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January 6, 2000
** NEW MILLENNIUM ACTION SPECIAL EDITION **
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"The great, dark trees of the Big Woods stood all around the house, and beyond them were other trees and beyond them were more trees. As far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month, there was nothing but woods." Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1932
1) ECL VOLUNTEERS REAP CHAPTER AWARDS
2) GLOBAL WARMING MAP STIRS MEDIA AND ACTIVISM INTEREST
3) GEORGE W's ENVIRO RECORD DESERVES SIERRA CLUB AD, AND GETS IT!
4) ARCTIC WILDERNESS TRAINING -- MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!
1) ECL VOLUNTEERS REAP CHAPTER AWARDS WHILE SAVING FORESTS
Sierra Club's End Commercial Logging Campaign is making great strides in public education and forest protection, but, this effort also seems to have a knack for developing and attracting Club leaders. Two Sierra Club Chapters have recently recognized outstanding volunteers for their contributions in Chapter-building and making great progress to protect and restore our National Forests. We offer our praise for their fine work!
GARY BOWERS, Conservation Chair of the Tennessee Chapter and co-chair of the Middle Tennessee Group Conservation Committee, was recently awarded the Sarah Hines Award, the Chapter's highest honor, for his outstanding work. Gary is a long-time member of the Tennessee Chapter and has worked on a variety of conservation issues, but has really made his mark in state and federal forest issues. In the last year, Gary has represented the Sierra Club at meetings and public gatherings, organized fundraising for a statewide lobbyist program, helped to secure Chapter office space and, last but not least, received the national Environmental Public Education Campaign grant to provide full-time staff to work on the initiative to end commercial logging on the Cherokee National Forest. Great work, Gary! Thanks for all you do!!
CLYDE HANSON, a 15-year Sierra Club member and a marketing consultant from Minneapolis, received the North Star Chapter's Outstanding Volunteer of 1999 Award. Clyde serves as the Treasurer of the North Star Chapter and has been a workhorse for state and federal forest protection. He has testified, lobbied, debated in public and televised forums, and crafted policy to help protect forests. He now serves on the National End Commercial Logging Campaign Committee. Many thanks to Clyde!
TAKE ACTION
HELP END COMMERCIAL LOGGING - CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Did you know that massive landslides are 70 percent more likely to start in clearcuts or logging roads than in healthy forests? Help our forests (and your fellow Sierra Club members) by ending the Forest Service's commercial logging program. Write a letter or call your member of Congress through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 1396, the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act.
2) GLOBAL WARMING ACTIVISM HEATS UP!
Beginning December 15, field staff, activists and volunteers released the Sierra Club's "Global Warming: Early Warning Signs" map to local media in over 35 cities. There have been some early successes with good media coverage about the map, including articles about the unusually warm winter weather citing our map as a reference.
Here's a few samples of the great work done by volunteers and staff:
* Brett Hulsey held a press conference in Madison, WI where a local sporting goods/outdoor supplier spoke of how the warm winter weather has affected sales of winter clothing. Also present was a representative of a local fishing group talking about how the warm weather has drastically cut into ice fishing season. The press conference was held at Lake Mendota, which has seen less and less days of ice cover, and was covered by radio, television and print media. This press event produced a front page article in the local news section. Kudos to Brett!
* Mike D'Amico worked with a reporter from the "Wilmington News Journal" and generated an article on the front page. This is even more amazing since Delaware wasn't even cited on the map as a global warming hot spot! Kudos to Mike.
* The "New York Times" ran an article about the unusually warm weather, including a picture of a blooming cherry tree from the Bronx Botanical Gardens, as a front page story in the Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999 issue. Currently, Susan Holmes is working on other ways to follow up with New York and New York-based national media. Kudos to Susan.
* Jon Ullman's press conference in Miami produced excellent coverage on two tv stations and one radio station. Kudos to Jon.
* Glen Besa and Dave Muhly were quoted in the "Roanoke Times and World News" calling on Gov. Jim Gilmore to launch a study of the effects of global warming on Virginia. Kudos to Glen and Dave.
* The "Boston Globe" ran a front page story about the unusually warm weather New England has been experiencing in the Sunday, December 26, 1999 issue. Once again, this was a front page story. The article referenced our map.
3) "Sierra Club Attacks Bush's Environmental Record"
In an election year Sierra Club really gears up it's efforts to highlight the environmental records of candidates -- usually to great effect. The "National Journal" printed this article, complete with the full script of our ad, in today's edition:
"The attacks on the front-runner continue, as the latest ad from the Sierra Club tries to show that the only thing worse than George W. Bush's knowledge of foreign affairs is his record on the environment. The 30-second spot, produced by Haddow Communications, was released in New Hampshire on Jan. 5 and will run at least through the week and possibly longer. CNN's Inside Politics reported that the environmental group has spent tens of thousands of dollars on the TV spot.
"Citing data the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Lung Association (ALA) and other sources, the Sierra Club points out that Texas leads the nation in toxic chemicals released into the environment, hazardous waste and the number of factories violating clean water standards.
"The ad focuses directly on Bush as well as his state, mentioning that he has proposed weakening the Clean Air Act. It also includes a shot of William Tinker, a Texas boy with asthma who was unable to live in DeSoto, Texas because the air quality was unbearable, sporting his gas mask. Tinker was the focus of two earlier Sierra Club ads as well.
"The overt message of the spot is to get voters to call Bush and urge him to change his environmental policy; an appropriate phone number flashes onto the last frame. However, with the ad running in New Hampshire less than a month before the first presidential primary, the Sierra Club's goal is more than just a few angry phone calls from Granite State voters.
"When Texans have asked Gov. George W. Bush to halt the toxic pollution, he's turned a deaf ear to us -- maybe he'll listen to folks in New Hampshire as well," said Ken Kramer, director of Sierra Club's Lone Star (Texas) Chapter.
Script of "Faces of America" (TV)
ANNOUNCER: Texas leads the nation in cancer-causing and toxic chemicals released into the environment.
(On screen: "Texas leads in cancer-causing and toxic chemicals released. EPA Toxic Release Inventory Report, 1999; www.epa.gov/enviro)
ANNOUNCER: In hazardous waste, in the number of factories violating clean water standards
(On screen: Texas leads in the number of factories violating clean water standards. EPA Permit Compliance Data, 1999)
ANNOUNCER: And while federal laws are forcing states to clean up their air and water, Texas lags far behind.
(On screen: Texas lags far behind in cleaning up its air and water. The Council of State Governments)
ANNOUNCER: Even though Texas has over 400,000 kids with asthma -- like William Tinker.
(On screen: Texas has over 400,000 kids with asthma. American Lung Association, 1999)
ANNOUNCER: George Bush has proposed weakening the Clean Air Act.
(On screen: Texas [officials] are trying to seriously weaken the Clean Air Act. Boston Globe, 12-16-99)
ANNOUNCER: Call George W. Bush. Tell him to clean up Texas' air and water, for our families and for William Tinker's future.
(On screen: Tell George W. Bush to clean the air and water. Call 512-463-2000)
4) The Arctic Refuge Needs Your Help!
This February 5 - 9, the Sierra Club, together with the Alaska Wilderness League, the Wilderness Society and the National Audubon Society, is hosting another National Arctic Wilderness Week in Washington, DC. Support from the grassroots is the key to protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and its fragile coastal plain -- and this gathering will help arm you with the skills and knowledge you need to build support in your own community.
Hands-on Training
Arctic Wilderness Week is your introduction to the campaign to protect the Arctic Refuge and its vast array of wildlife -- polar bears, grizzlies, caribou, and thousands of migratory birds -- from the ravages of oil and gas development. If you can make it on Friday night, the training begins with a potluck dinner and a chance to meet other like-minded wilderness and environmental activists. Saturday and Sunday offer two full days of intensive skills training, including message development, media communications and legislative advocacy. All of it will be tied together with hands-on role playing and campaign planning exercises.
If you can stay longer, on Monday and Wednesday we'll brush up your lobbying skills. You'll be pounding the marble halls of Congress, meeting with your own Congressional Representatives and Senators or their staffs. It's your chance to make your voice heard!
We've Got You Covered
We know your time is valuable - so we don't ask you to cover all of your expenses for the trip. You pay a $40 registration fee (some scholarships available), and we'll pay for your travel to D.C., your hotel (two per room), a continental breakfast each morning, and several dinners. Unfortunately, space is limited. And we are making it a priority to bring in activists from a number of targeted states and media markets -- where our public education efforts are most critical. To find out if you're eligible, contact Dana Wolfe of the Sierra Club at (202) 675-6690. We'll send you a packet of information about the battle to save the Arctic Refuge and a tentative agenda for the wilderness training.
Please join us in Washington and be a hero for America's great Arctic wilderness!
"There are choices you have to make not just once, but every time they come up." -Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
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:
(1) FEATURED ACTION: STOP THE ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT KILN
(2) Time printed Global Warming Map: Now is the Time to Call Your Congressmembers
(3) Save Utah Wilderness
(4) Protect 60 Million Acres of Wild Forests: Postcards
(5) Help Empower Women and Girls
(6) End Commercial Logging
(7) Stop Superfund Rollback
(8) Speak Up Against Human Rights Violations
(9) Trade: Take a break and recover from the WTO. For an update on it see Wednesday, December 8th's Action Daily.
FEATURED
ACTION ITEM FOR THIS WEEK:
STOP THE ICHETUCKNEE CEMENT KILN
The Governor and Cabinet are scheduled to vote next Tuesday to spend up to $27 million to purchase the Kirby Mine from Anderson Columbia -- to stop ongoing mining and protect the Ichetucknee Springs, located 14 miles south of the mine. In other words the mine is 14 miles upgradient of the springs. A victory for environmental protection is the spin.
Perhaps, but at what price? In exchange, the State will allow the Company to expand a small, existing limerock mine only two miles west of the Park boundary.A mine that is on the edge of the recharge zone to the Ichetucknee Head Springs.The expanded mine will produce over 1,300,000 tons of rock and sand per year to feed an adjacent cement kiln. The mine is only three miles upgradient from the springs.
The goal is to protect the Springs. Is the State buying the right mine? NOBODY-- not even the Company -- has studied the recharge zone to the Ichetucknee Springs in sufficient detail to know the effect of the adjacent cement plant mine on the flow and quality of the water flowing from this unique and irreplaceable National treasure. The deal to save Ichetucknee could just as likely destroy it. NOBODY KNOWS.
The Company has offered to spend a paltry $1 million to study water quality problems in the Three Rivers Area -- but only after they have received approval to build the cement kiln and expand the mine, not before. The Company has a horrible record of environmental compliance, yet the juggernaut to appease Anderson Columbia is moving through Tallahassee with unprecedented speed.
No scientific data have been released to provide assurances that the Ichetucknee Springs will be protected from this new mine. There has been only one public hearing; but only on the air permit, none on the mine. Sierra Club and Save Our Suwanee have appealed the air permit. Nobody outside the Company knows about the mine impacts. Yet the Cabinet is set to vote before the facts are known, before litigation is resolved, before air construction permits are issued. Whatis going on?
Why is the State of Florida rushing to sell out the Ichetucknee? Why are the people, even Sierra Club and Save Our Suwannee, parties to the air permit litigation, being shut out of the process?
WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO:
Call Governor Bush at 850-488-2272. Register your dismay that he allowed Secretary Struhs to change his mind about the Ichetucknee Cement Plant.
E-mail the Governor your thoughts at JEB@JEB.org (or fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us) or fax to 850-487-0801. Tell him that you care about the pollution mounting with three cement plants within a 150-mile radius. Tell him that he is the protectorof the State Parks and of the health of the people, and that you want him to STOP the Ichetucknee Cement Kiln.
(2) CALL YOUR REP.S AND SEN.S: CAFÉ IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE STEP TO CURBING GLOBAL WARMING
TIME magazine printed a two-page spread of our global warming map; it is in the dec. 13 issue. This is a condensed version of the map we put together which details 89 global hotspots demonstrating the warning signs and current effects of global warming.
** Please write your congressmembers, and encourage everyone and their dog to do the same, alerting their attention to the map in TIME and to so something about the problem. **
Below is a list of US cities highlighted on the map, so it is especially important that representatives and senators from these areas hear loud and clear that we want them to take action to solve this problem. Tell them that the biggest single step the US can take to curb global warming is to raise fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards to 42 mpg for cars and 34 mpg for light trucks, mini-vans and suv's.
Next week, field staff and local activists will be releasing the map to local media; there will be over 30 sites releasing the map.
cities list on the map as global warming hotspots:
Anchorage, AK Boston, MA Little Rock, AR Whitefish,MT Santa Barbara, CA Glasgow, MT Santa Cruz, CA Concord,NH Tampa, FL New York, NY Miami, FL Rapid City, SD Melbourne, FL Dallas, TX Chicago, IL San Antonio,TX Honolulu, HI Seattle, WA New Orleans, LA Madison, WI Annapolis, MD
(3) TAKE ACTION TO SAVE UTAH WILDERNESS- STOP THE HANSEN WEST DESERT BILL
In October, Utah Rep. James V. Hansen introduced H.R. 3035, the "Utah National Parks and Public Lands Wilderness Act", a bill to designate wilderness on Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service lands. Unfortunately, Hansen's proposal is woefully inadequate, protecting less than two-fifths of the existing 2.6 million acres of wilderness-quality land in the West Desert. To make matters worse, while he hasn't supported the Hansen bill outright, Interior Secretary Babbitt has endorsed the inadequate number of areas covered by Hansen's proposal.
And not only does the bill exclude crucial wilderness-quality areas, it specifically denies water rights necessary to protect and sustain fragile desert wilderness. Moreover, the bill would give carte blanche to the U.S. Air Force, allowing them unrestricted access to the air space above new wilderness areas, and use of the wilderness lands themselves!
The bill is scheduled to be marked up in February. So please, write or call your Member of Congress right away and urge him or her to oppose H.R. 3035. Also, please call the Office of Environmental Quality at the White House (202-456-6224) and tell them you oppose H.R. 3035. Express your disappointment that Secretary Babbitt supports the wilderness designation of less than half of the qualifying wilderness lands in this part of Utah. You can refer to it as Congressman Hansen's Utah Wilderness bill.
Thanks for your help!
(4) PROTECT 60 MILLION ACRES OF WILD FORESTS: POSTCARDS AVAILABLE
By now you have heard about President Clinton's Wild Forest Protection Plan that may lead to the protection of 60 million acres of America's last wild forests in 38 states. There are only a few days left for you to be counted in support of this bold plan! The U.S. Forest Service wants the public to weigh in with comments on this historic initiative to save our wild forests. Over half of our National Forests have already been hammered by logging, mining, and other destructive activities. The Wild Forest Protection plan is our last, best chance to protect our remaining wildlands.
We are now in the final stretch of the first official comment period which ends on December 20th. The Sierra Club has a goal of producing 250,000 comments by the end of the comment period and we are well on our way. Public comment is essential for the plan to be implemented and to ward off attacks from the logging industry and motorized off-road vehicle users.
Please help us get the last of the postcards signed and mailed to the Forest Service before the end of the comment period on December 20th! To get your stack of cards, please contact Daniel Lavery at 202/547-1141 or daniel.lavery@sierraclub.org
Thank you for your help.
(5) HELP EMPOWER WOMEN AND GIRLS
The 1999 legislative session is over (FINALLY!) and so your Senators and Representatives are back in their districts until January 24, 2000. Now is the time to make arrangements to meet with your legislators during this holiday recess. Urge them to empower women and girls by co-sponsoring the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act.
As part of our work on women's empowerment, the Sierra Club supports the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act. This piece of legislation would request $90 million in funds for international micro-credit programs for low-income women in the developing world. Micro-credit programs allow low-income women to borrow small amounts of money at low interest rates to enable poor women to start their own businesses. These programs have a 90% repayment rate. As women earn income they also gain self-esteem and more bargaining power economically and with regards to the reproductive rights.
The Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act (H.R. 1143 and S.1463) has been introduced in both Houses of Congress. It sponsors are Sen. Michael DeWine and Rep. Benjamin Gilman. It has 24 co-sponsors in the House and 11 in the Senate. To see if your Representative and Senators are co-sponsors, visit https://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR01143:@@@P and https://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:SN01463:@@@P.
For more information visit our website at www.sierraclub.org/population or contact Jennifer Kurz at jennifer.kurz@sierraclub.org.
(6) HELP END COMMERCIAL LOGGING - CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Did you know that massive landslides are 70 percent more likely to start from clearcuts or logging roads? That's just one more reason to end the Forest Service's commercial logging program. Write a letter or call your member of Congress through the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urge him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 1396, the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act.For more information contact Sean Cosgrove at (202) 547-1141.
(7) STOP SUPERFUND ROLLBACK!
Two anti-environmental Superfund bills have recently passed out of Committee and are now being reconciled in order to bring the legislation to the House floor, maybe as early as next week. Both H.R. 2580, which passed out of the Commerce Committee, and H.R. 1300 which passed out of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would severely weaken environmental and public health protections surrounding our nation's most hazardous waste sites -- Superfund sites.
These bills would open up loopholes in the Superfund law that would allow ownersof 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." Call your representative and tell himor her you want our nation's Superfund sites cleaned-up and therefore you opposeH.R. 1300 and H.R. 2580!
(8) SPEAK UP AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
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
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