JEANNE SHAHEEN STATEMENT ON THE CELEBRATION OF EARTH DAY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 22, 2008

Contact:

Kate Bedingfield

603 292 3199 (o) kbedingfield@jeanneshaheen.org

Caitlin Legacki

603 647 2008 (o)/ clegacki@jeanneshaheen.org

JEANNE SHAHEEN STATEMENT ON THE CELEBRATION OF EARTH DAY

(Manchester, NH) – Former Governor and current candidate for US Senate Jeanne Shaheen released the following statement today in honor of Earth Day:

"Today, we celebrate Earth Day, an important reminder that it is up to all of us to help keep our environment clean and protect our planet.  This week, I participated in a clean up of the Cocheco River in Dover and it was heartening to see so many people committed to cleaning and preserving the wildlife habitats in our beautiful state.  The work of 25 people on a Saturday morning will help keep the river environment healthy for wildlife and clean for visitors to enjoy for months to come.  

We only get one planet and it is each and every person's responsibility to protect it.  Through conservation in our daily lives and simple efforts like taking the time to recycle and using energy-efficient light bulbs, we can each stand up and make a real difference. 

But we also need leadership in Washington that understands the urgency of our environmental situation.  We need to make serious changes and we need to make them now.  We need to invest in renewable energy sources, stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries and move ourselves off of our dependency on foreign oil, which is polluting our planet and putting a stranglehold on our economy.  Together, we can take our country in a new direction and ensure that we leave our children a cleaner planet than the one we inherited."