Feinstein letter re: arctic drilling/renewable energy

[Liberty Belle]

Thank you for contacting me about drilling in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). I appreciate hearing from you.

It is helpful to know that you oppose drilling in ANWR. At this
time, I believe that it is not necessary to drill in ANWR. Improving energy
efficiency; conservation; encouraging the development and use of fuel-cell
technology and renewables, such as wind, solar, and geothermal energy;
and increasing automobile fuel economy standards are much better
solutions to meeting the long term energy needs of California and the rest
of the United States.

That is why on January 30, 2003, I re-introduced the "Automobile
Fuel Economy Act" (S. 255). Once fully enacted, S. 255 would require
light trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to meet the same fuel
efficiency standards that passenger cars do today. This bill would also
require the federal fleet of cars and trucks to meet a higher fuel economy
standard than currently required. Closing the ASUV loophole@ would
prevent 240 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere
each year, save one million barrels of oil a day (which is much more oil
than is projected to be in ANWR), and reduce our dependence on foreign
oil imports by ten percent.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. I value your
opinion and I hope you will continue to keep in touch on issues important
to you. If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to
contact my Washington, D.C. staff at [phone].

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

http://feinstein.senate.gov