Thank you to Sweetwater Nannauck of IdleNoMoreWA.org for recording this message to Warren Buffett. Backbone Campaign is deeply grateful for your leadership. On Sept. 21, 2014, the day of the historic climate march in NYC and around the world Backbone Campaign launched a petition to Warren Buffett, owner of BNSF railroad at BuffettLegacy.org. See our proposal for how his railroad can be part of the solution rather than escalating the climate crisis at SolutionaryRail.org. Petition ask: End BNSF railroad’s dependence on hauling and burning fossil fuels. Partner with Gov. Inslee to electrify, increase track speeds, and run your trains on 100% renewable energy from Seattle to Chicago. Sign on letter: Dear Mr. Buffett, Please, stop hedging your bets with investments that are guaranteed to harm the climate and the well being of future generations. Your railroad, BNSFs reliance on shipping coal and oil is not sustainable for your company, your workers, or the planet. These fuels are causing climate disruption, ocean acidification, damage public health, and they endanger the environments and cultural inheritance of the communities they move through. As the owner, you have the capacity to break the BNSFs railroad industrys addiction to the consumption and transport of fossil fuels. You alone have the power to transform the role and impact of railroads from being part of the problem to being a pivotal component of the solution. As you have pointed out, transportation by rail is 3-4 times more energy efficient than by truck. Electrification of the railroad would multiply that efficiency again by 3. Investment in modernization of rail lines will deliver higher speeds, which will draw high value freight off of trucks on our overburdened highways and make intercity passenger service more attractive. Electrified rail can run on zero emissions energy from wind, sun and other renewable sources. It is even possible for your railroads right-of-way to serve as a highly efficient HVDC transmission corridor for clean, renewable energy. We call this vision Solutionary Rail. We urge you to work with Governor Jay Inslee and other regional leaders make the Northern Transcon part of the solution for future generations. Implement the Solutionary Rail model to create a backbone for sustainable transport and renewable energy infrastructure in the region through which BNSF roles. Establish your legacy as the benevolent billionaire who had the wisdom to invest in the pivot to a sustainable future. Signer...
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 16:22:03 +0000