Hot Under the Collar about Climate Change

The debate about climate change is getting hot this summer as industry representatives launch a multi-million dollar effort to kill the bill, including manufacturing fake letters from community groups and generating outrage at town hall meetings this summer. Senators need to hear from people who support strong action on climate change more than ever.

The most shocking news is that the coal industry has forged letters from community groups opposing the climate change bill. According to Grist, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) created fraudulent letters urging members of Congress to vote against the House climate bill. Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming, is launching a Congressional investigation into the fraud.

This month, members of Congress are home for the August recess and holding town halls across the country. Industry groups have planned an astroturf campaign against climate bill over August Congressional Recess. (Astroturf campaigns are fake grassroots organizing funded by special interests.) American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, the same group who funded the fake letters, is launching a $1 million campaign to generate outrage against the climate bill at town halls during the congressional recess. Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, is also funding Newt Gingrich’s efforts to stop the climate bill.

People who care about climate change must speak up to counter these astroturf campaigns. Conservationists are organizing across the country to mobilize public support for a strong climate change bill. Now that the House of Representatives has passed a climate change bill, the Senate is drafting its version. There are many ways that the House bill can be made stronger. Together, we need to ensure the Senate passes a strong bill.

The Endangered Species Coalition is urging the Senate to pass a strong climate bill that includes science based emissions targets, preserves environmental protections and safeguards species in a warming world.

Please send a letter to your Senator asking them to pass a strong climate bill now!

If the links do not work, please visit: https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6014/t/6442/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1036

While industry groups blow hot air, the climate is also getting hotter. Our nation’s wildlife and wild places are already feeling the effects of climate change. Warming oceans, melting sea ice, drought, severe weather, and shifting life cycles are threatening species including polar bears, lynx, pika, migratory birds, salmon, and coral.

We don’t have much time left. We need to act now to stop climate change and protect our nation’s wildlife and wild places from its devastating impacts.