My colleagues down at Greenpeace Argentina ran this full-page ad in the Washington Post today to call on Argentina’s president, Mrs. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, to rethink her administration’s support for dirty coal energy. Pres. Kirchner is in Washington, D.C. this week meeting with Pres. Obama.
The Argentinian government is building a coal-fired plant in Patagonia, in the south of Argentina, as part of a broader investment in the supremely dirty fossil fuel. But as the ad points out:
Global warming is a threat to the existence of the Andean glaciers. These glaciers are the main source of water for many communities in Argentina and the rest of South America. Glaciers are the most important water reserve for future generations of Argentinians. But they are disappearing. The situation will only get worse if more coal plants are built.
By investing in new green jobs and promoting wind power in the Argentine Patagonia, your adminstration has the chance to provide a clean, efficient, modern and decentralized energy supply to your people.
It’s time to reidrect our investments from dirty and expensive sources of energy, such as coal, into a clean and renewable future.
If Mrs. Kirchner is swayed at all by the ad, maybe she can put in a word with President Obama. Instead of opening more of our coastlines to offshore drilling, he could and should be supporting policies to kickstart an energy revolution right here at home and leading the way for the rest of the world. You can drop President Obama a line right now and tell him that it’s time for America to break our oil addiction, if you’re so inclined.
