By Missouri Votes Conservation
Do you ever get frustrated that the quality of our air, the health of our streams, and the wellbeing of our ecosystems are taking a back seat to big corporations in Missouri? That self-interested entities like Big Oil, Big Coal and Big Ag dominate the conversation in Jefferson City and, more importantly, the policies enacted by our state legislature? That citizens who care deeply about Missouri’s environment don’t really have a voice in state government?
If that sounds like you, then you’ll want to know about Missouri Votes Conservation (MVC) and its “Kick ‘em Back” campaign.
The laws enacted by the Missouri legislature have an enormous impact on our natural environment and on the health of our state’s citizens. So MVC works hard to pass and support laws that protect the environment and, in election years, to support pro-environment candidates for the state House and Senate.
MVC and its allies have racked up a number of policy successes, including:
• The net-metering law, which incentivizes residential renewable energy installations;
• The voter-approved renewable energy standard known as Proposition C, which requires big electric utilities to source 15% of their power from wind and solar energy by 2021;
• The PACE law (Property Assessed Clean Energy), which helps building owners finance the up-front costs of energy retrofits and renewable installations.
Despite these advances, the environment has gotten its proverbial “butt kicked” in Jefferson City in recent years. So MVC just launched the “Kick ‘em Back” campaign to enlist concerned citizens in staging a comeback for the environment in 2012.
“It has become increasingly difficult to defend against assaults on our air, water, and land,” says MVC Executive Director Liz Forrestal. “We keep trying to enact green building and energy-efficiency standards, to rein in factory farms, to increase the fees that Missouri collects from companies that pollute our streams, and to secure badly needed funding for state parks. It’s an uphill battle.”
MVC and its partner organizations will be working in the 2012 legislative session to address these and other challenges. But they need help to fund their work. “We’re looking for 100 concerned Missourians to each donate $50 or more by October 1,” says Forrestal. “Raising $5,000 will support our lobbying efforts, raise the voice of environmental advocates, and help prevent Missouri’s environment from getting its butt kicked again this year.”
Donations to the “Kick ‘em Back” campaign can be made online by visiting www.movotesconservation.org and clicking “Donate Now,” or by mailing a check payable to MVC at 6267 Delmar Blvd, Ste. 2W, St. Louis, MO 63130.