While our literal Big Oil Carnival — complete with oil-themed midway games, Tony Hayward clowns, and an enthusiastic, stilt walking Uncle Sam — may have been out of the ordinary, it should have felt familiar for anyone who works on Capitol Hill.

The unfortunate reality is that every single day in the U.S. Senate is a carnival of Big Oil.

At every opportunity, a minority of Senators who are in the pocket of America’s largest polluters choose political games and obstruction over working together to solve America’s energy and climate crisis. As a result of their actions, the big polluters will continue to reap record profits at the expense of Americans.

Even before a BP oil well started gushing millions of gallons into the Gulf, a comprehensive climate and energy bill which breaks America’s oil addiction and curbs carbon pollution was a common sense and critically necessary policy.

Now, as we witness the worst industry-caused environmental catastrophe in our history, the deadliest coal mining disaster in 40 years, and sweat through the hottest first 6 months of any year on record, it should be a no-brainer.

It’s time to end the CarnivOIL in Congress. The Senate can no longer play games with our clean energy future.

Today, Big Oil can continue to celebrate their victory over clean energy. However, Senators should know that as long as they fail to act, America’s energy crisis won’t just go away…and neither will the generation of young people fighting for a clean energy future.

Uncle Sam MCs at CarnivOIL

Tony Hayward Knocks Out a Crab

See more photos from CarnivOIL

Big Oil: Keeping America dependent on oil since 1875 and celebrating victory over our clean energy future

Join Big Oil’s Celebration: America, Still in the Hands of Polluters and Petrodictators

The US Senate’s historic failure to bring a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill to the floor is reason to celebrate if you profit from America’s oil addiction. As a result of this week’s historic failure, we present “Carnivoil”: the Greatest Addiction on Earth – celebration of America’s addiction to oil with an outdoor midway-style carnival complete with games, concessions, and some Big Oil-style celebrating. Step right up! Don’t be afraid. See the world’s biggest polluters – by looking behind the curtain.

Games will include the Petroleum Wheel of Doom, Oil Executive Boxing and the Big Oil version of the famous Hammer game. The event highlights Big Oil’s success in pocketing the US Congress, while blocking progress toward a clean energy future.

WHAT: Carnivoil: The Greatest Addiction on Earth: complete with games to celebrate Big Oil’s success
WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 2010
TIME: 8-10 am
WHERE: Columbus Circle, Outside Union Station, Washington DC

“How many of you are from outside Washington, outside the beltway?” Nearly every hand in the audience went up.

And that was the importance of the town hall, headlined by a speech from Senator John Kerry, voices from the national security, business, energy and labor sectors. This town hall was about 200 real Americans, in Washington to tell their Senators that America needs comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

From the steelworker, who when asked if this bill would cost jobs said not on her watch, to the businessman from Dow Chemical, who said the legislation will create millions of jobs, the message was clear: in a struggling American economy, this bill is about jobs.

It is also about national security, as a retired Air Force Lt. General and a veteran of the Iraq war, sitting next to Senator Kerry, made clear. And it was Kerry who made the simplest statement on the subject, saying that the U.S. spending $1 billion overseas for oil everyday is, “crazy.”

Yes, Senator, it is. As is our reliance on oil in general, which leads to these vast overseas expenditures, as well as devastating environmental disasters that put livelihoods at risk. So is our reliance on coal, a dirty, destructive industry led by a CEO who called an explosion in his mine in April that killed 29 workers “an act of God,” and not one of negligence.

And it is crazy to look at a piece of legislation with the ability to move our country into the 21st century economy that workers across America need and not immediately call for its passage. Americans from across this great country came to Washington yesterday to say just that.

Watch Senator Kerry and check back for more videos throughout the day:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Unfortunately, so is the time left to act:

• The last decade was the hottest decade on record
• The past 12 months was the hottest year-long period on record
• This past June was the hottest June on record

Last week, we built a giant “Climate Deniers” ice sculpture on the Senate lawn. This visual should be clear enough for even the most conservative senator to understand.

CNN joined us to watch it melt, along with any remaining doubts about the need for action.

This week, the Senate is finally preparing to act on long-delayed energy legislation. We must make sure they listen to climate scientists, not climate deniers.

Watch the CNN video and tell your senators not to let our clean energy future melt away.

We’ve spent the last year fighting for a comprehensive climate plan to secure our clean energy future. Now senators have to make a choice:

They can take action to cut carbon pollution, create jobs, and enhance our national security… or they can let our clean energy future melt away.

It’s their choice, but it’s our future. Tell your senators we are paying attention: http://consequence2010.org/MeltingAway

This our moment. In the next two weeks, we’ll find out where our senators stand. We’re ready for the fight.

After installing a tight-fitting cap onto the well and subsequently closing valves in other locations as tests, BP has kept the well capped for the second day. Currently the live video feed shows no oil flowing into the ocean.

This news comes on the 86th day, and after more than 180 million gallons had flowed into the Gulf, or more than one Exxon-Valdez spill every week. More importantly, however, is to remember that this is far from over.

The containment cap was never meant to be permanent, and still isn’t. BP will continue to drill relief wells as the final solution, to pump the oil directly the surface, before attempting to cement the original well for good. That leaves this effort far from complete

In addition, even when the well is capped and not a single drop of oil is spilling into the Gulf, an even larger mission awaits. In 1989, the Exxon-Valdez spill pumped 11 million gallons of oil into the waters off of Alaska. Two decades later, the region still shows the effects.

The Gulf of Mexico, full of oil rigs that continue to pump oil everyday, is a larger, more populated region. In addition, more people make their living from the waters off of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, than anywhere in Alaska. These are billion dollar industries put at risk.

The cleanup and restoration is likely to take years, especially if it is hampered by oncoming hurricanes this summer. With more than 180 million gallons of oil to sift out of the water, sand and marshes, the scope of this effort is difficult to measure.

It’s importance, however, is unmeasurable.

From one side of the Gulf to the other, oil and tar balls have washed ashore, devastated coastlines. It is just the most recent disaster to overcome the region, but also the most preventable.

In the next few weeks, Congress will take up clean energy and climate legislation that would lessen our dependence on oil and makes these catastrophes less likely.

The Senate has a chance to act, to help move the country into the 21st century, and create millions of jobs. And it has a chance to stand up and say it is time to stop putting our country and our livelihoods at risk in the name of Big Oil profits.

This is not close to the end of the effect this oil spill will have on this country. Nor does that effect have to be all negative.

Dan Lashof, Director of NRDC’s Climate Center, told the crowd: “We are facing our last, best chance to prevent a meltdown of the environmental systems upon which all of us depend.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Brenda Ekwurzel from the Union of Concerned Scientists: “We didn’t choose our energy from coal and oil, previous generation made that choice for us, and we have learned through science that we’ve been paying a price.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Energy Action Coalition Co-Field Director Ethan Nuss: “I call on the U.S. Senate for urgent, bold, and strong action to pass comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation now! We need a cap on carbon pollution, and a common sense policy to create millions of clean energy jobs for my generation.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

The event was a huge success. Many thanks to the speakers Ethan Nuss (Energy Action Coalition), Dan Lashof (NRDC), and Brenda Ekwurzel (Union of Concerned Scientists).

Washington — With record-breaking temperatures along the East Coast and multiple investigations clearing scientists involved with the stolen “Climategate” emails, the coordinated smears campaign by climate deniers is melting away. As the Senate decides what to do about global warming, come see the giant ice sculpture and watch the lies of the climate deniers melt before your very eyes.

WHAT: A three-tiered ice sculpture to be unveiled outside the U.S. Senate.

WHEN: Thursday, July 15, 2010

TIME: 12 Noon (Sculpture will be unveiled at noon and will be out all afternoon)

WHERE: East Front Lawn, U.S. Capitol (Senate side); near 1st St and Constitution NE

SPEAKERS: Ethan Nuss,Co-Field Director, Energy Action Coalition
Dan Lashof, Director, Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council

Brenda Ekwurzel, Climate Research and Analysis, Union of Concerned Scientists

US Senators (TBA)

The event is being sponsored by Consequence, the largest youth coalition ever assembled to call for a comprehensive energy and climate plan that delivers clean energy jobs, less pollution, and a more secure America.

A new Clean Energy Works ad wich will run on national cable networks is designed to counter television ads from the American Petroleum Institute by calling out their “multimillion-dollar smear campaign to stop clean energy legislation.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a separate effort, the American Values Network is rolling out bus ads targeting Sarah Palin for her continued support of increased oil drilling even in the wake of the BP disaster.

American Values Network:

In the wake of the greatest environmental disaster in the nation’s history, Sarah Palin continues to promote domestic drilling as the solution to America’s energy needs. But she knows that domestic drilling will not even begin to address our dependence on foreign oil. We need a smarter approach to energy independence. The BP oil spill puts in sharp focus why political slogans do not make good policy.

AVN is also asking supporters to tell Palin that America needs a smarter approach to energy policy by posting on her Facebook page: post on her wall letting her know why “Drill, baby, drill” is not the answer!