Dear Friend,

Chip in $5 today to jumpstart our Earth Budget Campaign. Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar -- and help us push for solutions that prioritize people over polluters.

For weeks, Republicans like Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) have been holding the economy hostage as they push for draconian cuts to our social safety net and crucial environmental protections, all the while protecting giveaways to polluting corporations. Unfortunately, too many Democrats are afraid to say no, and some are even voicing support for the same harmful cuts.

Here’s the dirty secret: America’s not broke. There are real solutions that would allow us to balance the budget while protecting the poor, the middle class and the environment.

That’s why tomorrow we're launching our new Earth Budget Campaign -- designed to show politicians in Washington, D.C. that there are alternatives. It’s time to start prioritizing people over polluters.

This campaign is so critical that a group of generous donors has pledged to match the first $30,000 raised. If you chip in just $5 to jumpstart this effort, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

The debate about tax and budget policy in this country is incredibly lopsided, skewed far in favor of wealthy corporate interests. Our campaign will inject progressive, pro-environment alternatives into the debate.

We'll start tomorrow with a media push focused on raising the profile of a carbon tax, a solution that would help head off the worst impacts of climate change while also raising revenue to pay for crucial social programs like Social Security and Medicare.

And we’ll follow up in August with the release of our 2011 Green Scissors report -- a coalition effort that will spotlight hundreds of billions of dollars in polluter giveaways. Through grassroots events, we’ll pressure representatives in key swing districts to end big oil tax breaks and other polluter payouts.

Together we can stand up and fight polluter influence in Washington, D.C. Give just $5 now and your gift will be doubled by a group of donors -- committed supporters who believe so strongly in this campaign they’ve pledged to match the first $30,000 we raise.

Friends of the Earth staff have decades of experience working on tax and budget issues. And now, given the ongoing economic recession and budget battles, we have a real opportunity to make progress. That’s why we’re focusing our efforts with this campaign, which will have four pillars:

• End subsidies for polluting industries
• Ensure adequate funding for government to advance the common good
• Make polluters pay for the costs created by their pollution
• Invest in clean alternatives and technologies

The tide is finally turning on government handouts to polluters. This summer, we've already won a 73 to 27 Senate vote to end a $6 billion a year giveaway to the corn ethanol industry, and we also defeated a measure that would have saddled ratepayers with the costs of new nuclear reactor construction in Iowa. Given the budget crunch, we have an opportunity to score other victories in the near future.

Click here to chip in $5 as we begin a media push on the carbon tax and prepare our Green Scissors report for publication. And remember, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of generous donors.

Thanks for all you do.

– Michelle, Ben, Becca, Peter and the rest of our Earth Budget team