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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
September 12
"Calling Wayne Allard an environmental champion is like calling Ken Lay a champion of corporate responsibility" - Margaret Conway, Sierra Club political director
(1)POLITICS: Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
(2)CLEAN CARS: Spreading the Word in St. Louis
(3)PUBLIC LANDS: Continuing a Family Tradition
(4)TAKE ACTION: Protect our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
1. Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
Judging by the behavior of two senators up for re-election this year, it pays to tout your environmental credentials these days - even if you have to make them up. Senators Wayne Allard (R-CO), and Gordon Smith (R-OR) are savvy enough to know that voters care about clean air, clean water, and special places. So both ran TV ads recently painting themselves green, Smith's even boasting that he "stopped oil drilling in Alaska".
Problem is, Allard and Smith are far from being environmental champions. Sierra Club quickly pointed out to reporters and the public that Allard has consistently voted against clean air and water protections, and also opposed making polluters clean up their mess. As for Smith, Tim Hester of the Oregon Sierra Club called his Arctic vote "an election year conversion", noting that the Senator has left the door open to supporting drilling in the future, and has voted to drill in National Monuments. All the slick TV ads in the world can't gloss over an awful environmental record.
For more information on the Sierra Club's voter education campaigns, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/voter_education/
2. Spreading the Word on Clean Cars in St. Louis
St. Louis will be breathing a little easier, thanks to the Sierra Club! Last weekend, a park in the Gateway City was converted into a car showroom to promote hybrid cars. The Clean Energy Car Bazaar, hosted by the Sierra Club and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, featured the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic, and the Honda Insight. Over one hundred people showed up to learn about the fuel-efficient vehicles, including local car dealers and the manager of a city fleet.
Hybrids are more important now than ever, as automakers promote more and more gas-guzzling SUVs. Hybrids use less gas by relying in part on electricity, allowing some cars to average about 45 miles per gallon. That saves consumers money at the gas pump, cuts pollution, and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. St Louis could soon be leading the way.
To learn more about hybrid cars, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/roadtrip/drivecleanonly/hybrid.asp
3. Continuing a Family Tradition of Protecting Public Land
Looks like another Roosevelt cares about protecting America's environment. Teddy Roosevelt IV, great-grandson of his presidential namesake, joined Sierra Clubbers and other environmentalists, as well as reporters, for a tour of North Dakota's Little Missouri National Grassland. Roosevelt, who came all the way from New York City, is working to protect about 234,000 acres of the area by having it designated wilderness land.
The current protection plan for the area leaves most of it open to potential oil and gas drilling. Over 600 new oil wells could crop up in the grassland in the next decade. Wilderness designation would make the land off-limits to further road and building development. Currently, the area is disturbed by a road every four miles. For Grassland supporters, that is already too much.
For more info on Teddy Roosevelt and the Sierra Club, go to https://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5263117&BRD=2165&PAG=461&dept_id=402378&rfi=8
4. Take Action to Protect Our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
The laws protecting our wild forests are still under threat. A group of western senators - backed by the powerful timber industry - has offered a destructive and dangerous measure which uses this summer's spate of fires as an excuse to gut crucial forest protections. The Craig-Domenici-Kyl amendment keeps getting pushed back, to give its backers more time to twist arms and gather more votes.
This plan would open up even more of our wild forests to commercial logging, while doing nothing to protect communities threatened by fires. Twist some arms yourself. Contact your senators and urge them to oppose the Craig-Domenici-Kyl amendment on forest fires. Instead, they should support legislation that: 1) makes protecting communities from fires the number one priority 2) protects our forests from logging and road-building 3) upholds crucial forest safeguards
To send a message directly to your senators, go to https://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=184&st=curr
"Each of us has a special place that heals us, that quiets our confusion, and helps us to hear our own voice again." - Chuck McGrady, former Sierra Club President
(1)Taking Stock
(2)Recognizing Sierra Club Heroes
(3)A Special Place
1. Taking Stock
The one-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks provides an opportunity for us all to pause and reflect. It's a time to think about what we've lost and what we still have. To acknowledge how we've changed, and how we've stayed the same. But even with a year's worth of perspective to understand the traumatic events, these issues can still seem daunting.
A special section of the Sierra Club website, produced in honor of the anniversary, offers ideas on how the Sierra Club community, and all those who care about protecting the earth, might come to think about the meaning of that awful day. It offers a link to an article written by Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope on the need to care FOR America, if we care ABOUT America. And it lets readers share their own thoughts and feelings:
https://www.sierraclub.org/currents/taking_stock.asp
2. Recognizing Sierra Club Heroes
Many of the heroes of September 11th were ordinary people who responded to the tragedy by giving whatever they could - time, supplies, or labor. Within the Sierra Club, there were heroes everywhere: in New York City and the tri-state area, in Washington D.C. and Virginia, and all across the country. There were far too many Sierra Club heroes to be able to give them all the recognition they deserve. These two brief stories are an attempt to honor everyone who reacted to the events of that morning by simply trying to help others:
Jack Hoyt, a longtime Sierra Club member and decorated World War Two veteran, exited the World Trade Center subway station just after the first plane struck the North Tower. Amidst falling debris, Jack immediately ushered people to safety and helped erect barricades across the street from the North Tower. Retreating from his duties only to seek shelter as the towers fell, Jack spent the rest of that terrible day assisting emergency workers. He would return to Ground Zero to help with the recovery every day for the next week.
Across the river, New Jersey Chapter Coordinator Lori Herpen instantly sent out an email to Chapter members, asking people to volunteer time or donate supplies. The response was immediate and overwhelming: over 900 Chapter members offered to help. Sierrans sent sleeping bags and tents to emergency crews who were working round the clock. Many pitched in by answering phones at their local Red Cross. Others collected and delivered supplies to the New Jersey Community Food Bank, which distributed donations on-site. Everyone, it seemed, had something to give.
3. A Special Place
In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Americans needed time and space to grieve, to heal, to reflect, to connect with their families, or simply to be at peace with themselves and their world. Many turned to the natural environment to help with this process.
The Red Cross advised Americans to find solace in the natural world, and the Sierra Club allowed Americans to share their special place on the web. People were invited to name and describe a place - whether it be a grand landscape or a local park - that had provided what the poet Wendell Berry calls, "the peace of wild things".
But having places of natural beauty is as important today as it was last fall. The arrival of the one-year anniversary of the tragedy provides another opportunity for us to seek out these places, and once again to be thankful for our lives, our families, our friends, and our world.
To see what people named as their special place, or to offer your own, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/specialplace/
"I support wilderness designation with some caveats under certain circumstances where we have to make exceptions" - A definitive statement on the environment from South Dakota Governor and House candidate Bill Janklow
(1)GLOBAL: The Bush Administration vs. the World at the Earth Summit
(2)ENERGY: Dick Cheney Just Won't Back Down
(3)HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: Mexico's Record Under the Spotlight
(4)TAKE ACTION: Protect California's Coast from Oil Drilling
1. The Bush Administration vs. the World at the Earth Summit
As the World Summit on Sustainable Development draws to a close in Johannesburg, perhaps the most noteworthy product of the two-week conference was the almost unanimous opposition to the Bush administration's stance on climate change. America's closest ally, Britain, and its largest trading partner, Canada, both announced that they planned to ratify the landmark Kyoto Protocol, despite strenuous attempts by the U.S. to keep global warming off the agenda.
The Bush administration's one big proposal for the event was a system of "voluntary partnerships" between business and government to protect the environment. Without a binding framework for corporate accountability, this won't do much to turn businesses into responsible citizens. Johannesburg showed that most nations are committed to tackling the most pressing environmental and development problems facing the world. America should join the club.
For more information on the response to the U.S. in Johannesburg, go to https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/05/international/africa/05SUMM.html
2. Dick Cheney Just Won't Back Down
The Vice President must be sitting on something pretty damaging. How else to explain why he continues to invoke "executive privilege" as an excuse for not releasing documents that reveal who helped formulate the dirty, dangerous energy plan that his task force came up with last year?
The Sierra Club and an allied group are seeking access to the information under a federal sunshine law. Yesterday the Justice Department offered yet more excuses, but no documents. Judge Emmet Sullivan called the government's arguments "stunning", and said they "fly in the face of precedent". Cheney can delay all he wants, but it's only a matter of time before the American people learn which polluting corporations wrote our energy policy.
For more information on what Dick Cheney's hiding, go to https://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2002/sep/04/090407006.html
3. Mexico's Human Rights Record Under the Spotlight
Last October, Digna Ochoa, a prominent Mexico City human rights lawyer, was found murdered in her office. Digna represented environmental heroes Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, who had been tortured and jailed for their efforts to defend Mexico's forests. The Mexican government has failed to conduct a full and fair investigation into Digna's murder. PBS's "Wide Angle" series tonight investigates the human rights situation in Mexico, and features Digna's case prominently. Check your local listings. For more information on tonight's show, go to https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle
And Sierra Club is working to pressure the Mexican government to more fully investigate Digna's death, as well as the wrongful imprisonments of Montiel and Cabrera. To find out how you can help, contact sam.parry@sierraclub.org, or go to https://www.sierraclub.org/human-rights/Mexico/ochoa2.asp
4. Take Action to Protect California's Coast from Oil Drilling
The Bush administration continues to encourage oil and gas drilling off California's pristine coastline. An oil spill would devastate California's beautiful beaches - not to mention the tourist economy that the state has come to rely on. And even without a spill, offshore drilling pollutes the air and water, threatening ocean wildlife.
We can stop this. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) intends to offer a measure that would block any new oil and gas drilling off several areas of California's sensitive coastline. Contact your senators and urge them to support Senator Boxer's amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill, which would protect California's coast from dangerous oil and gas drilling.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 3121. Ask for your Senators. Deliver the message. Help protect California's beautiful coastline.
"The government is not above the law." Judge Emmet Sullivan, rebuking Interior Secretary Gail Norton for violating an agreement to protect endangered manatees
(1)ENDANGERED SPECIES: Secretary Norton Scolded by Judge on Manatees
(2)LEWIS AND CLARK: Idaho's Mountains May Get Protection
(3)CLEAN WATER: Dirty Beaches in the Windy City
(4)TAKE ACTION: Protect Our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
1. Secretary Norton Scolded by Judge on Manatees
We thought the government was supposed to uphold the law, not look for ways to get around it. Apparently Gail Norton disagrees. Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan sharply rebuked the Interior Secretary last week for refusing to comply with an agreement designed to protect Florida's endangered manatees.
At least 71 of the beautiful creatures have been killed in boat collisions this year. But the Interior Department has not honored a formal promise to create much-needed refuges for the manatees. Instead, it has offered only excuses for its failure, and no concrete timeline to correct it. Judge Sullivan called the Interior Department's arguments "ludicrous" and "disingenuous". Let's hope that serves as a wake-up call for Secretary Norton to get serious about manatee protection.
Learn more about the struggle to save these remarkable ocean-dwellers at https://www.savethemanatee.org ----
2. 200 Years After Lewis and Clark, Idaho's Mountains May Get Protection
The largest unprotected, roadless area in the lower 48 could soon be officially declared wilderness. Three separate groups - the Sierra Club, the Idaho Conservation League, and a mountain bikers group - hosted events this weekend focusing on Idaho's spectacular Boulder and White Cloud mountain ranges, and the need to protect them.
The Club led an outing to the Northern Smoky mountains, which included a panel discussion on the issue. Roger Singer of the Idaho Sierra Club invoked Lewis and Clark's historic westward journey 200 years ago to highlight the need for wilderness designation. "Things have changed dramatically for this region in the last 200 years," he said. "The Boulder-White Clouds are one of the best land preservation opportunities we've got."
For more information on protecting Idaho's special places, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/id/
3. Dirty Beaches in the Windy City
Aah, a day at the beach. Sun, sand, surf...and bacteria? That's what Chicago residents had to deal with this summer, whether they knew it or not. A study by the Sierra Club's Chicago group found that over two thirds of samples taken from four Lake Michigan beaches exceeded a key state standard for bacteria.
The lake's shoreline has been polluted by animal and human waste, which ends up in the water through runoff, septic systems, and wastewater treatment plants. From there, it can infect swimmers through the ears, nose, and mouth, causing abdominal pain, severe cramps, and vomiting. The Club recommends that local authorities address the problem by disinfecting wastewater, closing beaches when necessary, and testing more thoroughly. Lake Michigan's beaches should be a source of recreation and relaxation, not infection. For more information on Chicago's polluted beaches, go to https://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-beach30.html
4. Take Action to Protect Our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
Our wild forests are in danger! A cynical ploy to use this summer's spate of fires as an excuse to gut crucial forest protections could come up for a vote in Congress tomorrow. The plan does nothing to protect communities threatened by fires, and instead opens up more of our wild forests for commercial logging.
We need your help. Contact your senators and urge them to oppose the Craig-Domenici amendment on forest fires. Instead, they should support legislation that: 1) makes protecting communities from fires the number one priority 2) protects our forests from logging and road-building 3) upholds crucial forest safeguards
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 3121. Ask for your senators. Deliver the message. Help protect our wild forests.
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