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Sherrod Brown was one of the guest speakers at the gala Ohio premier of the documentary Coal Country that was held at the Akron Civic Theatre on Saturday, September 12, 2009. Senator Brown is no stranger to the environmentalists of Ohio, and has one of the strongest environmental voting records in Washington.
But! He is also a senator representing all of the state, and has been under pressure to curb his environmental enthusiasm by the powerful utility and coal interests of the state.
Last summer, Ohio environmentalists were outraged by his vote against the Warner Lieberman climate change bill, which was defeated in the Senate. He said that he was not going to throw the carbon addicted economy of Ohio under the bus, for what in truth, was a pretty weak excuse for a bill. However, many in Ohio began to wonder if senatorial success has caused Sherrod to forget his green roots. This was reflected in a widely circulated essay written by yours truly, entitled “Whatever Happened to Sherrod?”
Sherrod’s vote on Warner Lieberman, did some damage to his reputation, and has caused Ohio environmentalists to doubt what had never been doubted before. The Sherrod we saw and heard at the Akron Civic Theatre was the old Sherrod we knew and loved. He gave a strong speech commending the work of Coal Country producers Mari-Lynn Evans and Phyllis Geller, and praising activists working to stop mountaintop removal coal mining. But what we wanted to hear were strong words in favor of pending climate change legislation and the Appalachia Restoration Act. We didn’t hear those words. We know he can talk the talk, but can he walk,the walk and restore his place in the pantheon of public officials who have braved the political head winds to stand up for the environment in a state known for its polluter friendly political climate?
Sherrod needs our help. We can do this two ways. First, we can urge him to work for the strongest climate change bill that we can get out of the US Senate. Second, we can urge him to co-sponsor the Appalachia Restoration Act, S. 696. This bill would amend the Clean Water Act, to forbid the burying of streams near mountaintop removal sites with fill that results when the mountains are blown up to get at seams of coal.
Call Senator Brown at his Washington office at 202-224-2315 (or his Cleveland office at 216-522-7272), or send him a letter via his web site at www.brown.senate.gov. Tell him that we like his talk, but now we want to see his walk by co-sponsoring S. 696 and backing strong climate change legislation in the Senate.
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