COBER

=Name-= C. Ober =State-= Pennsylvania =**Political Party-**= - Democrat =**Congressman-**= - The congressman that I most agree with is Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.from Pennsylvania. He is a Demoractic Senator. I really agree with his opinion on what we should do to save the environment. His link is [] =**Three Important Issues-**= The three most important issues to me are Environment and Energy, Education, and the Economy. -1.) I feel really strongly about the Environment and Energy. I say this because our Earth needs to be saved. We have Global Warming, the destruction of rainforests, animals that are becoming endangered, and so much more. I feel we really need to take a bigger part in the environment. -2.) I feel education is one of the major issues. The children in our schools are going to grow up to be our future congressmen, bosses, future leaders, and even possibly the President of the United States. We need to pay attention to how well schools are doing in teaching, so we can make sure the children, the future of the US, will recieve a very good education. -3.) Our economy is pretty messed up right now. We have people lossing jobs, losing houses to foreclosures, and people even living on the streets. We need to get the econmy back up and running again. =**Our Bill-**= Our bill concerns the environment. We would like it if Americans could reduce the use of Styrofoam they use. Styrofoam is everywhere in America- lunch trays, coffee cups (not resusable), and, perhaps the largest one, packaging peanuts. All of these are made of Styrofoam. Styrofoam is really bad to the environment. One major problem right now is that animals are finding Styrofoam and digesting it. This is resulting in animal deaths because the Styrofoam is causing problems to the animals' health. Another huge reason we think Americans should switch to recycled materials in place of styrofoam is Styrofoam can take years to break down. I don't mean like five years or ten but thousands! This is a national issue! Our plan is to give companies who use Styrofoam a certain amont of money to buy recycled materials every year based on how much they use. We would also like to give money,based on how much Styrofoam they use, to schools who use Styrofoam lunch trays. Finally we would like to give five cents off any recycled materials ( in place of Styrofoam) products people buy. We would continue this for as long as possible. However, at the end of three years if there isn't a decrease in styrofoam sales then funding will stop. It's time to help save Mother Nature! =SB5= =**5 Facts about Pennsylvania-**= -1.)The production of steel is really important to the economy in Pennsylvania. In the Pittsburgh area the steel industry is huge. Steel is important to PA's National Defense, and Transportation industry. -2.) Production of coal is also a huge part of PA's economy. There is a large number of coal mines throughout the state. The production of coal contributes a lot to the National Defense and the Transportation industry -3.). When breezing through Breezewood, PA on our way to D.C. there were a couple giant windmills that we passed. Those were just a few that are are in PA.In 2000 Governer Rendell and Secretary of Environent at the time got a Spanish company called Gamesa to build it's first windmills in North America in Johnstown, PA. In 2006 there was over 2,500 megawatts of wind-energy in operation. - 4.) PA's education is important. With it's many great Universities such as Penn State, University of Pennsylvania, Lehigh, and Carnegie-Mellon University. Pennsylvannia attracts many bright students from all around the world. -5.) Tourism is a major part of PA's economy. With all the sights in PA, every year Pennslvannia brings in a huge profit from tourists. It has Independence Hall, Amish Country, many National Parks, Liberty Bell, Philidalphia Zoo (oldest zoo in US), Philidalphia Museum of Art, Betsy Ross house, Gettysburg National Park, and Hershey Park. Those are just a few of the many popular tourist places in PA. =**Resources-**= 1.)Inslee, Jay, and Bracken Hendricks. "Steelmills to Windmills." Apollo News Service 2 Apr. 2008. Apollo Allinance. 8 May 2009 []. 2.)"Pennsylvania: Government and Economy." __United States Geography__. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 8 May 2009 [|http://www.usgeography.abc-clio.com]. 3.)York, Jo. "Recycling: Outlook." __Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society__. 2009. ABC-CLIO. 8 May 2009 [|http://www.issues.abc-clio.com]. 4.)"Steel: Made in Pennsylvania."__Welcome to The State Museum of Pennsylvania__. 11 May 2009 []. 5.)__ Welcome to The State Museum of Pennsylvania __. 11 May 2009 []. __6.)Pa. Dept.__ __of Conservation and Natural Resources__. 11 May 2009 []. 7.)"Recycling-Earth911.com." __Earth911.com - Find Recycling Centers and Learn How To Recycle__. 11 May 2009 [|http://earth911.com/recycling/.]. 8.) "Recycling styrofoam." __Green living tips__. 11 May 2009 []. 9.) __Earth Resource Foundation __. 11 May 2009 []. 10.) "New President Names Cabinet." __The Plain Dealer__ 11 May 2009. 11 May 2009 [].