Aug. 21--Dozens of people in Roanoke's Washington Park late Thursday afternoon pulled out their cellphones and called U.S. Sens. Jim Webb and Mark Warner to tell them what Kathleen Etheridge, an 80-year-old Salem resident, summarized in one sentence: "Please vote 'No' to cap-and-trade because it affects our economy."

It was a rally organized by Americans for Prosperity, a self-described grass-roots group touring the country with a red hot air balloon, and it served as a prelude to the dispute that will surround a climate change bill in the U.S. Senate this fall. The bill would require power plants, oil refineries and manufacturers to obtain allowances for the pollution they emit.

Leslie Anderson, a spokesperson of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which supports the bill, criticized Americans for Prosperity in an e-mail, calling them "a phony 'grassroots organization' that ... attacks clean energy legislation ... in its capacity as a front group for a powerful energy company."

Americans for Prosperity, according to its Web site, was founded by David Koch, co-owner of one of the largest companies in the U.S., Koch Industries.

In the crowd, there were small business owners, war veterans and Mike Jornlin, a 58-year-old Roanoke resident who said he was laid off by railroad car manufacturer FreightCar America last Christmas Eve. He said he went to the rally because he believes the loss of his job was directly related to possible cap-and-trade legislation. He said he inspected inventory for cars used in coal mines, and that when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviewed coal leases, the orders for freight cars disappeared.

"It really put a brake on freight car orders, as I understand it," Jornlin said. "I think most of this environmental stuff is ridiculous."

The American Clean Energy and Security Act, which would create a cap-and-trade system to allow pollution credits to be bought and sold, was passed in June by the U.S. House.

Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Albemarle County, voted for it and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, voted against it. The landmark Waxman-Markey bill will hit the Senate floor in the fall, and groups such as Americans for Prosperity are urging people to connect with their senators.

Benjamin Marchi, the group's state director, said, "We're here to tell our senators that Virginia cannot afford this bill."

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