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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
November 2, 2005
"Since Hurricane Katrina, Pombo has been a one- man Category 5 environmental disaster zone." - Sacramento Bee editorial (10/31), "The Pombo mambo: He's dancing to the tune of the drillers and the diggers," referring to House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo's efforts to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America's coasts to drilling as part of the budget reconciliation bill.
(1) ARCTIC: Making Airwaves
(2) OIL PROFITS: Embarrassment of Riches
(3) HUMAN RIGHTS: Tuning in to the Gwich'in
(4) ACTION: Oppose Arctic Refuge Drilling
1. ARCTIC: Making Airwaves
With the Senate poised to vote on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget reconciliation package this week and the House set to do the same next week, Sierra Club is joining other conservation groups for the "homestretch" of an intense campaign to save the Arctic. A key part of this effort is a slate of print, television, and radio ads running across the country this week and next from Maine to Oregon.
To see the Sierra Club ads: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g73g,o7l,2rrd,4wsv,dazy,eylb
To see the coalition ads: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g73g,o7l,jbhq,g2se,dazy,eylb
2. OIL PROFITS: Embarrassment of Riches
While Americans have been emptying their wallets to keep up with record high gas prices, giant oil companies have been filling up their coffers with record high profits. According to last week's quarterly reports, Big Oil just got a whole lot bigger. ExxonMobil took the top prize, raking in $9.9 billion (up 75 %). BP and ConocoPhillips also enjoyed excessive profits -- $6.5 billion and $3.8 billion respectively. Now Congress is considering making these rich a whole lot richer, by giving them the keys to the Arctic for a pittance.
Read the Washington Post article: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g73g,o7l,2kas,9nwn,dazy,eylb
3. HUMAN RIGHTS: Tuning in to the Gwich'in
When Secretary of Interior Gale Norton went to the Arctic Refuge a few years ago, she described the landscape as "flat, white nothingness." Tell that to the Alaska natives who make their homes and carry out their subsistence way of life in the Refuge. The human rights implications of this destructive drilling are often overshadowed by debates about wildlife and gas prices. But a recent report by the Gwich'in Steering Committee outlines the drilling proposal threatens to violate internationally recognized human rights to culture, subsistence, health and religion of their people.
To learn more about the native cultures of the Arctic Refuge and to download the new report: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g73g,o7l,2075,i2ly,dazy,eylb
4. ACTION: Oppose Arctic Refuge Drilling
Oil companies and their friends in Congress continue to try to use the Budget Process to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. They have attached a damaging drilling provision to the massive 2006 Budget Reconciliation package in an effort to limit public debate and circumvent normal congressional procedure. Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would spoil this last great wilderness for a speculative amount of oil. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy recently estimated that if we drilled for oil in the Refuge tomorrow, it would lower gas prices by roughly a penny per gallon...in 20 years.
The Senate began debate on Budget Reconciliation this afternoon and a final vote is expected by Thursday, November 3.
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY at the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121 Urge them to vote against any budget reconciliation bill that allows oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge!
"Each person must live their life as a model for others." - Rosa Parks, 1913-2005
(1) FUN WITH SCISSORS: Pombo Halloween Mask
(2) PEOPLE: Savannah Rose is Tireless on Tires
(3) TAKE ACTION: Urge EPA to Reduce Pollution Under the Clean Air Act
1. FUN WITH SCISSORS: Pombo Halloween Mask
Just in time for tricks and treats, the Sierra Club gives you an idea for the scariest costume of all...the Pombo mask! What's so scary about Richard Pombo? Plenty. For starters, the California Congressman wants to rewrite the 30-year-old Endangered Species Act to eliminate critical habitat designations. He wants to end a 25 year-old moratorium on oil and gas drilling off our coasts, he's working hard to overturn a ban on ozone- destroying pesticides, and he recently proposed selling 15 national parks to generate revenue. No kidding.
Grab some scissors and go to town with the Pombo Halloween Mask: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g26w,o7l,1uwc,hgzt,dazy,eylb
Freak out friends by sending them the Pombo Mask: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g26w,o7l,45tr,qyn,dazy,eylb
2. PEOPLE: Savannah Rose is Tireless on Tires
In 2001, 12-year-old Savannah Rose Walters wrote a school report about Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and was upset to later to find out that the Bush administration was making plans to drill for oil in the pristine area. Wanting to do her part to protect the Refuge, Savannah began the "Pump 'Em Up" campaign that encourages people to properly inflate their car tires. Americans waste 4 million gallons of oil every day by not properly inflating their tires. Since launching the campaign, Savannah has gotten such companies as Sears and Goodyear to donate 1,000 tire gauges and launched a local public-education campaign to get people to "Pump 'Em Up!"
Read more about Savannah in Time magazine: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g26w,o7l,gxzo,5mpw,dazy,eylb 273,00.html
3. TAKE ACTION: Urge EPA to Reduce Pollution Under the Clean Air Act
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives took out language in its Energy Bill that would weaken the Clean Air Act and threaten the health of our families and communities. Not to be deterred, the Bush administration is moving ahead with what Congress refused to do, and has proposed changes to Clean Air Act's New Source Review Program (NSR) that would allowing polluting utilities to avoid installing modern pollution-control technology.
Tell the Bush administration to withdraw the changes to NSR, and strongly enforce the Clean Air Act: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,g26w,o7l,47eb,kgdz,dazy,eylb
"It is outrageous that park superintendents must swear political loyalty to the Bush agenda and parrot hokey mottos in order to earn a promotion. The merit system is supposed to be about ability, not apple polishing." - Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), responding to a new National Park Service order that all top civil service positions - including park superintendents and program managers - must first be approved by a Bush administration political appointee.
(1) GLOBAL WARMING: Cool Cities
(2) TRANSIT: Buses, Subways and Trains Oh My
(3) TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the Forest Service Hold Our Forests Hostage
1. GLOBAL WARMING: Cool Cities
All over America, cities, counties and states are solving one of our country's most pressing problems: global warming. The Sierra Club recently launched a new "Cool Cities" campaign to showcase local leadership to curb global warming using innovative energy solutions. The launch is the beginning of a national tour to over 20 "Cool Cities," each stop featuring a rally where "Cool City" mayors and local Sierra Club leaders will call for proven energy solutions to re-energize our cities and help curb heat-trapping global warming pollution.
Check out a new Sierra Club guide that lays out the steps toward making cities "cool" and highlights success stories from a broad range of cities, from greening municipal vehicle fleets with hybrid cars in Houston and Charlotte to energy efficient street lights and buildings in Salt Lake City and Scottsdale: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,fx83,o7l,irq2,2ojb,dazy,eylb
2. TRANSIT: Buses, Subways and Trains Oh My
Gas prices are up and so are the numbers of people taking public transit, according to a recent story on NPR's All Things Considered. In Los Angeles, where people seem to have love affairs with their cars, the buses and subways had almost 8 percent more business this August compared with last August. In Dallas, there was an 11 percent jump in bus and light rail use in the first two weeks of September. The fact is, even if you don't use public transportation as an alternative, you can still conserve fuel regardless of the price at the pump.
With that in mind, here are ten ways to save on gas and do right by the environment: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,fx83,o7l,m3rx,2uih,dazy,eylb
Click the "Public Transit" link on the lower right and find out what public transit your community offers: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,fx83,o7l,4ymi,deoy,dazy,eylb
3. TAKE ACTION: Don't Let the Forest Service Hold Our Forests Hostage
When it comes to exercising poor judgment and creating bureaucratic train wrecks, the political appointees at FEMA seem to have greatly inspired their political counterparts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In an unnecessary and inappropriate response to a recent court ruling, the U.S. Forest Service ordered the suspension of up to 1,500 permits, projects and contracts across the National Forest System. That action could stop thousands of Americans from accessing their public lands and cause financial hardships for hundreds of small businesses that depend on our National Forests for legitimate purposes such as hunting and camping, hiking and biking, gathering food and fuel, forest thinning projects, even Christmas-tree cutting. This action is clearly an attempt to make a political statement rather than to manage our National Forests rationally.
Ask President Bush to tell his appointees overseeing the Forest Service to stop making mischief and get on with the serious business of managing the public's land: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,fx83,o7l,78yw,20jz,dazy,eylb
"Perhaps I am being a bit too complex. It would seem to me that if hurricane protection to the people and properties is the paramount importance, the portion you would want to complete first would be those levees surrounding inhabited areas rather than those around uninhabited areas. Would that not be a priority, sir?" - Then-freshman Congressman Robert Livingston, at a Congressional hearing in the 1970's chastising the Army Corps of Engineers for pursuing a massive flood control project. The boondoggle would have "protected" uninhabited land below sea level for real estate development at the expense of safeguarding the people in New Orleans.
1. Energy: Old Energy Policies with a Twist
2. Katrina: Notes from the Gulf Coast
3. Take Action: Save Money at the Pump with Strong Fuel Economy Standards
4. Take Action: Restore the Roadless Rule
1. Energy: Old Energy Policies with a Twist
By the closest of margins, the Republican leadership last Friday forced through yet another energy bill that perpetuates America's energy crisis. Faced with losing the vote, the Republican leadership abused their position of power to hold the vote open until enough arms were twisted to produce a razor-thin majority of 212-210. The bill repeats the mistakes of the past by proposing the same failed energy policies that have led to high gas prices and America's oil dependence. It is yet another example of Congress exploiting the tragedies of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to eliminate environmental safeguards to benefit the oil and other polluting industries instead of providing real solutions to help Americans.
Read "GOP Leaders Win on Energy Bill: DeLay Twists Arms Over Measure to Increase Refining Capacity" in The Washington Post: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,frz8,o7l,4j3f,c5bf,dazy,eylb
2. Katrina: Notes from the Gulf Coast
In the wake of the human and economic tragedy caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Sierra Club staff, volunteers, and community members from the Gulf Coast are writing first-hand stories about events unfolding in the region. Through personal narratives and photographs, "Notes from the Gulf Coast" highlights personal experiences, draws attention to stories that have not yet crossed the media line, and speak about the environmental disaster and the process of rebuilding Gulf communities.
Get the real story on Katrina's aftermath at: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,frz8,o7l,lv90,fygq,dazy,eylb
3. Take Action: Save Money at the Pump with Strong Fuel Economy Standards
This summer, the Bush administration announced plans that would weaken Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Instead of making real improvements to the fuel economy of America's pickup trucks, SUVs and other light trucks, the administration proposed changes that would radically overhaul the structure of CAFE, creating loopholes that would encourage automakers to build larger vehicles.
73% of Americans think that rising gasoline prices make it more important that the federal government raise fuel efficiency standards. Sign our petition urging the Bush administration to set strong fuel economy standards that make America safer and more secure by putting innovation to work to save money at the gas pump, curb global warming, and cut America's oil dependence.
https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,frz8,o7l,iijy,f011,dazy,eylb
4. Take Action: Restore the Roadless Rule
This spring, the Bush administration repealed the widely supported Roadless Area Conservation Rule, opening nearly sixty-million acres of America's last wild National Forests to commercial logging, road construction, mining, oil exploration, and other forms of development. The administration's new policy forces governors to complete a burdensome petition process if they wish to have roadless areas within their state protected. All of our roadless National Forests need to be permanently protected from destructive commercial logging and road building through the reinstatement of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Sign our petition, which will be delivered to President Bush and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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