DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
September 20,
2006
The Sierra Club has asked
the federal court to force the EPA to use its authority to protect
children from toxic toys by addressing the problem of lead in toy
jewelry. Lead can affect brain development of young children and has
been directly linked to a wide range of learning disorders. And
according to the CDC more than 300,000 American children have blood
levels high enough to cause irreversible damage. Despite the common
use of lead in toy and costume jewelry and the serious dangers posed
by its exposure to young kids, the EPA has refused responsible
measures to solve the problem. 
Your hometown may be the
next Sundance or Cannes! We've got the movies for the Sierra Club
Energy Film Festival and it's happening across the
country.
Research indicates that
cancers, birth defects, compromised immune systems, and endocrine
disruption are all part of persistent organic pollutants', or POPs'
toxic legacy. Yet some members of the House of Representatives want
to enact legislation that would prevent states from implementing
their own, more stringent standards to protect their citizens from
these toxic threats. The House may vote before the end of September.
The U.S. District court
for Alaska has issued a ruling momentarily halting the Bush
administration's efforts to open the pristine wildlife habitat of
the Teshekpuk Lake region to oil drilling, but it is only a
temporary fix. To date, conservationists from the Sierra Club and
other groups have submitted over 100,000 letters to Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne, demanding that he cancel plans to open up the Teshekpuk
Lake region to oil drilling. Following on the heels of the court
decision, it is time to re-double our efforts to protect this
precious resource. |
Now that summer is coming to an end, so is our Dog Days of
Summer photo contest. It was tough, but we've selected ten
finalists from the hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of way-cute
submissions and now we need your help in selecting the weiner,
err, winner. September 12, 2006 Quote of Note: "The cost will be counted not only by environmentalists, but also by economists, doctors, subsistence farmers and fisher folk. The cost will be measured not only in dollars and species loss, but in human mortality and morbidity, in millions of African lives at risk." - Environment Minister for South Africa, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk in an opening speech for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday (1) Kyoto Protocol: Global Action on Global Warming (2) A Century of Conservation: Dr. Wayburn Turns 100 (3) Take Action: Save the Rainforests! (4) Take Action: Oppose the Public Land Give-Away! (1) Kyoto Protocol: Global Action on Global Warming  Finance ministers from
38 countries have announced that they will impose new carbon
dioxide emissions cuts that will last beyond 2012 -- the date the
Kyoto Protocol on climate change is set to expire. The group also
announced plans to provide financial and technical assistance to
help developing countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The countries have pledged to work together to improve energy
efficiency, promote renewable resources, and diversify the energy
supply. While the U.S. is dragging its feet, Europe and Asia are
taking important steps toward a cleaner energy future. Learn more about a clean energy future. Read more about the Asia-Europe meeting (2) A Century of Conservation: Dr. Wayburn Turns 100  Dr. Edgar Wayburn,
perhaps the most successful defender of America's natural heritage
and Honorary President of the Sierra Club, turns 100 this week. He
played a central role in the establishment of Redwoods National
Park and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and in the
passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Over his lifetime Dr. Wayburn has saved over 100 million acres of
American wilderness. As his hundredth birthday nears, we honor Dr.
Wayburn for his work to protect and preserve our wild places for
our children and grandchildren to enjoy. Learn more about Dr. Wayburn and his contributions to our future. Your Land and Mine - Dr. Wayburn's memoir (3) Take Action: Save the Rainforests!  The Bush Administration
and its friends in Congress are attempting to pass a controversial
trade agreement -- the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, that will
open up the Peruvian rainforests to foreign developers. The
agreement offers only token, unenforceable provisions on labor and
the environment, while dramatically expanding the rights of
corporations to attack legitimate public health and environmental
protections in secret trade tribunals. Instead of exploiting the
valuable resources of the Peruvian rainforests we should be
promoting conservation and sustainable economic development.
Save the Rainforests! (4) Take Action: Oppose the Public Land Give-Away!  Senator Bob Bennett
(R-UT) and Representative Jim Matheson (D-UT) are planning to
sneak a reprehensible bill through Congress by attaching it to
another piece of legislation that they hope will be approved. The
bill, the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act (S. 3636-
H.R. 5769) is an especially egregious public lands give-away which
would have serious negative impacts on the pristine and fragile
Zion-Mojave region of southwestern Utah. A hearing for the
Washington County bill is scheduled for Thursday. Tell Congress that Utah's wilderness lands deserve better! |
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