Bluestem Action Alert
Ask your IL State Representative to
cosponsor SB 1184:
The Affordable and Clean Energy Standards
Act (ACES)
Our energy
bill has passed the Senate! Thank you
for all your work on this. It would not
have passed without many calls from constituents. The bill keeps the same name in the House: SB
1184.
We need
your calls again, this time to your state representative. Please ask your state representative to
cosponsor SB1184. Cosponsoring is a
higher level of commitment than simply voting yes. It means your representative puts his name on
the bill in advance of the vote.
The
environmental community has never managed to get an energy bill out of
committee, let alone through the Senate.
Please help us see this bill to the end by making your call to your
state representative.
SB1184
(ACES) will drastically reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming; it
will reduce the spent nuclear waste being stored in
It will
also decrease our energy costs in
Part one of the bill mandates that the utility
companies promote energy efficiency on the consumer end. The Utilities must come up with their own
plan which will be approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Their
efforts must result in a decrease in use of fossil fuels.
Consumers
who take advantage of utility company offers (which could include promotions
for compact fluorescent light bulbs, insulation, etc.) will see an immediate
drop in their utility bills. All
consumers will benefit as a decrease in demand for energy reduces the price.
Part two is
the renewable energy portfolio. Utilities must use 25 percent renewable energy
by 2025. This will reduce rates in the
long run because it will add to the energy supply.
In this
year of rate increases, the message that sells is that this bill is a long term
answer to the high cost of energy. However,
as environmentalists, we know that this bill will also dramatically reduce air
pollution and carbon emissions. The
public health benefits will be immediate and the planetary benefits will last
for generations.
This is a
state bill. You can call your
Be sure to
leave your name and address so they know you are a constituent.
More
information is on the Illinois Sierra Club Website at http://illinois.sierraclub.org. Click on legislation in the green band at the
left.
Thanks for
making the call. We can’t win without
you.
Linda
Sullivan
Lsullivan23@hotmail.com