Feb. 19, 1999
"It's probably due to global warming. It really doesn't take much of an
increase, only a degree or two, to push back the freezing date by a month."
Fisheries biologist commenting on changes in Yellowstone Lake's freezing
patterns.
The Associated Press State & Local Wire February 18, 1999
CONTENTS:
TAKE ACTION: WATER AND AIR QUALITY AT RISK: DO INDUSTRIAL PIG AND CHICKEN
FARMS DESERVE A BREAK? NO!!!!!!!!
INTO THE WOODS I: "FOREST HEALTH EMERGENCY" PROMOTES CLEARCUTTING
INTO THE WOODS II: MOTORS THREATEN WILD FORESTS & GIANT SEQUOIAS
INTO THE PARK: GLOBAL WARMING VISITS YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
INTO THE WILDERNESS: OIL DRILLING IN NEW MEXICO'S BISTI/DE-NA-ZIN
WILDERNESS?
TAKE ACTION!
WATER AND AIR QUALITY AT RISK: GIVING INDUSTRIAL PIG IN CHICKEN FARMS A
BREAK: Members of Congress Pressure EPA to Water Down Animal Waste Pollution
Strategy
Thirty-six members of the House Agriculture Committee wrote EPA Administrator
Carol Browner a strongly worded letter expressing concern that EPA's
forthcoming animal waste pollution strategy "would place unnecessarily
burdensome and costly regulation on U.S. livestock sectors."
The letter challenges EPA's legal authority under the Clean Water Act to
regulate the land application of manure; asserts that EPA lacks adequate,
recent water quality data to justify the need for the strategy; and objects
to the recommendation for individual Clean Water Act permits for any
feedlots, supporting instead general permits that lack public notice and
participation requirements and site-specific protections.
The letter concludes: "Agricultural producers have seen significant progress
over the past decade, through voluntary improvements by AFOs and effective,
state-led programs. Voluntary and incentive-based programs should be the
focus of any workable Strategy. States are presently working to address CAFO
issues, and EPA/USDA should give these efforts a chance to work before
additional federal regulations are promulgated."
In other words, let's keep the status quo: virtually unregulated,
industrial-style animal factories with giant, leaking lagoons polluting
rivers, groundwater, and air.
The following members signed the letter:
Larry Combest, Chairman (R-TX-19) Richard Pombo (R-CA-11)
Charlie Stenholm, Ranking Minority Member (D-TX-17) William Jenkins (R-TN-1)
Doug Ose Nick Smith (R-MI-7)
Tim Holden (D-PA-6) John Hostettler (R-IN-8)
Ralph Hall (D-TX-4) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA-8)
Dan Burton (R-IN-6) Bill Barrett
William Thornberry (R-TX-13) Michael Simpson
Ron Paul (R-TX-14) Bob Schaffer (R-CO-4)
Doc Hastings (R-WA-4) Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2)
Greg Walden John Boehner (R-OH-8)
John Thune (R-SD-At Large) Jerry Moran (R-KS-1)
Terry Everett (R-AL-2) Collin Peterson (D-MN-7)
Bill Thomas (R-CA-21) Gil Gutknecht (R-MN-1)
Robin Hayes John Cooksey (R-LA-5)
Ray LaHood (R-IL-18) Helen Chenoweth (R-ID-1)
Henry Bonilla (R-TX-23) Bob Riley (R-AL-3)
Jim Turner (D-TX-2) Tom Ewing (R-IL-15)
Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4) Pete Sessions (R-TX-5)
TAKE ACTION
THESE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DESERVE A BRONX CHEER!
*Call them and let them know that you don't appreciate their support for
continuing the massive water and air pollution that factory farms cause.
*Write a letter to the editor to help get out the word on your
Representative's anti-environmental action.
"FOREST HEALTH EMERGENCY" PROMOTES CLEARCUTTING
As we reported recently, U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck announced a
moratorium on road building in many of our last unspoiled roadless forests.
Although the new moratorium is only temporary and too many areas are
exempted, we all welcome what we hope are the beginnings of Forest Service
reform. But at other levels of the agency, business as usual goes on....
In Idaho, the Panhandle National Forest is experiencing what the agency calls
a "forest health emergency." As is usually the case in such "emergencies,"
the agency's recommended solution is massive increases in logging and a
short-cut around public involvement. A draft Environmental Impact Statement
outlines a plan for the Panhandle and Colville National Forests which would
allow the logging of 153 million board feet of Douglas fir this year alone --
that almost makes up for the progress made by the national road building
moratorium!
So what's the "emergency" requiring such drastic action? An outbreak of
Douglas fir bark beetles, which usually lasts only 2-3 years. But because
the trees "could start to lose commercial value in as little as two years,"
it seems that logging is essential. Sounds like the real emergency is that
the agency won't be able to cut down all the public's trees before the beetle
outbreak is over.
If you want to help save these old trees and prevent over 5,000 acres of
clearcuts and over 20,000 acres of "selection harvest," call Chief Mike
Dombeck at 202-205-1661 and ask him to stop the bogus "emergency forest
health" Douglas fir beetle logging project.
MOTORS THREATEN WILD FORESTS & GIANT SEQUOIAS
Meanwhile, in California, Sequoia National Forest is being threatened by
trails. Doesn't sound near as scary as massive clearcutting, does it? Well,
if you are one of the hundreds of activists around the nation trying to the
stem the growing tide of the motorization of our wildlands, it can look
pretty scary.
The Forest Service estimates that between 1979 and 1987, off-road vehicle use
in the National Forests increased by 1,500 percent, and the agency estimates
a 61 percent increase from that number in the next 40 years. Some off-road
vehicle (ORV) groups have joined with industry groups in the so-called "Wise
Use Movement" in a major push to open up the last of America's wildlands to
motors, focusing heavily on making trails into remote wild areas to
disqualify them from ever being officially designated as Wilderness. Land
management agencies tend to see motorized recreation as a good revenue
producer, and have been cooperating with ORV groups to widen trails and open
up new areas to motors. In some states, conservationists say that land
managers have already converted some of their wildest areas to drive-through
areas.
So back to Sequoia...a new "trail plan" by the Sequoia National Forest
authorizes the construction of 290 miles of new ORV routes, including trails
along sensitive streams, roadless areas (hey, what about that moratorium?)
and several routes that would affect the Giant Sequoia groves. You can help
by calling your member of Congress and asking them to sign on a letter being
circulated by Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) asking Chief Mike Dombeck reject the
Sequoia plan and instead come up with a plan that better reflects his stated
goals of environmental protection. The letter is being delivered next week,
so please call soon.
GLOBAL WARMING VISITS YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Winters are different at Yellowstone Lake. For the second winter in a row,
the lake had thin ice and open water when it should have been covered by
solid ice -- solid enough to drive on (but who would want to do that??).
According to the log books, the lake generally freezes over in late December
and remains covered with a solid layer of ice until May. This year
Yellowstone Lake didn't freeze until January 26th, a month later than usual.
During the winter of 1997-98, the lake froze on schedule, but thawed a week
later. There was open water on part of the lake for another month,
refreezing on February 10.
"It's phenomenal. We just don't know the reason why," said Dan Reinhart,
Yellowstone National Park's lake resource manager.
Another ranger said discussions with retired rangers and winter caretakers
lead him to believe similar open water has been seen only twice in the last
45 years.
Park officials have not determined the cause, but fisheries biologist Jim
Ruzycki said there will be monitoring. Park biologists plan to double the
number of thermometers in Yellowstone Lake as part of a fisheries study that
they hope gives them an understanding of the lake's freezing patterns.
"It's probably due to global warming," Ruzycki said. "It really doesn't take
much of an increase, only a degree or two, to push back the freezing date by
a month." [From The Associated Press State & Local Wire February 18, 1999]
NM WILDERNESS AT RISK: OIL DRILLING IN BISTI/DE-NA-ZIN
Haven't heard of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area. Well, this beautiful
wilderness area is a mere three hours from the buzz of Albuquerque and Santa
Fe. Its surface is lunar and magical, with hoodoos, spires, and painted
buttes. The bones of dinosaurs are perpetually eroding to the surface out of
Bisti's colorful, but fragile soils. It is home to at least one species that
lives no where else. It is a sublime landscape like no other. The Bisti was
the **first ever** BLM wilderness area.
It sounds like place worth visiting, but you better get there soon because
an oil company called Speerex is trying to force the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) to let it drill for oil and gas in the Wilderness. This
would mean roads, pipelines, and drill rigs in this wonderous place.
The BLM still has to approve the drill permits and rights of way for Speerex
to move forward. With enough public pressure they could deny the permits and
easements. No Action means no drill rigs in the wilderness. You can help
by sending a letter or email urging BLM to choose the "No Action" Alternative
from the Draft EIS to protect his beautiful place.
Lee C. Otteni, Field Office Manager
BLM, Farmington Field Office
1235 La Plate Highway, Suite A
Farmington, NM 87401
--AND--
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit
Department of the Interior
1849 C St. NW
Washington, DC 20240
EMAIL: exsec@ios.doi.gov
Feb. 18, 1999"Take away people's right to be heard and call it 'enhanced
public participation.' It's so creative."
--Molly Ivins on the Texas Chemical
Council's plan to restrict public
participation in pollution permitting.
CONTENTS:
HOPE FOR AFRICAN TRADE
Tell Your Representative "No to 'NAFTA for Africa'"
HOORAY FOR THE EPA -- SORT OF
New Pollution Proposal Reduces Sulfur Level in Gas, but Leaves
Loopholes for Sport Utility Vehicles
DON'T LET OIL INDUSTRY EXPAND IN ARCTIC
DEMOCRACY, TEXAS-STYLE
Plan Would Restrict Participation Under Guise of Enhancing It
TAKE ACTION!
HOPE FOR AFRICA, NOT NAFTA
Don't Trade Away Africa's Environment
The Corporate Council for Africa, a coalition of some of
America's biggest polluters, wants a new license to drill,
mine and export Africa's natural resources wealth.
The license is a piece of legislation called the "African
Growth and Opportunity Act."
We call it "the NAFTA for Africa."
Far from promoting African development, NAFTA for Africa would
withdraw tariff-free access to the U.S. market for African
exports UNLESS Africa opens up to further investment by
transnational oil, mining, and logging companies.
If it becomes law, it would open the door to more of the kind
of irresponsible and unaccountable "investment" represented by
Royal Dutch Shell's operations in Nigeria's Ogoniland. Shell's
polluting ways sparked protests by the local Ogoni people
which lead to the arrest and execution of Ogoni leader Ken
Saro-Wiwa.
No wonder that South African President Nelson Mandela
declared, "this is not acceptable" when the NAFTA for Africa
was first unveiled last year.
Fortunately, there is now "HOPE for Africa" -- and we mean
that literally. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.) has offered a
progressive alternative -- the Human Rights, Opportunity,
Partnership, and Empowerment for Africa, or "HOPE for Africa."
This legislation would combine generous trade benefits with
guarantees that development would benefit the African people
and protect the environment.
It would provide comprehensive relief of Africa's crushing
burden of $230 billion in foreign debt. This debt relief would
reduce the enormous pressure to exploit and export the
region's rapidly shrinking natural resources. HOPE would also
require foreign corporations operating in Africa to adhere to
internationally recognized labor rights and to developed-
country environmental standards.
TO TAKE ACTION:
NAFTA for Africa, the so-called African Growth and Opportunity
Act, was approved last week by the House International
Relations Committee. Please call your representative today to
urge opposition to this bill and encourage support for the
HOPE for Africa Bill. (Call 202) 224-3121 to reach the Capitol
Switchboard.
For more information, contact Dan Seligman at (202) 547-1141.
TWO AND A HALF CHEERS FOR THE EPA'S NEW POLLUTION PROPOSAL
The Sierra Club gave qualified praise to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's new auto pollution
standards. The proposal -- referred to as the Tier II
standards -- would dramatically reduce sulfur levels in
gasoline, setting a national standard for sulfur of 30 parts
per million. This matches California's existing standard.
We're all for that, though we would prefer that the plan go
into effect before 2004.
The proposal also sets tough smog pollution standards for cars
and SOME sport utility vehicles (SUVs). We've been pushing for
years for SUVs to be covered by the same emissions standards
as cars. Unfortunately, this new plan, says Ann Mesnikoff,
director of the Club's Clean Car Program, "still contains
loopholes big enough to drive a Chevy Suburban through."
The heaviest, most polluting SUVs -- those over 6,000 pounds,
like the Suburban, Excursion and Tahoe -- will face less
stringent requirements. This could encourage automakers to
INCREASE the weight of some vehicles to avoid meeting tougher
standards.
The word is that the standards would also give a break to
diesel vehicles, cleaning them up somewhat, but still allowing
them to pollute more than cars.
(The EPA has not released the proposal officially; the
Washington Post reported on the new plan this morning, Feb.
18.)
The EPA will send the proposal to the White House Office of
Management and Budget for review, so now is an especially good
time to send a message to Vice President Gore, urging that
these loopholes be closed.
As we've reported in earlier editions of SC-ACTION, we've been making a splash
at the White House with our Tier II postcards. We need to keep up the pressure.
Big oil and big auto will try to turn the White House into the polluters' court
of appeals.
To order Tier II postcards to sign and send to the Vice
President, e-mail: michelle.artz@sierraclub.org.
DON'T LET BP DESPOIL THE ARCTIC OCEAN
British Petroleum (BP), Arco and Chevron want to open up the
Arctic Ocean to oil development and construct a series of
offshore oil wells in the ice-bound waters of the Beaufort
Sea. These companies -- led by BP -- want to transport the oil
ashore through pipelines buried beneath the seabed. BP's
Northstar, the first of these projects, would pave the
way for a string of oil wells across the Beaufort Sea, which
until now has been out of the oil industry's reach.
On Feb. 5, the US Army Corps of Engineers published a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Northstar
Project. Concerned organizations and individuals should submit
comments on the FEIS as soon as possible.
TO TAKE ACTION: Tell the Corps not to issue the permits to
authorize continuation of the Northstar project. The risks to
the local and global environment are too great.
Here are some points to mention:
The technology is dangerous.
Sub-seabed pipelines have never been used in the Arctic, and
for good reason. The pipeline will be subjected to the usual
stresses and strains and occasional failures associated with
pipelines and will also be at risk from potentially unstable
permafrost, and from gouging and scouring by ice.
Oil spills are virtually inevitable.
The FEIS indicates that there is up to a 25 percent chance of
a major spill over the life of the Northstar project. Both BP
and the government admit that they will be largely unable to
clean up or contain oil spills in this extreme environment.
Impacts are cumulative.
The sprawling and expanding industrial complex at Prudhoe Bay
now covers 800 square miles. It will soon spread from the
borders of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east,
and as far west as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-
A). The oil industry and government look at each project in a
vaccuum, without accounting for the cumulative effects of
industrial noise and disturbance, chronic air and water
pollution and human activity associated with oil production on
whales, seals, polar bears and other wildlife of the Beaufort
Sea.
Comment deadline is March 8. Please mail your comments to:
Mr. Tim Jennings
Project Manager - US Army Corps of Engineers
Alaska District - Regulatory Branch
P.O. Box 898
Anchorage, AK 99506-0898
Or fax them to (907) 753-5567, followed by a hard copy in the
mail.
To receive a copy of the FEIS you can call Mr. Jennings at:
(907) 753-2712. For more information, please contact Sara
Callaghan at the Alaska office at (907)276-4088 or
saragael@alaska.net
Feb. 17, 1999 "My brothers run the ranch, and they're the typical gun-toting,
Budweiser-drinking, coyote-hating ranchers," she says. "They're certainly not
going to run out and join the Sierra Club, but even their attitudes toward the
environmental movement have definitely softened."
- Utah Coalition Partner Jennifer Gillmor
TAKE ACTION: Stop Undercutting Environmental Protections
SUBURBAN SPRAWL: New Partners Join Together
FUNDING FOR WILDLIFE: Young's OCS-related bill poses threat to our
coastal areas
TAKE ACTION!
STOP UNDERCUTTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS: SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR
REPRESENTATIVE
Send A Letter To the Editor To Your Local Paper! Call your Representative!
For you diligent SC-ACTION readers, you know that there was a recent vote
in Congress on the Rep. Waxman Defense of the Environment amendment. This
amendment would have demanded full and open debate and an accountable vote on
any legislation that would undercut environmental safeguards and public
health protections. Last year - as you may recall - our environment and
health was undercut by sneaky, back door tactics.
Please send a letter to the editor thanking your Representative if they did
the right thing - or condemning them if they voted against protecting the
environment. Plus, Congress is on recess right now, and you have a chance to
contact your Representative in their district office. Give them a call,
thank them for voting correctly, or ask them to do the right thing next time
if they voted wrong. To see how they voted, see the end of the e-mail.
Help us inform your community, and let Congress know that we pay attention!
SUBURBAN SPRAWL: Special-interest groups that have locked horns for decades
now are locking arms in the face of a common enemy
A page three USA Today story Monday highlighted the new coalitions forming
around the country to address suburban sprawl. The focus: The Club's efforts
to stop the "Legacy Highway" in Utah, which would eat up the Great Salt
Lake's wetlands.
"'For so long, ranchers and farmers have been pitted against the
environmentalists,' says Mark Heileson with the Utah office of the Sierra
Club . `But there were a lot of people in Birkenstocks standing shoulder to
shoulder with people in cowboy boots and hats.'"
"Ranchers' attitudes toward environmentalists and land conservationists are
changing throughout the fast-growing West. California cattle ranchers formed
their own land trust last year. And Utah ranchers threatened by the proposed
Legacy Highway now are Sierra Club volunteers," the story continues.
Jennifer Gillmor is one of those new volunteers. She "grew up in a household
where `the Sierra Club was basically a four-letter word.' But she is working
closely with Sierra Club members to fight the highway project."
Gillmor continued: "My brothers run the ranch, and they're the typical
gun-toting, Budweiser-drinking, coyote-hating ranchers," she says. "They're
certainly not going to run out and join the Sierra Club, but even their
attitudes toward the environmental movement have definitely softened."
The story highlighted an unlikely alliance in Houston as well, where the
Sierra Club and the NRA have joined forces to fight sprawl. Larry Bohlen of
the Sierra Club was quoted, saying the Club's "unholy alliance" with the
National Rifle Assn. to fight the expansion of Houston's Bush Intercontinental
Airport into the Katy Prairie has "opened people's eyes to the
bigger issue of sprawl."
UPDATE ON YOUNG'S "TEAMING WITH WILDLIFE" LEGISLATION:
Staffers for the House Resources Energy and Minerals
subcommittee, as well as a staffer for Sen. Mary
Landrieu, said today that hearings on OCS-related
legislation would take place in early to mid March.
Rep. Don Young and Landrieu are touting bills, based
very loosely on the original "Teaming with Wildlife"
legislation, that would channel revenues from oil and
gas leasing on the outer continental shelf to fund
coastal restoration projects and wildlife protection
programs. Unfortunately, the legislation sets up an
incentive to increase off-shore oil drilling as well.
The proposal would encourage more oil drilling by
providing financial incentives to states and local
governments based in part on how much drilling takes
place off their coasts. In addition, the bill does not
go nearly far enough in ensuring that funds provided
under the bill go to environmental protection and
restoration, as opposed to large-scale infrastructure
projects. Staffers for Young today said that they had
addressed changes requested by the Sierra Club and
other environmental groups - but clearly the bill in
its current form falls far short! We will continue to
fight for changes in this bill, and support the
alternative that will be offered by Rep. George Miller
next week.
VOTE RECORD ON REG REFORM: Yes was the pro-environment
vote.
Every Republican voted no except:
Bilbray (CA) Leach (IA) Shays (CT)
Boehlert (NY) Johnson (CT) Forbes (NY)
Campbell (CA) Ramstad (MN) Morella (MD)
Castle (DE) Roukema (NJ) Smith (NJ)
Horn (CA) Saxton (NJ) Weldon (PA)
Kelly (NY) Scarborough (FL) Lazio (NY)
Gilchrest (MD)
Every Democrat voted yes except:
Goode (VA) Berry (AR) Hall (TX)
Gordon (TN) Clement (TN) John (LA)
Pickett (VA) Condit (CA) Lucas (KY)
Cramer (AL) Danner (MO) McIntyre (NC)
Sandlin (TX) Sisisky (VA) Stenholm (TX)
Tanner (TN) Traficant (OH)
Those who missed the vote:
Bachus (AL) Jones (NC) Pitts (PA)
Berkley (NV) Jones (OH) Rush (IL)
Brady (TX) Klink (PA) Spratt (SC)
Carson (IN) Lofgren (CA) Watts (OK)
Davis (VA) Maloney (NY)
February 16, 1999
"That's why we have elected officials, so we don't have to worry. It's
like that Rainforest scare a few years back. Politicians saw there was a
problem and they fixed it, now everything is fine" --Homer Simpson
TAKE ACTION!
TAKE ACTION--WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR ON TIER II
As you know from other SC-ACTION stories (and through participation in
our postcard campaign!), the EPA is in the process of developing new "Tier
II" pollution standards that will help determine the quality of the air we
breathe well into the next century. For the health of our environment and
the health of our children, we need to make sure that these new
regulations are tough and effective.
The only way to make sure that the new standards reflect our interests
instead of those of the auto and oil industries is to make our voices
heard. Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper is a great way
to get the word out. You might be thinking, clean air is important to me,
and I'd love to write a letter, BUT WHAT WILL I SAY?!?
Here's some information that you can use to help "personalize" your letter to
your own state...
*Is your state one of the Dirty Dozen? If it is, you might want to use
the statistic in your letter. Between April and September 1998, these
twelve states had the highest number of smog days when the ozone standards
were violated.
1. California 79 Days 7. Maryland 40 Days
2. North Carolina 68 Days 8. New York 40 Days
3. Texas 62 Days 9. Indiana 39 Days
4. Georgia 55 Days 10. Ohio 38 Days
5. Pennsylvania 47 Days 11. Virginia 36 Days
6. New Jersey 41 Days 12. Florida 33 Days
*Air that is unsafe to breathe is not just an urban problem: In the Great
Smoky Mountain National Park there were 34 days with unhealthy air (more
days than in Nashville, Tenn.) and in Acadia National Park on the coast of
Maine there were seven days.
*If your state isn't in the "dirty dozen," don't think you can breathe a
sigh of clean-air relief. Thirty-five states plus the District of Columbia
had unhealthy air days. And, not all states have adequate information
available to the public: IA, MN, MT, NE, NM, ND, OR, SD, WY.
**For more information on Tier II, or clean air postcard requests, please
e-mail Michelle Artz at CONTENTS
I. O-R-V Forced O-F-F
II. Let Your Voice Be Read!!
III. Future Politik
I. Denied in Denali
The Washington Post reports that the National Park Service has instituted
a temporary ban on snowmobiles in sections of Denali National Park.
The ban will be in effect for one year while the agency adopts a
winter-use management plan. A public comment period on the ban resulted in
1,500 public comments--7 to 1 in favor of the ban. Grassroots in action!!
Congressman Don Young (R-AK) criticized the decision and vowed to
investigate.
Meanwhile, Environmental News Network recently reported a federal judge
issued a temporary restraining order to close an illegal snowmobile trail
in the Flathead National Forest. The order was the result of a lawsuit
brought by two environmental groups.
II. CNN Goes Wild.
CNN is running an informal poll on wilderness. They are asking if the
American people want more areas designated as wilderness or not. It seems
like a no brainer doesn't it? Well speaking of no brains, the people in
the ORV community have stacked the decks and urged their members to
respond en' mass. While originally 80%-20% in favor of more protection
for wilderness, the poll is now at about 60%-40% in favor.
Why not take a minute and click over to www.cnn.com and cast your vote for
wilderness. The poll is only informal but we want to make sure that we
don't let the bad guys get away with one. Remember, every little bit
counts!!!
III. It's Never Too Early...
In a first look at the political landscape for 2000, nonpartisan political
pundit Stuart Rothenberg picked out a few potentially hot House races.
Two of which are potential open seats left by Representatives of the GOP.
The first is that of Jack Metcalf's Washington's second district. In 1998
Metcalf had a 24 on the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard.
The second is Tom Coburn(OK-02). He had an LCV of 3. Also Rep.Rick Lazio
(R-NY-02) may be tempted to run for the open NY senate seat. Lazio had a
LCV of 72. North Carolina's district five may be left open if Rep. Richard
Burr decides to run for governor. Republican Burr earned a 10 on the
scorecard.
The Democrats may also leave some open seats if Rep. Nita Lowery
(D-NY-18) may run for the open NY senate seat. Lowery scored a 93 on the
LCV. Other Democratic colleagues Ted Strickland (D-OH-06), and Bernie
Sanders (I-VT-AL) may also run for senate. Strickland scored a 76 on the
LCV and Sanders came in strong with a 97.
A handful of Republicans face stiff races in 2000. They include
Richard Baker (LA-06). LCV rated him with a seven. Brian Bilbray CA-49)
had a 66. Freshman, Steve Kuykenddall (CA-36) also faces a tough race.
Anne Northup (KY-03) rated a 14 in LCV's chart and also has a tough race
ahead of her. Jim Rogan (CA-27) earned a 24 on the chart. New Mexico's
first district is up for another close race. Heather Wilson won with just
under 49% last time. She had only a 17 in LCV's scorecard. Finally,
Freshman Don Sherwood (PA-10) may fare a tough race.
Democrats are not free from worry either. Rep. Jim Maloney (D-CT-05)
is in for a close race, he had an LCV of 83. Freshman Rush Holt (NJ-12)
is likely to have a tough race. Two freshmen earned barley over 50% of
the vote in their last race. They are Rep. Joe Hoeffel (PA-13) and Jay
Inslee (W-01). Rep. Lane Evans (IL-17) had an LCV of 93, but received only
50% in the last election A third fresman Rep. Ken Lucas (KY-04) may also
face a tough race.
