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Calling Upon U. S. Senators Specter and Santorum to support a Federal Energy Bill that is Both Economically and Environmentally Responsible and to Oppose Any Bill not Meeting this Standard, and Urging Philadelphia Community Groups and Businesses to Lead Pennsylvania and the Nation Toward Clean, Responsible, Sustainable Energy by Joining a Coalition for a New Energy Future.
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WHEREAS, Our country needs a New Energy Future of clean, efficient, reliable energy, free from unstable sources of foreign oil and the danger of global climate deterioration and pollution; and
WHEREAS, In 2003, the National League of Cities signed onto a coalition urging senators across the country to oppose H.R. 6, an energy bill similar to the one currently under consideration in the House of Representatives, that would have provided liability immunity to the producers of gasoline with the fuel additive MTBE, which would have caused a $29 billion clean-up to be paid for by local taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, Taxpayers in Pennsylvania paid more than $50 million to clean up abandoned toxic waste in 2004, up 315 percent from 1995; and
WHEREAS, Our nation currently relies on fossil fuels and nuclear power for 97 percent of our electricity needs, moving toward 20% production dependence on renewable resources by 2020 and shifting proposed federal subsidies away from nuclear and fossil fuels toward renewable energy and energy efficiency would stimulate the economy both here in Pennsylvania and across the nation, creating 215,308 net jobs nationally, increasing wages by $6.8 billion, increasing annual GDP by $5.8 billion, and saving all consumers $11 billion on natural gas bills and $16.2 billion on electricity bills; and
WHEREAS, With the City of Philadelphia already leading the way, the State of Pennsylvania, by installing solar panels on the rooftop equivalent of 280 square miles-or slightly more than 1/2 of 1 percent-of its land mass can generate an average of 14,470 megawat...
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