Monthly Archives: March 2010

Hall of Fame Goalie Mike Richter Calls for Action on Climate Change

By / Published: March 2, 2010

A new voice has joined the chorus demanding action on climate change — one that will be familiar to any winter sports fans reading this.

Hockey legend Mike Richter says he worries that future generations of children won’t be able to skate on frozen ponds the way he did when he was young.

The Hall of Fame goalie, who led the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup victory in 1994 and helped the U.S. Olympic team win a silver medal in Salt Lake City in 2002, just wrote an op ed about climate change that ran in the Buffalo News, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and the Juneau Empire, among other papers.

In it, he says:

I wish we could turn back the clock. I want my boy’s generation to enjoy the same rich opportunities as I had. I worry for the future of the game that I love. I worry for the future of our economy, our national security and our planet.

Richter, who has spoken out about other environmental issues in the past, has also talked about climate change in radio interviews he did during this year’s Winter Olympics. You can hear some of his comments on Philadelphia’s WPEN radio.

Richter was also a guest speaker at a recent Business Advocacy Day, when 200 small business leaders from around the country came to Washington to lobby for a strong clean energy and climate bill. Check out this picture of Richter talking to the audience of business pioneers (and EDF staffers who worked on the event).

Posted in Partners for Change, What Others are Saying / Comments are closed

72 Hours, Thousands of Calls

By / Published: March 2, 2010

We need your help to unleash our clean energy future, create millions of new jobs, and reduce the carbon pollution that causes global warming.

Join EDF and Clean Energy Works as we call Senators and demand climate action.

Today is the first day of the 72 Hours for Clean American Power calling campaign. From today through Thursday, EDF is joining forces with 10 fellow environmental organizations to flood the Senate with calls demanding climate action.

You can do your part with just three easy steps:

1) Click to call your Senators and urge them to support a strong climate and energy bill this year. It’s free and takes only a few minutes. One call is worth 100 emails, so please call now. If you’re not sure what to say, see suggested talking points below.

2) Forward this link to everyone you know who’s concerned about global warming and our clean energy future.

3) Send an email to your Senators to reinforce our call for action. The more your Senators hear from you, the better.

This is a critical moment in our campaign — meaningful legislation is within our reach, but we have to push to make it happen. Please do everything you can over the next 72 hours to urge your Senators to act now.

Not sure what to say? No problem. We’ve got some call-in pointers and a sample call to get you started:

Make sure to tell your Senator:

  • Who You Are: Senators represent their constituents. Broad-based support from a particular interest group can really get their attention. So let them know if you’re a veteran, small business owner, mechanic, academic, scientist, mother, father, student – whatever group or groups you are part of.
  • Where You’re From: Senators need to know that you live in their state, and where in their state you live. They need to hear that people from every corner of their state are climate and clean energy advocates.
  • Why You Care: Whether your inspiration is national security, jobs, love of our planet or all of the above, it is essential to let Senators know why you care.
  • It’s urgent! Your Senator needs to hear urgency from you. If the Senate does not act this year, especially in the next few months, the clock will run out on this Congress and it could be a long time before they take it up again. We can’t afford to let pollution build up and our economy stagnate while the Senate delays.

Here is a sample call that includes all four key elements:

Hi- My Name is Brenda Smith and I’m a small business owner from Town/City, State. America desperately needs help to jumpstart our economy and create jobs – and a clean energy and climate bill can help us do it. We’ve waited long enough – the clean energy economy is passing us by. We are losing ground to China and India and losing jobs here in America. I want Sen. X to act now to pass a strong clean energy and climate bill. Not next year – NOW.

Posted in Climate Change Legislation, News / Read 3 Responses