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DEFENDING ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
October 23
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles." - Anne Frank, from The Diary of a Young Girl, entry for Feb. 23, 1944
[1] HUMAN RIGHTS & THE ENVIRONMENT: Human Rights Lawyer Digna Ochoa is Killed in Mexico
[2] END COMMERCIAL LOGGING: Investigation Finds Forest Service Hides $ Losses
[3] ACT UP: Protect Utah's Wasatch-Cache National Forest
[4] ECONFERENCE 2001: 1,500 Students Flock to DC for Weekend of Environmental Activism
[1] HUMAN RIGHTS & THE ENVIRONMENT: Human Rights Lawyer Digna Ochoa is Killed in Mexico
Last weekend, the former defense lawyer for environmental activists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera was murdered in her offices in Mexico City. Digna Ochoa, 38, was one of the most prominent human rights attorneys in Mexico and had been the leading attorney in the environmentalists' case for over a year (Montiel and Cabrera are grassroots environmental leaders, self-described "campesino ecologistas," who were beaten and given electric shocks until admitting to trumped charges).
The Sierra Club demands that the Mexican government conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of this assassination and resolve other outstanding cases, including that of Montiel and Cabrera. The rhetoric from President Vicente Fox with regards to human rights and the environment in Mexico must now be matched by concrete steps to ensure that other environmental and human rights activists are safe to conduct their work in Mexico.
To learn more, go to: https://www.sierraclub.org/human-rights https://www.aiusa.org/urgent https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/22/international/americas/22MEXI.html
To read Sierra Magazine's article on Montiel and Cabrera, "Defending the Forest and Other Crimes," go to: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200007/mexico.asp
[2] END COMMERCIAL LOGGING: Investigation Finds Forest Service Hides $ Losses
Representatives Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia) and George Miller (D-California) know that the Forest Service is using taxpayer dollars to subsidize logging on our National Forests, they just want to know how much. So, they asked the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to figure out just how much money was lost in 1998 and 1998 on the Forest Service's Timber Sales Program.
It turns out that the Forest Service is about as reckless with their books as a toddler with a crayon. According to GAO, it's impossible to tell how much money we've lost because of the Forest Service's "totally unreliable accounting practices." If only the IRS accepted that excuse...
For Sierra Club's reaction to GAO's announcement, go to: https://lists.sierraclub.org/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0110&L=ce-scnews-releases&D=1&T=0&H=1&O=D&F &S=&P=901
[3] ACT UP: Protect Utah's Wasatch-Cache National Forest
The U.S. Forest Service is currently writing a forest management plan for Utah's Wasatch-Cache National Forest. This beautiful forest is home to moose, elk and beaver and is one of the most heavily used recreational forests of any in the nation. The Forest Service has offered two alternatives, one that would end commercial logging in the forest, and another that would subsidize development and road construction.
The Wasatch needs more roads and logging like you need the Forest Service to do your books at tax time. Urge the Forest Service to:
-End the Commercial Logging Program as proposed in Alternative One;
-Protect ALL remaining Roadless Areas from road construction and development;
-Recommend the Mt. Naomi Roadless Area for Wilderness Designation;
-Support proposed restrictions on snowmobile use.
Send your letter by November 1st, 2001 to: Wasatch-Cache Planning Team 8226 Federal Building 125 South State Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84138
Find out more from the Sierra Club's Ogden Group in Utah at: https://utah.sierraclub.org/ogden
[4] ECONFERENCE 2001: 1,500 Students Flock to DC for Weekend of Environmental Activism
Last weekend, the Sierra Student Coalition co-hosted ECOnference 2001, along with Green Corps, Free the Planet!, The Student PIRGs and Ecopledge.com. Over 1,500 students from across the country flocked to Washington, DC for a weekend of trainings and workshops on environmental activism. Carl Pope addressed the conference on Friday night, urging students to think about and press for solutions that increase the security of our global environment.
The weekend also featured Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR), Lois Gibbs, and even Mike D. of the Beastie Boys. According to the well-known rap star, "Student environmental leaders are sending this message loud and clear: this is our planet, now is our time."
For more information on ECOnference 2001, go to: https://www.econference2001.org
For students interested in the Sierra Student Coalition, go to: https://www.ssc.org
"The Alaska congressional delegation tells the country it must drill for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to guarantee energy security. A few days ago, however, a drunk with a rifle blew a hole that shut down the trans-Alaska pipeline for three days. Wouldn't we be more secure if our new cars and sport-utility vehicles used less gasoline?"
--Joel Connelly, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "In The Northwest: Country's natural heritage also deserves protection," Oct. 17, 2001.
To read the full article, which eloquently makes the case for how our security, energy and wildlands are linked together here, see:
https://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/connelly/43024_joel17.shtml
Table of Contents:
[1] END COMMERCIAL LOGGING: Introducing the Northwest Old-Growth Campaign
[2] CLEAN AIR: EPA's New Houston Plan not Strong Enough
[3] ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Curbing our Dependance on Foreign Oil With CAFE
[4] TAKE ACTION: Continue to Protect Our Wild Forests
[1] END COMMERCIAL LOGGING: Introducing the Northwest Old-Growth Campaign
Portland, Ore: A halt to all old-growth logging in the Northwest's publicly owned forests is the goal of a new campaign launched Monday by the "Northwest Old-Growth Campaign," which includes the Sierra Club, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Cascadia Wildlands Project, American Lands, and 10 other groups. The goal of the campaign is to prevent the Bush administration from loosening logging restrictions in the millions of acres of national forests former President Clinton designated as roadless areas.
At the kickoff, Joe Keating, spokesman for the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club said that the the Pacific Northwest economy has shifted away from dependence on timber. Polls show increased urban and rural support for forest protection, lumber retailers are phasing out old-growth wood products and many politicians are backing limits on harvesting ancient trees.
The Northwest Old-Growth Campaign will focus on bringing change through congressional action or administrative action. They plan to lobby on Capital Hill next week and continue to keep a watchful eye on timber sales in their area.
Sierra Club End Commercial Logging Web site - https://www.sierraclub.org/logging/ Oregon Sierra Club Chapter Web site - https://oregon.sierraclub.org/
[2] CLEAN AIR: EPA's New Houston Plan not Strong Enough
Dallas, Texas: The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club heavily criticized a new Enviornmental Protection Agency plan for Houston to cut local smog. EPA Regional Administrator Gregg Cooke approved the state's Houston plan Monday, but he acknowledged that it barely requires enough pollution cuts to meet federal requirements. Fred Richardson, the chapter communications director was quoted in the The Dallas Morning News (Oct. 16), saying "the EPA should instead reject the state's plan and present its own plan that would allow people to breathe easier."
Under the new plan the state is expected to flunk clean-air requirements posing political and legal problems for officials and more breathing problems for Texas children.
Sierra Club Clean Air Campaign Web site - https://www.sierraclub.org/cleanair/ Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter Web site - https://texas.sierraclub.org/
[3] ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Curbing our Dependance on Foreign Oil With CAFE
According to the Energy Information Administration, "slightly lower U.S. crude oil production in 2000, combined with slightly increased oil demand, led the United States to import an estimated 11.1 million barrels per day of oil during 2000, representing around 57 percent of total U.S. oil demand. Around 46 percent of this oil came from OPEC nations, with Persian Gulf sources accounting for about 22 percent of U.S. oil imports during the year."
How can we become more energy independent? Increase US miles-per-gallon (mpg) standards for cars and light trucks. By increasing average fuel economy from 27.5 mpg to 45 mpg in cars and from 20.7 mpg to 34 mpg in light trucks, we could save over 3 million barrels of oil a day. This would be greater than the amount imported from the Persian Gulf.
Cited Energy Information Administration Web site - https://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/usa.html
Sierra Club Clean Car Campaign Web site - htp://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/cleancars/
[4] TAKE ACTION: Continue to Protect Our Wild Forests
To date, the Forest Service has received an astounding 2 million comments in favor of protecting roadless areas in our National Forests.v But despite the overwhelming public support for protecting roadless areas, the roadless protection policy is on hold and now the Forest Service is considering weakening the policy, leaving our last wild forests open to clearcut logging, roadbuilding and other destructive activities. Right now, roadless areas in the Alaska's Tongass Rainforest are threatened by destructive logging projects.
Your help is needed! The Forest Service is currently accepting public comments on two interim directives until Oct. 22. Please send an e-mail or write a letter urging U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth to protect our wild forests.
Send a quick electronic letter - https://whistler.sierraclub.org:8080/takeaction/wildlands/index4.jsp
Write the Forest Service: USDA-Forest Service -- CAT Attention: Roadless Interim Directives P.O. Box 221150 Salt Lake City, UT 84122
Electronic mail: roadless_id@fs.fed.us
FAX: 1-801-296-4088 and 1-801-517-1021 Attention: Roadless Interim Directives
"Drilling alone will not get us out of our energy dependency. We've always known the reserves of fossil fuels are limited. If we're in this for the long haul, let's start thinking about the long haul."
Maura Wood, Southeast Regional Representative, quoted 10/14/01 in The Advocate of Baton Rouge Louisiana regarding drilling for oil in the Arctic Refuge is not the solution to freedom from imported petroleum.
For full story go to: https://www.theadvocate.com/news/story.asp?storyid=25222
Table of Contents:
[1] ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Former President Tours Memphis Industrial Areas
[2] AROUND THE COUNTRY: New York's GE Backsliding and Alabama Celebrates Family Farms
[3] WILD FOREST: Court Decision on Injunction May Take Weeks or Months
[4] TAKE ACTION: Stop Bad Wilderness Bill for Wild Utah
[5] TAKE ACTION: Stop Anti-Environmental Fast-Track Bill
[1] ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Former Board President Tours Industrial Areas of Memphis.
The former national president of the Sierra Club, Robbie Cox, spent last Wednesday touring heavy industrial areas of South Memphis where concerns persist about toxic lead pollution and hazardous materials. Cox saw neighborhoods adjacent to the site where a lead smelter stood for decades and where a sprawling refinery continues to operate. That evening he discussed social advocacy and environmental justice during a lecture at the University of Memphis.
In the past several years, the Sierra Club has hired environmental justice organizers to work with community groups to improve such conditions. Organizers are working in Memphis, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Detroit, as well as with Native American tribes in Arizona.
As Cox clarified to The Commercial Appeal, the environmental movement is "not just about rocks and trees anymore."
For more on the Club's environmental justice program go to https://www.sierraclub.org/planet/200107/justice.asp
[2] AROUND THE COUNTRY: GE Backsliding and California Defending Coast
NEW YORK - The Sierra Club ran radio ads for a week in the Big Apple and Albany, N.Y. shining a light on General Electric's back door efforts to weaken Hudson River PCB cleanup standards while the nation's attention has been focused on war and terrorism. Chris Ballantyne, the Club's Northeast regional representative, explained that GE is trying to get last-minute provisions the company favors into the EPA's order on the Hudson cleanup. The current clean up plan would cost GE an estimated $460 million.
For more information go to https://www.sierraclub.org/victory/hudson_cleanup.asp Or email Chris Ballantyne at chris.ballantyne@sierraclub.org
ALABAMA -- Despite rainy weather a Sierra Club-chartered bus was almost full of happy folks touring Alabama's family farms. At the first stop they saw how an organic farmer's grass-fed cattle were protected by donkeys and marvelled at the "eggmobile," a chicken coop on wheels that can be moved to different areas on the farm that need the chickens' fertilization. Other stops included a hay ride and non-homogenized ice cream. Of course the final stop featured a drive-by opportunity to see hog and chicken animal factories. After seeing the healthy, happy animals on the two previous family farms, tour participants were appalled to learn how many animals were being housed in tight quarters and how their waste was being handled at the factories.
For more information contact: Peggie Griffin, AL EPEC Organizer, Phone: 205-333-9153, email: peggie.griffin@sierraclub.org
[3] WILD FOREST: Court Decision on Wild Forest Injunction May Take Weeks or Months
On Monday, the Sierra Club, Earth Justice and other environmentalists asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel to lift an injunction on the rule that restricted logging and road building on our wild forests. But the decisions weeks or months off.
On the other side, lawyers for the state of Idaho, the Kootenai tribe, snowmobilers and livestock companies argued for the injunction. Missing in action was the Bush administration, which declined to appeal Judge Lodges' original injunction.
The Bush administration continues to claim there has not been enough public comment on the issue despite the largest public participation in rule-making history. Members of the three-judge panel expressed concerns that the environmental groups did not have the power to appeal since the government had chosen not to.
For more information go to https://www.sierraclub.org/wildlands/wildforest/index.asp Or email Tanya Tolchin at tanya.tolchin@sierraclub.org
[4] TAKE ACTION: Stop Bad Wilderness Bill for Wild Utahv The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on H.R. 2488 by Rep. James Hansen (R-Utah), which purports to make Utah's Pilot Range official wilderness but in reality actually jeopardizes this unique region. The Pilot Range, near the Nevada border, includes a wide range of habitats, from the Great Salt Lake desert to Alpine forests. Perennial streams in the Pilot Range are home to the rare Lahontan cutthroat trout, a relic species.
But H.R. 2488 fails to adequately protect the wilderness integrity of the Pilot Range and it excludes over half of the 45,000 acres of the lands that qualify for wilderness. This sets a bad precedent for future wilderness legislation.
TAKE ACTION
Please call your representative today and urge him or her to oppose H.R. 2488
For more information and talking points for your call, go to https://www.sierraclub.org/utah/pilotalert.asp
or contact Lawson LeGate at (801) 467-9294.
For more information on Utah wilderness go to https://www.sierraclub.org/utah/taskforce/index.html
[5] TAKE ACTION: Stop Anti-Environmental Fast-Track Bill
House Ways and Means Chair Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) is trying to use the crisis created by terrorist attacks on our country to ram through Congress a divisive, environmentally-destructive fast-track trade bill. His bill would expand controversial "investor" rules from NAFTA that have empowered foreign corporations to sue over our environmental laws. It also denies Congress an effective decision-making role in shaping future trade deals.
TAKE URGENT ACTION
Far-reaching trade legislation deserves a thoughtful, deliberate debate and shouldn't be rushed through under cover of crisis. Call or write your representative today and urge him or her to stop fast track. Dial 1-800-393-1082 (courtesy of the AFL-CIO). Ask for your representative's office and then the "trade legislative assistant."
For more information, see https://www.sierraclub.org/trade or contact dan.seligman@sierraclub.org
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