Cleaner Environment
Maria is one of our nation's strongest environmental leaders. She has been called an "environmental hero" by the League of Conservation Voters for her leadership protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling, holding corporate polluters accountable and protecting our pristine roadless areas from logging and road building. Maria's leadership has helped protect Puget Sound from polluting supertankers and provided innovative incentives for smart energy use.
Leading the Fight to Protect the Arctic Refuge
Maria is committed to stopping industry lobbyists and big oil companies from pushing their anti-environment agenda through Congress. She has led the fight in the Senate to block the Republicans' short-sighted attempts to drill in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - and she will keep working to develop a comprehensive, long-term solution to America's energy needs.
Permanently Protecting Our Roadless Areas
Because Maria knows the value of our national treasures, she cosponsored the Roadless Area Conservation Act to block Bush administration attempts to open 58 million acres of pristine, roadless forest. Maria's plan would permanently protect these forests from logging and road building.
Protecting Puget Sound
Last year, Maria stopped an attempt to overturn the Magnuson Amendment and bring supertankers into Puget Sound. This poorly-advised plan would have allowed the Cherry Point refinery in Whatcom County to swell to a massive terminal for giant oil tankers, increasing oil company profits but giving Washington state little in return. Washington refineries currently produce twice the fuel we use.
Encouraging Smart Energy Use
Maria has pushed through groundbreaking investments in renewable energy, including tax credits for biodiesel, increased funding for research and development, and incentives rewarding smart energy use. Maria pushed for stronger fuel and tire efficiency standards to reduce pollution, and she helped broker a deal with the port of Seattle to facilitate the use of biofuels in their operations.