40,000 barrels a day

The BP oil disaster is in the headlines every day. But almost no one is talking about a real plan to get America off of oil—so we're flooding newspapers with letters demanding Congress and the White House take action. Can you write a letter to the editor of The Daily News about the need for a real plan to end America's addiction to oil?  Click Here

Dear MoveOn member,

40,000 barrels a day.

That's the latest estimate of how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico daily, according to a new report—nearly twice as much as the last estimate.¹

And yet even now Washington and the mainstream media barely mention the only true solution: ending America's addiction to oil.

By organizing nearly 200 oil spill vigils last week that were covered by dozens of newspapers, CNN, MSNBC, and more, MoveOn members have started to force a real public debate about ending our oil addiction. But we need to keep speaking out.

One great way to do that is by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Can you write a letter to the editor of The Daily News—or another local paper—about the urgent need for a real plan to get America off of oil once and for all? 

Click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/lte?campaign_id=124&id=21103-10220574-8pxWNHx&t=3

Our tool makes writing a letter really simple. You can send the letter right from our website—it only takes a few minutes.

The letters page is one of the most widely read in local newspapers. Members of Congress and their staffs read it to understand how their constituents are feeling. And with the BP oil disaster in the headlines right now, members of Congress are paying close attention to what voters are saying about it.

Here are some key points you can use in your letter:

• Experts have been saying for years that a true investment in clean energy could move our economy away from oil over 20 years. It's just a question of starting down that path.²
  


• Anywhere from 42 million to over 100 million gallons of oil are already devastating the waters in the Gulf Coast. In comparison, the Exxon Valdez spill—the previous worst in U.S. history—spilled 11 million gallons into waters around Alaska in 1989.³ 


• How much oil is that? Just 63 million one-gallon milk jugs would line up for 5,500 miles—the distance from the spill to BP's London headquarters, and then to Rome.⁴ 

• The choice is clear, and so are the consequences. If we don't transition off of oil, the next disaster is just a matter of time.

Can you send a letter to the editor of The Daily News, or another local newspaper? Just click here to get started:

http://pol.moveon.org/lte?campaign_id=124&id=21103-10220574-8pxWNHx&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Steven, Jodeen, Eli, Kat, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Gulf of Mexico spill 'releasing twice as much oil as thought,'" The Daily Telegraph, June 11, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=88916&id=21103-10220574-8pxWNHx&t=6

2. "Winning the Oil Endgame," Rocky Mountain Institute, September, 2007
http://www.oilendgame.com/

3. "Gulf of Mexico spill 'releasing twice as much oil as thought,'" The Daily Telegraph, June 11, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=88916&id=21103-10220574-8pxWNHx&t=7

4. "New oil numbers may do more harm to fish, wildlife," The Associated Press, June 11, 2010
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_oil_spill

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to eddie alfaro on June 14, 2010. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.