NEXT PAGE -->
|
|
|---|
Updated Daily!
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|
DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
August 9, 2006
"You can drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, on every continental shelf and atop every hill in America for that matter, and you still won't reverse the fact that our oil production is in permanent decline. We're just sopping up what's left, digging ourselves into a deeper hole." - Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), senior member of the House Science Committee, on America's oil addiction
(1) Destructive Drilling: Prudhoe Bay
(2) Smart Energy Summer: Cities Take the Lead
(3) Take Action: Your Drinking Water Threatened!
(4) Take Action: Support Fair Trade!
1. Destructive Drilling: Prudhoe Bay
There's no denying that America faces an urgent energy challenge. However, as this week's shutdown Prudhoe Bay has shown, drilling in the Arctic and off our coasts is not the answer. It puts our wild areas at risk and does nothing to lower gas prices for American families and businesses. Instead of committing to destructive drilling, we can adopt smart energy solutions that will put us on a path to a smarter, cheaper, cleaner energy future and help wean Americans off our dangerous dependence on oil.
Learn more about smart energy solutions. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,m0vg,o7l,er6m,lc6f,dazy,eylb
2. Smart Energy Summer: Cities Take the Lead Frustrated by the hot air and inaction in Washington, Sierra Club volunteers and community leaders are creating Cool Cities by moving forward with innovative local energy solutions that cut municipal energy use, reduce pollution and save taxpayer dollars. With the addition of Las Vegas, NV; Morristown, NJ; and Charlottesville, VA in the past two weeks, there are now 275 cities, from 43 states, representing over 48.2 million people, signed on to the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement - which obligates them to meet or exceed the global warming emissions cuts outlined in the Kyoto agreement. By investing in cleaner vehicles, energy efficiency and renewable energy, communities are proving that instead of waiting for federal leadership, we can solve global warming one city at a time.
How "cool" is your city? https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,m0vg,o7l,a9ji,l9a0,dazy,eylb
3. Take Action:Your Drinking Water Threatened!<
Massive livestock factories pose significant hazards to water quality and human health. But, the EPA has proposed a rule that would basically let them off the hook for polluting our lakes and rivers. The proposed rule weakens permit requirements for factory farms and shortens the period of public review during the permitting process. Inadequate regulation of factory farm pollution would allow dangerous contaminants to be released into our water. To add insult to injury, the rule also makes revokes communities' right-to-know what pollution being released in their backyard. The EPA is accepting comment until August 30th.
Tell the EPA this proposed rule is unacceptable! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,m0vg,o7l,21zq,fmzl,dazy,eylb
4. Take Action: Support Fair Trade! There are few regions more crucial to long-term environmental conservation than the Rain Forests of South America. Even as the Responsible Trade Program works in coordination with environmental groups to create a Fair Trade Policy that promotes conservation and sustainable economic development, the Bush Administration is attempting to pass through a trade agreement (modeled after NAFTA) that will open up the Amazon Rainforests of Peru to foreign developers. Don't let this happen.
Urge your representative to vote no to Peru FTA and yes to Fair Trade! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,m0vg,o7l,j2t0,j6k,dazy,eylb
"I personally feel some reservations about their performance based on what we have learned about the Big Dig. It's the same kind of thing, a big hole, the same kind of deal." - Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) thoughts on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage program, which is managed by the same company that was responsible for the disastrous "Big Dig" tunnels in Boston.
(1) Energy Summer: Nuclear "Waste"
(2) Local Action: Students Bring Clean Energy Victory
(3) Take Action: Stop Polluted Pumping!
(4) Take Action: Save Alaska's Teshekpuk Lake!
1. Energy Summer: Nuclear "Waste"
When it comes to solving the current energy challenge we need start investing in options that are cost-effective and innovative, and stop wasting our resources on technologies where costs outweigh the benefits, like nuclear. Six decades of research and billions of dollars in investment have not made nuclear a viable option. Even after all this effort nuclear energy is not safe or cost-effective and the problem of radioactive waste that will burden us for the next 300,000 years has yet to be solved. It is time to stop throwing our resources into the black hole of nuclear energy and start addressing our energy challenge responsibly by investing in real energy solutions like efficiency and renewables.
Learn more about real energy solutions. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lvs6,o7l,er6m,lc6f,dazy,eylb
2. Local Action: Students Bring Clean Energy Victory
If youth are our future, the future just got a bit brighter. Thanks to a Montgomery County Student Environmental Activists (MCSEA) campaign, Montgomery County, Maryland County Council has unanimously voted to purchase 20 percent renewable energy for all county municipal buildings by the year 2011. The clean, renewable energy will come from a wind farm in West Virginia. Over 3,160 petition signatures and 90 photo petition pictures were collected during the campaign, which also featured a solar-powered rally on the steps of the county council building.
MCSEA is an entirely student run organization of high school and college students from across the county with 30 members from eight high schools and two community college campuses.
See what else the students are up to. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lvs6,o7l,b08l,guwf,dazy,eylb
3. Take Action: Stop Polluted Pumping!
Dumping polluted water into our recreational waters and drinking water sources puts public health at risk. It is also illegal under the Clean Water Act without a federal permit. But that's exactly what the EPA wants to do. On June 1, the EPA proposed an ill-advised rule that would allow polluted water to be dumped directly into clean water resources without a permit or any restriction. The rule exempts water transfers from the Clean Water Act's National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permitting program, no matter how polluted the water is. The EPA is accepting comment until August 7th.
Tell the EPA this proposed rule is unacceptable! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lvs6,o7l,8b5b,dlqc,dazy,eylb
4. Take Action: Save Alaska's Teshekpuk Lake!
Teshekpuk Lake, located on Alaska's North Slope, and the irreplaceable wildlife habitat that surrounds it have been protected and recognized as a 'Special Area' since 1977. Unfortunately the Bush administration has been blinded by the big bucks of Big Oil. Soon, this special area will be sold off - piece by piece - to giant oil companies for massive industrialized oil and gas development. In a place where, today, the greatest influence by man is the traditional hunting and fishing activities of Alaska Natives, tomorrow it may be obscured by a web of drilling platforms, roads and pipelines. Unless we do something about it.
Stop the planned oil and gas lease sales around Teshekpuk Lake! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lvs6,o7l,dxkf,khl1,dazy,eylb
"The minerals that lie under the sea off the coasts of this country belong to the Federal Government -- that is, to all the people of this country...If we back down on our determination to hold these rights for all the people, we will act to rob them of this great national asset. That is just what the oil lobby wants. They want us to turn the vast treasure over to a handful of states, where the powerful private oil interests hope to exploit it to suit themselves." - President Truman, excerpt from a speech on revenue sharing, May 17, 1952
(1) Energy Summer: Clean Cars
(2) Coal Rush: Stepping Back
(3) Take Action: Stop Polluted Pumping!
(4) Take Action: Protect Our Coasts!
1. Energy Summer: Clean Cars
Cars are a major contributor to America's global warming and energy problems. But using modern technology to make our vehicles go further on a gallon of gas could save money at the pump, cut global warming emissions and reduce our dependence on oil from unstable regions of the world. For example, if car companies made cars that got 40 mpg, global warming pollution would be cut by 600 million tons a year and consumers would save more than $45 billion each year at the gas pump. Higher fuel economy standards would also create jobs, with an estimated 40,000 new jobs to be created in the auto industry alone.
Learn more about Clean Cars and the benefits of increased fuel economy. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lqha,o7l,er6m,lc6f,dazy,eylb
2. Coal Rush: Stepping Back
With plans for 150 new coal-fired power plants in the works America has the potential to move backwards in the fight against global warming. A recent study by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group concludes that building these proposed plants will increase health-threatening air pollution, threaten the health of our streams and rivers and will increase total U.S. global warming pollution, by 10 percent. If instead of investing the $137 billion in new coal plants as currently proposed, the energy companies invested that same amount in energy efficiency, we could see a 19 percent reduction in electricity demand, completely alleviating the need to build any new power plants.
Read the report. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lqha,o7l,md7v,gv2l,dazy,eylb
3. Take Action: Stop Polluted Pumping!
Dumping polluted water into our recreational waters and drinking water sources puts public health at risk. It is also illegal under the Clean Water Act without a federal permit. But that's exactly what the EPA wants to do. On June 1, the EPA proposed an ill-advised rule that would allow polluted water to be dumped directly into clean water resources without a permit or any restriction. The rule exempts water transfers from the Clean Water Act's National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) permitting program, no matter how polluted the water is. The EPA is accepting comment until August 7th.
Tell the EPA this proposed rule is unacceptable! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lqha,o7l,8b5b,dlqc,dazy,eylb
4. Take Action: Protect Our Coasts!
Even as millions of Americans are enjoying summer vacations at the beach -- Congress will vote this week whether or not to allow oil companies to drill off our shores. The politicians in Washington, D.C., think voting to allow offshore drilling will allow them to take credit for doing something about high gas prices -- even though there are smarter, cheaper, cleaner solutions to our energy problems. The Senate will vote on Senator Domenici's bill, The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, later this week.
Call your Senators Today and tell them that drilling off our coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico isn't sound energy policy! https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lqha,o7l,bzj5,f1uq,dazy,eylb
https://www.sierraclub.org
"There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all." - Robert Orben, former speechwriter for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
(1) Energy Summer: Renewable Revolution
(2) Heat Wave: Sunburn on Your Lungs
(3) Take Action: Avoid Repeating Avoidable Disasters!
(4) Take Action: Support Fair Trade!
1. ENERGY SUMMER: RENEWABLE REVOLUTION
Faced with the realities of rising gas prices, our dependence on oil from unstable regions of the work and the escalating effects of global warming it is clear that we must change how we generate and use energy. We have the technology and the know-how to move beyond petroleum and other fossil fuels to clean, safe, and affordable renewable energy . By harnessing renewable energy sources like the sun and the wind, we can transform how we produce electricity. Many states and communities are already taking action by offering incentives for using renewable energy and green energy programs. You can take steps at home to join the revolution and fight global warming by powering your home with renewable energy - it is easier than you think. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lktv,o7l,cc0x,ema3,dazy,eylb
Learn more about renewable energy and how you can join the revolution. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lktv,o7l,er6m,lc6f,dazy,eylb
2. HEAT WAVE: SUNBURN ON YOUR LUNGS
What could be the longest and hottest heat wave in years has hit portions of the country, bringing with it a host of heat-related health problems. The heat intensifies the effects of ground-level ozone, a severe lung irritant to which prolonged exposure can cause reductions in lung function, inflammation of the lung lining, and respiratory discomfort. Breathing the air on a "Code Red" or "Code Orange" day- when ozone levels are high and the air is particularly unhealthy- is harmful, causing sunburn-like damage to your lungs. Since cars and power plants are the major contributors of Nitrogen Oxide, a main component of ozone, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and transitioning to alternative sources of energy can significantly lessen the impact of ozone and protect our health.
Find out more about the harmful effects of air pollution. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lktv,o7l,c5m,icng,dazy,eylb
3. TAKE ACTION: AVOID REPEATING AVOIDABLE DISASTERS! Every year the Army Corps of Engineers spends billions of dollars to design and build environmentally damaging, wasteful water projects. Poorly conceived and engineered flood control and navigation projects led to the destruction of coastal wetlands and caused most of New Orleans' Katrina-related flooding. Billions of federal dollars flowed to low priority Corps projects while acknowledged weaknesses in New Orleans levees went unaddressed. To avoid repeating preventable disasters, Congress should require independent review of costly, controversial and high-risk projects. Urge your Senators to support the Feingold-McCain amendments to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).
Call your Senators and urge them to support the Feingold- McCain amendments. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lktv,o7l,6wzt,i3r8,dazy,eylb
4. TAKE ACTION: SUPPORT FAIR TRADE! More than 20,000 sea turtles use the Omani beaches as their hatching grounds each year. Now the Oman Free Trade Agreement (OFTA) threatens to put those turtles at risk. The agreement, which is based upon the flawed trade model with weak and unenforceable environmental provisions, is headed to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. Tell your Representative that the Sierra Club wants Fair Trade deals that promote sustainable development and that can help ensure that the world's natural resources are protected.
Urge Your Representative to Oppose the Oman FTA. https://info.sierraclub.org/ct.html?rtr=on&s=arz,lktv,o7l,7kt7,5trl,dazy,eylb
NEXT PAGE -->
|
|
|---|
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|