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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
May 29, 2001
"We have built these monster suburbs all over hell and the aquifer, and the result is no one can get anywhere any more. They sit there in their SUVs, fuming about the traffic while, of course, the air quality gets worse and worse." - Molly Ivins, Creators Syndicate columnist, 5/24/01
[1] TAKE ACTION: Save Gas, Money and the Environment
Lucky for consumers who are spending more money on gas this summer, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced a bill to make gas-guzzling SUVs and other light trucks go further on a gallon of gas. But raising the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard for SUVs, pickups and minivans from the current low of 20.7 miles per gallon to 27.5 mpg, won't just save us $27 billion at the gas pump. This step alone will also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 240 million metric tons every year and save 1 million barrels of oil every day -- three times more oil that we could get from drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Send a letter to your senators urging them to cut global warming pollution, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and save consumers billions of dollars at the gas pump. Urge them to support the Feinstein-Snowe Light Truck Fuel Economy Bill (S.804) at: https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/globalwarming/index2.jsp
[2] NOT IN MY PARK: National Treasures are "Our Lands" not "Oil Lands"
President Bush has been busy trying to sell his new energy plan in California and will continue his tour tomorrow with a stop at Sequoia National Park. But Californians aren't buying the new plan. Activists were in Los Angeles today asking Bush to immediately put in place price caps to stop the price gouging in California and implement incentives for energy efficiency and responsible production. And a new Field Poll released today said that only 42 percent of Californians approve of President Bush's job performance -- 12 points below the national average. President Bush is considering opening up our national monuments, parks, wilderness areas and other wildlife refuges to oil and gas development, mining and logging. But Californians know that we need a more balanced energy plan with quicker, cleaner, cheaper and safer energy solutions.
To read about the new poll, go to: https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2001/05/29/MN56632.DTL
For more information on President Bush's Energy Plan, go to: https://www.sierraclub.org/energy/bush_plan/
[3] NEW LEADERS: Sierra Club Seats New President, Vice President
Continuing in its grassroots tradition, the Sierra Club Board of Directors elected new officers at their May meeting. Jennifer Ferenstein of Missoula, Mont., has been chosen as President and Charlie Ogle of Eugene, Ore., will assist her as vice president. Ferenstein is committed to taking a proactive approach to environmental issues by emphasizing alternatives and choices to the American public. Ogle is looking forward to strengthening environmental advocacy and exploring new opportunities to make the Sierra Club more effective. The new leaders will assume their duties on June 1.
Other new office-holders include: Secretary Jan O'Connell of Grand Rapids, Mich., Treasurer Nick Aumen of Palm Beach County, Fla., and Fifth Officer Larry Fahn of Mill Valley, Calif.
To learn more about Ferenstein, go to: https://www.missoulian.com/display/inn_news/news01.txt
To read more about the Sierra Club's Board of Directors, including who was on the board in 1892, go to: https://www.sierraclub.org/bod/
[4] TUNE IN: Sprawl-Mart Uncovered in June PBS Special
A new documentary that describes the heart of a grassroots battle against sprawl will be broadcast on PBS throughout the month of June. "Store Wars" follows the one-year conflict that polarized Ashland, Va., population 7,200, when Wal-Mart decided to build a megastore on the edge of town. A truly American story, "Store Wars" is about the right of a community to determine its own future.
Find out when it's showing in your town by going to: https://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/
[5] GROWING SMARTER: North Carolina Passes Smart Growth Legislation
Finally, one state is beginning to realize that new highways are not the only answer to traffic jams and poor air quality. The North Carolina General Assembly passed its first smart growth bill of the 2001 session last week. The Transportation Planning Bill will help curb the state's sprawling growth by requiring the development of land-use plans before new highways can be built and looking at all transportation modes including public transit, bicycles and pedestrian access.
To read more about solutions to sprawl in North Carolina, go to: https://sierraclub-nc.org/chapter/capitol/legislation/sprawl/sos_2001.shtml
"I am 70 years old, a registered Republican all my life, and I'm saving energy. Whenever President Bush opens his mouth, I turn my hearing aid off...That will save about as much energy as his [energy] policy." - Gordon J.Cumming, of Phoenix, in a letter to the Arizona Republic, 5/20/01
[1] TOUR DE MANURE: Wake Up and Smell the Pig Poop
Michigan volunteers and activists led a "Tour de Manure" this week to highlight the effects of factory farms on the environment. In Michigan, these "concentrated animal feeding operations," or CAFOs, are asked to voluntarily follow guidelines to keep animal waste out of Michigan's air and water. The Sierra Club's Mackinac (Michigan) Chapter says that's not good enough. Since some CAFOs won't follow the voluntary guidelines, stonger laws and enforcement are necessary to keep Michigan's environment clean. According to Anne Woiwode of the Mackinac Chapter, "Family farms and large livestock operations need to be run in ways that do not jeopardize the environment."
Find out about efforts at the federal level to regulate CAFOs in this alert from The Planet, the Sierra Club's activist newsletter, at https://www.sierraclub.org/planet/200106/alerts.asp Learn more about the Sierra Club's CAFO Campaign at https://www.sierraclub.org/factoryfarms/
[2] THE POWER OF ONE: You Can Make a Difference for Family Farms!
Urge your representative to help family farmers promote responsible farming practices, keep pollution out of our rivers and streams and prevent sprawl by co-sponsoring the Conservation Security Act. This bill would put into place a comprehensive, flexible, voluntary approach to farm conservation policy through incentive payments to farmers and ranchers who maintain or adopt conservation practices on land in production.
Send a fax to your senators and representatives urging them to co-sponsor this measure by visiting our Take Action Web site at https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/cleanwater/index2.jsp
[3] JEFFORDS DEFECTS: Shake Up in the Senate
Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords announced today his decision to leave the Republican party and become an Independent. Jeffords has long been a strong voice for the environment, and will likely become the chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, while Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) will most likely become Majority Leader. Throughout his tenure, Sen. Jeffords has stood up to protect our environment, co-sponsoring the Arctic Refuge Wilderness Act, the Clean Power Act, the High Speed Rail Investment Act, and advocating for an energy policy that includes renewables. Sen. Daschle's leadership will be key to beating back anti-environmental attacks by the Bush administration.
See our press release at https://lists.sierraclub.org/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0105&L=ce-scnews-releases&D=1&T=0&H=1&O=D&P=1723
Read more about Jeffords' decision at https://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/05/24/jeffords.senate.02/index.html
[4] PRESIDENTIAL CHALLENGE: Raise Fuel Economy Standards Now
As Americans take to the highways this Memorial Day weekend, the Sierra Club is calling on President Bush to raise automobile fuel economy standards. With gas in much of America costing $2.00 a gallon, an average car owner would save $340 a year in gasoline costs and an average SUV owner $558 a year if these autos met a new fuel economy standard of 40 mpg. The beginning of summer driving season is the perfect time for President Bush to show he is serious about saving oil, and saving consumers money at the gas pump. Raising the standard would do more than save consumers money though -- it also would cut pollution and help curb global warming.
Find out more about raising fuel economy standards at https://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/cleancars/cafe/BiggestSingleStep.pdf
[5] SMELLS LIKE CHICKEN! Fighting Factory Farms in Kentucky
A Kentucky district judge ruled last week that Tyson Foods and one of its broiler chicken growers can face criminal prosecution for allowing noxious odors to waft into the city of Marion. Aloma Dew, an environmental education organizer for the Cumberland Chapter of the Sierra Club says the case "will be a very important one in deciding whether citizens have a constitutional right to enjoy property or whether those rights only belong to corporations." The Cumberland Chapter has recommended stronger environmental protections for confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs.
"If your home is there and these facilities come in, then you're being robbed of the right to enjoy your property," she said. "There should be a way to have sustainable agriculture that does not infringe on other peoples' rights."
"Holy moly, if you've got an energy lobbyist in Washington, has Dick Cheney got a sack of money for you!"
-- from "Conservatives Should 'Just Say No' to This Energy Plan" by Jerry Taylor of the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank ------
[1] SIERRA CLUB IN THE NEWS
``There's a Texas saying that the president apparently is very fond of, which goes, `You can put your boots in the oven, but it doesn't make them biscuits.' When they start claiming this plan is about clean energy, about progressive technology, about energy efficiency, they're putting their boots in the oven. I'd rather bake biscuits.'' -- Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director, San Jose Mercury News, 5/16/01
"About 100 protesters gathered at a park near the Safe Harbor hydroelectric plant Friday, brandishing signs with slogans such as 'smash the oil-a-garchy' and 'fund solar and wind, not oil and nuclear.' The Sierra Club has organized protests in each of the cities Bush has visited to promote his energy plan." -- Associated Press, 5/19/01, on Bush's visit to a Pennsylvania hydro-electric plant
"There's the accident problem. And we don't know what to do with the waste that remains highly radioactive for a quarter-million years. So switching from coal to nuclear power is like giving up smoking and taking up crack." -- Sierra Club's Dan Becker on nuclear power, CBS Evening News, 5/19/01
"Environmentalists led by the Sierra Club, criticized President Bush's energy plan, saying it should support more energy efficiency and development of renewable energy rather than increase supplies of oil, gas, and nuclear energy." -- Christian Science Monitor, 5/18/01
"The Sierra Club's Oklahoma chapter says Bush's energy plan isn't balanced. The plan is centered around incentives for drilling and exploration, and lacks measures that promote the growth of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, said Charles Wesner, chapter chairman." -- Tulsa World 5/19/01
[2] MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN MINNESOTA
Working with just six days' notice, Sierra Club's North Star Chapter (Minnesota), the Midwest Regional Office and local allies pulled together two events denouncing President Bush's national energy policy. Volunteers and activists set the tone for the release of the energy plan the day before Bush's visit to St. Paul. Holding a Wednesday press conference in front of the polluting High Bridge Coal Plant, volunteers featured a truck-load of coal and local residents talked about the health impacts of the coal plant's emissions. Their message was echoed in newspaper ads run by the Sierra Club: If President Bush wanted to be honest, he'd be touring this dirty coal plant before delivering his energy policy speech.
All of the local television outlets carried the press conference Wednesday night. That set the tone for Bush's Thursday visit, where a crowd estimated at 500 waved hundreds of signs and banners. To the side stood a huge inflatable SUV and a truck towing a mock nuclear waste storage cask. The crowd delivered a clear message that Minnesotans were not pleased with the President's energy policy.
The Club welcomed Bush in similar style in Iowa and Pennsylvania. Find out what Sierra Club activists are doing in your area, by clicking on "My Backyard" on the Sierra Club web site at https://www.sierraclub.org
[3] TAKE ACTION: Tell 'em how it is!
A CNN/USA Today/Gallop poll says that out of every 10 Americans, six think energy companies have too much influence over the Bush Administration, and only 38 percent think that Bush is doing enough to solve our energy problems. Chime in and tell the Bush administration what you think of its energy plan. We can make smart energy choices that don't compromise the environment, despite what Bush and Cheney are telling us.
Take Action at https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/energy/index1.jsp
[4] TURNING UP THE HEAT: Kofi Annan Looks to U.S. on Global Warming
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said it is important that Americans, who produce the most greenhouse gases of any nation, join other nations in reducing emissions and conserving energy. Speaking at a Tufts University commencement ceremony, Annan called on the Bush Administration to step up and take leadership on global warming issues and to attend the Kyoto Treaty climate conference in Germany in July.
Read all about it at https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/05/20/national1452EDT0473.DTL
[5] SAVING SPECIAL PLACES: Write a Letter to the Editor
With Bush's energy plan in the bag, oil and gas developers are eyeing some of our nation's most treasured wildlands. Help send the right message to Washington - that Americans won't stand aside and let our national heritage be drilled and destroyed. Letters to the editor are one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and reach a large audience. Elected officals often monitor letters to the editor and take notice of constituents' opinions. Check out our talking points about safeguarding these special places and write a letter to your local newspaper today!
To see a sample letter to the editor and a list of special places that are at risk, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/energy/bush_plan/editor.asp
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