NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
Updated Daily!
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|
Oct. 20, 1999
"This is a dramatic, bold, visionary proposal from President Clinton. He would be establishing a legacy of protecting our forest heritage to rival Teddy Roosevelt" -Sierra Club's Jim Young in the Seattle P.I. (watch this Friday's SC-ACTION for a collection of editorials lauding Clinton's historic initiative to protect our nation's remaining roadless areas)
Contents:
Take Action: Senate Vote Blocks Campaign Finance Reform Debate
NY: Environmental Justice Campaign on Hudson/East Rivers Attracts Media
WA: Sierra Club Calls Senator Gorton OUT on the Environment
FL: Public Education Forum on Suncoast Tollroad A Success
IL: Fox Valley Sierra Club Vols Take to the Streets for River Protection
TAKE ACTION
Take Action: Senate Vote Blocks Campaign Finance Reform Debate
The proponents of the McCain (R-AZ) Feingold (D-WI) Campaign Finance Reform bill attempted to force the Senate to take a vote on their legislation to ban on soft money contributions to political parties. They needed 60 votes to accomplish this and they fell short with only 53. The McCain/Feingold bill would have closed a 25-year old loophole that allows large companies and unions to gain influence by donating huge unregulated sums of money to political parties other than campaigns. These funds are then used for campaign activities. The vote was 53-47 and occurred on 10/20/99.
Several new Republicans Senators voted with us this year including: Sen. Roth (R-DE), Sen. Brownback (R-KS), and Sen. Hutchinson (R-AR). We urge you to send your senators a short thank you note via email, fax, or snail mail! Also, check out the final vote breakdown on the Vote Watch webpage (www.sierraclub.org/votewatch).
New York: Environmental Justice Campaign on Hudson East River Gets Media
Manhattan may be an island, but if you want to get down to the water safely, fish or recreate on the shoreline, your best bet is go to New Jersey. That's why Sierra Club New York City activists have been collaborating with local environmental justice groups to create new waterfront parks in the city. Now, after two years of organizing, it looks like their message of more waterfront access is finally getting out.
The New York NBC affiliate aired not one, but *two*, special reports on our environmental justice campaign for waterfront access and cleaning up the Hudson and East Rivers.
One featured "toxic fish," the dangers to families who subsistence fish. Another highlighted inner city communities' access to water and swimming. Both reports featured our EJ partners, Samara Swanston (Watchperson) and Carlos Padilla (South Bronx Clean Air), NE Regional staffer Susan Holmes and lots of people in the affected communities of Harlem and Brooklyn sounding the call for more access. "People in these communities can't afford a health club" said Samara Swanston, Watchperson Project. "They need these places for recreation."
Washington: Sierra Club Calls Senator Gorton OUT on the Environment
On a bright, beautiful autumn day by Puget Sound, Seattle's new baseball park -- Safeco Field -- hosted a big-dollar fund-raiser (instead of a playoff game) for Sen. Slade Gorton with special guest Texas Governor George W. Bush. Sierra Club activists used the gathering as an opportunity for some good old-fashioned accountability work: an encore release of the limited-edition Slade Gorton baseball trading cards that were officially unveiled back on Safeco's Opening Night in July. The cards detail Gorton's poor environmental record throughout his Senate career with a year-by-year breakdown of his meager environmental batting average.
The Senator was likely none too happy that 150 or so of his contributors walked into his event carrying the cards they had just received outside the street-level entrance. Meanwhile, up in the brilliant blue sky, a plane circled for 90 minutes towing a banner that read: "GORTON STRIKES OUT ON THE ENVIRONMENT." Sierra Club activists were also joined by two friends from the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition: one dressed in an oversized Gorton puppet head and the other, a full-length salmon costume.
All the major TV stations attended and at lease three filmed Sierra Club's card distribution and the aerial banner. The Associated Press, the local NPR affiliate, and the top-rated AM news/talk radio station covered the action.
But the day's biggest score was a home run that bounced all the way back to Gov Bush's home state. A conversation with a campaign trail reporter from the Houston Chronicle produced a Sunday story on Sierra Club criticism of Gorton's and Bush's environmental records. Headlined "Gov. Bush criticized for supporting strip mine champion -- Candidate raises funds for senator who backed Houston company," the story focused on Gorton's efforts on behalf on a Texas-based mining company that plans to dig an open-pit, cyanide-leach gold mine in a Washington State National Forest. Gorton cleared the way with a rider in the Kosovo/disaster relief emergency spending bill last spring (special thanks to Texan Sierrans Ken Kramer and Jennifer Fowler for research and background materials on the Governor).
Florida: Public Education Forum on Suncoast Tollroad A Success
On October 14th, under a hurricane warning, three Sierra Groups: the Suncoast Group (Joe Murphy, Joella Foster, Sue Adams, Laurie Macdonald, Mark Washburn and Bob Bulsey), the Tampa Bay group (Jim Johnson) and the Suwanee-St. Johns group (Dick Williams and December McSherry) as well as the Citizens Opposed to The Suncoast Tollroad turned out over 400 people to the Crystal River National Guard Armory for a forum to inform the public why the Suncoast Tollroad must be stopped.
There were eleven tables overflowing with information sheets-- DOT toll projections, maps, aerial photographs, letters to the editors, water table info, as well as manatee, black bear, and sandhill crane information. They also aired a continually-running video tape of the destruction the road is causing to the south. The program ran like clockwork and people even waited in lines to sign the Sierra Club postcards, the C.O.S.T. petition, and pick up bumper stickers and buttons.
One County Commissioner showed up for the meeting. While he declined to sit up in the front row in a specially labeled chair for him, EPEC Organizer Beth Connor introduced him and asked if their were any other elected officials present. When she got no response, she proceeded to take the other 4 chairs with commissioners names hung from them and placed them on the stage. Connor also hired a court reporter to transcribe the proceedings so that they could be delivered to those county commissioners who did not attend.
The event was covered by Tampa Bay Channel 28 ABC news and received got front page coverage in both the Citrus Chronicle and the Citrus Edition of the St. Pete Times. But the action didn't stop there--activists turned out the following day at the Citrus County delegation meeting with burma shave signs that read "LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE STOP THE TOLLROAD" and "SUNCOAST TOLLROAD TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION."
Illinois: Fox Valley Sierra Club Volunteers Take to the Streets in River Protection Campaign Door-To-Door Campaign Seeks Help from Gov. Ryan
In Illinois, the Sierra Club kicked off a fall outreach campaign in the Fox River valley aimed at educating citizens about pollution in the river and seeking their help in getting action from Illinois Governor George Ryan's Administration to address it. Volunteers gathered at kickoff events in Crystal Lake, Carpentersville, Geneva, and Aurora on Saturday, and many others are helping out on their own.
"We want individuals to know that they can do something to help the Fox River," said Fran Caffee, Chair of the Sierra Club's Valley of the Fox Group. "The Fox River's problems have been in the news a lot this year, and we'd like to help our neighbors understand them and give them a chance to do something about it."
Up to 200 volunteers from McHenry, Kane, and Kendall counties will be distributing Sierra Club literature regarding the Fox in their neighborhoods in the coming weeks. The literature includes a brief explanation of the Fox's pollution problems, and a postcard residents can send to Illinois Governor George Ryan urging the state to improve several different water pollution policies.
Earlier this year, the Fox was named one of America's ten most endangered rivers by the national river conservation organization American Rivers.
"If the Interior bill lands on my desk looking like it does now, I will...send it straight back to the recycling bin." -President Clinton, 10/14/99
Contents:
Take Action: Reject Anti-Environmental Riders, Urge Congress to Vote Against the Interior Appropriations Bill
TAKE ACTION
Reject Anti-Environmental Riders: Urge Congress to Vote Against the Interior Appropriations Bill
Operating on borrowed time, Congress is struggling to pass a myriad of appropriations bills to fund the government for the year 2000--and they can't adjourn and return to their districts until they send all 13 approps bills to the President's desk. It's a high-stakes political budget battle and funding for key environmental programs is caught in the crossfire.
On Friday, a House-Senate Conference Committee finished work on the FY2000 Department of Interior Appropriations bill to fund National Parks, forests, refuges and other natural resource programs. The negotiations were so contentious that all but one Democrat refused to sign the report. At issue, are a whole host of anti-environmental riders that threaten our public lands, public health, and the public treasury. The Conferees couldn't resist these backdoor proposals to weaken our environmental laws despite the strong vote in the House of Representatives (218-199) two weeks ago urging that they reject any anti-environmental riders.
As a result, the conference report still includes many harmful riders that would: increase the dumping of mining waste on public lands, undermine science-based management of our National Forests, allow oil companies to continue to underpay federal royalties, and permit grazing on federal lands prior to environmental review. Further, new objectionable riders have been added including one that would once again prevent the Administration from implementing long overdue mining reform regulations.
The conference report could come to the House floor as soon as Tuesday but final passage is anything but certain. President Clinton has pledged to veto the bill and the House Democratic Leadership is circulating a letter urging him to "hold firm...carry out your commitment to veto appropriations bills if these objectionable riders remain." Moderate Republicans have sent their own letter to House negotiators urging them to keep the bill free from riders.
Constituent pressure can help us send this polluted Interior Appropriations Bill back to the drawing board. Please call your Representative and urge them to voice their strong opposition to anti-environmental riders by voting Against the Interior Appropriations Conference Report. Your call can make the difference. Then check out Wednesday's SC-Action to see how your Representative voted on these anti-environmental riders.
Friday is the ALL ACTION edition of the SC-ACTION, including actions that you can take on Sierra Club campaigns. Please check out the action items below: FEATURED Trade/WTO, (1) Human Rights, (2) Population, (3) Global Warming, (4) Campaign Finance, (5) Oil Leasing on the Arctic Coast, (6) Superfund Rollback.
ACTION ITEMS:
FEATURED ITEM:
NO GLOBALIZATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION:
MAKE TRADE CLEAN, GREEN, AND FAIR
1. Mexican Environmentalists Tortured
2. EPICC: The Equality in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage
3. Clinton Signs Dirty Transportation Appropriations Bill!
4. Take Action on Campaign Finance!
5. Arctic Coast Threatened By Proposed Oil Leasing
6. Stop Superfund Rollback!!!
No Globalization without Representation: Make Trade Clean, Green, and Fair
By now, many of you have heard about the World Trade Organization summit descending on Seattle Nov. 30-Dec. 4. and, no doubt, the many protests it is attracting. The Sierra Club's Responsible Trade program is helping to organize some exciting public education and protest activities in Seattle. But we would encourage everyone in the Club to DO AT LEAST ONE THING this fall -- no matter where you are -- to help us spread the word about the need to overhaul the WTO. To get involved, send an e-mail to sam.parry@sierrraclub.org or to dan.seligman@sierraclub.org for an "action kit."
What's Up with the WTO?
To succeed in the global economy, America must trade with other nations. But instead of using these transactions to promote a higher standard of living and a healthy environment for all, the Clinton administration has been "trading away" America's health and heritage.
* The Clinton administration's trade policy and the WTO threaten our natural heritage. The administration could sign a "free logging" agreement in Seattle that would increase forest destruction around the world. Imported pests such as the Asian long-horned beetle can devastate our forests. Yet the WTO has tied our hands in preventing these pests from crossing our borders.
* The Clinton Administration's trade policy and the WTO threaten our environmental safeguards, such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act. We are pumping dirtier gasoline and endangering sea turtles as a result of WTO rulings.
* The Clinton administration's trade policy and the WTO also threaten the consumer's right to know. Eco-labeling is a powerful tool that consumers can use to choose products that were produced responsibly. WTO rules could eliminate such labeling as "trade barriers."
Do One Thing this Fall!
There are lots of ways to get involved. Write to your representative. Write a letter to your local paper. Or send for our action kit and learn how to hold a "Boston WTeaO Party: No Globalization without Representation!"
If you plan on coming to Seattle for the Summit, the Sierra Club's Northwest field office needs volunteer help. Contact Kathleen Casey at kathleen.casey@sierraclub.org, 206/378-0114 in Seattle. You can also check out the Responsible Trade Website at www.sierraclub.org/trade/ and www.peopleforfairtrade.org.
You can find out about Sierra Club endorsed Seattle events by contacting Kathleen Casey or Dan Seligman or by visiting www.seattlewto.org
1) 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
2) EPICC: The Equality in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act (EPICC) would require insurance companies that cover prescription drugs to also cover prescription contraceptive drugs and devices. Similarly, the measure would require that health plans offering coverage for outpatient medical services also provide coverage for outpatient contraceptive services. EPICC would make contraceptives more affordable and accessible for all Americans, begin to bring parity to health care costs for men and women, improve women's and children's health, and protect the environment.
EPICC (S.1200 and H.R. 2120) has been introduced in both houses of Congress. It is sponsored by Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Harry Reid (D-NV) in the Senate and Jim Greenwood (R-PA) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) in the House. It has 37 sponsors in the Senate and 118 in the House. To see if your Representative and Senators are co-sponsors visit https://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:SN01200:@@@P and https://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR02120:@@@P.
Ensuring access to family planning services regardless of ability to pay slows population growth and protects the environment. Please call your Senators and Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor this important legislation.
For more information visit our website at https://www.sierraclub.org/population or contact Jennifer Kurz at jennifer.kurz@sierraclub.org or at 202.675.2396.
3) CLINTON SIGNS DIRTY TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL!--Tell your friends and neighbors by writing a letter to the editor.
Despite the hard work of the environmental community and activists across the country, President Clinton put pork-barrel politics ahead of our children's health this week by signing a Transportation Appropriations bill containing the infamous rider freezing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. A CAFE increase is the biggest single step we can take toward curbing global warming. Educate your neighbors and elected officials about how bad this dirty bill is. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper containing the following points: (1) The President failed to show leadership on this critical issue. (2)The average fuel economy for new vehicles in the 1999 model year was only 23.8 miles per gallon, the lowest level since 1980. (3)Without the Administration's ability to even study new standards for these vehicles, Americans will become even more dependent on foreign oil, waste more money at the gas pump, and pollute our air and atmosphere.
For more information visit https://www.toowarm.org or contact michelle.artz@sierraclub.org
4) TAKE ACTION ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE!
Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Feingold (D-WI) have started the debate on campaign finance. Their bill, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1999 (S. 1593) is being debated on the Senate floor for the next 3 days. Just yesterday Granny D, the 89 year old champion walker who continues her crusade for reform, was in DC for a press conference. As she walks across the country, she continues to ask the people and public leaders of America to ban soft money contributions to political parties. These contributions are unregulated and could exceed half a billion dollars during the 2000 election cycle.
Banning soft money would significantly reduce the power of mining, timber, and other similar interest groups. There are several key Senators who have yet to take positions: Sens. G. Smith (R-OR), Hagel (R-NE), DeWine (R-OH), Voinovich (R-OH), Hutchison (R-AR), Roth (R-DE), Brownback (R-KS). We urge you to email, fax, or call both of your Senators today. Ask him or her to take the first step forward on this issue in 25 years.
5) Arctic Coast Threatened By Proposed Oil Leasing
The U.S. Interior Department is considering leasing a massive 10 million-acre area in the Arctic Ocean for oil and gas development, including the entire federal coastline adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. You can help stop Beaufort Sea Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Sale 176 by acting today. Tell the Interior Department to cancel the sale. Drilling rigs, oil spills, and risky sub-sea pipelines have no place offshore the crown jewel of our National Wildlife Refuge System. Proposed Lease Sale 176 extends across America's Arctic from the Canadian border almost to Barrow, threatening the entire coastline of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area in the Western Arctic. If the sale goes forward, oil spills, noise, and industrial intrusions could erode the wilderness character of the Arctic Refuge and threaten polar bears, ringed seals, bowhead whales, migratory birds, fish, caribou, and other wildlife.
Please send your comments so they are received by October 22, 1999 to: Mr. John Goll Alaska OCS Region Minerals Management Service 949 East 36th Avenue, Room 308 Anchorage, AK 99508-4302. RE: Comments on the call for information and nominations on Beaufort Sea Sale 176. [it is really important to include this in the address] You can also e-mail your comments to: akwebmaster@mms.gov.
6) STOP SUPERFUND ROLLBACK!!!
Tell your Representative to vote against proposed legislation that would weaken Superfund. Superfund protects Americans from the worst hazardous waste sites in the country by organizing, funding, and executing their clean up. H.R. 1300, the "Recycle America's Land Act," would weaken Superfund in a number of ways and is currently moving through the House of Representative. H.R. 1300 would open up loopholes in the Superfund law that would allow owners of polluted property to avoid paying for its cleanup. The legislation would severely weaken the "polluter pays" principle upon which Superfund was founded---leaving the American taxpayers to pick up the costs of cleanup. The bill also would relax cleanup standards that would leave sites still polluted even after they have been dubbed "clean."
At a time when 10 million children live within a bike's ride of a Superfund site, we have to stand firm and protect Americans' health. Call your Representative and tell them to oppose H.R. 1300, the "Recycle America's Land Act," and other bills that would weaken the Superfund law.
NEXT PAGE -->
|
| * * * COMPANIES & PRODUCTS * * * |
|---|
| * * * IN-HOUSE RESOURCES * * * |
|---|