Tell President Obama: Protect Our Public Lands and Our Climate!
After months of deliberation, President Obama has announced a bold moratorium on all new coal mining on federal lands — a breakthrough move that will protect our climate and millions of acres of wildlands from the ravages of coal mining.
But there is a catch: this moratorium is temporary, in place only for the next three years while the Interior Department finalizes its policy. And it applies just to coal, leaving dirty fracking wells to continue sprouting up across our western wildlands like weeds.
The President's announcement will protect natural treasures like Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park, where the federal government was on the brink of approving an enormous coal mine — just 10 miles from the park entrance.
But it leaves open to plunder such awe-inspiring gems as Utah's Desolation Canyon, where the Interior Department has approved a plan for 1,300 new oil and gas wells … New Mexico's Chaco Canyon National Historic Park, where it has rubberstamped 240 fracking proposals around the park … and many other natural treasures.
Please ask President Obama to take the next step and end all new drilling and burning of our public lands before it's too late.
Dear President Obama:
I applaud your recently announced moratorium on leasing our public lands for coal mining—a move that will protect our climate from carbon pollution and millions of acres of public lands from the ravages of coal mining. Thank you for continuing to lead the way on climate action.
Now, I'm calling on you to take the next major steps in moving our nation to a clean energy future by:
- Extending this moratorium to ALL fossil fuels by stopping new leases for oil and gas drilling on our federal lands and in offshore waters
- Directing your Interior Secretary to reject new fossil fuel development in and around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Desolation Canyon in Utah and other iconic wildlands
- Withdrawing the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from eligibility for all future offshore drilling and protecting them permanently
[your comment here]
Please keep leading on climate by ending the fossil fuel plunder of our public lands and proving that America is committed to powering our future with clean energy. Thank you.
Sincerely,
[your name]
