Tools to Expose Big Oil’s Influence on Our Political System

You can use Oil Change USA’s tools to educate, activate and engage people coming to your website and blog by:

• launching an email campaign that links our tool to your recipients, telling them exactly how much oil or coal money their representatives or candidates have taken from the oil or coal industries, and how often they vote for Big Oil (see the attached image of our email mash-up campaign with True Majority);
• posting or embedding our Oily Mystery flash video that integrates all of our tools within a story about Big Oil’s influence in politics;
• linking to our tools on your blog or website;
• distributing our oil dollar bills (see the attached McCain dollar bill) at local events; and
• using our tools as a research tool on your key candidates and members of Congress.

Below is a description of the free tools we have to offer and a bit more detail about how you can use them. Take a look at them and I’ll follow up in a couple of days to see if we can work collaboratively on using these tools this fall. I hope to work with you soon!

• Follow the Oil Money (www.FollowTheOilMoney.org) is an exciting tool that tracks which companies are pumping their dirty oil money into politics, who is receiving it, and how it correlates to key climate, energy and war votes. For the first time ever, you can see exactly how members of Congress who vote in favor of Big Oil also accept over four times more oil money than those who vote in the public interest.
• Our Presidential Follow the Oil Money (www.PrezOilMoney.OilChangeUSA.org) tool is an essential resource for anyone interested in the presidential election. Just how far into the pockets of Big Oil has McCain fallen? Is Obama really free of PAC money from Big Oil? Drill down to find these answers and more.
• The Oil Dollar machine (www.OilChangeUSA.org/oily-dollars) lets you download, save and print oil dollar bills that feature your member of Congress or Presidential candidate. Oil dollars show your member or candidate in the middle with their total dollar amount from Big Oil. Use them for both your online and on-the-ground advocacy!
• Follow the Coal Money (www.FollowTheCoalMoney.org) is a collaborative project that tracks coal money in Congress. As Congress debates how to address two of coal’s biggest problems — mountaintop removal and global warming — you can find out how polluters are influencing lawmakers with their dirty coal money. Check out our widgets to help spread the word!
• The Separation of Oil & State Pledge (www.OilChangeUSA.org/sign-the-sos-pledge) is a call to action, a call for change, a call for an end to government run by the interests of Big Oil. Join the movement for an SOS!

How can I use your tools?

Organizations such as True Majority are working with us to create hard-hitting email campaigns that connect their online actions to our FTOM tools. The attached image shows you how we built a custom action page with True Majority that linked their supporters’ zip codes to our database so they could see exactly how much their representatives have taken from the oil industry and how often they vote for Big Oil. We can do an email action mash-up for Congress or the Presidential race—whatever your need is, we’ll make it work for you. And by linking directly to our tools from your website or email alerts, we’ll list you as a participating organization in the Alliance for a Separation of Oil & State.

As you take a look at our tools, be sure to check out our Oily Mystery flash video (www.OilChangeUSA.org) that integrates all of our tools to reveal Big Oil’s influence in politics. You can embed it on your website or blog, link to it from an eblast, send it to your friends, or feature it on your social networks. While you’re at it, check out and join our new Oil Change USA Facebook group [http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20616734308].

If you have any questions about how to use our tools, feel free to email me, Trina, or you can call us at 202.518.9029. I’ll touch base with you in the next week to see how you can utilize our tools to support your online and offline campaigns!

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