NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
Updated Daily!
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|
May 16, 1999
CONTENTS
FEDERAL ENERGY BUDGET & TAXES
1.) 54 Senators Urge Higher Renewable Energy Funding
2.) House May Wait Till September to Approve Budget Bill3.) House Science Bill Threatens Sustainable Energy Funding
4.) Senate Committee Approves Higher Science R&D Funding Bill
5.) Cost Estimate Reduced for Wind Tax Credit
6.) Group Urges Support for Controversial Home Tax Credits
ELECTRIC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING
1.) Energy Secretary Criticizes Edison Electric Institute
2.) Rep. Barton Sets Up Restructuring Legislation Subgroup
3.) Senator Schumer To Introduce Restructuring Bill
4.) Los Angeles Launches Green Power Program
5.) Restructuring Produces Few Changes in New Jersey
CLIMATE CHANGE
1.) Energy Secretary Criticizes EIA's Climate Change Study
2.) Kyoto Protocol's Impacts on Agriculture Seen as Mild
3.) European Union Preparing Initiatives to Reduce CO2 Emissions
4.) United Kingdom Says CO2 Emissions Down 9% Since 1990
MISCELLANEOUS
1.) House Renewable Caucus Grows to 150 Members
2.) Study Finds Massive U.S. Wind Potential
3.) Study Questions Use of Oxygenates in Gasoline
4.) NBC Derails Message of "Atomic Train" Mini-Series
5.) Better Business Bureau Criticizes Nuclear Ads
6.) Senate Ready to Act on Nuclear Waste Bill
7.) Clean Air Goals Do Not Threaten Electric Power Reliability
FEDERAL ENERGY BUDGET & TAXES
1.) 54 Senators Urge Higher Renewable Energy Funding:
Senator Jim Jeffords' (R-VT) office reports that 54 members of the U.S. Senate have now signed on to a letter to Appropriations Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) urging him to "consider supporting increased in funding for renewable energy -- solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen, geothermal, hydropower -- research and development programs. The Administration has proposed increasing obligations for renewables by 16% from $384 million to $446 million." Let us know if you would like us to fax you a copy of the letter and a list of signers.
2.) House May Wait Till September to Approve Budget Bill:
The House Appropriations Energy & Water Subcommittee (which oversees the Department of Energy's (DOE) renewable energy and nuclear power budgets) may delay its markup for quite some time while the budget caps issue is being resolved. Like the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee's delay, it is becoming more likely that Energy & Water could now wait until as long as September.
3.) House Science Bill Threatens Sustainable Energy Funding:
The House Science Committee has postponed until May 19 its consideration of two authorization bills for the U.S. Department of Energy that would severely restrict future funding for sustainable energy programs and interfere with key energy technology demonstration programs. Two amendments are now being proposed to the DOE authorization bill that will be considered by the House Science Committee when it reconvenes. The first is an amendment to be introduced by Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) that would raise authorization levels for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to the Clinton Administration's FY'00 budget request levels; let us know if you want us to fax you a copy of the 6-page amendment. In addition, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) is expected to offer an amendment to address at least some of the more restrictive language provisions. However, there are reports that some negotiations have been underway among committee members to amend some of the language problems that would otherwise be addressed by the proposed Woolsey amendment. The Sustainable Energy Coalition issued a one-page news release outlining problems with the current Science bill; let us know if you would like us to e-mail or fax you a copy.
4.) Senate Committee Approves Higher Science R&D Funding Bill:
A 2-page article from the "Bulletin of Science Policy News" (May 5) reports that the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved the Federal Research Investment Act, S.296. The bill would authorize a doubling of federal civilian R&D funding by FY2010 -- an increase of approximately 2.5% over inflation for each of the next eleven years. Let us know if you would like us to fax you a copy of the article.
5.) Cost Estimate Reduced for Wind Tax Credit:
The American Wind Energy Association reports that the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation has cut in half its estimate of the five-year cost for the proposed extension of the wind production tax credit. Last year, it had projected the cost for the FY'99-FY'03 period at $144 million. The new estimate is only $76 million.
6.) Group Urges Support for Controversial Home Tax Credits:
The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) has issued a 2-page "action alert" on the proposed Energy Efficient Affordable Home Act of 1999 (H.R.1358) introduced by Reps. Bill Thomas (R-CA) and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors. The bill would offer a credit of $2,000 per dwelling to builders of new homes that are 30% more efficient than the International Energy Conservation Code. The "alert" notes that American homes account for one-sixth of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and the average home produces twice the CO2 pollution of the average car. The "alert" can be found at https://www.ase.org; follow the link to "Take Action." However, a number of the member groups of the Sustainable Energy Coalition (of which ASE is also a member) believe -- while supporting the general goals of the proposal -- that the Thomas bill is seriously flawed as now written and should not be supported until significant improvements (e.g., better verification of claimed energy savings) are made.
ELECTRIC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING
1.) Energy Secretary Criticizes Edison Electric Institute:
The current issue of "Utility Spotlight" reports that Richardson, irritated by Edison Electric Institute (EEI) criticism of the Administration's revised electricity restructuring proposal, wrote to EEI Chairman John Bryson saying that he had tried to address industry concerns about previous versions of the bill and had met personally with the EEI board. "That is why I was disturbed by the very negative comments which the EEI staff made about the revised legislation," Richardson wrote without specifying what had raised his ire. "Under the present circumstances, I believe it would be counter-productive for the Department of Energy to continue a dialogue with EEI." Instead, he said he has instructed his staff to work with the "increasing number of investor-owned utilities" who support federal legislation.
2.) Rep. Barton Sets Up Restructuring Legislation Subgroup:
Energy Central (May 10) reports that Commerce Energy & Power Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) plans to form a working group to discuss issues of critical importance to enable retail competition in the electricity market. Rep. Chip Pickering (R-MS), who co-chaired the electricity caucus formed by Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA) in the 105th Congress, will head the working group. Details on the working group are still being developed by Barton's office. Barton has also announced the list of issues he wants to cover in four more days of hearings this month; they include the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, the environment and stranded cost, consumer issues and the status of state restructuring efforts, competition and innovations in generation and transmission technologies, and the Administration's restructuring bill.
3.) Senator Schumer To Introduce Restructuring Bill:
The "Albany Times Union" (May 11) reports that Senator Charles Schumer (D- NY) plans to introduce a major bill to deregulate the power industry along with a "conservative Republican senator from the Southwest." Without giving details, Schumer stated: "We ought to have radical power deregulation, not the kind that has been done in New York state, which is very, very mild and feeble."
4.) Los Angeles Launches Green Power Program:
The "Los Angeles Times" (May 13) reports that the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (DWP) -- the nation's largest municipal utility -- has unveiled a plan to shift from fossil fuels to green power. Customers who wish to receive their power from renewable energy sources can sign up for the voluntary program, "Green Power for a Green L.A.," and receive about a 6% rate increase; the average DWP customer's monthly bill would rise about $3 to $53. But the customer could receive financial support to install low-power lightbulbs, a new air conditioner, or a new refrigerator, which would more than pay for the increase. For those who are not in a position to buy a new refrigerator or air conditioner, DWP proposes to waive the additional fee and instead send a crew to their home to improve its energy efficiency for free. Rather than using the program's income to sign up existing suppliers of clean power, DWP plans to spend it developing new sources. Some of the city's largest utility users -- the Dodgers, the Playa Vista developers, and Robinsons-May department stores -- have already signed up and DWP believes residential customers will follow. DWP plans to pay community organizations to recruit customers to the program.
5.) Restructuring Produces Few Changes in New Jersey:
On May 7, "The Record" (Hackensack, NJ) reported that GPU, Inc.'s top executive, Fred Hafer, predicts that only a small percentage -- no more than 10% -- of New Jersey's homeowners will go shopping for a new electricity supplier when given the chance this summer. While denying that deregulation is failing, he acknowledged that the number of customers in neighboring Pennsylvania who have switched under deregulation "was fewer than we thought." Deregulation needs time to succeed, he said.
CLIMATE CHANGE
1.) Energy Secretary Criticizes EIA's Climate Change Study:
The current issue of "Utility Spotlight," reports that DOE Secretary Richardson told a meeting of the National Environmental Policy Institute that EIA's analysis of the Clinton greenhouse gas emissions policy as providing only modest reductions "is flawed and wrong ... Their methodology is not the best." To which EIA Administrator Jay Hakes responded: "I think our model is best equipped to handle the climate change issues," adding: "This is the first time during my tenure that I'm aware of" that the Energy Secretary has openly criticized EIA's work. "He may have some very good plans we would be happy to discuss. I'm not sure what they are."
2.) Kyoto Protocol's Impacts on Agriculture Seen as Mild:
On May 7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a new report, "Economic Analysis of U.S. Agriculture and the Kyoto Protocol," which acknowledges that global warming threatens U.S. farmers and that a "clear rationale exists for taking measures to reduce out global warming pollution." However, contrary to claims by the American Farm Bureau and the American Petroleum Institute, it argues that farmers may even benefit or would, at most, only be modestly impacted by U.S. compliance with the proposed Kyoto Protocol. USDA predicts that net farm income could be reduced by only 0.5% while consumers would wind up paying an extra 0.05% for farm products. In addition, using trees, crops, and agricultural wastes to produce power, fuels, or chemicals, could both reduce global warming pollution and help supplement farmers' income. The report can be found at https://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/gcpo/index.htm.
3.) European Union Preparing Initiatives to Reduce CO2 Emissions:
Reuters (May 9) reports that in preparation for international talks next month on controlling emissions of greenhouse gases, the European Union's executive Commission wants to limit use of so-called "flexible mechanisms," such as emissions trading, to ensure that countries meet most of their commitments by cutting their own domestic emissions. Today, EU energy ministers are expected to ask the EU's executive Commission to draw up binding legislation to boost electricity production from renewable energy sources and allow it fair access to power grids. The EU has set a target of doubling the contribution of renewable energy to its total energy consumption to 12% by 2010. However, draft legislation is unlikely to emerge quickly because ministers will insist the rules prevent unfair subsidies that favor one type of production over another.
4.) United Kingdom Says CO2 Emissions Down 9% Since 1990:
Reuters (May 13) reports that greenhouse gas emissions in the United Kingdom dropped 9%between 1990 and 1997. The UK, which contributes about 2.5% of global CO2 emissions, plans to reduce national CO2 emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by 2010. The government said that increased efficiency in the way that energy is used, particularly in power stations and oil refineries where improvements in conversion capacity have taken place, have helped fuel the progress this decade. Also credited has been the country's strategic shift from oil and coal to nuclear and natural gas combustion in power generation.
MISCELLANEOUS
1.) House Renewable Caucus Grows to 150 Members:
The House Renewable Energy Caucus has added its 149th and 150th members: Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Rod Blagojevich (D-IL). A complete list of caucus members can be found at http//:www.biomass.org.
2.) Study Finds Massive U.S. Wind Potential:
UPI (May 11) reports that a new study by the Council of State Governments concludes that companies from the Dakotas to Michigan are rushing into the wind power market with such gusto that the Midwest soon may become the "Saudi Arabia of wind energy." It adds that "through a combination of the region's public policies, physical attributes and economic development programs, the Midwest is poised to become the national leader in renewable energy generation." Six states -- Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota -- show the greatest potential for turning wind power into electricity. North Dakota alone has enough wind to supply 35% of the nation's total demand for electricity. Currently, a company in Iowa is building the world's largest wind plant, capable of generating more than 112 MW and an Illinois company recently opened the nation's second wind turbine assembly plant.
3.) Study Questions Use of Oxygenates in Gasoline:
According to the Associated Press (May 11), the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC) has issued a new study "Ozone- Forming Potential of Reformulated Gasoline." It concludes that oxygen additives in gasoline, touted since 1993 as one of the most effective ways to cut air pollution, may in fact reduce overall peak ozone levels "by only a few percent." The NRC said reductions in volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide from cars using gasoline containing either MTBE or ethanol appear to be quite small and the additive may lead to more nitrogen oxide being released. The study said ethanol is less effective, but the overall impact of MTBE in curbing ozone is not much better. In response, the Renewable Fuels Association issued a 2-page statement charging that NRC's "conclusions regarding the air quality impacts of oxygenates are unjustified." RFA said the NRC study went "beyond its original charge" and by so doing, it "did not have the benefit of public comment on these complex issues nor fully availed itself of the scientific data regarding the air quality benefits of oxygenates." Among other things, RFA notes that other data shows that carbon monoxide reductions from ethanol-blended fuels are twice that of MTBE fuels. Let us know if you would like us to fax you the 2-page AP story; the 2-page RFA response can be found at https://www.EthanolRFA.org.
4.) NBC Derails Message of "Atomic Train" Mini-Series:
The Associated Press (May 12) story reports that while the title of the NBC mini-series, "Atomic Train," remains the same, the network is making a significant cargo change for its weekend debut. The drama has been hastily edited to remove references to nuclear waste which will be replaced by the phrase "hazardous waste." NBC claims that no NBC executive had been contacted by any nuclear industry representatives requesting changes. However, NBC's parent company, General Electric, includes the GE Nuclear Energy unit which supplies parts and services for nuclear reactors. In response, Public Citizen issued a news release condemning NBC for the "corporate cleansing" of the miniseries and charging that "the nuclear industry - - including ...General Electric -- leaned hard on NBC." In NBC promotional material and advertising produced and widely distributed before the revisions were ordered, nuclear waste is mentioned prominently -- and often. In fact, one press release says: "Because the issue of secretly transporting radioactive materials and waste is so threatening, many viewers might want to dismiss it as 'make-believe.' That is simply not true." Public Citizen's complete release can be found at https://www.citizen.org; follow the link to Critical Mass.
5.) Better Business Bureau Criticizes Nuclear Ads:
Last week, the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division's issued a decision finding, based on a complaint filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council, that the Nuclear Energy Institute's (NEI) latest advertising campaign violates NAD's December 1998 decision on NEI's 1998 ad campaign. The ad ran in the "Atlantic Monthly" in April and called nuclear energy "the clean air energy," showing a little owl saying "thank you" to NEI. In a short but strongly worded decision, NAD refers the case to the FTC and to the State Attorney Generals, finding that: "its unqualified clean air claims are overly broad . . . and have a strong potential to mislead consumers who are trying to distinguish between a wide variety of energy providers by comparing their environmental impacts." NAD added that: "While catchy, 'feel good' environmentally friendly phrases like 'Nuclear. The Clean Air Energy' may make for good advertising copy, they are overly broad claims that tell, at best, only a half-truth and therefore have the capacity to deceive. Such claims comply with neither the letter nor the spirit of recommendations in NAD's decision."
6.) Senate Ready to Act on Nuclear Waste Bill:
The Nuclear Information & Resource Service has issued a 2-page "action alert" warning that the Senate Energy Committee is expected to vote this week on S.608, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 (aka the "Mobile Chernobyl" bill). NIRS believes that "the utilities have enough votes to pass the legislation (and have in the last 2 congresses) but not enough votes to override the veto that Clinton has vowed to deliver." Let us know if you would like us to fax you a copy.
7.) Clean Air Goals Do Not Threaten Electric Power Reliability:
PRNewswire (May 11) says that a new, comprehensive study by the Ozone Attainment Coalition confirms that electric power plants in the eastern half of the United States can meet federal clean air requirements without compromising electric system reliability. It debunks claims that compliance with an EPA rule for significant reductions in power plant emissions of NOx in a 22-state region would impact the ability to meet summer demand for electricity. The EPA rule would result in an 85% reduction in regional NOx emissions by 2003. The Ozone Attainment Coalition includes the Pace Energy Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council (both members of the Sustainable Energy Coalition) in addition to a number of other environmental organizations and energy companies.
To: Energy and Environmental Activists
Re. Earth Day 2000 - Organizing Idea #1
As part of its efforts during the coming twelve months leading up to Earth Day 2000 (April 22, 2000) to encourage activities in support of sustainable energy, the SUN DAY Campaign will be circulating a new organizing activity every one or two weeks.
The first organizing activity has been provided to us by Ozone Action and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). As described in greater detail in the "alert to local activists" provided below, they are seeking help in gathering signatures from mayors, city council members, and county commissioners nationwide on a "Mayor and Local Official Statement on Global Warming" which expresses local officials' concern about global warming and urges federal action.
Groups that are especially interested should contact Chris Giovinazzo (510- 540-8843, cgiovinazzo@iclei.org) who can send them a packet of materials that they can send to elected officials under their cover if they wish.
We also wanted to encourage you to obtain a copy of ICLEI's guide "10 Things Local Governments Can Do to Cut Global Warming Pollution". It can be accessed at https://www.iclei.rg/us or requested by contacting ICLEI at iclei_usa@iclei.org or 510-540-8843; fax: 510-540-4787.
-Ken Bossong SUN DAY Campaign 301-270-2258 301-891-2866 (fax)
Alert to Local Activists:
A "Mayor and Local Official Statement on Global Warming" is being circulated by Ozone Action and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. The statement expresses local officials' concern about global warming and urges federal action. The initial signers are the Mayors of Toledo, New Orleans, Portland, Minneapolis, and Honolulu, along with the County Clerk of Miami-Dade.
We need your help in gathering signatures from other mayors, city council members, and county commissioners nationwide. The best way to get city and county officials to sign on is if they are contacted by local advocates who they know and who can target likely signers. If many local activists can each target four or five potential signers, the Statement can make a big impact when we release it at a press conference in July or August.
Print out the text of the statement below and get it into the hands of a local elected official by fax, mail, or hand. Or, visit Ozone Action's website at www.ozone.org and click "Local Official Statement," where you can print the statement and fax-back signature form off your browser. Follow up with phone calls to explain the effort and encourage the elected officials to sign.
Elected officials who want their name on the list of signers should fax their signature, elected title, name, and jurisdiction to the attention of Brandon MacGillis of Ozone Action, fax number (202) 986-6041. The fax should include the sentence "I would like to be a signatory to the Mayor and Local Official Statement on Global Warming." Contact info like phone or email would help us confirm signers.
Hard copies of materials, which include a fax-back form and a guide on "10 things local governments can do to cut global warming pollution", can be requested from Chris Giovinazzo (510-540-8843, cgiovinazzo@iclei.org). Questions should be directed to Chris or Brandon (202-265-6738; brandon@ozone.org).
Thanks for your help.
Mayor and Local Official Statement on Global Warming:
We are mayors and local elected officials from across the U.S. concerned about the impacts of global warming on our communities. We urge the federal government to make this issue a priority and to reduce the domestic sources of greenhouse gases, the pollution that causes global warming.
Recent events have focused attention on the serious threat global warming poses to local communities. Between 1988 and 1997, heat waves, storms, floods, and other extreme weather events in the United States caused an estimated $140 billion in property damage.
FEMA and other federal disaster funds cannot begin to cover the economic and human losses that have been caused by these weather disasters. Local communities bear the brunt of the human and economic damage, and are witnessing a decline in the quality of life we have worked so hard to achieve.
Meanwhile, scientific evidence of atmospheric warming continues to grow. In the first three months of 1999 alone, researchers analyzing tree rings and ice cores concluded that the 1990s were the warmest decade of the millennium; NASA found that Greenland's massive ice sheet is melting rapidly; and the American Geophysical Union released a warning that atmospheric warming "provides a compelling basis for legitimate public concern over future global and regional-scale changes resulting from increased concentration of greenhouse gases."
The good news is, by using currently available technologies and practices, the pollution causing global warming can be reduced in a cost effective manner that enhances economic development.
Local governments have used energy efficiency, transportation efficiency, and renewable energy programs to help save money, to create jobs and strengthen the local economy, and to increase the livability of communities. Promoting energy efficiency and alternatives to automobile transportation, implementing waste reduction and recycling measures, and increasing the use of renewable energy are strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen communities.
As local elected officials responsible for the well-being of our communities, we urge the federal government to develop and implement domestic policies and programs that work with local communities to reduce global warming pollution. Doing so will demonstrate that domestic actions to fight global warming can reap economic and other rewards for our communities and will help our country meet its goals under the Kyoto Protocol, the international effort to reduce the threat of global warming.
Initial Signatories: Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, Minneapolis, MN Mayor Jeremy Harris, Honolulu, HI Mayor Marc Morial, New Orleans, LA Mayor Carleton Finkbeiner, Toledo, OH Mayor Vera Katz, Portland, OR County Clerk Harvey Ruvin, Miami-Dade, FL
Elected officials: To add your name to the growing list of signers, fax your signature, elected title, name, and jurisdiction to the attention of Brandon MacGillis of Ozone Action, fax number (202) 986-6041. The fax should include the sentence "I would like to be a signatory to the Mayor and Local Official Statement on Global Warming." Also include contact info like phone or email so we can confirm your signature.
"Now I know that the next trial - whenever it happens - will be the last." --Alexandr Nikitin, responding to a ruling by Russia's Supreme Court that returning cases for further investigation is unconstitutional.
1. TAKE ACTION: PROTECT THE WILD AREAS OF OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
2. RUSSIA'S SUPREME COURT BANS 'DO-OVER' CASES
3. JACKSON, WYOMING DOES EARTH DAY RIGHT!
TAKE ACTION
PLEASE TAKE ACTION
1. PROTECT THE WILD AREAS OF OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
The still wild, roadless areas of our National Forests are vital to a healthy environment: they provide clean drinking water for many communities, recreation opportunities, valuable wildlife habitat and they are a part of the natural heritage we want to protect for our children to enjoy.
Earlier this year, the Forest Service announced a moratorium that restricted road building in some of our nation's roadless areas. Unfortunately, the moratorium is both temporary and full of political loopholes that leave tens of millions of acres of America's scenic wilderness wide open to logging, mining, and road building. Many forests in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska's Tongass are exempt from the roadbuilding moratorium. The Clinton Administration has taken a half-step toward protecting the still wild areas of our National Forests from roadbuilding. But we believe all roadless areas of 1000 acres and larger should receive permanent protection from all destructive activities.
Please call or write your Representative and ask him/her to support a final plan that will *permanently* protect all remaining roadless areas of 1,000 acres or more from all destructive activities, including road building, mining and logging.
Representatives can sign the "Dear Colleague" letter being circulated by Representatives Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Steve Horn (R-CA). Urge your Rep. to "sign the Hinchey/Horn letter on roadless area protection."
Tell your Representative to protect our last remaining roadless forests, for our families, for our future. Thank You!!
You can call your Representative through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
You can also write your Representative at:
The Honorable YOUR REPRESENTATIVE US House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515
THANK YOU !!
2. Russia's Supreme Court Bans 'Do-Over' Cases
In a decision that should impact the fate of persecuted environmentalist Alexandr Nikitin, Russia's Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that cases can no longer be sent back for further investigation once they have been tried. The Court ruled unconstitutional the practice of returning weak or unproven cases to the Prosecutor's Office for further investigation, a practice that in the United States is banned under Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy.
Last November, the City Court of St. Petersburg decided to send the case against Alexandr Nikitin back to the Prosecutor General's Office for further investigation. Nikitin continues to face charges of treason and divulging state secrets for co-authoring a report on the threat of radioactive leaks in decaying nuclear ships of the Russian Northern Fleet.
On February 4, Russia's Supreme Court rejected Nikitin's appeal, and on April 11, the Prosecutor General's Office granted the FSB (Russia's FBI) three additional months to create a case against Nikitin.
The ruling will also force courts to apply the presumption of innocence by interpreting gaps in the investigation in favor of the accused. Nikitin responded to the decision with renewed confidence. "Now I know that the next trial - whenever it happens - will be the last."
3. Jackson, Wyoming Does Earth Day Right!
The Teton Group of the Sierra Club along with other groups in Jackson sponsored "Earth Fest"- a week long schedule of events honoring Earth Day.
Hundreds of Jackson residents attended a multi-media event on oil and gas threats to the Arctic and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystems, followed by an vast array of activities that weekend including a one-act play reciting from the life of John Muir performed by Steve Archibald of the Teton Science School, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem slide show by Franz Camenzind of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, and crowned by the viewing the rough cut of the much-awaited film, "Arctic Dance: The Mardy Murie Story," by Bonnie Kreps and Charlie Craighead. Page McNeill, Wyo. Ch. Chair., Liz Howell, Chapter Staffer, Janet Maxwell, Chapter activist, and Jen Ferenstein, National SC Board Member were on hand to discuss the SPARE Report (where the Bridger-Teton NF is the target of threats from oil and gas development), Wyo. Chapter's roadless area protection campaign,and the grizzly bear ecosystems project.
Sierra Club representatives Janet Maxwell, Meredith Taylor, and Liz Howell, were invited to meet with Mardy Murie at her home in Grand Teton National Park where they presented her with a bouquet of spring flowers from the Sierra Club to honor her accomplishments and convictions.
NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|