plants. And even though their efforts are hopeless, ill-informed and downright silly sometimes, these lawmakers could do some real damage to our planet and public health if left unchecked.
The latest attempt comes from Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky. Whitfield's Orwellian bill is called the Ratepayer Protection Act. But what it really would do is let any governor opt out of the Clean Power Plan if they care more about cashing a check from King Coal than they do about public health or the planet.1 That's right, the final power plant rule hasn't even been published, and they're already looking to create a loophole to get out of it.
Whitfield's bill isn't likely to become law, the President has already promised to veto it, calling it "a wholly unnecessary postponement of reductions of harmful air pollution."2 But it's dangerous because some governors are already saying they plan to follow Whitfield's lead, and refuse compliance with the Clean Power Plan.3 We can't let that happen, which is why I'm asking for your help to extend and expand our existing ads in Kentucky and West Virginia to include states like Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma, where the governors are likely to opt-out of the clean power plan.
Can you chip in $25 or more to help us keep the pressure on, and make sure the Clean Power Plan gets a chance to cut ALL Americans' global warming pollution?
Whitfield might just be the latest politician from Kentucky to bash clean power rules, but he's not likely to be the last. And that's a problem for all of us, because we need these rules to get stronger, not weaker, if we're going to make a dent in climate change and save the planet.
Just as the House was debating Whitfield's bill, a new EPA report found that if we don't act fast to stop climate change, the impacts on clean air, extreme weather and more will kill an estimated 57,000 Americans.4 If Whitfield, McConnell, Manchin and the rest of the politicians riding the coal train are allowed to derail the clean power plan even in a handful of states, thousands of Americans could die as our planet's climate is pushed over the tipping point.
But as extreme and outrageous as Whitfield and his ilk sound to you and me, they've built up a serious base of support. More than half of Congress, including eight Democrats voted for Whitfield's bill. And we're hearing that polluter-friendly governors are using that vote as an excuse to double down on their plans to refuse to act on climate.
To get the word out about why it's essential that we take action on climate change, we've got to be willing to educate and inform citizens in those same states -- states with conservative Republican politicians and with powerful polluter industries. Thanks to members like you, we've financed major advertising and public education campaigns in Kentucky and West Virginia -- even overcoming censorship from local bus companies and advertisers that were afraid to speak out against coal.
Can you chip in to keep this campaign running and expand our ads into new states like Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma?
Thanks,
Drew and the clean-power-is-good-for-you crew at Environmental Action
1 - The Associate Press, House Votes to Block Obama's Climate Plan Amid Veto Threat, The New York Times, June 24, 2015
2 - Ben Wolfgang, Obama threatens veto of bill aimed to weaken EPA regulations, The Washington Times, June 23, 2015
3 - Katie Valentine, House Votes To Weaken And Delay The EPA’s Climate Rule, ThinkProgress June 25, 2015
4 - Associated Press, White House, EPA say climate change a dire threat to economy, human health, USA Today June 23, 2015 |
