My Inbox Today

> Hi Laura,
>
> A couple days ago, ninety-eight miles of the Mississippi River were closed down because of a 400,000 gallon oil spill that occurred when an oil barge collided with a chemical transport ship.
>
> Residents of New Orleans are encouraged to drink bottled water, but this does not help the wildlife that get their sustenance from the Mississippi, or the people who live on fish caught from the mighty river?
>
> The reality is that this spill is yet another sad reminder that we need to be done with oil.
>
> Recently, Vice President Al Gore issued a climate challenge - that the U.S. work to be fossil fuel-free within ten years. We think it's great, and right now, I'd like you to take a minute and ask your members of Congress to accept his challenge:
>
> http://www.environmental-action.org/enviroaction.asp?id=2634&id4=ES
>
> This spill is just another in a long line of environmental disasters resulting from our addiction to fossil fuels. From the destruction of hundreds of square miles of mountains in Appalachia as a result of mountaintop removal mining, to the threat of polar bear extinction as a result of global warming, to the millions of gallons of oil spilled after hurricane Katrina, fossil fuels are destroying our environment.
>
> Thankfully, Vice President Gore stood up and called for Americans to declare that enough is enough. His proposal - fossil fuel free in ten years - is the kind of national goal we can all get behind and make a reality. But, we'll need our current Congressional leaders to get on board to to make it happen. And during an election, our members of Congress will listen to us more closely and clearly than at any other time.
>
> So please, take a minute right now and send your members of Congress a message that we need to be fossil fuel-free.
>
> http://www.environmental-action.org/enviroaction.asp?id=2634&id4=ES
>
> And then please, pass this message along to your friends and family, and ask them to help out too.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Dan Stafford
> Environmental Action Organizer



There was an interesting article in the New York Times today called
"Finding and Fixing a Home's Energy Hogs"
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/technology/27proto.html?
em&ex=1217304000&en=abf421337a464fa2&ei=5087%0A

Here is a quote from the article that illustrates -- once again --
that we are on the cutting edge of a societal and environmental
movement to conserve energy.

'What smarter grids can do is help grease the rails of innovation for
regulators and investors by showing just how much energy we waste,
says Diana Farrell, director of the McKinsey Global Institute. The
degree of waste, Ms. Farrell says, is so big that it makes investing
in energy management look far more viable for fighting global warming
than any alternative energy source. “The demand side is the answer,
right now, with commercially available technologies that are
scalable,” she says.'

I hope you are all enjoying your summer.

best,
Laurel