NRDC Action Fund Launches Star-Studded Video Campaign to Spur Action on Clean Energy

January 28, 2010 (NEW YORK) -- On the heels of President Obama’s push to move America toward a clean energy economy in his State of the Union address last night, the NRDC Action Fund today launched This is Our Moment, a web-based video campaign urging Congress to pass the first-ever climate and clean energy bill, currently pending in the Senate. The campaign kicks off with the release today of a star-studded video call-to-action that includes Jason Bateman, Chace Crawford, Leonardo DiCaprio, Felicity Huffman, Justin Long, Edward Norton, Emmy Rossum and Forest Whitaker.

“This is our moment – our moment to fight for a cleaner and more secure future,” said DiCaprio, a longtime champion for the environment, and a NRDC Trustee. “The time is now for people across the country to stand up and have their voices heard. We all must call on the Senate to act on this historic opportunity.”

This is Our Moment brings together the nation’s most effective environmental action group and a host of notable celebrities including DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman, Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long.  This is Our Moment enables citizens to become participants by speaking to their representatives in two ways: uploading their own videos in support of a clean energy economy, and sending direct emails to their Senators.

The online community can also engage by spreading the message.  This is Our Moment is designed to create a virtual army of climate activists through an emphasis on social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, a rotating display of user-generated videos, and the video player itself, which is an embeddable widget for websites, social networking pages and blogs.

Clean energy and climate legislation passed the House of Representatives for the first time ever in June 2009.  The legislation, the Clean Energy, Jobs and American Power Act, is now pending in the Senate. The bill has the power to jumpstart our economy, create millions of jobs, break our dependence on foreign oil, and cut global warming pollution. This is Our Moment calls on Americans to hold their representatives to task and to pass urgently-needed climate legislation.

“Americans want real action to address climate change and move our country toward a clean energy future,” said NRDC Action Fund President Frances Beinecke. “This is one of the most important pieces of legislation of our time -- we cannot let our moment pass us by. Our Senators need to hear all of us loud and clear.”