Example of letter sent by SAFER members to their Senators from January 17-21:
On Tuesday January 21, 1997, Senator Phil Gramm will offer a resolution doubling non-defense research spending over the next ten years. I urge you to support this resolution. I am a physicist and science educator who has spent the last 8 years performing energy research. Energy is fundamental to the ability of a society to function. Consider the facts: * The United States currently imports more than 45% of the oil it consumes annually at a direct cost of about $50 billion. * Americans currently spend over $400 billion a year for gasoline and electricity. * The U.S. Department of Energy currently spends less than $1 billion a year on energy research and development . While fossil fuels can supply the world's energy needs for perhaps a hundred years or more, alternatives to fossil fuels are urgently needed. We must aggressively pursue research and development of safe, clean, and viable non-fossil fuel alternatives (fusion, fission, solar, hydro, wind, etc.) now to ensure the energy needs of future generations. Again, I urge you to support Senator Gramm's resolution doubling non-defense research spending over the next ten years. Sincerely yours, Dr. Andrew Post Zwicker Science Education Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory 423-523-5774 and Science Education Program Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 609-243-2150 member of SAFER - Scientists Advocating Fusion Energy Research