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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
January 10, 2001
"The new pair of lovely Panda's are not only the new two residents of the National Zoo and the District of Columbia, but the two VIP's - Very Important Pandas - of this great Nation." - Lawrence Small, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, on the arrival of Mei Xiang and Tian Tain. The two great Pandas made their debut at Washington DC's National Zoo today.
INDEX 1. A Few More National Monuments We Would Like to See.
2. Gail Norton and John Ashcroft - Dividers, not Uniters
3. Wild Forest Celebration
1. Take Action: Ten Days to Win National Monument Protection for Owyhee Canyonlands, Arctic Refuge, and Siskiyou Rivers
We have reached the final days of the Clinton Presidency and the final opportunity for the President to continue his tremendous environmental legacy by completing his already impressive list of spectacular landscapes protected by National Monument designation. Sierra Club activists around the country have been contacting the White House on behalf of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Owyhee-Bruneau Canyonlands of Idaho. We thank you for your unflagging advocacy for these shining examples of America's unique natural heritage. Please keep up your good work.
Recently, we have heard of another potential monument that is under active consideration by Secretary Babbitt--the Siskiyou wild rivers of southern Oregon. But its down to the wire For the Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Monument. In ten days, the opportunity to save the ancient mountains and wild rivers and salmon of the Siskiyou National Forest will be gone. Please take five minutes of your time to fax and phone Bruce Babbitt. Tell him to urge President to create the first National Monument dedicated to wild rivers, wild salmon and biological diversity. Please do it today!!! Tell him you want the Siskiyou Wild Rivers National Monument.
Before Jan 20th, Contact Sec. Of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.
Phone: 202-208-6359 Fax: 202-208-6956.
Or visit
2. Take Action: Oppose Secretary-designates Gale Norton and John Ashcroft
Interior Secretary -- former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton The Sierra Club opposes Bush's selection of Gale Norton as Interior Secretary. During the Reagan presidency, Norton served as associate solicitor at the Interior Department under Interior Secretary James Watt. In that capacity she authored and signed legal opinions in support of drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and provided legal advice on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's controversial approval of Two Forks Dam. Norton has also called the government's handling of endangered species cases as an example of excessive regulation.
Watt later hired Norton as a lawyer for the arch-conservative Mountain States Legal Foundation, which often represents loggers, miners, ranchers and water developers in fights against environmental groups. Norton is also the founder and serves on advisory committee of the Coalition of Republican Environmental Advocates (CREA), which is considered by the Republicans for Environmental Protection (a legitimate GOP environmental group) to be "a transparent attempt to fool voters who care about environmental protection." Contributors to CREA include several energy companies and associations representing the mining, logging, chemical and coal industries.
Attorney General -- Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.)The Sierra Club opposes the appointment of John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Ashcroft has an exceedingly poor environmental voting record and is openly hostile to most environmental laws. Ashcroft voted against additional funding for environmental programs including the Clean Water Action Plan and toxic waste cleanups at Superfund sites. He also voted for a bill to roll back clean water protections, to prevent the EPA from enforcing arsenic standards for drinking water, and to allow mining companies to dump cyanide and other mining waste on large areas of public lands next to mining sites.
Ashcroft also opposes campaign finance reform. He voted against the McCain-Feingold bill for a complete ban on soft money contributions to political parties, which would have closed a loophole that allows mining, timber and other interests to gain influence by contributing huge unregulated sums of money to political parties.
3. WILD FOREST CELEBRATION!!
The Sierra Club celebrated President Clinton's announcement of the final decision on a plan last Friday that will protect the last unspoiled areas of our National Forests. Protecting these pristine areas completes the largest forest conservation initiative in generations -- protecting millions of acres of wild forests from New Hampshire to California.
The final plan is an improvement over previous drafts because it provides real protection to the wild areas of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, America's last great temperate rainforest. The Forest Service also tightened up a loophole that would have allowed destructive logging in our wild forests under the guise of stewardship.
"Today we congratulate the President for leaving a legacy of wild forests for all Americans who love to hunt, hike, fish and camp," continued Pope. "Congratulations are also due to the more than one million people who influenced this decision by sending a letter or speaking out at the public meetings."
With this rule in place, environmentalists will now turn their attention to defending the plan. Timber industry allies in Congress have already launched an effort to overturn this historic rule. The Sierra Club will join with other conservationists to fight all attempts to delay or reverse the plan. Environmentalists will also work at the local level to ensure that this plan is fully implemented and that our last wild forests are fully protected.
"I love this hat." --President Clinton, upon receiving a "Protect Our Wild Forests" baseball cap from Sierra Club Legislative Director Debbie Sease. (Clinton announced on Jan. 4 that 60 million acres of wild forests will be protected from logging and roadbuilding. See Action Item #2 below for more.)
ACTION ITEMS:
1. Oppose Bush Cabinet Nominees Norton and Ashcroft.
2. Thank President Clinton for Wild Forest Protection.
3. Countdown for Clinton to Protect the Arctic Refuge.
4. Close Wetlands Loophole Allowing Developers to Exacerbate Sprawl.
5. Support the Release of Jailed Mexican Environmentalists.
6. Help Protect and Restore Our National Forests.
7. Wondering Where Global Warming Pollution Comes From? Take This Quick Quiz.
8. Tell President-Elect Bush: Support International Family Planning.
9. Safeguard the Effectiveness of Antibiotics; Ban Baytril in Factory Farms.
1. Tell your Senators to Oppose Bush Nominees Gale Norton and John Ashcroft and Support Norman Mineta.
Due to their extremely poor environmental records, the Sierra Club opposes the confirmation of Gale Norton as secretary of the interior and former Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.) as attorney general. The Sierra Club supports the choice of Rep. Norman Mineta (D-Calif.) as transportation secretary.
During the Reagan presidency, Gale Norton served as associate solicitor at the Interior Department under Interior Secretary James Watt. In that capacity she authored and signed legal opinions in support of drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and provided legal advice on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's controversial approval of Two Forks Dam. She has also called the government's handling of endangered species cases as an example of excessive regulation.
Ashcroft has an exceedingly poor environmental voting record and is openly hostile to most environmental laws. Ashcroft voted against additional funding for environmental programs including the Clean Water Action Plan and toxic waste cleanups at Superfund sites.
TAKE ACTION: Urge your senators to oppose the nominations of Ashcroft and Norton, and support the nomination of Mineta. Call the Capitol Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121
For more information on Norton and Ashcroft and the Sierra Club's position on other cabinet appointees, see: www.sierraclub.org/pressroom/cabinet.asp
2. Thank President Clinton for Protecting Wild Forests.
On Jan. 4, President Clinton announced the final plan to protect almost 60 million acres of wildlands in the national forests from logging and roadbuilding. The final plan includes Alaska's Tongass National Forests, which was not in earlier versions, and closes a loophole that could have allowed commercial logging by helicopter.
The Forest Service received more than 1 million letters and cards of support of a strong wild forest protection plan, a huge fraction of which came from Sierra Club efforts.
So after you pat yourself on the back, send the president a thank you note.
TAKE ACTION: Write President Clinton at:
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
Or call the White House Comment Line at (800) 663-9566 (toll-free) or (202) 456-1111
3. Countdown for Clinton to Protect the Arctic Refuge
While you're thanking the president for the protection of 60 million acres of wild forest, urge him to help protect a national treasure where there are no forests -- the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Thanks to concerned individuals like you, the first week of the new year, we were able to tie up the White House phone lines for three solid day with calls supporting national monument protection for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
We were so successful, that we've decided to stage the "Ten Days of Clinton Call-in Countdown for the Arctic Refuge."
From Jan. 9-19, hundreds of thousands of supporters will be calling the White House to voice their support for the Arctic Wildlife National Monument. Until he leaves office on Jan. 20, President Clinton has the executive right to designate the refuge a national monument.
TAKE ACTION: Call the White House at (888) 750-4897 (toll-free) or (202) 456-1111 to make your voice heard! Simply let the White House operator know that you want President Clinton to protect the Arctic Refuge as a national monument. You can call every day -- and urge everyone you know, your friends, hairdresser, barkeep, grandma, to make the call as well. Help us ring in a Happy New Year for the Arctic Refuge.
4. Close Wetlands Loophole Allowing Developers to Exacerbate Sprawl.
Over the past several months the public has spoken and it's clear -- almost 10,000 people, many of them Sierra Club activists, have urged the federal government to close the "Tulloch" rule loophole. Since the loophole opened in 1998 the EPA estimates developers and mining interests have drained and destroyed more than 20,000 acres of wetlands and channelized more than 150 miles of streams all with out any environmental review.
TAKE ACTION: Write or call President Clinton and ask him to give final approval to the new rule which closes the loophole. We don't want our wetlands to wait for the good graces of the next president.
Call the White House Comment Line at (800) 663-9566 (toll-free) or (202) 456-1111.
For more information (and a sample message and a customizable e-mail), visit https://www.sierraclub.org/wetlands/tulloch/action.asp.
5. Tell Mexican President Vicente Fox to Release Jailed Environmentalists.
Even while here in the United States conservation history is being made with the protection of vast tracts of wild forests, in Mexico, anti-logging environmentalists Rodolfo Montiel Flores and Teodoro Cabrera Garcia remain imprisoned for their efforts to stop illegal logging in Guerrero.
What better way to celebrate our forest protection victory here in the United States than by supporting Mr. Montiel and Mr. Cabrera through letters to Mexico's President Vicente Fox?
The Sierra Club and Amnesty International's joint Human Rights and the Environment Campaign is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.
For more information, please visit our Web site at https://www.sierraclub.org/human-rights.
TAKE ACTION: Write President Fox at the Mexican Embassy:
President Vicente Fox c/o Embassy of Mexico 1911 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20006
Please e-mail or call Sam Parry for a sample letter, sam.parry@sierraclub.org, (202) 547-1141. Thank you.
6. Help Protect and Restore Our National Forests.
America's first national forests were established more than 100 years ago for the benefit of all Americans. But today, less than 5 percent of our old-growth forests remain and we are left with a patchwork of clearcuts and logging roads.
Commercial logging has taken a harsh toll on the land, draining nutrients from the soil, washing topsoil into streams, destroying wildlife habitat and intensifying the severity of forest fires. We need to protect what's left of our wild forest heritage -- we must get the timber companies out of our national forests.
TAKE ACTION: Please write to your congressional representative and urge him or her to support the protection and restoration of America's national forests. Urge support of ending commercial logging on our national forests.
Write: U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. Or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
7. Wondering Where Global Warming Pollution Comes From? Take this Quick Quiz.
Would switching from driving an average new car to a 13 mile per gallon SUV for one year waste more energy than if you:
A. Left your refrigerator door open for 6 years,
B. Left the bathroom light on for a week, or
C. Left your color TV turned on for 28 years?
The answer: Trick question. It's D, all of the above.
SUVs waste more energy and spew out more global warming pollution than other passenger vehicles. Now that a new Congress has been sworn in, it is vital to inform new senators, and remind old senators, about the best way to fight global warming and save money at the pump: raising the national standards for how far cars, SUVs and light trucks must go on a gallon of gas.
TAKE ACTION: The Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program can provide you with postcards to send to your senators urging them to take action on global warming.
Improved mile per gallon standards for our cars, SUVs and light trucks would cut carbon dioxide pollution by 600 million tons and save consumers at least $45 billion each year at the pump. Tell your senators to work for more fuel economical cars that reduce threat of global warming and save you money at the gas pump.
For more information, contact Alex Veitch at (202) 547-1141 or alex.veitch@sierraclub.org.
Find out more about steps you can take to help curb global warming at our website: https://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming.
8. Tell President-elect Bush: Support International Family Planning
What will the new presidency mean for international family planning?
In 2000, the Sierra Club Global Population and Environment Program worked with a bipartisan coalition in Congress to pass increased and unrestricted funding for international family planning programs. When George W. Bush is inaugurated on Jan. 20, one of the first decisions he will make is whether to uphold the congressional commitment to support one of our country's most successful foreign-assistance programs.
TAKE ACTION: Please call, write or e-mail President-elect Bush and tell him that you support international family planning and that you oppose harmful restrictions like the global gag rule. Tell him that international family planning saves the lives of women and children, and protects the global environment.
Bush has promised to unite America. Ask him to live up to that promise by backing bipartisan congressional support for international family planning programs that bring together healthy families and encourage a healthy planet.
Write: President-elect Bush 1800 G St., NW Washington, DC 20270 202-513-7442 (tel) 202-513-7533 (fax) president-elect@BushCheney.gov
For further information, contact: Laurie Mignone at 202-675-7910 or laurie.mignone@sierraclub.org.
A hard beginning maketh a good ending. --John Heywood
1. Take Action: Urge your Senators to oppose the nominations of Ashcroft and Norton, and support the nomination of Mineta. Call the Capitol Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121
The Sierra Club Opposes:
Attorney General -- Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.)
Interior Secretary -- former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton
The Sierra Club Supports:
Transportation Secretary -- Rep. Norman Mineta (D-Calif.)
2. The Sierra Club's Position on Bush Cabinet Appointments
Attorney General -- Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.)
The Sierra Club opposes the appointment of John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Ashcroft has an exceedingly poor environmental voting record and is openly hostile to most environmental laws. Ashcroft voted against additional funding for environmental programs including the Clean Water Action Plan and toxic waste cleanups at Superfund sites. He also voted for a bill to roll back clean water protections, to prevent the EPA from enforcing arsenic standards for drinking water, and to allow mining companies to dump cyanide and other mining waste on large areas of public lands next to mining sites.
Ashcroft also opposes campaign finance reform. He voted against the McCain-Feingold bill for a complete ban on soft money contributions to political parties, which would have closed a loophole that allows mining, timber and other interests to gain influence by contributing huge unregulated sums of money to political parties.
Interior Secretary -- former Colorado Attorney General Gale Norton The Sierra Club opposes Bush's selection of Gale Norton as Interior Secretary. During the Reagan presidency, Norton served as associate solicitor at the Interior Department under Interior Secretary James Watt. In that capacity she authored and signed legal opinions in support of drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and provided legal advice on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's controversial approval of Two Forks Dam. Norton has also called the government's handling of endangered species cases as an example of excessive regulation.
Watt later hired Norton as a lawyer for the arch-conservative Mountain States Legal Foundation, which often represents loggers, miners, ranchers and water developers in fights against environmental groups. Norton is also the founder and serves on advisory committee of the Coalition of Republican Environmental Advocates (CREA), which is considered by the Republicans for Environmental Protection (a legitimate GOP environmental group) to be "a transparent attempt to fool voters who care about environmental protection." Contributors to CREA include several energy companies and associations representing the mining, logging, chemical and coal industries.
Transportation Secretary -- Rep. Norman Mineta (D-Calif.) Rep. Norm Mineta is a sound choice to head the Department of Transportation. Secretary Mineta supported mass transit during his tenure in the House of Representatives and co-sponsored a bill to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that would increase fuel efficiency. Mineta also worked to make public transportation more accessible for all Americans.
Rep. Mineta is open to protecting air and conserving precious natural resources, and hopefully he will have a strong voice in the Bush Administration.
Energy Secretary -- Sen. Spenser Abraham (R-Mich.) The Sierra Club is concerned about the poor environmental record of Bush's nominee for Energy Secretary, Sen. Spencer Abraham. Abraham led the Senate's efforts to prevent the Clinton Administration from increasing fuel economy in cars and light trucks. He co-sponsored two separate bills that would have allowed drilling for oil in the fragile Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also voted to kill an amendment that would have added $62 million to the Energy Department's solar and renewable energy programs from being considered by the full Senate, and he voted to delay reforming the way oil companies pay royalties for drilling public lands. Abraham also supported establishment of an above-ground "interim" nuclear waste dump near Yucca Mountain in Nevada, which the Sierra Club opposed.
In 1999, Abraham sponsored legislation that would have abolished the Department of Energy.
Americans' broad support for clean air and water makes the environment the perfect test of President-elect Bush's pledge to heal the nation's wounds. Unfortunately, Senator Abraham is a pathetic choice to guide our energy policy. The Club calls on the Senate to vigorously question Abraham about his opposition to higher fuel efficiency standards, and his unwillingness to support conservation and renewable energy programs.
EPA Administrator New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) Gov. Christine Whitman has a mixed record on the environment, but on balance we believe the Sierra Club could work with her as EPA Administrator. As New Jersey governor, Whitman worked to safeguard Sterling Forest and other unspoiled treasures from developers and sprawl. She also stood at the forefront of the clean air fight when she pushed the nation's governors to support efforts to reduce soot and smog air pollution.
Unfortunately, Whitman also oversaw severe cuts to her state's environmental law enforcement efforts, which cause us deep concern. By cutting New Jersey's environmental budget, she hampered her state's efforts to enforce the nation's environmental standards. As EPA Administrator, Gov. Whitman will have a duty to fight for funding to effectively enforce the standards that protect Americans from pollution. For that reason, the Club hopes the Senate will press her about the need to enforce strong, mandatory environmental standards.
Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, former California Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman's record is a cause for concern. For example, in her private law practice, Veneman has represented clients whose positions run counter to the environmental protections that Americans want. Specifically, she represented the Sierra Nevada Access, Multiple Use and Stewardship Coalition on the issue of the Sierra Nevada Environmental Program. This coalition represents the interests of loggers, miners and off-road vehicle enthusiasts who pushed for fewer protections for wild forests and wildlife. (The Agriculture Department oversees the Forest Service.).
In addition, as California's Agriculture Secretary she opposed efforts to ban methyl bromide -- a toxic ozone-depleting pesticide, and when stumping for Bush in California, she told farmers and ranchers they would no longer be subjected to "unnecessary and burdensome" government environmental and safety protections under a Bush administration. Veneman also has played a major role in promoting free trade agreements without adequate environmental, safety, labor and human rights standards (such as NAFTA).
It will be critical that the Senate quiz Veneman extensively on what basic environmental and safety protections she thinks should no longer be enforced.
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