Energy Independent Vermont Petition

Sign the Energy Independent Vermont petition with the Sierra Club

Dear Friends,

As Vermonters, we know the damage global warming can cause. Climate change is no longer a thing of the future, it is affecting Vermont now. Tropical Storm Irene took lives, leveled homes, and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. According to the Vermont Climate Assessment:

• the average annual temperature in Vermont has increased by 1.3° F since 1960; 45% of this change is since 1990;
• warmer temperatures have caused later “first-fall freeze” and earlier “last-spring freeze”; and
• since 1960, the average annual precipitation has increased 5.9 inches.

The Vermont that we know will change before our eyes. We simply can’t afford to wait any longer to address climate change. And, with more climate-change deniers than ever heading to Congress, it’s clearly up to states like Vermont to lead the way to find real solutions.

That’s why the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club is partnering with other environmental groups, low-income advocates, businesses, and knowledgeable academics to launch a new campaign – Energy Independent Vermont. I’m asking you to join us NOW.

Sign the Energy Independent Vermont petition to Vermont’s incoming legislators asking them to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and pass a carbon pollution tax in Vermont. 

Our plan tackles the root of the problem–polluting fossil fuels. Fossil fuel companies are making massive profits while we pay the price, with floods, super storms, droughts, and wildfires becoming more frequent and intense. It’s time to put a price on carbon pollution and make them pay.

With a tax on polluters, the state can establish an Energy Independence Fund to make smart investments in our communities—like helping Vermonters save money by making their homes more efficient and switching to clean energy, and making public buildings (like schools) more efficient to save us all money on our property taxes.

And, we’re proposing that the rest of the money go to cut other taxes that Vermonters and Vermont businesses already pay. Vermonters Save. Polluters Pay. It’s that simple.

But even in Vermont, bold policies don’t just happen. And dirty energy companies will fight us every step of the way. After all, it is their profits on the line.

Your part starts by simply signing onto this petition. Our goal is to gather 1,000 signatures in the first week of the campaign. 

Let’s remember what’s at stake here. We owe it to our children to protect them from the effects of climate change, and that means taking action now before it’s too late.

Thanks for signing on.

Mark Nelson
Chair, Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club
m.a.nelson@live.com

P.S. If you want to help the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club raise awareness about this campaign please contact Vermont Organizing Representative Robb Kidd at robb.kidd@sierraclub.org.

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