With climate legislation held up in the Senate and the Copenhagen climate talks’ failure to produce a binding, international agreement, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has emerged as the critical agency in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Through application of the Clean Air Act, the EPA has the authority to curb climate change. Unfortunately, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and lobbyists for some of the biggest polluters in the country have other plans for the Clean Air Act.
Tomorrow, Senator Murkowski is planning to introduce an amendment that would halt the EPA’s implementation of the Clean Air Act and undermine one of our most important environmental laws.
We know that big energy likes the amendment, since they helped draft it. In the Washington Post, a lobbyist for energy giants like Southern Co. and Duke Energy, Jeff Holmsted, admitted to working with Murkowski’s staff on the exact language of the amendment.This is after Senator Murkowski received more than $124,500 from Holmsted’s clients.
Don’t let Big Energy write the law to pollute more! Tell your Senator to protect the Clean Air Act.
The Murkowski amendment seeks to reverse the EPA’s critical finding that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health. The endangerment finding triggers the Clean Air Act and prompts the EPA to take the first step toward curbing climate change pollution.
Murkowski’s attempt to eviscerate our best existing tool for reducing greenhouse gas pollution not only threatens our ability to reduce the carbon in our atmosphere, but also serves as another shameful example of the role Big Polluters are playing in stalling climate change action.
Thank you for all you do!
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By promoting cleaner energy, cleaner government, and cleaner air for all Texans, we hope to provide for a healthy place to live and prosper. We are Public Citizen Texas.
