Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Al Gore's new documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" is an important opportunity to further educate the public and inspire action towards global warming solutions.  And since the movie opened last month, most of you have seen it and made it one of the most successful documentaries ever.

Now we need to make sure that more people see it--not just people already concerned about the environment like you, but all your friends, family, and neighbors as well. The more people who see this film, the greater chance we'll have to convince our political leaders to enact real global warming solutions.

To pledge to bring friends to see "An Inconvenient Truth," click on the link below or paste it into your web browser:

https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/global-warming/movie?id4=ES


Background:

Global warming is starting to change weather patterns. Scientists predict that these changes will accelerate in the future and say that we can expect:

* Extreme weather. Scientists expect hurricanes to become more intense and say that the hurricanes that hit the Gulf states in 2005 may be an indication of what's to come.

* Public health risks. Scientists also expect heat waves to become more dangerous, causing more people to suffer heat stress and stroke. Other impacts include the spread of infectious diseases.

* Less snow, less water. Many of the rivers and streams that we rely on for our water supply are fed by mountain snow. But warmer winters are starting to cause less precipitation to fall as snow, which may cause serious future water shortages.

Most global warming pollution comes from burning oil, coal, and natural gas in our power plants, cars, SUVs, and factories. Power plants are the single biggest source, responsible for about 40% of U.S. global warming pollution. Because there are no federal limits on global warming pollution, industry can pump unlimited amounts of the pollution into our skies.

Some states have already taken the first steps, such as by requiring power companies and automakers to reduce global warming pollution from power plants and cars. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has sided with the coal, oil, and auto industries to reject limits on global warming pollution. Without federal action, pollution will continue to rise.

The good news is we can reduce global warming pollution by using existing technology to make power plants and factories more efficient, make cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and shift to cleaner technologies, such as hybrids, biofuels, and wind and solar power.

These are win-win solutions because they also will reduce our dependence on oil, reduce air pollution, protect pristine places from oil drilling and mining, and bring many other benefits.

We're urging Congress to set science-based targets for reducing global warming pollution from power plants, cars, and other sources. These targets should put us on the path to reduce global warming pollution by 15-20% by 2020 and by 60-80% by 2050.

Al Gore's new documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" is an important opportunity to educate the public and inspire action towards global warming solutions.

"An Inconvenient Truth" has opened in many cities and is opening in many more this week. We hope you'll pledge to be one of the first to see this groundbreaking film and, even more important, that you'll get your friends and family to go see it as well.

To pledge to see "An Inconvenient Truth," click on the link below or paste it into your web browser:

https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/global-warming/movie?id4=ES

Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Environment Illinois State Director
RebeccaD@environmentillinois.org
http://www.environmentillinois.org

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.

No comments: