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Found this in my inbox today... did anyone else?
quote:
Dear Friend,
There is nothing patriotic about handing over our natural heritage to
the oil industry. But that's exactly what the White House wants to do in
the name of national security.
I'm asking you to join me in opposing the senseless destruction of our
environment by going to http://www.savebiogems.org/declaration.asp and
signing the Declaration of Energy Independence. The declaration calls on
our government to pursue a sustainable energy future that will preserve
-- not destroy -- our last, unspoiled wildlands.
We have little time to lose. With the nation's attention focused
almost exclusively on the war against terrorism, the Bush
administration has moved quietly but aggressively in recent months to
open up fragile wildlands to giant energy corporations. In Utah, they
were in such a hurry to lease millions of acres of our redrock
canyonlands for oil and gas development that they skipped the
environmental review that is required by law. My colleagues here at NRDC
have already gone to federal court to block this illegal giveaway of
redrock country.
But that's only the beginning. The Bush-Cheney energy plan -- hatched in
closed-door meetings last year with Enron and other energy giants --
would pave the way for oil and gas companies to despoil an alarming
number of our last wild places: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the
Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, Wyoming's Red Desert, and many, many
more.
President Bush says we need the oil to become more energy independent.
Don't buy it! Using the tragic events of September 11th as an
opportunity to advance the special interests of the oil industry will
not enhance America's energy security. Our nation simply doesn't have
enough oil to drill our way to self-sufficiency.
If we really want to declare energy independence, then the only answer
is to dramatically reduce our appetite for oil. For starters, we could
increase the fuel efficiency of our cars and light trucks to 40 miles
per gallon. That would save nearly two million barrels of oil a day by
the year 2012 -- more than all the oil we imported last year from Saudi
Arabia.
The Declaration of Energy Independence sets forth plenty of other ways
to slash our dependence on oil. It proves that fighting terrorism does
NOT require the destruction of our own natural heritage.
Please do your part by visiting http://www.savebiogems.org/declaration.asp and signing the Declaration
of Energy Independence. It will take you less than a minute.
Then please forward this message to your family and friends. If
millions of us sign the declaration, then the White House and Congress
will be unable to ignore its message.
And thank you for helping to save America's last wild places.
Sincerely yours,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Senior Attorney
Natural Resources Defense Council
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BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.savebiogems.org
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