IN NEW NATIONAL EFFORT, VETERANS CALL FOR AMERICAN-MADE CLEAN ENERGY TO ACHIEVE REAL ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
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Clean Energy for America & Climate Power publish a powerful open letter in the New York Times and launch TV & digital ads to highlight how veterans who showed up for their country believe it’s time for America to embrace clean energy to protect national security.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 4, 2022
CONTACT: Jason Phelps, jason@climatepower.us, Kris Fetterman, Kris@sevenletter.com
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In partnership with over fifty U.S. Military veterans, Clean Energy for America and Climate Power released two new ads urging Congress to take decisive action for real American energy independence. The TV and digital spots and print ad that ran in the national Sunday edition of the New York Times highlight the national security risk inherent in tethering American energy production to foreign oil.
These veterans put their lives on the line to protect American people and security, but the war in Ukraine is highlighting the cost of relying on authoritarian leaders and their antidemocratic motives for oil and gas to power our nation.
“As a combat veteran, I came away from my time in the military passionate about energy independence as a keystone in America’s national security,” said Jon Powers, Founder and President of CleanCapital. “Clean, reliable, homegrown energy takes the power away from dictators like Putin and protects families across the nation from attacks on their wallets and on the stability of our democracy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the subsequent hike in gas prices, shows just how our addiction to fossil fuels threatens both our national and economic security. It is time to take our security into our own hands, which is why I am calling on Congress and President Biden to support legislation that will shepherd our nation into a safer, cleaner, more reliable future where renewable energy is created and championed here at home.”
“I fought to protect American democracy and independence as a Captain in the United States Army,” said Kevin Johnson, Board Director at the Environmental Defense Action Fund and American Resilience Project. “My combat deployment to Bayji, Iraq from 2004-2005 was served in the shadow of endless oil fires and compelled me to pursue a career in clean energy after my time in uniform. Domestic, clean energy creates good paying careers in our heartland, reduces our dependence on petro dictators, and strengthens our national security interests at home and abroad. I’m proud that over 25,000 of my fellow Veterans have found meaningful careers in the clean energy sector after their transition from military service. It is essential that Congress and the President act to break our addiction to fossil fuels and accelerate our transition to clean energy, once and for all.”
The new initiative features veterans in their own words detailing how each day the United States remains dependent on foreign oil and gas is one that jeopardizes the independence they fought for, and one that denies jobs to hard working Americans who need them. Thousands of these men and women went on to find good paying, local jobs in clean energy after their service, so they know firsthand that investments in clean energy innovation and manufacturing can provide transformative, mission driven careers here at home. A transition to clean energy is imperative to protect national security while moving toward an economy independent of despots bent on making a profit at any cost. Our veterans know what it is to sacrifice for American independence and prosperity, and now they’re calling for Congress to stand up and do the same.
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