Take action now.

Prominent musicians across the nation today launched a nationwide
grassroots effort to stop the Senate from passing the dangerous
energy plan which oil lobbyists helped write. Musicians and tens of
thousands of their fans will be contacting their Senators to tell
them to vote against the plan, which has already won approval from
the House.

"Drilling in our last wild places like the Arctic Refuge? Risking
Three Mile Islands with more nuclear power? That thinking is as old
as fossil fuels. We would all benefit from a plan inclusive of
environmental conservation, fuel efficiency and alternative energy
sources,"says Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys, who has been
organizing members of the music community in this effort, called the
New Power Project, since last May.

Starting on February 11th, dozens of well-known musicians will
mobilize their fans by encouraging them to visit the
www.saveourenvironment.org/newpower site where they can send a free
fax to their senators about the plan. Kevin Richardson (of the
Backstreet Boys), REM, the Roots and Live join the effort that has
already included the Beastie Boys, Barenaked Ladies, Tom Petty & the
Heartbreakers, Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, Moby, Trey
Anastasio (from Phish), Jackson Browne, Alanis Morissette, James
Taylor and others.

The Energy Plan being considered by the Senate was passed in the
House last year, after heavy lobbying by the oil drilling industry.
The plan calls for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
and other public lands, weakening the Clean Air Act, and increasing
subsidies to coal and nuclear industries. An alternative bill is
being proposed by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D - S.D.) that
would prohibit drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, invest in
clean energy and raise fuel efficiency standards.

By raising fuel economy standards for new cars, SUVs, and trucks to
40 mpg, we would save four million barrels of oil a day by 2020 –
more oil than we import from the Persian Gulf each day and could
expect to get from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,
combined! America needs an energy plan that emphasizes efficiency and
conservation. The New Power Project artists believe that is the kind
of plan the Senate should pass.

Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys said, "Our country consumes
25 percent of the world's oil and holds less than three percent of
the world's reserves. The House's position that drilling our way out
of dependence on foreign oil is ridiculous. If we are to be truly
self-reliant, let's be leaders and increase our fuel efficiency
instead of violating our natural treasures."

The music community has allied with the Save Our Environment
Coalition--a collaborative effort of over a dozen of the nation's
most influential environmental advocacy organizations. Dubbed the New
Power Project, the innovative effort has rallied tens of thousands of
fans and other supporters to sign petitions and to fax their members
of Congress, expressing outrage over the plan's disregard for
environmental protection and failure to support conservation and
renewable energy programs.

Visit http://www.saveourenvironment.org/matchbox20 to contact your
legislators. Put up this banner
(http://www.saveourenvironment.org/npb/banner_np.html) on your
website to link to the aforementioned page. Forward this email to
your friends.