NewMarket Naturals, Inc.
Greetings Senator Lincoln,
As one of the owners of NewMarket Naturals, a “green” business here in Fayetteville, I see the urgency that the green energy / green jobs bill passes the Senate and begins to put our country on par with other industrialized countries around the world. I ask that you put aside your allegiance to any PACs or other lobby folks that may have contributed to your campaigns and vote for what is best for all of us Arkansans and Americans. We appreciate that this may be a difficult choice because money has a very loud voice in Washington but we implore you to take a bold step, as President Obama is doing, and vote for the bill, trusting that it is the right thing to do that will also translate into support at the ballot box. With President Obama’s leadership we have the vision and with your leadership we can have the means to a sustainable future.
The bill that came out of the house is the first step toward independence and sustainability:
• Clean energy: promoting renewable energy, low-carbon transportation fuels, electric vehicles, and the smart grid and electricity transmission;
• Energy efficiency: increasing energy efficiency across all sectors: buildings, appliances, transportation, and industry;
• Global warming targets: placing limits on emissions of heat-trapping pollutants with a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050;
• Economic transitioning: protecting U.S. consumers, and promoting green jobs during the transition to a clean green economy.
Myself along with thousands of other green business owners hope that you and other members of the Senate will strengthen the bill with the following:
• Greater funding and a faster timetable for a transition to clean energy sources, particularly solar and wind, which will reduce carbon emissions and increase green jobs.
• Retain or expand the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to clean up dirty coal plants.
• Reduce allocations for polluting companies. Polluters need to pay for their pollution in order to fund increased investment in clean energy and green jobs.
• Greenhouse gas emissions caps should be set that achieve a 25% reduction below 2005 levels by the year 2020.
• Nuclear power needs to be excluded as a clean energy source. Nuclear power is low-carbon, but with environmentally damaging uranium mining, radioactive waste, proliferation potential and safety hazards, it is not clean energy.
Senator Lincoln, I am counting on you as a Democrat to vote for this bill and be on the right side of history in doing so.
