Cross-posted from the 1Sky Blog

This post is from 1Sky intern Emma Fernandez, a former intern from last year. Emma returned to 1Sky for the summer, so we gave her and all our interns a grueling assignment: head to Capitol Hill on a hot DC morning, put on a stifling oil barrel costume, and speak out against Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s appalling “Dirty Air Act” resolution as it was being debated on the Senate floor. Emma — along with Florencia Foxley, Amy Plovnick, and Ines Ware — did a great job and we’re proud of their efforts on the Hill yesterday. –Garth

We’re feeling especially proud of the climate movement today as we’re all celebrating a good victory in the defeat of Sen Lisa Murkowski’s resolution to gut the Clean Air Act.

Yesterday morning, while my friends and colleagues were frantically tracking the latest vote counts, I was standing in front of the Senate office buildings dressed as an oil barrel. I joined excited volunteers from many different organizations who turned out to participate in Clean Energy Works’ day of action to increase pressure on the Senate. We covered every corner, handing out flyers to pedestrians and asking them to call their senators and tell them to say no to Murkowski’s Big Oil bailout, while other volunteers distributed informational materials directly to senators’ offices.

Besides encouraging citizens to tell their senators to stand up for a clean energy economy, the goal of yesterday’s action was also to create a visible presence on the Hill in opposition to Murkowski’s bill – and with all our volunteers dressed in oil barrel costumes, we definitely accomplished that goal! No one on the streets could miss us, including several senators who passed by!

The oil barrels were a fun touch, but our action definitely had a serious effect. When we explained Murkowski’s resolution, many people promised to call their senators, and a few were even on their way to meetings with them. It was heartening to hear so many people express their support for the cause, and we clearly sent the message that Americans are fed up with giveaways to Big Oil and Coal and ready for a clean energy future.

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!