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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
April 10, 2001
"I think I am a pretty good environmentalist, though the Sierra Club might not agree with that." -- Dick Cheney on Meet the Press after host Tim Russert showed Cheney the Sierra Club's Bush "Baseball Card."
[1] BUSH BUDGET: Renewable Energy, Environmental Protection Slashed
President Bush's proposed budget released yesterday cuts half a billion from the Environmental Protection Agency's budget, slashes energy efficiency research by almost a third and cuts funding for renewable energy programs by 36 percent! His budget also cripples the government's ability to crack down on polluters that poison our air and water by delegating too much control over treasured national landscapes that belong to all of us.
To get more details on Bush's budget: https://www.sierraclub.org/politics/bush
[2] FIRST PITCH: Bush Strikes Out on Environment
As baseball fans at Milwaukee's Miller Park saw President Bush throw out the first pitch on opening day, they were reminded about his environmental record as Most Valuable Polluter. Sierra Club volunteers from the John Muir (Wisconsin) Chapter handed out 10,000 baseball cards that detailed Bush's recent rejection of a sensible standard for arsenic in drinking water, his broken promises to curb global warming and his irresponsible moves to drill fragile wildlands like the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.
To view the card and learn more about Bush's environmental record: https://www.sierraclub.org/politics/bush/
[3] TESTING THE WATERS: How Much Arsenic is in President Bush's Drinking Water?
The White House hasn't told Americans whether President Bush drinks the tap water on his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Drinking water in his county contains 40 percent more arsenic than would be allowed by safeguards set by the EPA in January and recommended by the World Health Organization. Last month, President Bush rejected scientific safeguards that would reduce arsenic levels in drinking water. In the wake of his decision, the Sierra Club warns him: you might want to get your water tested.
For more on Bush's failure to protect our families from arsenic: https://www.sierraclub.org/cleanwater/waterquality/arsenic_release.asp
[4] OPINIONS: Majority of Americans Say Global Warming is Already Here
A recent opinion survey by the Gallup organization found that 54 percent of Americans believe that global warming has already begun to happen while another 17 percent think that it will happen in the coming decades. Global warming-doubters have long tried to muddy the waters over what is behind rising temperatures. But according to the same Gallup survey, 61 percent of Americans think that human activities are at the root of the problem. Despite this realization, only a third of Americans fear that global warming poses a serious risk in their lifetime.
To read the entire survey: https://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr010409.asp
[5] TAKE ACTION: Push Bush to Act on Global Warming
As the current issue of Time magazine puts it: everyone is feeling the heat from global warming -- except those who work in Washington, D.C. Though the scientific evidence has never been clearer, though Americans and nations across the globe are clamoring for action, the Bush administration is in a deep-freeze when it comes to global warming. Help turn up the heat on those inside the beltway by sending a fax or email from our take action Web site.
Tell Bush and our Secretary of Energy know that it's time to act: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/globalwarming/index.jsp
"[Secretary of the Interior Gale] Norton's interference, masquerading as assistance, is neither needed nor wanted." -- From an editorial in today's Tucson Citizen newspaper, criticizing Norton for trying to undermine the new Ironwood National Monument in Arizona
[1] HOUSE MAKES HISTORY: Drive to End Commercial Logging in National Forests Gains Support
The movement to protect America's National Forests and save taxpayers money gained more momentum yesterday when a historic number of U.S. representatives introduced a bill to end commercial logging in our National Forests. The Sierra Club praised the 74 representatives backing the bipartisan National Forest Protection and Restoration Act (NFPRA), led by Representatives Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Jim Leach (R-IA).
Read more about it: https://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/endlogging.asp
[2] ENERGY: Bush Considers Efficiency Rule Roll-Back
The Bush administration is considering rolling back newly-issued appliance efficiency standards, reports the Associated Press. The standards would require that air conditioners and heat pumps use 30 percent less energy by 2006. Environmentalists estimate that improving residential air conditioning standards alone by 30 percent would eliminate the need for about 155 large power plants by 2020. If Bush is aiming to burnish his environmental image before Earth Day, when is he going to start?
Read more online: https://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010404/pl/appliance_standards_1.html
[3] GLOBAL WARNING: Climate Change May Threaten Amphibians
According to a story in today's issue of the British journal Nature, changes in rainfall patterns linked to global warming threaten frogs and other amphibians. Said one of the researchers: "Today, there is little doubt that both phenomena -- amphibian declines and global warming -- are real. If there is indeed a link between the two, as the work of Kiesecker suggests, there is clearly a need for a rapid transition to cleaner energy sources if we are to avoid staggering losses of biodiversity."
Read more about it: https://www.nature.com/nature/links/010405/010405-1.html
[4] ALASKAN REFUGE: Norton Still Pushing For Drilling
Though President Bush recently acknowledged that he may not be able to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, neither he, nor Secretary of the Interior Norton, have given up yet. Norton reaffirmed Bush's desire to open up the refuge in remarks made this week and draft recommendations put out by the Department of Interior today call for opening millions of acres of federal wilderness to oil and gas production.
Why protect the Arctic refuge? Here's why: https://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/arctic/
[5] TAKE ACTION: Protect Women's Rights, No Global Gag Rule
In one of his first official acts in office, President George W. Bush re-imposed the "global gag rule" on international family planning programs. This reinstated an onerous policy barring U.S. assistance to foreign family planning providers that use other, non-U.S. funds, to provide legal abortions, tell patients of the availability of legal abortion services or even engage in any discussion about their own country's abortion law.
Legislation has been introduced in Congress to overturn this policy. The legislation sets a simple standard: restrictions that would be unconstitutional in the United States should not be imposed on other countries. The Global Democracy Promotion Act, sponsored by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) will ensure that women around the world have access to the same critical, voluntary family planning services as women in the U.S., and that no policy imposes restrictions on free speech that would be illegal if applied in the U.S.
Send a letter to your representative urging their support: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/population/index.jsp
"The idea that this country can ever again be energy independent is outmoded and probably was even in the era of Richard Nixon..."
-- Lee Raymond, ExxonMobil's Chairman and CEO, questioning the notion that the United States could ever become energy independent as quoted in Business Week [4/9/01].
[1] THE PUBLIC SPEAKS: Documents Show Overwhelming Support for Wild Forests
The Sierra Club will release new, more precise numbers tomorrow that show Americans overwhelmingly support the Wild Forest roadless initiative. The initiative, which will protect almost 60 million acres of still-wild forest and grassland, was recently delayed by President Bush. Though the president claims that more consultations with local land-owners are needed, the newly released numbers show the unprecedented amount of public involvement in the process -- and the incredible level of support the initiative has won.
The Sierra Club press release with detailed numbers will be available Wednesday at: https://www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/
[2] VICTORY: Senate Passes Campaign Finance Reform
Though opponents in the House of Representatives are already sharpening their knives, the Senate's passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill is a historic victory for clean elections -- and a cleaner environment.
Do campaign donations really impact our environmental laws? You make the call: In the 2000 election alone, the mining industry donated more than $5 million dollars and the oil and gas industries donated more than $14 million. Now President Bush has removed a plan to lower the amount of arsenic in our drinking water and, along with allies in the Congress, is pushing to open the pristine and irreplaceable Arctic National Wildlife Refuge up for oil exploration. Hmm... vTo get the low-down on dirty money and our environment: https://www.sierraclub.org/politics/clean_elections/
[3] IN THE NEWS: Smart Growth Activists Get Glossy Cincinnati Spread
Sierra Club activists in Cincinnati have broken new ground -- in the pages of Cincinnati Magazine. The April edition of this glossy "lifestyle" magazine will include an in-depth feature on our efforts to slow sprawl and encourage smart growth. According to the upcoming feature: "The Sierra Club's man on the job in these parts is Glen Brand, and he's as likely to be looking for allies among soccer moms as backpackers. His goal: to get our heads out of the woods and into the world of off-ramps, cul-de-sacs and traffic jams." Note to area activists: Better watch those paparazzi!
To find out more about the Sierra Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign: https://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/
To read about smart growth in Cincinnati: https://www.ohio.sierraclub.org/cincy/
[4] HUMAN RIGHTS: Final Push Needed to Free Mexican Environmentalists
Jailed environmentalists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera are one step closer to gaining freedom -- but they need our help. On March 9, lawyers for the two filed legal papers with the court calling for an "amparo," which is a finding of wrongful prosecution. If granted, the amparo would open the door for Montiel and Cabrera's release. While President Vicente Fox and officials within his administration have publicly stated support for Montiel and Cabrera, President Fox's attorney general, Rafael Macedo de la Concha, has the opportunity to officially support the amaparo. Urge him to do so by visiting our Take Action Webpage.
To send a customizable letter to Mexico's attorney general: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/humanrights/index.jsp
[5] TAKE ACTION: Help Needed to Restore Funds to Key Environmental Programs
President Bush's proposed budget will slash $3.3 billion from key environmental programs -- your quick action is needed to turn the tide.
Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against the Senate Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2002, H.Con.Res.83, and vote for the amendment expected to be offered Wednesday by Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) that would restore the drastic cuts.
Bush's proposed budget would cripple federal efforts to set air and water quality standards, promote energy efficiency, protect wildlife and manage sensitive public lands. In contrast, Corzine's amendment would ensure that federal agencies have the funding they need to enforce environmental laws and it would fund a popular program created by Congress last year to protect open space.
This is a critical environmental vote, so your calls are important! Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against the Senate Budget Resolution and in favor of the Corzine Amendment.
To contact your senators, please call the US Capitol Switchboard, 202-224-3121 or go to: https://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm.
"In barely 60 days, Bush has attacked clean air, clean water, national forests and federally protected lands. And he hasn't even started on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge yet. This guy makes Ronald Reagan look like John Muir.
How far is Bush willing to go? Consider this. He'll even leave more arsenic -- yes, arsenic! -- in your drinking water, if that's what the mining companies want. They do. He just did." --Bill Press, from the article "Bush declares war on environment" March 23, 2001, Tribune Media Services
[1] HARD ON WEDNESDAY, SOFT ON THURSDAY? Senate Vote on Campaign Finance Reform Vote Imminent
Please, call Your senators now! Every senator's vote will be critical to achieving real campaign finance reform.
The Sierra Club was deeply disappointed by Wednesday's Senate vote in favor of raising the current "hard money" limit of $1,000 per year to $2,000. "But the other gains made by the ban of soft money are too important to deny," said Deanna White, deputy political director for the Club.
What's expected next are more "poison pill" amendments that could effectively kill the bill, notably a "nonseverability" amendment. Currently, if one part of the bill is found to be unconstitutional, it can be "severed" from the rest of the legislation. If this amendment were to pass and any part of the McCain-Feingold legislation is found to be unconstitutional, the whole law would be thrown out.
The Sierra Club opposes the nonseverability amendment. Please call your senators and tell them to support the McCain-Feingold bill and oppose any killer amendments -- especially "nonseverability."
Call the Capitol Switchboard NOW at (202) 224-3121. The next vote could come on Thursday.
For more information, contact: deanna.white@sierraclub.org. Or visit the Club Web page at: https://www.sierraclub.org/politics/clean_elections/
BEATING BACK BUSH: Radio Ads Turn Up Heat
The Sierra Club launched radio ads in nine states today to protest a slew of recent anti-environmental actions by President Bush. The ads encourage influential members of Congress to press President Bush to cut the amount of cancer-causing arsenic in drinking water and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, which causes global warming, that power plants spew. The radio spots kick off a two-month effort to focus the public's attention on Bush's broken campaign pledges and reckless actions.
The ads are running in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Vermont.
To see a sample script of the ad, go to: https://www.sierraclub.org/politics/bush/radio.asp
FLEXIBILITY TRUMPS SCIENCE: Bush Aide Explains Arsenic Strategy
Ari Fleisher, White House press spokesperson, on why it's OK for people in some parts of the country to be exposed to water with higher levels of arsenic:
"We don't have a one-size-fits-all national level....
So [we] will be [setting] a new standard to have reasonable levels that are based on science and on some flexibility for states or for regions where the level that was pronounced by the previous administration would have done real harm to people's ability to get drinking water."
In other words, if it's not convenient for water districts to remove the arsenic, they won't have to.
Fleisher made no mention of the harm to people caused by exposure to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water.
KYOTO ACCORD DEAD? Tell Bush To Revive It
Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman announced that the United States will not take any of the steps to stem global warming outlined in the Kyoto treaty. The message she sent from President Bush was simple and blunt: Kyoto is dead.
This despite the fact that the United States is the world's biggest global warming polluter -- contributing 25 percent of the pollution that is causing the planet to heat up. Scientists estimate that in the next 100 years, the average temperature could rise by as much as 10 degrees. This could result in more severe storms, rising sea level that could flood low-lying areas, the spread of tropical infectious diseases and reduced crop yields. The Kyoto Protocol, the only international agreement focused on slowing global warming, set a goal of reducing global warming pollution by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Take Action: Tell President Bush that we must cut global warming pollution and that the Kyoto Protocol must move forward.
Send him a fax right now at: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/globalwarming/index.jsp
TOLL TOO HIGH: Protesters Storm Hearing in Orange County
About 1,000 people showed up at a public hearing on Monday to protest the proposed Foothill Toll Road extension in Orange County, Calif., reported the Orange County Register. It was the first of three meetings by the Transportation Corridor Agencies to accept testimony about the proposed extension. Many of the protesters came bearing placards, but they weren't allowed in with them. One man was arrested after several attempts to get in with his sign.
The Sierra Club has been fighting the toll road for three years because it would threaten one of the few stretches of wildland left in southern Orange County, exacerbate sprawl and pollute what Angeles Chapter staffer Bill Corcoran called "the cleanest watershed in Southern California."
Sierra Club organizer Brittany McKee and Angeles Chapter volunteers helped mobilize the big crowd.
On Tuesday Corcoran was on the radio yesterday explaining the Club's opposition to the toll road. You can hear the interview at:
https://kcrw.com/cgi-bin/ram_wrap.cgi?/ww/ww010327Orange_County_Toll_R
A MAP TOO CLOSE TO HOME: Caribou Calving Area Top Secret?
A mapmaker for the U.S. Geological Service was fired in March for posting an "unauthorized" map of the caribou calving area in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Ian Thomas, who had posted more than 20,000 maps on the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site in the past three years, was let go for "doing work outside of his task order."
Thomas said that his termination was "a gross over-reaction due to the political considerations USGS is currently operating under with regard to caribou and development for oil within Area 1002 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge."
The Sierra Club has estimated that drilling in the refuge would require 280 miles of roads, hundreds of miles of pipelines, 50 million cubic yards of gravel and massive production facilities.
So where the caribou breed could be important information.
You can see the some of the unauthorized maps and learn more about Ian Thomas' story at: https://www.maptricks.com/
"You can always find more money, but land they've stopped making." --Rob Smith, Sierra Club Southwest Field Director, Phoenix New Times, March 22
[1] ARSENIC AND OLD SCIENCE: Whitman Knows Better
Though 10 years of research by the National Academy of Sciences has proved that arsenic causes a variety of cancers, the Bush administration withdrew a recently revised standard that would have lowered the amount of this carcinogen in our drinking water. The rule would have reduced allowable levels of arsenic to 10 parts per billion from 50, the current standard, which was set in 1942. The current level is woefully inadequate, according to scientists, the World Health Organization -- and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd-Whitman.
When Whitman was governor of New Jersey, she asked homeowners to take action if their drinking water had more than 5 parts per billion of arsenic. But now that she's working for the EPA, it seems that 10 times as much arsenic is just fine.
Read the Newark Star-Ledger editorial at: https://www.nj.com/editorial/ledger/index.ssf?/editorial/ledger/12b9992.html
To urge Whitman to re-implement the new standards, see our take-action Web site at: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/cleanwater/index.jsp
[2] ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE: Bush Won't Defend Wild Forests
The roadless conservation initiative, a plan drawn up by the Forest Service to protect the last untouched areas in our national forests, was the fruit of more than 600 public hearings. More than 90 percent of the 1 million-plus people who commented expressed their support for it. But the Bush administration, having twice delayed the start date, is now refusing to fight a legal challenge against the initiative brought by timber-giant Boise Cascade and the state of Idaho. Looks like one big timber company has more influence with the Bush administration than 1 million Americans.
Help protect our wild forests and our democracy: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/wildlands/index4.jsp
[3] FIGHTING BACK ON ENERGY: Let There Be Light Who's blocked more power plants in California -- the utilities or environmentalists? The truth is that the Sierra Club and other environmental groups support building new power plants because they are cleaner and more efficient than older models. And, as reports in the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Daily News have shown, over the past 10 years, utility companies have blocked a slew of new power plants. Last week, the Sierra Club launched a series of three newspaper ads to debunk the myths about California's energy shortage. The ads are running in Roll Call, the New York Times West Coast Edition, the Sacramento Bee and weekly newspapers throughout the state.
To shed some light on the issue, check our Web site:https://www.sierraclub.org/energy/ads/0103powerplants_ad.asp
[4] VICTORY IN VIRGINIA: Army Corps Recommends Against Mattaponi Dam A dam that would have flooded the Mattaponi American Indians off of sacred land was blocked by the Army Corps of Engineers last week. Glen Besa, director of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, called this a "major victory" for the Mattaponi tribe, the Sierra Club, the Alliance to Save the Mattaponi and other groups working to protect an important river from the proposed 1,500-acre King Williams reservoir. Citing the Executive Order on Environmental Justice, Colonel Allan Carroll, the district engineer for the Army Corps, noted that the environmental risks posed by the reservoir would have a disproportionately large impact on the Mattaponi tribe. Virginia Gov. James Gilmore supports the reservoir. Carroll's decision is actually only a recommendation. The final decision rests one level higher in the Corps.
Read the full recommendation on the Army Corps Web site: https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Regulatory/PN/KWR-ROD/KWRPN.htm
[5] NORTH DAKOTA LEADS THE WAY: Farmers Revolt Against Franken-Food
North Dakota's House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would ban the planting of genetically modified wheat for two years. Though Monsanto is fighting tooth-and-nail against the bill (and though the law may be derailed in North Dakota's state Senate) the effort marks a turning point in the fight against Franken-food: Farmers are the main backers of the bill. They're concerned because Europe, Japan and a growing number of other countries are banning or limiting the sale of genetically modified food.
Read the New York Times article (registration required) at: https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/24/health/24DAKO.html
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