A MESSAGE FOR NEWCOMERS
Dear Friend,
We invite you and your organization to join with us as we initiate a national Call to Action on clean energy and global warming. Our goal is to introduce a coherent and comprehensive set of policies and actions that reflect the growing grassroots consensus around the country. We are including the results of a national poll done on the proposals in the Call. The country is ready for solutions. Many of our communities know first hand what reliance on fossil fuels-particularly coal- means to the people, land and quality of life. The poll demonstrates a unique consensus for a new energy future.
Those who live with the everyday impacts of our nation's energy choices hold a unique stake in accelerating the pace of change by leading the leaders toward meaningful and decisive action. In navigating the challenging path ahead to a safer future that avoids the direst and irreversible consequences of global climate change, the following principles should serve as our guide:
Use of resources must not exceed the capacity of the earth to regenerate those resources.
We should minimize the use of unsustainable energy sources that generate dangerous byproducts, whether that means coal's greenhouse gas emissions or nuclear energy's radioactive waste. And we must avoid investing in energy sources that lock us into a high-carbon future, such as oil shale, tar sands, and coal-to-liquid fuel.
Directing private and government resources to develop the clean technologies will create jobs and make the U.S. a leader in the new energy sector.
Maximizing the use of locally available renewable fuels and energy by moving energy production closer to the consumer will take the greatest advantage of diverse renewable energy sources.
The excellent cannot become the enemy of the good. There are times that trade-offs will arise and hard choices will have to be made. Providing safe, clean, and efficient energy is of utmost importance.
Delay is not an option. We have the technologies available now to take us more rapidly down the path toward clean power. Existing technologies can buy us the time to invent and discover even more effective means to provide our energy needs, protect the environment and our national security.
Please join us by endorsing the Call to Action and helping develop a nationwide campaign to make these ideas the policies of the land.
CITIZENS LEAD FOR ENERGY ACTION NOW (CLEAN)
