Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Drilling in the Arctic Ocean poses grave threats to America's vanishing polar bears. Photo courtesy USFWS

America’s polar bears are struggling to survive — with biologists predicting they could disappear in just a few short decades. But Big Oil uses your tax dollars to drill in key polar bear habitat.

Sea turtles, dolphins and other Gulf Coast wildlife paid the price of the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster. Yet Big Oil still spends your tax dollars on pursuing more risky drilling in the Gulf and other coastal waters.

Today, the U.S. Senate could vote to end the $4 billion in taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil – but we need your voice to make it happen.

Please call your U.S. Senators today at the numbers below to urge them to support the Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act — and end billions of dollars in Big Oil giveaways. 

Just deliver this quick message:

“My name is (NAME) and I live in (STATE) and I’m calling to urge my Senator to support the Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act (S. 2204) being voted on today. I want my tax dollars to be invested in clean, renewable energy — and not be used to prop up polluters’ profits.”

Then please tell us about your call. This important step will help track responses from across the country so we can follow up with your lawmakers.

A vote could come as soon as TODAY – Please call now!

Gulf Coast wildlife paid the price of the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster.

From 2001 to 2011, the top five Big Oil companies raked in more than $1 trillion in profits. But these companies continue to receive $4 billion each year in taxpayer subsidies. With rising gas prices and a fragile economy, why should American taxpayers prop up polluters’ profits? 

Tell your Senators enough is enough! Call now to urge them to end the $4 billion in wasteful taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil.

It seems simple: Instead of putting our polar bears, sea turtles and other wildlife at risk, our tax dollars should be used to invest in long-term, clean energy solutions that will end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels — and put us on a course toward a cleaner, safer energy future.

But as much as this legislation makes sense, passing this bill will not be easy. The oil industry has already shown its reach in this Congress, slipping harmful measures into legislation that would hand over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, our coastal waters and other natural treasures to Big Oil’s dirty drills.

Please call today and deliver a loud, clear message to your Senators: It’s time to end Big Oil’s subsidies — and invest in a cleaner energy future.

One quick call can make a big difference for our wildlife and wild places.

Learn more:

Read what Defenders’ president Jamie Rappaport Clark has to say about Big Oil subsidies and what Congress should do to redirect this country to a more sustainable energy future on National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts Blog.

Defenders' president and CEO, Jamie Rappaport Clark

This week, the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Experts Blog asked, “Who’s to blame for high gas prices?“ Read what Defenders president and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark thinks Congress should do to redirect this country to a more sustainable energy future. 

The phenomenon has become as reliable an indicator of spring as budding trees: gas prices go up just before peak summer driving season begins. Then, just as reliably, by Labor Day they’ve fallen again. According to 2012 Republican presidential candidates, the President of the United States has the ability to dictate these numbers at the pump. If only he had such power. But the reality is, as long as America is dependent on fossil fuels like oil, we’re at the mercy of those factors that influence the global market: Israel’s threatened war with Iran, the reduction in output from certain foreign producers, Wall Street speculators, Middle Eastern countries dominated by political unrest, and oil companies out to make a profit.

If the federal government is serious about redirecting this country to a more sustainable energy future, it should immediately eliminate the subsidies paid out to Big Oil–up to $4 billion each year. Instead of fattening the wallets of Big Oil CEOs, our government should be taking that money and investing it in clean energy solutions and higher fuel efficiency vehicles that will break our country’s dependence on foreign energy and dirty fossil fuels. Some in Congress are already taking steps to do just this. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) recently introduced a measure that would end several tax benefits for major oil companies while extending a series of renewable energy tax breaks that have recently expired or are soon scheduled to do so. A vote on this forward-looking bill is expected in the coming days.

Instead of sacrificing America’s pristine lands and waters to profiteering oil companies, our leaders should be investing in long-term, clean energy and energy efficiency solutions that will end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and break us from the cycle of rising gas prices forever.

Passing legislation to invest in clean energy solutions will not be easy. The 112^th Congress has an ugly record of voting in favor of Big Oil profits over the public interest, slipping measures into draft legislation like the Transportation Bill that have oil executives licking their chops; measures that seek to open places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or waters off Virginia’s coast to drilling. These efforts to sell off some of our most cherished public lands will do nothing to solve high gas prices this year, next year or for many years to follow, but they are great for oil profits and for the elected officials funded by Big Oil.

Drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not solve our country's energy needs. Photo courtesy of USFWS

Instead of sacrificing America’s pristine lands and waters to profiteering oil companies, our leaders should be investing in long-term, clean energy and energy efficiency solutions that will end our dependence on dirty fossil fuels and break us from the cycle of rising gas prices forever. Building a renewable energy portfolio will take some time, but by eliminating Big Oil’s tax break giveaway and investing that money in clean energy solutions now, Congress can put us on the track to get there. Without a realistic plan to end our country’s addiction to oil, the Republican leadership’s promise to lower gas prices rings as hollow as an empty gas tank.

Learn more:

Read the full question and see what others are saying on the National Journal’s Energy and Environment Expert Blog.

Stay tuned for how you can help Sen. Menendez pass his bill to end oil subsidies and propel America toward a clean energy future.