Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast region is ground zero for the impacts of global warming. One need look no further than the research done by the best and brightest scientists in the world to see that rising sea-levels and more powerful storms have wreaked havoc on our vulnerable coast and communities. Fortunately, last December the Environmental Protection Agency, at the urging of the Supreme Court, announced its intention to begin a (relatively long) process to regulate greenhouse gasses. http://epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment.htmlSenator Landrieu, who has worked tirelessly to help Louisiana secure federal resources to stem the tide of our coastal wetlands crisis, doesn’t seem to get the connection between the coast and our climate. Lining up with the oil and coal companies, Senator Landrieu is working with Alaska Senator Murkowski on proposals to stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Sen. Mary Landrieu told reporters Wednesday that she is working with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) on Murkowski’s efforts to block EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the agency’s current Clean Air Act powers.There is no secret that Senator Landrieu has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars from polluters: Mary Landrieu received $252,950 in oil contributions between 2007 and 2009. In total, Landrieu has accepted $574,005 from oil companies through 2008, which makes her one of the highest recipients of oil money. In addition to oil, Landrieu has received $69,458 in coal contributions during this same period. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mary_Landrieu.And in case there is any doubt that this attempt by Murkowski and Landrieu to scuttle the EPA’s authority to act on global warming, a recent article in the Washington Post exposes the fact that lobbyists for polluters who are fighting against action on climate have actually helped Murkowski draft her amendment: http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/18/18greenwire-senates-top-epa-critic-raked-in-utilities-camp-30688.html?pagewanted=2The time is now to stand up against the political/oil/coal cartel. The future of our State and the entire Gulf Region is at stake. It’s time to make sure senator Landrieu sides with the future of our coast and communities, not the short term interests of polluting industries.You can take action now by calling Senator Landrieu’s DC office at 202-224-5824 and give her the following message:”I’m calling about Senator Landrieu’s support of Senator Murkowski’s efforts to gut the Clean Air Act. I’m very disappointed she’s siding with lobbyists and big business Wall Street interests instead of Louisiana families and small businesses and hope she’ll reconsider. Louisiana needs policies that will push us forward into a clean energy economy not push us back to the failed energy policies of the past. Our wetlands, coast and communities are at stake.”Jonathan Henderson is the 1Sky/Global Warming organizer for the Gulf Restoration Network. For more information contact jonathan@healthygulf.org.
