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As your constituent and a supporter of the National Wildlife Federation, I would like to urge you to pass a strong energy bill that protects wildlife and takes significant steps toward combating global warming.
In the final energy package–which combines both House and Senate energy bills–should:
* Set a Renewable Electricity Standard that requires 15 percent of America’s electricity needs to be met with clean, renewable energy sources.
* Increase fuel economy standards to achieve an average of 35 miles per gallon for new cars, SUVs and light trucks by 2020.
* Protect public lands and wildlife by including key oil and gas reforms in the House bill. This should include modifying or closing exemptions from the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act, which were enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
* Expand the weatherization program to assist low-income families with saving energy.
* Call for a report to assess the needs of vulnerable communities around the world in dealing with global warming’s impacts.
* Make sure biofuels are grown in ways that protect wildlife and biodiversity. Also, please make sure biofuels are grown so that they help curb greenhouse gas emissions instead of contributing to global warming pollution.
* Support a proposal backed by the Western Governors Association that would make migratory wildlife corridors and crucial wildlife habitat off limits to exclusions from the National Environmental Policy Act.
I also ask that the final energy bill not include anything that will make it harder to solve global warming.
* DON’T include any provisions that preempt states rights to regulate vehicle efficiency or reduce the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to set global warming pollution standards for vehicles.
* DON’T include mandates to produce liquid coal. Congress should focus on promoting transportation fuels such as advanced, sustainably produced biofuels that address global warming while improving energy security.
Thank you for taking my positions into account. I encourage you to help pass this final energy package. It’s time for a bill that turns our nation’s energy future in a new direction that helps solve global warming and also protects public lands, water and wildlife.
Stumble it!