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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
December 7, 2005
"I have to believe that Congress will listen to public sentiment and ultimately reject the idea of advancing the controversial proposal of Arctic drilling through the Budget process." - Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club Arctic Lobbyist, in a new Outdoor Life Network series on the controversy over drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The show, "ANWR: The Controversy and The Legacy," will first air this Sunday night. For other show times, please visit www.olntv.com.
(1) FILM: Big Questions on the Big Screen
(2) SMART GROWTH: Building Better
(3) TAKE ACTION: Don't Test Pesticides on People
(4) TAKE ACTION: Restore and Protect Coastal Louisiana
1. FILM: Big Questions on the Big Screen
On Friday, the highly acclaimed film Syriana opens nationwide in theaters. But Syriana, a political thriller that unfolds against the intrigues and corruption of the global oil industry, isn't just another movie. The filmmakers, Participant Productions, have partnered with the Sierra Club and other conservation organizations to spotlight the dangerous consequences of oil dependence and call audiences to action. The Oil Change website (www.participate.net/oilchange) lets visitors send a message encouraging Detroit automakers to step up production of more efficient cars and trucks, explore ways to cut back their own oil consumption, and add comments to the Oil Change blog.
Syriana is one of many new progressive political films. Read about this growing trend: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gy4r,o7l,ces2,ezgn,dazy,eylb
2. SMART GROWTH: Building Better
The Sierra Club released its first-ever "Guide to America's Best New Development," which names a dozen cutting-edge projects that have positively transformed neighborhoods. The report makes the point that there is a better way to build and produce healthy and livable communities. "Too often local governments accept poorly planned development, and the traffic that goes with it, because they believe they have no other choice," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "Our hope is that Americans will look at these winning projects and demand better projects in their own communities."
Find out if a city near you is building better: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gy4r,o7l,8ebr,1v7x,dazy,eylb
Read the Associated Press article Sierra Club Promotes Environmentally Friendly Development: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gy4r,o7l,80o5,2zzv,dazy,eylb
3. TAKE ACTION: Don't Test Pesticides on People
The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rule allowing experiments that test pesticides on people raises serious moral and ethical concerns. The rule contains loopholes that allow for the testing of pesticides on pregnant women and children, exposing them to unknown health threats. It ignores ethical guidelines required by Congress, and fails to protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable populations.
Tell the EPA to focus on alternatives to testing pesticides on people, rather than debating which tests are acceptable: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gy4r,o7l,26ak,6kmd,dazy,eylb
4. TAKE ACTION: Restore and Protect Coastal Louisiana
The natural bounty of coastal Louisiana - America's Wetland - is an integral part of our country's legacy to future generations. True revitalization and restoration of communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita must include a commitment to protecting and restoring this wetland treasure and effective storm protection up to a Category 5 level.
Tell President Bush and leaders in Congress to answer the call of stewardship and responsibility and act to save these treasures now: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gy4r,o7l,916v,ebt5,dazy,eylb
"Well, I may be living in a roofless cesspool of disease and infestation, but at least I can still drop T.O. from my fantasy football team." - A New Orleans resident responds to the city offering the first free wireless Internet network owned and run by a major city, a move aimed at boosting the city's stalled economy.
(1) GLOBAL WARMING: Mark Your Calendars... in Pencil
(2) VICTORY: Cleaner Crimson Tide
(3) TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Mining and Drilling on Public Lands
(4) TAKE ACTION: Protect Communities' Right to Know About Chemical Releases
1. GLOBAL WARMING: Mark Your Calendars... in Pencil
Tomorrow marks the official end to a harsh and record-setting hurricane season, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. Another tropical storm is currently forming over the Atlantic Ocean. The world's leading scientists are connecting the increasing violence of hurricanes to warmer ocean water and other trends caused by global warming. While we cannot link any particular weather event specifically to global warming, climate models consistently connect more destructive hurricanes to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. During this hurricane "off season," we should think about solutions to reduce global warming pollution, like making all of our vehicles go farther on a gallon of gas, purchasing hybrid cars for municipal fleets, and investing in clean, renewable energy instead of dirty coal.
Read "Active season doesn't settle global warming issue" in the Advocate: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,grzx,o7l,8bx3,5opv,dazy,eylb
2. VICTORY: Cleaner Crimson Tide
It seems like these days big corporations get their way every time they want to log, mine or drill America's favorite wild places. But some dedicated and concerned citizens in Alabama are the exception to that rule, scoring a big victory for clean water, recreation and the local treasure Terrapin Creek. For eight years, members of the Sierra Club's Alabama Chapter and Friends of Terrapin Creek have worked together to oppose a gold mining operation proposed just 500 feet from a section of this pristine waterway - a place where generations of Alabama families have fished, canoed and swam. The long battle paid off on November 3 when a judge ruled that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management illegally issued a water pollution discharge permit to the mining operation.
Learn more about Terrapin Creek in the Sierra Club's America's Great Outdoors report: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,grzx,o7l,lreb,dcj4,dazy,eylb
3. TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Mining and Drilling on Public Lands
The Budget reconciliation bill that narrowly passed the House on November 18 temporarily spared the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America's coasts from oil and gas drilling, but it puts a huge swath of our nation's public lands up for sale. The mining provision tucked into the Budget offers up millions of America's treasured public lands for sale, giving the land away at virtually no cost to the mining industry and other developers. It manages to worsen the already antiquated 1872 Mining Law and defraud the American taxpayer, all while promoting a huge Western land grab in our National Forests and Parks.
Tell your Representative to reject the final budget reconciliation bill if it includes these destructive mining provisions or language to open the Arctic Refuge and our coasts to drilling: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,grzx,o7l,bt70,d9xd,dazy,eylb
4. TAKE ACTION: Protect Communities' Right to Know About Chemical Releases
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to- Know Act of 1986 is one of our nation's most successful environmental protections, ensuring that every American has the right to know the chemicals to which they may be exposed in their community. But the Environmental Protection Agency is now threatening to undermine this crucial safeguard, proposing to excuse companies from disclosing large spills and releases of toxic substances and require them to report these releases every other year instead of annually.
Tell the EPA not to go forward with this proposed rule: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,grzx,o7l,7up1,7r09,dazy,eylb
"Conservation campaigns never really end. They cross certain milestones, but wild lands must always be defended against those who would encroach their edges, mine their soils, log their forests or drill their shores. Conservation is never complete. To conserve is the act of preservation; the very name implies an ongoing process. I am reminded of Patrick Henry's famous line, 'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.'" - Dr. Ed Wayburn
(1) WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Prices
(2) VICTORIES: Leaving a Real Legacy
(3) TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Mining and Drilling on Public Lands (4) TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Dangerous Logging Practices
1. WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Prices
Sierra Club chapters around the country worked with unions, churches, community groups and others last week to highlight Wal-Mart's impact on the environment and communities as part of Wal-Mart Watch's Higher Expectations Week. More than 7,000 screenings of the much-anticipated feature length documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices" filled churches and living rooms.
Read "Wal-Mart, Its Foes Turn to Religion" in the Los Angeles Times: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gnw5,o7l,7ddq,4gwd,dazy,eylb
Learn about Wal-Mart's environmental impact: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gnw5,o7l,j883,kcaz,dazy,eylb
2. VICTORIES: Leaving a Real Legacy
It's official: it is possible to address transportation challenges, save money and enhance the environment all at once. Last week, the State of Utah, the Sierra Club and Utahns for Better Transportation announced an agreement over Legacy Parkway, ending the battle over a major highway near wetlands that adjoin some of the most important waterfowl habitat in North America. The agreement allows for construction of a 14-mile scenic road with contemporary features which will reduce impacts to the wetlands through a narrower footprint, lower speeds, and less noise by prohibiting trucks and utilizing quiet, rubberized asphalt pavement.
Read "Governor approves Legacy Parkway pact" in the Salt Lake Tribune: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gnw5,o7l,9tdb,3w0w,dazy,eylb
3. TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Mining and Drilling on Public Lands
The Budget reconciliation bill that narrowly passed the House on November 18 temporarily spared the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and America's coasts from oil and gas drilling, but it puts a huge swath of our nation's public lands up for sale. The mining provision tucked into the Budget offers up millions of America's treasured public lands for sale, giving the land away at virtually no cost to the mining industry and other developers. It manages to worsen the already antiquated 1872 Mining Law and defraud the American taxpayer, all while promoting a huge Western land grab in our National Forests and Parks.
Tell your Representative to reject the final budget reconciliation bill if it includes these destructive mining provisions or language to open the Arctic Refuge and our coasts to drilling: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gnw5,o7l,bt70,d9xd,dazy,eylb
4. TAKE ACTION: Tell Your Representative to Oppose Dangerous Logging Practices
The Bush administration constantly uses the threat of forest fires as an excuse to increase commercial logging in the backcountry. Now, the administration's allies claim the next "forest health crisis" is that the Forest Service is not logging burned areas fast enough. The Forest Service priority needs to be protecting homes and communities from forest fires by removing brush and flammable materials, involving homeowners and non-federal landowners and, over time, restoring the natural role of fire to the land. Two bills in Congress, from Rep. Greg Walden and Sen. Gordon Smith, take the wrong approach, seeking to reduce forest safeguards as a way to speed up logging.
Call your Representative and Senators through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to support real protections for communities and oppose these logging bills.
For more information on the Sierra Club National Forest Protection and Restoration Campaign visit: https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gnw5,o7l,ed9w,hymb,dazy,eylb
1. OIL PROFITS: Will They Plead the Fifth? Last week, oil companies and their friends in Congress mustered enough votes to pass the Senate's Budget Reconciliation Bill with a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Attention now turns to the House, where these same companies are lobbying hard to open the Arctic as well as to revoke the 24-year old bipartisan moratorium on offshore drilling. But first they will have some questions to answer. Tomorrow, top executives of ExxonMobil (just posted $9.9 billion in third-quarter profits, up 75%), Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP America Inc., and Shell Oil Company will all testify on Capitol Hill, where just three months ago Congress passed an energy bill laden with billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks to these same companies. Don't expect Congress to hold hearings on itself any time soon.
Read the Los Angeles Times article, "Lawmakers Eager to Grill Oil Executives." https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gcyc,o7l,kspj,c7xi,dazy,eylb
2. BUDGET: A Reason for Hope House leadership by no means has clear shot at passing a Budget Reconciliation Bill that would open the Arctic and our treasured coastal areas to drilling. A significant number of both Republicans and Democrats have been outspoken in their opposition not only to the drilling provisions but also to draconian cuts in important social programs. A New York Times editorial on Monday offered a scathing indictment of the House budget bill and said, "In truth, it is so over-the-top in its inequities and giveaways that embarrassed moderates are actually rebelling, withholding support unless some of the more outrageous measures -- like despoiling the Alaska wildlife refuge with oil drilling -- are killed."
Read the New York Times editorial, "Congress' Sham Budget Savings." https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gcyc,o7l,6wgh,cbbo,dazy,eylb
Read the Washington Post story, "GOP Budget Cuts Face Varied Opposition." https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gcyc,o7l,l0oz,2qgm,dazy,eylb
3. COASTAL PROTECTION: Rumble in Hurricane Alley For a quarter-century, the bipartisan moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling has protected America's sensitive offshore waters and fragile coastlines from destructive oil and gas drilling. Now, in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, some members of Congress are working to actually expand drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (a.k.a. "Hurricane Alley") and off the rest of America's fragile coasts. In reality, the recent hurricanes spotlight the danger of our dependence on vulnerable offshore infrastructure and the need for conservation and energy efficiency. Nevertheless, Congress is on the brink of revoking the moratorium and handing America's long- protected coasts over to the oil and gas industry.
Read Senator Bill Nelson's opinion editorial from the Miami Herald. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,gcyc,o7l,i6as,ckny,dazy,eylb
TAKE ACTION: Oppose Arctic Refuge and Offshore Drilling
Drilling proponents in the House of Representatives are trying to use the budget reconciliation bill -- the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 -- as a vehicle to open America's shorelines as well as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.
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. In addition, this bill includes controversial provisions to revoke the 24-year old bi-partisan moratorium on offshore drilling that protects our sensitive coastlines. The Minerals Management Service has estimated that the vast majority of natural gas and oil located in the Outer Continental Shelf is already available for drilling, so it makes little sense to damage coastal marine habitat, marine life, and coastal economies for small amounts of oil or gas.
The vote in the House is expected as early as Thursday.
PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY Call the Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) and urge your representative to vote against any budget reconciliation bill that authorizes the opening of America's coasts or Arctic Refuge to drilling.
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