Senate staffers expecting a typical morning commute were in for a surprise yesterday when they stepped out of Union Station and into a Big Oil Carnival.

While our literal Big Oil Carnival — complete with oil-themed midway games, Tony Hayward clowns, and an enthusiastic, stilt walking Uncle Sam — may have been out of the ordinary, it should have felt familiar for anyone who works on Capitol Hill.

The unfortunate reality is that every single day in the U.S. Senate is a carnival of Big Oil.

At every opportunity, a minority of Senators who are in the pocket of America’s largest polluters choose political games and obstruction over working together to solve America’s energy and climate crisis. As a result of their actions, the big polluters will continue to reap record profits at the expense of Americans.

Even before a BP oil well started gushing millions of gallons into the Gulf, a comprehensive climate and energy bill which breaks America’s oil addiction and curbs carbon pollution was a common sense and critically necessary policy.

Now, as we witness the worst industry-caused environmental catastrophe in our history, the deadliest coal mining disaster in 40 years, and sweat through the hottest first 6 months of any year on record, it should be a no-brainer.

It’s time to end the CarnivOIL in Congress. The Senate can no longer play games with our clean energy future.

Today, Big Oil can continue to celebrate their victory over clean energy. However, Senators should know that as long as they fail to act, America’s energy crisis won’t just go away…and neither will the generation of young people fighting for a clean energy future.

Uncle Sam MCs at CarnivOIL

Tony Hayward Knocks Out a Crab

See more photos from CarnivOIL

Big Oil: Keeping America dependent on oil since 1875 and celebrating victory over America’s clean energy future.

Big Oil: Keeping America dependent on oil since 1875 and celebrating victory over our clean energy future

Join Big Oil’s Celebration: America, Still in the Hands of Polluters and Petrodictators

The US Senate’s historic failure to bring a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill to the floor is reason to celebrate if you profit from America’s oil addiction. As a result of this week’s historic failure, we present “Carnivoil”: the Greatest Addiction on Earth – celebration of America’s addiction to oil with an outdoor midway-style carnival complete with games, concessions, and some Big Oil-style celebrating. Step right up! Don’t be afraid. See the world’s biggest polluters – by looking behind the curtain.

Games will include the Petroleum Wheel of Doom, Oil Executive Boxing and the Big Oil version of the famous Hammer game. The event highlights Big Oil’s success in pocketing the US Congress, while blocking progress toward a clean energy future.

WHAT: Carnivoil: The Greatest Addiction on Earth: complete with games to celebrate Big Oil’s success
WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 2010
TIME: 8-10 am
WHERE: Columbus Circle, Outside Union Station, Washington DC

As crude oil washes up on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and continues to gush unabated from ocean floor, you would think that even pollution-friendly Senators would be wary of voting for an anti-science resolution that does nothing but pad the pockets of Big Oil. If that Senator is Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, however, you would be wrong.

Next Thursday, June 10th, Murkowski will finally introduce her long-threatened Dirty Air Act resolution which would strip the EPA of its authority to regulate greenhouse gasses. It’s shocking that at this moment — when we should be holding oil companies accountable for their reckless environmental destruction — Senator Murkowski is pushing to let them off the hook.

It’s time for clean energy solutions, not another Big Oil Bailout!

We want to create a visual that senators can’t possibly miss, so all next week young people will be out in force on Capitol Hill and in states around the country wearing large oil barrels to demand senators oppose the Dirty Air Act and support comprehensive climate legislation.

Buzz is already building for these Oil Barrel actions with mentions on Politico and Grist, and an MSNBC appearance by Consequence blogger Benton Strong on MSNBC!

If you want to get involved in the action, the barrels are easy to make, just be sure to send us some pictures!

Materials:
1 Fiskars Kangaroo Pop-Up Bag – we found this at Target
1 can black Krylon “Fusion for Plastic” Spray Paint – found at most hardware stores (brand doesn’t matter, but it should bond to plastic)
1 can white Krylon “Fusion for Plastic” Spray Paint
2 24” bungee cords
1 sheet of 11X17 paper (preferably a thicker stock)
1 pair Exacto knife (or scissors)

Steps:

1. In a well-ventilated location, paint the bag black. You might need to let dry once, and then go back and fill in spots you missed. Pay special attention to the fabric areas at the rims and wire enclosure – you’ll need to spray more on this material.
2. While barrel is drying, download the stencil font (http://www.dafont.com/army.font) and print out as big as possible to fit on the 11X17 page (or just use this one).
3. Using Exacto knife, cut out the letters from the page.
4. When black paint is dry, spray white letters through the stencil. It helps to push the plastic, with your hand inside the barrel, up closer to the stencil.
5. While white paint is drying, cut all of the large handles off the barrel.
6. Attach bungee cords to the small loops at the top edge of the barrel.
7. Have someone lower the barrel onto the wearer, so there is one bungee cord on each shoulder.
8. Go cause trouble!

Big Oil’s favorite congresscritter, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Exxon) is at it again. Very soon (likely this Thursday or early next week), Murkowski plans to bring her Dirty Air Act resolution up for a vote. This proposal would put public health at risk and jeopardize long-overdue action to hold the biggest polluters accountable for their carbon pollution.

Her previous two attempts to gut the Clean Air Act were stymied last fall and winter by widespread opposition from the environmental movement and youth climate activists, but now Murkowski is back for another last-ditch effort to derail clean energy momentum.

Just last week, Murkowski helped block efforts in the Senate to raise the liability of BP for the Gulf oil spill, now she’s trying to help her Big Oil allies by undoing the Clean Air Act. Now is not the time for another Big Oil Bailout.

This is another bailout that protects big oil, corporate polluters, and lobbyists. It’s time for Congress to stop protecting the special interests that fund their campaigns and start protecting our national interests.

Americans are demanding that we cut our dependence on oil, but the Dirty Air Act’s Big Oil Bailout would actually increase our dependence on oil by 450 million barrels—that’s more than $33.3 billion in lost savings for Americans (Note: based on current price of $74 per barrel).

Our senators shouldn’t be wasting tax-payer time and money by undermining the EPA’s finding that carbon pollution is dangerous to our health. Instead, we need to pass bipartisan clean energy and climate legislation that will put us in control of our energy future, while cutting our dependence on oil, reducing carbon pollution, and enhancing our national security.

Tell your Senators to oppose this dangerous resolution. The last thing we need is another Big Oil Bailout