Dear Friend,

It was one year ago this week when I jumped into a long-shot race against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then the head of the Democratic National Committee. We took on the entire Democratic political establishment, and while we fell short in a closed primary, we helped chase Wasserman Schultz from the DNC and we raised a host of crucial issues. Now we are pushing our progressive agenda with Progress For All, our small-donor based community action group that’s harnessing the power of the grassroots.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been hearing from our supporters, and it’s clear what issues are of most concern to many of you. At the top of the list was opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a terrible corporate giveaway. As I pointed out in my campaign, the TPP would have made it more difficult to protect our environment, such as by banning the practice of hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking. We listened to you and redoubled our efforts. Together, we helped stop the lame duck Congress from passing the TPP!

Also at the top of your list was opposition to fracking and the pipelines that serve as the key infrastructure for fossil fuels. At Progress For All, we are pushing for statewide and national bans on fracking. Only recently did the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issue a report concluding that fracking contaminates drinking water. Like many of you, the first time I watched Josh Fox’s “Gasland” documentary film, I knew that fracking pollutes our drinking water! But because of the political clout of the fracking industry, it took the EPA five years to reach this conclusion.

Please donate $3 to help us stop these pipelines and support our campaign to ban fracking. We won’t take a penny from corporate interests, which allows us to always stand up for what’s right!

We also responded to your calls to stand with Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Now we are leading the fight against the Sabal Trail Pipeline, a 500-mile pipeline that threatens our drinking water and ecosystem in Florida and neighboring states.

Stopping the Sabal Trail Pipeline is crucial. This pipeline will transport fracked gas from Alabama and Georgia. In addition, the pipeline itself will go underneath and alongside major rivers, including the Santa Fe, Crystal, and Suwannee Rivers, the home of endangered manatees and other species. It has already cut through Indian burial grounds, and it’s awfully close to residential neighborhoods and all kinds of sinkholes, big and small, including some that have not yet been detected. In short, it’s not a question of if this pipeline will leak, but when. And when it does, it will undoubtedly pollute one of the world’s largest aquifers which provides 60 percent of drinking water to the nation’s third most populated state.

Example of how a pipeline leak can look.

It is for all these reasons that we are taking the lead in opposing this $3 billion pipeline. We have gathered over 90,000 petitions to halt construction of the pipeline, which we will soon deliver to Senator Bill Nelson to urge him to action. And just as I exposed the nefarious role of Debbie Wasserman Schultz in taking millions of dollars of corporate money while pushing a corporate agenda, now Progress For All is exposing the role of Florida Governor Rick Scott in shilling for the fossil fuel industry.

All of these efforts require the mobilization of our grassroots. We cannot wait until the 2018 elections. Too much is at stake. Please donate $3 to help our grassroots efforts!

We must address climate change now and that means converting our economy from fossil fuels to solar energy and other alternative, sustainable fuels.

Thank you for all your support, and please spread the word about our efforts to stop the Sabal Trail Pipeline.

In Solidarity,

Tim Canova

Chair, Progress For All