Dear Friend,

The tide is finally turning on corporate welfare. Will you help us end ethanol subsidies for agribusiness and Big Oil with a gift of $25 or more today?

Last week, in a historic vote, the Senate chose to end an ethanol subsidy for agribusiness and Big Oil that had been on the books for more than 30 years. The 73-27 vote was a huge victory for the environment and taxpayers -- and you deserve a lot of the credit!

Since December, Friends of the Earth activists like you have sent more than 65,000 letters to elected officials, demanding that they end this wasteful corporate handout. Last week, the Senate listened and made significant progress toward ending ethanol subsidies forever.

This vote is a watershed moment. But the fight isn’t over yet, and we need all the help we can get to finally end these subsidies. Will you donate $25 or more to Friends of the Earth and help us keep the pressure on?

Corn ethanol requires vast amounts of water, fertilizer and pesticide to produce. The chemicals are toxic, and the agricultural runoff creates a massive annual Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico where marine life cannot survive. Exacerbated by record-breaking flooding in the Midwest, this zone could surpass the size of New Jersey this year.

Moreover, corn ethanol production steals land away from food production -- pushing up prices on food staples. At a time when people in the U.S. and around the world are struggling to make ends meet, the last thing our government should be doing is lining the pockets of Big Oil and the agribusiness industry to encourage this environmental and human disaster.

We have the momentum, but the coming months will be crucial and we must follow through on this victory. Please donate $25 or more to Friends of the Earth and help us bring an end to this environmentally destructive subsidy.

Under the pretext of cutting the deficit, many politicians in Washington, D.C. are trying to undercut the Environmental Protection Agency and critical environmental programs. Even Medicare is on the chopping block.

But our campaign is showing a better way -- ending obscene payouts to polluters -- and we are breaking ground. Republicans and Democrats from every part of the country except the Corn Belt voted to end the giveaway. House Speaker John Boehner has admitted that “changes are on their way” for ethanol subsidies and this Senate vote could bring the momentum we need.

But we’re up against corporate lobbyists with deep pockets and we need your help. Will you give a gift of $25 or more and help us make the case for cutting corporate handouts instead of critical programs?

Friends of the Earth -- with support from you and our team of activists -- has been a key player in this debate for years. Together, our advocacy has laid the groundwork that led to last week’s historic vote. But ethanol tax credits are just one part of our campaign to stop support for polluting industries.

We have worked for more than 15 years to eliminate federal polluter payouts and this summer may be our best opportunity yet to end loan guarantees for dangerous nuclear reactors, close Big Oil’s tax loopholes, and permanently eliminate tax credits and other support for dirty corn ethanol.

We have big goals, and we’re going to face big opposition. The corporate agribusiness interests behind the biofuels industry wield incredible power in Congress. And they’re fighting tooth and nail to defend their unfair giveaways at the expense of the public interest.

But we’re having success where no one has before and your advocacy has helped us get this far. Now will you give the financial support to push our campaign over the top this summer?

Thank you,

Erich Pica
President, Friends of the Earth