Farmington group calls on senators to protect the Clean Air Act and act on climate change

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The nine people in Augusta holding a ruffling ‘green jobs now” banner protest what they see as Maine’s senators’ inaction on the looming climate crisis and to highlight the crisis presented by climate change, but also the opportunity.

AUGUSTA – Wednesday afternoon, in the midst of a heat wave strong enough to prompt a Maine heat advisory, a group of Franklin County residents met outside the offices of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to protest what they see as the senators’ inaction on the looming climate crisis.

As Greg Kimber of Temple, one of the group’s organizers, said, “After two years of talk, the Senate still has not moved forward on climate legislation, but what’s worse, some senators have actually voted to move us backward.”

Kimber is referring to a resolution put forward by Sen. Mukowski of Alaska which, if it had passed, would have rolled back the EPA’s recent mandate to regulate CO2 as a greenhouse gas under the Clean Air Act. The resolution went up for a vote in June and both Maine senators submitted a “yes” vote in favor of weakening the Clean Air Act. The group from Farmington, joined by friends from southern Maine, hopes they can encourage Snowe and Collins to reconsider the position they took on the Markowsky resolution. After the Senate’s failure to enact climate legislation, the Clean Air Act may be the last best hope for dealing with climate change at the national level. Under these current circumstances, the group says, it is more important than ever to stand firm in protecting the Clean Air Act against future attacks.

The action September 1 in Augusta comes in the context of an increase in direct citizen engagement with elected officials nationwide on the issue of climate change over the course of the last month. The Farmington group got their initial inspiration from a call to action put out by online citizen-based climate action groups 350.org and 1Sky.org, both of which are working to lower the levels of CO2 currently in the atmosphere to sustainable levels (350 parts per million is a target) as well as spur the creation of 5 million new green jobs.

After Senate majority leader Harry Reid’s announcement that the body would not take up climate legislation, the online groups began encouraging their members to “bird-dog” their elected officials while they were in their home states during August break. This would entail attending public events and raising questions about the officials’ positions on climate change and green jobs. Not having much luck identifying public events in advance, however, the Farmington group decided instead to take their message straight to the senators’ offices.

Inspired by a proposal from Greenpeace, they drafted letters to deliver in person to the senators’ Augusta headquarters. Nine people made the trip down to the state capital on the busy weekday afternoon, carrying letters from an additional seven friends and family members. As well as delivering a total of 28 letters, the group held vigil outside the Federal Building for an hour and a half. A 20-foot banner decorated with waves and blue skies and calling in big letters for “Green Jobs Now!” prompted honks from passing cars on Western Ave. Other signs read “No Rollbacks on Clean Air Act” and “Senators: Stop Dragging Your Feet on Climate Change Legislation.”

Many of the letters delivered urged the senators to donate campaign contributions they’d received from the oil and coal industry over the last year to cleanup efforts in the Gulf. The original draft letter states: “This summer we witnessed the greatest environmental disaster in our country’s history and the hottest global temperatures on record. The Senate’s failure to pass, or even take up, climate change legislation, much less consider a proposed bill that would address the Gulf spill, has made it clear to me that the oil and coal companies have too much power in Washington. “

In addition to its political message the group extended an invitation for the senators to attend the Tour de Farmington, a bike tour of several of Franklin County organic farms which is scheduled for 350.org’s global climate action Work-Day on 10/10/10 (to learn more visit www.westernmountainsalliance.org). The tour (and the 350 Work Day) will highlight the work citizens are doing to move toward a greener and, according to a report cited by 1Sky.org, a stronger economy. The Political Economy Research Institute based out of UMA reports that while a $1 million investment in fossil fuels generates 5.3 jobs, the same investment in clean-energy creates a whopping 16.7 jobs.

The nine people in Augusta holding a ruffling “green jobs” banner in the warm breeze (a small blessing on the 94-degree day) hoped not only to highlight the crisis presented by climate change, but also the opportunity.

For more information or to get involved go to 1Sky.org or 350.org or contact greg@bostoncoop.net.

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2 Comments

  1. Ah, to live in that kind of fantasy world, where jobs can be created out of nowhere, regardless of demand.

  2. A lot of people have not got the religion yet. Many think that this climate change fad is hogwash. Hmmm!?

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