ANWAR fireworks today according to Kerry's office and MSN.

Dear ---,

It didn't take long. Despite the stunning defeat we dealt them just a few months ago, proponents of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are at it again.

Because when they can't win the game they just change the rules, now they've inserted language in the Senate budget bill to hand over this precious natural treasure to big oil companies -- even though they know full well that it won't make a dime's worth of difference in making America more energy independent.

Tell your Senators to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and take real action toward achieving energy independence.

As we did last year, Senator Maria Cantwell and I are offering an amendment on the Senate floor to strike the proposal to drill in the Arctic Refuge. The vote could come within the next 24 to 48 hours. So please act now.

But, I'll bet that, like me, you're sick and tired of spending so much time defeating bad ideas in Washington when there are so many good ideas for America that get ignored in this city. So I'm asking you to do more than telling your Senators you want them to vote in favor of the Kerry-Cantwell Amendment. Tell them that you demand the Senate takes real action on an energy plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring the skyrocketing costs of energy down, and benefit the environment.

Tell your Senators to save the crown jewel of America's National Wildlife Refuge System and take real action on energy independence.

There are so many real and powerful things the Bush administration and the Republican Congress could do if they were serious about energy and the environment. But, they haven't lifted a finger on any of them.

They're so beholden to the big oil and gas companies that turning over America's most precious natural resources on a fool's errand search for the last drop of oil is all they can think about.

Tell them America won't settle for their pandering and posturing any longer.

Demand real action on energy independence -- and demand it now. And when they try to tell you we have no choice but to drill in the Arctic, tell them you have a better plan.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

P.S. Here are the five cornerstones of my 2020 Energy Plan that Congress should be acting on. When you tell them to vote for the Kerry-Cantwell amendment, tell your Senators to act on one or more of these genuine alternative energy ideas. That's what America needs.

INCENTIVIZING RENEWABLE ENERGY
More than 20 states have implemented market-based Renewable Energy Portfolio programs that require utilities to gradually increase the portion of electricity produced from renewable resources such as wind, biomass, geothermal, and solar energy. We should build on that success at the national level. Tell your Senators to enact a nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard so that 20% of our energy comes from renewable sources by 2020. A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that implementing this policy would save $26.6 billion and that commercial and industrial customers would be the biggest winners.

PROMOTING BIO-ENERGY
We have the ability to transform our transportation sector from one that fuels our addiction to one that drives us toward a sustainable future. The President should build on that demand and fuel new production opportunities by supporting a mandate that agriculture will provide 20% of the total energy consumed in the United States by 2020.

INVESTING IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY
In addition to developing new sources of energy, we must make better use of available energy. New technological advances in appliances, energy grid systems, and buildings can boost productivity, create jobs, improve the reliability and safety of the energy infrastructure, and make dramatic inroads in reducing air pollution. Congress should enact energy efficiency measures to decrease energy use by 20% by 2020.

PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPER-EFFICIENT VEHICLES
The government should provide an aggressive set of tax incentives and grants for consumers and for industries that are retooling plants to promote the manufacturing and purchase of hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of gas and electric power to sharply increase efficiency. Twenty percent of all passenger cars and trucks on the road should be high-efficiency, low emissions hybrids by 2020.

SETTING AMERICA FREE FROM MIDDLE EAST OIL
Today, America spends more than $500,000 per minute on foreign oil or $30 million per hour. We paid more than $42 billion for Persian Gulf imports alone in 2005. It is bad enough that these dollars will not help grow our domestic economy -- it is even worse when you consider their impact on our national security. Congress should act to eliminate America's oil imports from the Middle East by 2020.

Democrats John Kerry of Massachusetts and Maria Cantwell of Washington late on Wednesday were set to offer an amendment to strip the ANWR language from the budget bill. A vote on the amendment was expected later in the week.

Many Senate Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, oppose drilling in the refuge. They argue the amount of oil in ANWR is not enough to justify threatening the area's polar bears, caribou and other wildlife.

In an e-mail to his supporters on Wednesday, Kerry said the Bush administration was "so beholden to the big oil and gas companies that turning over America's most precious natural resources on a fool's errand search for the last drop of oil is all they can think about."