strange bedfellows

Kurt Cobb posted some good news about unlikely alliances among politicians who find a common cause in peak oil.

I was recently contacted by a local elected official who asked me to set up a customized version of my "Oil Famine" short-course for a group of government officials from my county. I knew going in that the two of us were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. As I spoke to him, I realized that all he wanted to ascertain was whether I could effectively bring the message of peak oil and its possible consequences to the officeholders he had in mind. My political leanings didn't matter.

A Washington Post editorial says that the new energy bill being passed through the Senate "is essentially a status quo bill," protecting the automobile, utility, oil and gas industries. However, there is one bright green spot:

...despite heavy White House lobbying, a handful of Senate Republicans did break with party orthodoxy last week on at least the environmental issue. They voted in favor of a "sense of the Senate" resolution that recognizes for the first time that climate change is a scientific fact, that carbon emissions contribute to climate change and that mandatory controls eventually will have to be deployed.

We need to support our representatives to do the right thing. Here's how to contact them:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

To look up legislative information, the Library of Congress provides this service:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html

Here's my letter. I hope it inspires you to write your own.

I am very concerned about our nation's dependency on fossil fuels. By this I not only our dependence of foreign oil, but on oil in general. I believe we need to drastically curtail our consumption. Obviously this will not be a popular stance. But I think it is a very important message. I urge you to educate yourself about "Peak Oil." Congressman Roscoe Bartlett has some introductory information on his site: http://www.bartlett.house.gov/

Along with asking individuals to do their part to help us become independent, we also need legislation that supports the development of renewable energy and forces manufacturers to improve the efficiency of their products and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from their processes. We need to develop a long range energy policy that will carry us through difficult times. We can't afford to succumb to the "business as usual" agenda of the automotive, oil, and energy industries.

I believe that these issues transcend party lines and they will be my criteria for voting in the future.

Thank you for your consideration,
Liz Logan