Media Action: Letters to the editor about Romney's energy plan and climate joke

 

On Aug. 23, presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced his energy plan, becoming the topic of much media coverage in newspapers throughout the nation. This presents an opportunity to submit letters to the editor discussing the impact such a plan will have on climate change and proposing alternatives to the “drill now; drill everywhere” approach.

For a good overview of Romney’s plan, Grist has an excellent article:

http://grist.org/news/romneys-energy-plan-dissected-putting-government-to-work-for-big-oil/

During his acceptance speech at the RNC, Romney joked: "President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. [Pause. Laughter.] MY promise … is to help you and your family." TreeHugger has an excellent piece on this:

http://www.treehugger.com/environmental-policy/romneys-tone-deaf-climate...

If you spot a story in your newspaper – be sure to check the print edition – on Romney’s energy plan, respond with a letter to the editor.

The basic format for letter to the editor:

  • Open with a reference to the article you saw in the paper.
  • Follow by pointing out problems that would arise under Romney’s energy plan or failing to see the humor in rising sea levels.
  • Suggest a solution that would be better for our climate, environment and economy.
  • Conclude with something that circles back to the beginning of your letter.

Points that can be made:

  • Romney’s plan calls for more drilling and continues to feed our addiction to fossil fuels that are heating up the Earth.
  • Romney promises to "help you and your family," but how does he do that by making the Earth's climate unlivable.
  • Would allow states to open up oil and gas drilling on federal lands and offshore, endangering environmentally sensitive areas.
  • Plan continues outrageous subsidies for fossil fuel industry, a sector enjoying record profits.
  • Romney plan comes two days after raising $7 million in Texas with many oil donors in the mix.
  • Plan seeks “energy independence” by 2020, but the only way to really make us “energy independent” is to reduce demand for fossil fuels.
  • To reduce demand for fossil fuels, we must put a price on carbon that reflects the costs to society inherent in those fuels – security, health, climate.
  • A fee on carbon, with revenue returned to the public, will wean us off fossil fuels with little impact on our economy; shift to clean energy will create millions of new jobs.