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Press Releases

Environmental Groups Launch $1.6 Million Ad Campaign in Wisconsin to Tell Ron Johnson to Stop Putting Polluters Profits Ahead of Wisconsin’s Health

Sep 1, 2015

Contact: Jonah Hermann, jonah@conservationvoters.org, 608-208-1129

Madison, Wisconsin – Today, the League of Conservation Voters and EDF Action launched a new $1.6 million ad campaign in Wisconsin. The first ad tells viewers to urge Senator Ron Johnson to end his opposition to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which would place reasonable limits on carbon pollution for the first time. Senator Johnson’s dangerous record of supporting unlimited carbon pollution puts the health of Wisconsin families at risk. The US Senate is expected to consider votes on the EPA’s plan this month,  including through the pending federal appropriations bills or measures seeking to overtly undermine the plan.

Watch “Disappear” and read script and backup here

“Disappear” will be followed by additional ads and activities from EDF Action and LCV in the coming weeks. The ads, running in Green Bay, Madison, and Milwaukee, ask viewers to call Senator Johnson and urge him to support the Clean Power Plan in upcoming votes in the Senate. The campaign dramatically expands a satellite effort run in August.

“People need to know about Ron Johnson’s record of putting the health of Wisconsinites at risk,” said Kerry Schumann, Executive Director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters. “Our leaders in Congress, as well as Governor Walker, should support the Clean Power Plan instead of allowing unlimited carbon emissions for big polluters. We must protect public health and make Wisconsin a clean energy leader.”

“Ron Johnson is voting against the interests of Wisconsin families,” said Elizabeth Thompson, President of Environmental Defense Action Fund.  “He supports unlimited carbon pollution from power plants, which leads to more asthma attacks and threatens our kids’ futures.”

Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters recently expanded field offices in Milwaukee and Green Bay. The field teams are joining forces with our members, faith leaders, universities, students, businesses, and more to build support for policies that will protect our environment for future generations.

The Environmental Protection Agency released the final Clean Power Plan on August 3, aiming to curb carbon pollution—the key driver of climate change—from power plants by 32 percent by 2030. That will help avoid 3,600 premature deaths, 90,000 asthma attacks in children, and deliver total health benefits of $14 billion to $34 billion in 2030 to the American people, according to the EPA. In addition, average electric utility bills for consumers are projected to decline by more than $80 per year when the Clean Power Plan is fully implemented.

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