Message from Robert Redford on energy security
2001-11-02 by Bob Lowen
> >>---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 21:13:31 -0800 (PST) >>From: Robert Redford <biogemsnews@...> >>To: sasha@... >>Subject: Message from Robert Redford on energy security >> >>Dear Friend, >> >>It is understandable that we Americans feel an almost reflexive need >>for unanimity in trying times like these. As a nation, we are rightly >>consumed with responding to the terrorist attacks on September 11th. >>But, at some point -- and I think we're beginning to get there -- we >>need to take a long-term view even as we are reacting to the current >>crisis. Really important domestic issues facing us before all of this >>happened -- education, energy and the environment, health care -- >>still have the same dimension and consequence. But we have to >>recognize that it's much more difficult to discuss and debate them in >>the aftermath of Sept. 11th. Unfortunately, disagreement is sometimes >>characterized as unpatriotic during times such as these and open, >>thoughtful discourse is somewhat muted. The gravity of the current >>situation is not lost on any of us and we all want to do what's right >>to insure our national security. It is with this in mind that I felt >>compelled to write you today. >> >>A handful of determined U.S. senators, encouraged by the White House, >>are arguing that national security requires the Senate to rush a >>pro-oil energy bill into law. They have vowed to hold up normal Senate >>business and attach the bill to every piece of legislation that comes >>to the Senate floor. So far they have failed in what The Boston Globe >>is calling "oil opportunism." But with President Bush, himself, now >>calling for rushed passage of this disastrous bill, intense pressure >>is building on Senate leaders to succumb to the emotions of the >>moment. Using our national tragedy as an opportunity to advance the >>narrow interests of the oil lobby would not be in the best interest of >>the public. This bill, already passed by the House, would not only >>open the Arctic Refuge to oil rigs, it would also pave the way for >>energy companies to exploit and destroy pristine areas of Greater >>Yellowstone and other gems of our natural heritage. As important, it >>would do nothing to address energy security. >> >>I'm asking for your immediate help in stopping this legislation. After >>reading my letter I hope you'll take action at >>http://www.savebiogems.org/arctic/index.asp?src=ab0110a and then >>forward this letter to your friends and colleagues. >> >>Last spring, the Bush administration and some members of Congress said >>we had to pass the president's oil-friendly energy bill because we >>were facing the most serious energy crisis since 1973. But here we >>are, a mere six months later, and the energy crisis has vanished. Due >>to a slowing economy and falling demand, the prices for gasoline, >>natural gas and home heating oil have plunged. Meanwhile, the >>much-feared "summer of blackouts" in California never happened, >>largely because consumers and businesses made dramatic cuts in energy >>use by launching the most successful statewide conservation campaign >>in history. >> >>With no energy crisis to scare us with, the administration and pro-oil >>senators are now promoting their "Drill the Arctic" plan under the >>guise of national security and energy independence. Don't buy it. It >>would take ten years to bring Arctic oil to market, and when it >>arrives it would never equal more than two percent -- a mere drop in >>the bucket -- of all the oil we consume each year. Our nation simply >>doesn't have enough oil to drill our way to energy independence or >>even to affect world oil prices. >> >>We possess a mere 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, but we >>consume fully 25 percent of the world's oil supply. We could drill the >>Arctic Refuge, Greater Yellowstone, and every other wildland in >>America and we'd still be importing oil, still be paying worldwide >>prices for domestic oil, and still be vulnerable to wild gyrations in > >price and supply. As The Atlanta Constitution put it: "Burning through >>our tiny oil supply faster will not make our country more secure." I'd >>go further: increasing our dependence on oil, whether that oil comes >>from the Persian Gulf or the Arctic Refuge, practically guarantees >>national *insecurity*. And we know that it will bring more habitat >>destruction, more oil spills, more air pollution, and more global >>warming. The public health implications will be devastating. >> >>If our nation wants to declare energy independence, then we have no >>choice but to reduce our appetite for oil. There's no other way. We >>need to rely on smarter and cleaner ways to power our economy. We have >>the technology right now to increase fuel economy standards to 40 >>miles per gallon. If we phased in that standard by 2012 we'd save 15 >>times more oil than the Arctic Refuge is likely to produce over 50 >>years. We could also give tax rebates for existing hybrid gas-electric >>vehicles that get as much as 60 mpg. We could invest in public >>transit. We could launch an "Apollo Project" to bring fuel cells and >>hydrogen fuel down to earth, allowing us to begin the mass production >>of vehicles that emit only water as a by-product. The list goes on and >>on. >> >>In this climate of national trauma and war, it is up to us -- the >>people -- to ensure that reason prevails and our natural heritage >>survives intact. The preservation of irreplaceable wildlands like the >>Arctic Refuge and Greater Yellowstone is a core American value. I have >>never been more appreciative of the wisdom of that value than during >>these past few weeks. When we are filled with grief and unanswerable >>questions it is often nature that we turn to for refuge and comfort. >>In the sanctuary of a forest or the vastness of the desert or the >>silence of a grassland, we can touch a timeless force larger than >>ourselves and our all-too-human problems. This is where the healing >>begins. Those who would sell out this natural heritage -- this >>spiritual heritage -- would destroy a wellspring of American strength. >>What's worse, their rush to exploit the wildness that feeds our souls >>won't do a thing to solve our energy problems. >> >>There are plenty of sensible and patriotic ways to guarantee our >>nation's energy security, but destroying the Arctic Refuge is not one >>of them. Please tell that to your senators. They urgently need to hear >>it because the pressure is on to move this pro-oil bill to a vote in >>the next few weeks. It will take you only a minute to send them an >>electronic message from NRDC's SaveBioGems website. >> >>Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/arctic/index.asp?src=ab0110a >> >>And please forward this message to your family and friends. Millions >>of Americans need to know about this cynical attempt to promote the >>interests of energy companies at the expense of everyone else. >> >>Sincerely yours, >> >>Robert Redford >> >>===== >> >>BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places >>A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council > >http://www.savebiogems.org -- Bob Lowen Antwerp, Belgium Email: rlow@...