Sierra Colleagues and Friends:
I need your help. The Senate's energy efficience bill is ready for debate in the Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee, hopefully yet this week. Sen. Hogg had intended to bring it up today, but his survey of colleagues revealed that there are 4 Democrats in that committee who do not support it as is, Sens. Ragan, Schoenjahn, Hancock and Woods. So....
We absolutely need your calls to the members of that committee, especially those 4. Committee members are as follows, and immediately below the list is the alert message to give you the background and the fundamentals of what you need to convey to them.
Please pass this alert on to your Sierra members and friends! And, Thanks!
SF 2083 Alert:
Call or Email Your Senator Today! (Senate swithchboard, daytime hours: 515-281-3371.)
Tell your senator to make energy efficiency a priority; to vote for SF 2083. Yesterday the Governor announced his energy proposal for Legislative consideration. It too includes what we have all been asking for...an\ energy efficience standard very similar to the one in SF 2083.
Energy efficiency measures allow us to do more with less—to enjoy the same quality of life and energy-related services using less energy. And unlike burning fossil fuels to meet energy needs, energy efficiency does not pollute.
Senate File 2083 will make energy efficiency a priority for Iowa. It will require all utility companies to use a planning tool that will help put energy efficiency first: utilites would compare the costs of energy efficiency, including environmental impacts like greenhouse gas emissions, against the costs of new or expanded fossil fuel generation.
Energy efficiency is among the fastest, cleanest, and cheapest resources available and would see a boost under this bill. If this bill passes, we expect to see a significant increase in the amount of energy efficiency programs implemented. The bill also authorizes the Iowa Utilities Board to set energy savings goals for all utilities and lets utilities pool together to give more Iowans access to their energy efficiency programs.
So...first steps first—If your senator is on the Natural Resources & Environment Committee, please contact him/her directly. I’ve provided their contact information for you above.
So let us re-join this chorus. Call or email your Senator today. (Senate swithchboard, daytime hours: 515-281-3371.)
Your voice matters. Please call or email today.
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Instructions:
Below is a sample of the kind of message you can write about why energy efficiency should be a priority for Iowa utility companies. Feel free to edit this text and make it your own. And DO CALL OR EMAIL TODAY. Ask your senator on the Senate Natural Resources & Environment Committee, to vote YES for Senate File 2083.
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Message to (your Senator):
I am writing to request that you give Senate File 2083 your full support. This bill makes energy efficiency a priority for Iowa’s utility companies. Efficiency is a cleaner and cheaper solution for consumers and utilities, compared to putting more fossil fuels online. Energy efficiency measures allow us to do more with less—to enjoy the same quality of life and energy-related services using less energy.
Besides being cleaner and cheaper, energy efficiency is a good investment for Iowa.
Three major international financial institutions recently announced a set of principles, The Carbon Principles, to guide future lending and investment related to energy. These institutions include Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Morgan Stanley, which have trillions of dollars of assets worldwide. The first Principle they listed was energy efficiency:
Energy efficiency: “An effective way to limit CO2 emissions is to not produce them. The signatory financial institutions will encourage clients to invest in cost-effective demand reduction, taking into consideration the value of avoided CO2 emissions.”
Iowa needs also to invest in energy efficiency first.
Please vote yes for Senate File 2083, and make Iowa a winner economically and environmentally. Please also let me know how you voted, with a letter or an email.
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