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Oct. 4, 1999
"Stopping sprawl requires deeds, not just words." Deron Lovaas, associate representative, Sierra Club Sprawl Campaign
Contents:
Take Action: Interior Appropriations Riders Looming
Sierra Club Sprawl Report Gets Nation's Attention
TAKE ACTION
Interior Appropriations Riders Loom
As you know by now, anti-environmental riders abound this year. These nasty riders affect our air, water, forests and parks. Ever feel helpless in the face of this political juggernaut? Fear not! You are in luck -- today there are *two* things you can do to help set things right.
First, there's a new letter being circulated by Democrats in the Senate, urging President Clinton to veto the Interior Appropriations bill if the final version contains anti-environmental riders. Senator Dick Durbin, who emerged this year as a real leader on the rider fight, has taken the lead on gathering signatures from fellow Democrats. Please call your Democratic senators and ask them to sign on the Durbin letter on Interior Appropriations.
Second, the final decision on all of these riders will rest with President Clinton. Please use these talking points to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. It will *really* make a difference:
* For the last several years, developers and polluting industries have been using complex budget bills to move their unpopular anti-environmental agenda. By hiding "riders" in these funding bills, they hope to slip past the normal democratic process and overturn court decisions, tie the hands of environmental enforcement personnel and stall pollution clean-up.
* Funding for our national parks and refuges is being held hostage by more than 20 special interest riders on the Interior Appropriations bill.
* In exchange for transportation funding, lawmakers are being asked to ignore global-warming pollution and swallow a freeze on efficiency standards for light trucks.
* President Clinton should stand firm against these anti-environmental riders. He should veto any bills that contain bad riders.
THANK YOU
SPRAWL REPORT GETS NATION'S ATTENTION
Across the nation today, Americans who turned on their televisions and radios and opened their newspapers learned about the Sierra Club's newest report, "Solving Sprawl." Whether they tuned into CBS This Morning, CNN's Morning Edition, CNN Headline News, ABC Radio News, CBS Radio News or USA Today, Americans heard that sprawl is not inevitable. Coverage of the report was the lead story of the day on CNN's Web site.
The Sierra Club's second annual sprawl report demonstrates how states and communities across the nation are using innovative programs and tools to manage poorly planned growth.
"The costs and consequences of poorly planned development are becoming clear and common," said Carl Pope, the Club's executive director. "The good news is that we are not doomed to a future of traffic congestion, air pollution, overcrowded schools, abandoned city centers and lost open space and farm land. This report proves that we can manage suburban sprawl by adopting and implementing smart-growth solutions."
The report rates each of the 50 states by measuring progress in four broad categories: open-space protection, land-use planning, transportation planning and community revitalization. In each area, the report found states with innovative programs that are already working -- and laggard states that have been slow to adopt sprawl solutions.
"The best states are using innovative tools like regional planning councils, urban-growth boundaries, investment in public transit and community development programs to help rein-in poorly planned growth," said Deron Lovaas, associate representative for the Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign.
States that want to begin slowing sprawl have plenty of successful examples to follow. For example:
· In Maryland, the state has earmarked $140 million for open-space protection and has plans to save 58,000 acres of crucial land along the state's Eastern Shore.
· In Vermont, housing advocates have joined with environmentalists to preserve farm land and provide affordable housing.
· In Rhode Island, the state has made a serious effort to break the strangle hold of the automobile by investing in transportation alternatives.
· And in Oregon, urban-growth limits and intelligent planning have protected open space while allowing cities like Portland to thrive.
"These states are leading the way. Unfortunately, too many other states are dropping the ball," said Pope.
For instance, only 11 states have passed comprehensive, statewide growth-management acts. Twenty-one states spent over half of their federal transportation dollars on new road construction instead of investing in existing roads and developing transportation alternatives. Building new roads will not solve our traffic problems -- just as buying bigger pants will not help you lose weight -- yet 26 states spent less than $10 per urban resident per year on alternatives to driving.
Some states have sprawl solutions on the books, but are lagging or completely failing to implement or fund these programs. Georgia and Florida have excellent growth-management laws, but sprawl is rampant in places like Tampa/St. Petersburg and Atlanta.
"Stopping sprawl requires deeds, not just words," said Lovaas.
The complete report with ratings for all 50 states is available on the Web at www.sierraclub.org.
"Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem." John Galsworthy
Contents:
Take Action: Clean Up Our Cars, Curb Global Warming
Club President Weighs in on North Carolina Forest Debate California
Activists Put the Brakes on Road
*** TAKE ACTION ***
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND URGE THEM TO SUPPORT A VETO OF THE MPG FREEZE!!!
The battle over global warming and reducing the pollution spewing from cars and trucks is entering a new phase in Washington. Thanks to the fantastic work by environmental activists like YOU, 40 Senators are now on record supporting the Clean Car Resolution and an end to the rider that freezes miles per gallon standards! Also, recent stories in the Washington Post and elsewhere have highlighted the Clinton Administration's opposition to the rider, and the growing demand by the environmental community for him to veto the Department of Transportation spending bill if it contains the freeze!
Members of the Administration have said that the President is considering a veto of the measure, but they are very concerned about the massive amount of pressure the auto industry is applying to Senators. The huge advertising blitz waged by automakers before the Clean Car Resolution vote has now turned into a down-and-dirty pressure campaign, with corporate lobbyists prowling the halls of Congress and urging Senators not to support the President should he veto the rider.
TAKE ACTION: Call your Senators TODAY and urge them to support a veto of the Department of Transportation spending bill if it contains the miles-per-gallon freeze rider! Higher miles-per-gallon standards are the biggest single step we can take to curb global warming! Tell your Senators that the "stealth" anti-environmental rider that bars DOT from even studying the possibility of higher mpg rules must end! Act today -- call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121! Call early! Call often! Thank you!
ENDING COMMERCIAL LOGGING IN NORTH CAROLINA...
(You Don't have to be Club President to get a Letter to the Editor Printed)
After logging was halted in several North Carolina forest counties due to the presence of the endangered Indiana Bat, timber industry representatives started organizing rallies and contacting newspapers with their industrial "spin." Rep. Charlie Taylor (R-NC) made a special trip to appear at a rally held outside a forest conference where Sean Cosgrove, Sierra Club's national forest issues specialist was speaking. (You may remember Rep. Taylor as the author of the infamous "clearcut salvage rider" that was responsible for massive illegal logging several years ago.)
Enter Sierra Club president Chuck McGrady. After seeing the fear tactics and misinformation being spread by the timber industry (whole towns will be shut down and everyone will lose their jobs), Chuck picked up one of his favorite tools for protecting the environment -- his pen. Several NC papers have already run Chuck's response to the hub-bub:
EDITOR: In response to your recent coverage of timber industry protests over the halt to logging in the Nantahala National Forest, I would like to offer a different perspective, and perhaps a solution. As a North Carolinian, I hate to see our citizens divided over an issue that's so important to the future of our kids and their families. And as president of the national Sierra Club and director of a summer camp in western North Carolina, I hate to see what's happening to our national forests.
The Sierra Club is supporting a bipartisan bill that provides what I think is a sensible answer to our dilemma. The National Forest Protection and Restoration Act would phase out the commercial logging that threatens our wildlife and water quality, and instead put people to work restoring the damage that's been done.
It's a pretty simple concept, really. Just take all the taxpayer subsidies that have been providing a false sense of security to our logging communities and redirect the money into a jobs program that will provide a more stable economic base.
This bill won't affect wood cutting for personal use, and our forests would still be managed by the Forest Service. But they would be managed for clean water, wildlife habitat and family recreation, rather than for industrial logging operations. It's time for us to move on and promote healthy forests and a sound economic base for all our citizens.
CHUCK McGRADY
President, Sierra Club
The arguments for ending commercial logging work in every state, so join the fun! Write a letter to the editor. And if you need more information on ending commercial logging, contact Dan Lavery at daniel.lavery@sierraclub.org
CALIFORNIA ROAD COMES TO A SCREECHING HALT
"We have been facing roadblocks put up by the environmental community."
Media reports in Orange County indicate that the local Sierra Club has got "the right stuff." It seems that contractors carrying out a $16.5 million design study of the controversial Foothill South toll road are literally shutting down their office this month because of "unexpected delays" in getting environmental permits.
A newspaper article about a public forum held Sept. 25 bore the headline "Residents seem to side with Sierra Club against proposed Foothill South extension." Elizabeth Lambe represented the Sierra Club at the hearing. According to the Orange County Register, Lambe told the assembled that "the road is not needed, is too expensive, threatens wildlife, and would be the key to development of new communities on open space that should be preserved."
Lambe also did a great job of connecting her local issue to the Club's national sprawl campaign. "What's happening to San Clemente and south Orange County is emblematic of what's happening through the nation, and that's open space being threatened by roads and development," she said.
The media reports that discussions about a compromise route will continue, but that there is "a long road ahead." The planning has been "stymied by growing opposition from environmental groups," according the Register. A contractor for the road project says, "It could be prolonged for 10 to 12 years, who knows?" But the Club's Lambe says that "the discussion shouldn't be about alignments...we have yet to see any evidence that this is a necessary road at all."
Friday is the ALL ACTION edition of the SC-ACTION, including actions that you can take on each of the Sierra Club's priority campaigns. Just because Congress is on recess doesn't mean we are! When Congress returns after Labor Day, they have many important votes to make -- so, please check out the action items below: Global Warming, Human Rights, Wildlands, Sprawl, Family Planning, Ending Commercial Logging, Responsible Trade, and Clean Water.
***Hold Your Senators Accountable For Their Vote on Global Warming!***
You did it! The thousands of letters, phone calls, faxes, and emails to members of the US Senate on the Gorton/Feinstein/Bryan Clean Car Resolution paid off! On Wednesday night (Sept. 15th) the Senate finally voted on the measure, with 40 Senators registering support for an end to the rider that bars the department of transportation from even studying the possibility of raising CAFE standards.
That is 6 more votes than would be needed to sustain a Presidential veto of the rider! The auto industry waged a massive advertising and pressure campaign aimed at preventing environmental advocates from securing 34 votes on the measure - to the tune of millions of dollars. Grassroots activism from citizens like YOU succeeded in beating back their efforts, and moving the debate on global warming forward!
BIG thanks to all the folks who helped out with this campaign! Nearly everyone watching the vote (especially the auto industry) was stunned by margin of victory! The next step on global warming for environmental advocates will be to hold their Senators accountable for their votes, and urge President Clinton to veto any legislation that bars the Department of Transportation from raising miles per gallon standards!!!
TAKE ACTION: SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR SENATORS!!! A complete breakdown of the vote on the Clean Car Resolution can be found on the Sierra Club's new Vote Watch web page at https://www.sierraclub.org/votewatch/s275.html.
Please take a few moments to stop by and see how your Senators voted, then call their offices. Thank those Senators who voted for the environment and supported the Clean Car Resolution. They stood up to a massive amount of pressure from the auto industry. If you Senator took an anti-environmental position, call them up and ask why. Express your dismay that they oppose more fuel efficient cars and trucks - the biggest single step we can take to curb global warming.
For more information on what you can do to curb global warming, visit www.toowarm.org, or send an email to steve.pedery@sierraclub.org.
UPDATE AND ACTION ALERT ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE!
The campaign finance reform news from Capitol Hill is very positive. Thanks to everyone who made the calls and wrote the letters! H.R. 417, the Shays (R-CT) - Meehan (D-MA) bipartisan campaign finance reform bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday night. The vote was 252 to 177 on 9/14/99. All of the weakening and "poison pill" amendments were defeated.
Now the debate moves on to the Senate. Both Sens. McCain (R-AZ) and Feingold (D-WI), the authors of a similar bill, are ready to ban soft money and will try to break a filibuster by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KT). It will take 60 senators to stop the filibuster and the campaign finance reform coalition has 52 locked in. So it will be a TOUGH battle and we urge you to CALL and make sure your senators know where you stand. It is high time to level the playing field, enforce the limits, and regulate the campaign finance system. The McCain (R-AZ) - Feingold (D-WI) bill, S.26, has a good chance of clearing the final hurdle this year, the U.S. Senate. So, let's make sure the senators hear our voice. The vote is expected on October 12. Please call your Senators today!
Thanks again for all your hard work!
TAKE ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Mexican Environmentalists Tortured
On May 2, the Mexican military arrested Rodolfo Montiel Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia, two environmentalists who organized their communities to curb logging in the old-growth forests of the Sierra de Petatlan in southwestern Mexico. Wealthy land owners, angered by disruption to their profitable logging ventures, targeted Montiel and Cabrera and urged corrupt Army officials to arrest them. Since May, Montiel and Cabrera have reportedly been beaten, tortured, and forced to confess to charges concocted by the military--including drug trafficking and belonging to a guerrilla group. Please write to the Mexican Ambassador and demand that Montiel and Cabrera be released from jail immediately. Tell him that torturing environmentalists is an outrageous violation of basic human rights. Ambassador Jesus Reyes Heroles, Embassy of Mexico, 1911 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20006, FAX (202) 728-1698. For more information, visit our Web site, www.sierraclub.org/human-rights
TAKE ACTION ON WILDLANDS
Just before the Congress left town for the August recess, we reached a milestone in the campaign to protect the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Six representatives signed on in the final week as cosponsors of HR 1239, a bill introduced by Rep. Bruce Vento (D-MN) to officially designate the coastal plain as wilderness. His bill now enjoys a record level of support, 160 cosponsors. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, home to polar bears, caribou and countless migratory birds, is truly America's last great wilderness. The Native Alaskan Gwich'in people depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd for food and cultural survival. The time has come to permanently protect this last remnant of Alaska's great wilderness from the oil development that has already claimed 95% of the Alaska's coast, for the wildlife, the Gwich'in people, and for all future generations. With your help, we hope to fend off threats to develop the coastal plain and to ultimately win support for passage of this important legislation. Please contact your Representative and urge him/her to cosponsor HR 1239. Ask your Senators to cosponsor S.867, a similar bill in the Senate introduced by Sen. William Roth (R-DE) which has also garnered a record 25 Senators as cosponsors.
TAKE ACTION ON SPRAWL
As poorly planned development continues to eat away at Americans' quality of life, your Senator can take steps to curb some of the ill effects of sprawl by supporting S. 1558 the "Community Open Space Bond Act." The Community Open Space Bond Act was recently introduced into the Senate by Senators Baucus (D-MT) and Hatch (R-UT). It would provide a new set of innovative tools to local and state entities to fight sprawl. The bill would give state, local and tribal governments up to $1.9 billion annually for five years in bonding authority to combat sprawl. The program allows state and local governments to carry out their own conservation priorities by using zero interest bonds to purchase open space, protect water quality, improve access to parks and to help redevelop abandoned industrial sites. Although S. 1558 is not the solution to sprawl, it is a strong start. Urge your senator to cosponsor S. 1559 and provide communities with the tools to make our communities more livable.
For more information on the Sierra Club's Challenge to Sprawl Campaign, email dirk.manskopf@sierraclub.org, or call (202) 547-1141.
TAKE ACTION ON FAMILY PLANNING
Now is the time to talk or meet with your Senators! Since Congress is out of session through Labor Day your Senators and Representatives are most likely at home in their districts. The battle over UNFPA might not be over yet, especially in the Senate. Please urge your Senators to cosponsor the bill to refund UNFPA, S.965. For more information contact Carol Schlitt at 202.547.1141 or at carol.schlitt@sierraclub.org or visit our website at www.sierraclub.org/population.
Sierra Club Kicks off "Road to Seattle" WTO Outreach
Sierra Club joined labor, consumer, and environmental organizations to kick of its fall, "Road to Seattle" outreach on the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a rally Wednesday on the steps of the US capital. Nearly one hundred citizen-activists carrying home-made signs and banners heard Ralph Nader, Sen. Paul Wellstone, labor leader Bob Wages, and other progressive leaders scold the Clinton Administration for a trade policy long on corporate rights and short on safeguards for the environment, health, and working families.
Leaders from more than 150 nations will converge on Seattle from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 for the WTO's Third Ministerial - the biggest international economic summit ever on American soil. To promote global trade, the WTO has mounted a sweeping attack on health and environmental standards worldwide. Food safety, clean air, wildlife, and invasive pest standards have all been weakened under the WTO. In Seattle, negotiators could sign a new "free logging" agreement and launch new talks on an investors "bill of rights" that could give transnational corporations the right to sue governments for environmental laws that hurt profits.
''Big business and democracy are on a collision course, and democracy has been losing,'' said Ralph Nader, Founder of Public Citizen. ''The WTO is the greatest surrender of our national, state and local sovereignty and subordinates our critical health, safety and environmental standards to the imperatives of international trade,'' he added.
"We're all for trade agreements," Sen. Wellstone said, "We oppose a race to the bottom. We'll change this policy." (Washington Times, 9/16/99)
"Big business does not need a new `'bill of rights'' under the WTO, added the Club's Daniel Seligman. Multinational corporations ''need a new, enforceable code of corporate responsibilities,'' he said. (Interpress Service, 9/15/99)
To get involved with our "Road to Seattle" WTO outreach, contact Sierra Club's Trade campaign at dan.seligman@sierraclub.org or see our web page at www.sierraclub.org/trade
TAKE ACTION TO END COMMERCIAL LOGGING
Outdated Law Promotes Unsustainable Logging
A 1908 law, known as the "25% Fund" or "Payments to States," requires the Forest Service to turn over 25% of logging revenues to counties for use in funding schools and roads. Sadly, huge logging companies are hiding behind the argument of "more money for education" to push for an unsustainable logging program on federal public lands. There is a better way. The 1908 law needs to be changed to permanently de-link education and road payments from yearly logging levels. Logging companies should not be able to hold rural schoolchildren hostage as a way to increase an unsustainable logging program. Call your Congressional Representatives today through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to support Rep. DeFazio's bill to decouple rural education funding from National Forest logging levels.
TAKE ACTION ON CLEAN WATER
Factory farms use 16 million pounds of antibiotics each year to promote faster livestock growth and cover up unhygienic production practices. This unnecessary drug use threatens public health; through food and water it exposes people to bacteria that are resistant to the drugs used to treat tuberculosis, staph infections, pneumonia and other infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and prominent public health organizations have expressed great concern about the massive use of antibiotics to increase livestock weight in light of the growing evidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The United States should follow the example of the European Union, which banned adding human-use antibiotics to animal feed last year. Ask Dr. Jane E. Henney, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to ban the use of antibiotics to promote livestock growth when those drugs are used to treat humans. The FDA's address is 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 14-71, Rockville, MD 20857. For more information, contact Ed Hopkins at ed.hopkins@sierraclub.org or (202) 547-1141.
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