home of the wildlife conservation environmental and freedom activist

I would like to start by saying thanks to all those who worked through out the past year to let their elected officials know the importance of international family planning. Your letters and calls have made a difference!

Congress voted to increase funding for international family planning.  The following is a summary of the agreement reached in conference committee.
------

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) applauds Congress for passing the Foreign Operations Appropriation bills that included good news for international family planning. The act includes an increase in funding for both the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).  Specifically, in FY2002 UNFPA will receive $34 million, a $12.5 million increase from FY 2001, while USAID will receive $446.5 million a $21.5 million increase.  The act also included a significant and welcomed change of policy on funding for UNFPA.

PLEASE THANK YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS
This victory is due to the hard work by activists and our champions in Congress- specifically Senators Leahy, Mikulski, Specter, and Representatives Pelosi, Lowey and Kolbe and their respective staffs for their work through out the funding debates. Please thank them for their support for international family planning. Contact information is below.

The legislation marks a policy victory for population activists as well.  In addition to increased funding for UNFPA, the bill dropped the long-standing "China-penalty" language. This language reduced the U.S. contribution to UNFPA by one dollar for each dollar UNFPA would spend in China in a given year.  This final deal does not change the U.S. contribution to UNFPA for this year, but the removal of the China penalty language is a significant policy win for supporters of UNFPA.  Congressional members had installed the "China-penalty" language because of concerns over China's one-child policy.  However, UNFPA concentrates its work in China in the rural areas where the policy does not apply and UNFPA does not enforce or support the one-child policy.

This bill represents a compromise between the House and the Senate versions. The Senate version included higher levels of funding than the House bill, but also included language, introduced by Senator Boxer (D-CA), to rescind the global gag rule. The global gag rule, an executive order signed by President Bush, withholds U.S. financial aid from international family planning organizations that use their own money to administer, or simply counsel clients about abortions, even if such actions are supported by an agency's non-U.S. funds and abortion is legal under the laws of that country. Before the bill went to conference committee, President Bush issued a veto threat if the language to rescind the gag rule remained in the bill. The National Wildlife Federation supported rescinding the global gag rule and is disappointed that Congress was not able to overturn the gag rule this year but will continue advocating for its demise.

Please join NWF in thanking the congressional leaders who fought for increased funding for voluntary international family planning. If you have any questions please contact us at population@nwf.org or 202-797-6800.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR OUR CHAMPIONS:

Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT)
Phone: (202) 224-4242
Fax: (202) 224-3479
Email: senator_leahy@leahy.senate.gov

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)
Phone: (202) 224-4654
Fax: (202) 224-8858
Email: senator@mikulski.senate.gov

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-1229
Email: senator_specter@specter.senate.gov

Representative Jim Kolbe (R-AZ-5)
Phone: (202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378
Email: jim.kolbe@mail.house.gov

Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-NY-18)
Phone: (202) 225-6506
Fax: (202) 225-0546
Email: nita.lowey@mail.house.gov

Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-8)
Phone: (202) 225-4965
Fax: (202) 225-8259
Email: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov

****************************
* WILD ALERT
* Friday, January 4, 2002
****************************

Dear WildAlert Subscriber,

Happy New Year!

The Forest Service has just released its plan for managing National
Grasslands in the northern great plains, a plan that shortchanges
proposed wilderness, opens more wildlife habitat to oil and gas
development, and fails to recommend any wild and scenic rivers in the
grasslands.  Your input is needed by January 22:
<http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=960>

SEA OF GRASS
When Lewis and Clark crossed the grasslands of the Great Plains nearly
200 years ago, they found a sea of grass teeming with massive herds of
bison, pronghorn and elk, grizzlies, wolves, foxes and immense prairie
dog towns. Today, most of this is gone. Much of the prairie has been
converted to farmland and oil development, and the losses continue
today.

Right now we have a wonderful opportunity to protect what remains and
restore a small part of this lost wildlife on ten National Grasslands
and Forests in the northern Great Plains. These lands include some of
the most outstanding examples of prairie left in public ownership.

NATIONAL GRASSLANDS ARE SUFFERING
Although these National Grasslands are supposed to be managed for all
Americans, they have not been treated well. Our public land managers
have poisoned much of the wildlife, including most prairie dog towns,
and allowed livestock to graze almost 100 percent of these lands. Oil
and gas development has marred the prairie vistas and destroyed
essential wildlife habitat. Now is our chance to change this.

FOREST SERVICE PLAN TAKES STEP BACKWARDS
The Forest Service's new plan takes a major step backwards from a
previously released draft. This plan significantly reduces the amount
of land recommended for wilderness, opens even more wildlife habitat
to oil and gas development, and fails to recommend any wild and scenic
rivers in the grasslands.

TAKE ACTION
Your comments are urgently needed by JANUARY 22 to reverse these
disturbing trends and protect America's wild prairies.  Please send a
letter today from
<http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/?step=2&item=960> or send your
own letter directly.  Tell the Forest Service:

- Our National Grasslands are in need of sound management that makes
native wildlife and habitat a priority. Please include the following
in your Final Plan.

- Manage for healthy populations of all native species on all National
Grasslands.  Priority should be given to adequately protect imperiled
species - such as the swift fox, mountain plover and ferruginous hawk
- and to restore native species such as the black-footed ferret,
bison, and prairie dogs.

-  Rest one-third of National Grasslands from livestock grazing
annually, to allow adequate amounts of taller grasses necessary for
several wildlife species. Livestock should also be kept away from
streams and wetlands.

- Prohibit oil and gas development where it is incompatible with other
uses, such as proposed wilderness areas.  Placement of fixed
structures should be denied for all remaining roadless, special
interest, and research natural areas, and other important wildlife and
recreation areas.

- Propose all remaining roadless grassland areas for wilderness
designation (45 areas covering only 574,000 acres). This is the best
way to preserve the natural character of these few remaining wild
areas.

- Aggressively work to consolidate federal lands now checkerboarded
with private lands, which makes appropriate management more difficult.

Your comments count! Please send your letter by January 22, 2002, to:
Northern Great Plains Planning Team
US Forest Service
125 N. Main St., Chadron, NE 69337-2118
EMAIL: cloop@fs.fed.us

You can download the Forest Service's "Northern Great Plains
Management Plans Revision" at
<http://www.fs.fed.us/ngp/plan/feis_summary.htm>

Many thanks to the Grasslands Wilderness Campaign and the Predator
Conservation Alliance for this alert.

***************************************************************
For a full list of Action Items, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm

***************************************************************
An archive of past Wildalerts can be found at
http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm

***************************************************************
To make a gift online to The Wilderness Society, click here
https://secure-net.com/tws/join.asp

***************************************************************
WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to you by The
Wilderness Society to keep you apprised of threats to our wildlands --
in the field and in Washington.  WildAlert messages include updates
along with clear, concise actions you can take to protect America's
last wild places.  You are welcome to forward Wildalerts to all those
interested in saving America's wildlands.

FEEDBACK: If you need to get in contact with the owner of the list,
(if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list
itself) send email to <action@tws.org>.

TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been forwarded this message and would like
to subscribe to the list, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/forms/subscribe.htm or send a message to
wildalert@tws.org with 'SUBSCRIBE' in the subject line.

Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America's
wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wild lands through
public education, scientific analysis and advocacy.  Our goal is to
ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water,
wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and renewal that
pristine forests, rivers, deserts and mountains provide. To take
action on behalf of wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org

EarthNet News  
... a project of the Center for Environmental Citizenship
http://www.envirocitizen.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 4, 2002  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In 2002's first EarthNet, ask the Forest Service to
stop mowing our wild grasslands and read a skeptical
review of the 'skeptical environmentalist.'

Also, we'd love to hear your greenest resolution for
the new year. Send it our way mailto:submissions@envirocitizen.org


--Zachariah Silk, EarthNet Editor  
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Shadow Congress: Stop Mowing Our Grasslands
2. Quote of the Week
3. Green Reading: The Skeptical Environmentalist
4. Jobs, Conferences and Gatherings  
5. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News Info  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHADOW CONGRESS  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The grasslands of the Great Plains were once some of
the wildest wilderness around -- an ocean of grass
crawling with massive herds of bison, pronghorn and
elk, grizzlies and wolves. Sound like the Great Plains
you think of? Probably not. That's because most of
this wilderness is gone and much of the prairie has
been turned into farmland or oil fields.

Like many of our wild places these National Grasslands
are supposed to be managed and preserved for all Americans,
but instead our public land managers have treated them
like a resource to be exploited. The folks charged
with stewardship over these lands have been busy dessimating
much of the wildlife to make room for livestock grazing
and energy development.

The Forest Service just released a brand new plan for
our grasslands. Unfortunately, it reads suspiciously
like the sad old practices we want to avoid. In fact,
the plan actually reduces the amount of land recommended
for wilderness and opens even more wildlife habitat
to oil and gas development.

Don't lose hope. We have until January 22nd to tell
the forest service what kind of plan we want for OUR
grasslands. We can use this opportunity to protect
some of the most outstanding examples of prairie left
in public ownership.

TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/Y7zGAZK1uPFF/protect_grasslands
Use the EarthNet Action Center to ask the Forest Servive
to stop mowing our wild grasslands.

FOR MORE INFO:
Forest Service Plan: http://actionnetwork.org/ct/H7zGAZK1uP-1/The-Plan
The Wilderness Society: http://actionnetwork.org/ct/YpzGAZK1uPF-/wilderness

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE WEEK  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A man could be a lover and defender of wilderness without
ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt,
powerlines, and right-angled surfaces. We need wilderness
whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge
even though we may never need to go there. I may never
get there. We need the possibility of escape as surely
as we need hope: without it the life of the cities
would drive all men into crime or drugs or psychoanalysis.

-Edward Abbey

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN READING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you haven't heard about a recently released book,
"The Skeptical Environmentalist" by Danish professor
Bjorn Lomborg, you sure will soon. The reason is that
Lomborg claims that global warming, deforestation,
extinction, air pollution, energy shortages, food scarcity,
and other environmental worries are "phantom problems"
created or inflated by the environmental movement for
its own ends. It may sound like phooey to you, but
the mainstream media have mostly taken the book at
face value calling it a "magnificent achievement."

Fortunately, everyone else -- including the world's
foremost experts on these issues -- couldn't disagree
more. The wily writers over at Grist Magazine [http://www.gristmagazine.org]
asked respected scientists and leaders in their fields
to address Lomborg's ludicrous allegations.

Below is a peak at the highlights. If you want the
whole scoop, go to http://actionnetwork.org/ct/G1zGAZK1uP-a/Grist_Lomborg


* EXTINCTION: Biologist E.O. Wilson -- two-time Pulitzer
prize winner, discoverer of hundreds of new species,
and one of the world's greatest living scientists --
debunks Lomborg's analysis of extinction rates.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/GpzGAZK1uP-L/Grist_Wilson

* CLIMATE: Stephen H. Schneider, one of the foremost
climate scientists in the United States, discredits
Lomborg on global climate change and takes Cambridge
University Press and the media to task for publishing
and praising a polemic.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/G7zGAZK1uP-S/Grist_Schneider

* POPULATION: Lester R. Brown, founder of the Worldwatch
Institute and the Earth Policy Institute, reviews Lomborg
on population and concludes that his analysis is so
"fundamentally flawed" that other professionals would
do well to disassociate themselves from his work.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/HpzGAZK1uP-q/Grist_Brown

* ENERGY: Energy expert David Nemtzow, president of
the Alliance to  
Save Energy, says Lomborg wastes his time battling
a straw man:  
Virtually no one in the contemporary environmental
movement disputes that fossil fuels are abundant, Nemtzow
argues; in fact, it's precisely their abundance and
their impact on our ecosystems that's the trouble.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/GdzGAZK1uP-z/Grist_Nemtzow

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are a sampling of the over 200 environmental
and activist jobs and internships listed at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/index.asp

Job Title: Summer Teacher/Naturalist
Organization: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Location: Townsend, TN  
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/HdzGAZK1uPFC/3795

Job Title: Field Organizer  
Organization: Transit Alliance
Location: Denver, CO
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/H1zGAZK1uPFV/3773

Job Title: Executive Director
Organization: Comm. Toolbox for Children's Environmental
Health
Location: Seattle, WA
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/TpzGAZK1uPFZ/3761

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCES, GATHERINGS AND VIEWINGS  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lots more events listed at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/index.asp

WHAT: College Climate Response
WHERE: Portland, OR
WHEN: 2/8/02 - 2/10/02
FOR MORE INFO:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/TdzGAZK1uPFD/966

WHAT: 8th Public Interest Environmental Conference
WHERE: Gainesville, FL
WHEN: 2/14/02 - 2/16/02
FOR MORE INFO:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/T1zGAZK1uPFJ/946

WHAT: National Student Animal Rights Conference
WHERE: Washinton, DC
WHEN: 2/15/02 - 2/17/02
FOR MORE INFO:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/T7zGAZK1uPFK/987

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVIST PHONE BOOK  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.3121  
White House Comment Line: 202.456.1111  

White House Address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington,
DC 20500  
Senate Address: US Senate, Washington, DC 20510  
House Address: US House of Representatives, Washington,
DC 20515  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write your own short articles for submission to EarthNet.
We are particularly interested in articles about student
activism on your campus. The email accounts for EarthNet
News are:  
For general comments: mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org

Submit Jobs/Internships/Volunteer listings at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/jobs/add.asp

Submit Events at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/add.asp

--------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below and tell your friends about
this important issue!

http://actionnetwork.org/join-forward.html?domain=san&r=U7zGAZK1uuDZ

If you received this message from a friend, you can
sign up for Student Action Network at:

http://actionnetwork.org/san/join.html?r=U7zGAZK1uuDZE

========================================
Natural Resources Defense Council's

CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT

NRDC's California Activist Network was formed to mobilize and provide
action tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the
state's extraordinary wealth of natural treasures and the health of
its citizens.

January 7, 2002 (Happy New Year!)
========================================
In This Issue:

--Action alerts--

1. Speak out to help restore the state's two largest river ecosystems

2. Don't let state legislators cut funds for important environmental
programs

--Updates on Previous alerts--

1. Los Angeles urban park victory

======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action Center, which
includes tools for taking action easily online, at
http://www.nrdc.org/action

(Please do not reply to this message; see the instructions below for
how to unsubscribe or contact NRDC with questions or comments.)

=============
Action alerts
=============

1. Speak out to help restore the state's two largest river ecosystems

Recent floods (like those in 1997) demonstrated the need to improve
California's flood management. At the same time, water diversion
projects, along with dams, levees and land conversion, have resulted
in the loss of over 95 percent of the forests and wetlands along the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers (the state's two largest), as well
as massive declines in California's wildlife and the listing of
several endangered species. Flood management infrastructure profoundly
affects river ecosystems; the needs of both can be addressed
simultaneously, however, to achieve river restoration *and* better
flood management. The US Army Corps of Engineers and the California
Reclamation Board are jointly developing a plan (the Comprehensive
Study) for the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to do just that.

But the vast majority of the Comprehensive Study's efforts to date
have focused on using outdated, ineffective and environmentally
harmful approaches to flood management. The current version of the
draft plan proposes levees which constrain the rivers in narrow
corridors, provides little or no habitat restoration and relies on
expensive dam construction instead of natural floodplains for
temporary storage of flood waters. The plan also lacks coordination
with California's CALFED program to restore the San Francisco
Bay-Delta and the San Joaquin and Sacramento river ecosystems, greatly
increasing the likelihood of failure for both efforts -- to the
detriment of the people and wildlife of California.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Reclamation Board are currently
revising the draft plan.

== What to do ==
Contact the lead representatives of the California Reclamation Board
and the Sacramento District Office of the US Army Corps of Engineers
and tell them you want the Comprehensive Study to help restore the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.

== Contact information ==
You can send a message directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at
http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact information and sample
letter below to send your own message, and please include your own
reasons why restoring California's river ecosystems is important to
you.

Colonel Michael J. Conrad Jr., District Engineer
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District
1325 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:  916-557-7490
Fax:  916-557-7859
Email:  jjeffery@spk.usace.army.mil

Betsy A. Marchand, President
California Reclamation Board
1416 Ninth Street, Room 1601
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:  916-653-5434
Fax:  916-653-5805
Email:  lorib@water.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Ensure the Comprehensive Study helps restore the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers

Dear Colonel Conrad and Ms. Marchand,

I am concerned about the Comprehensive Study's current failure to
incorporate ecosystem restoration and coordinate with the CALFED
Bay-Delta restoration program. The lack of flood protection
demonstrated in 1997 and the loss of over 95 percent of our historic
wetland and forest habitats demand immediate attention. The
Comprehensive Study represents an opportunity to provide long-needed
improvements not just to our flood management system but also to the
highly degraded Sacramento and San Joaquin river ecosystems.

We can achieve both flood protection and ecosystem restoration, as
well as the preservation of California's agricultural lands. I urge
you to ensure the success of the Comprehensive Study's efforts to meet
these goals by:

1) integrating with CALFED's ecosystem restoration efforts to prevent
unintentional conflicts between these programs;

2) creating habitat corridors, which are essential for ecosystem
restoration; and

3) using natural floodplains, which help preserve agricultural areas
and provide important habitat for migratory birds and native fish, for
temporary flood storage.

Flood protection has historically come at the expense of wildlife that
depend on our rivers for habitat. It's time to repair the damage and
find more creative and effective solutions.  

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

2. Don't let state legislators cut funds for important environmental
programs

For the past few years, California's state budget has included more
funds for protecting the environment and public health than it had
previously. As a result, programs supporting clean beaches, clean
school buses, zero-emission vehicles, stormwater management, and water
and energy conservation are now well developed and have been reaping
benefits for the state's environment and citizens. But now, facing the
prospect of a $2-$4 billion shortfall in the current fiscal year and
another $12 billion deficit in the next cycle, state decisionmakers
are grappling with some hard choices about how to balance the books
(California, unlike the federal government, has a state constitutional
mandate to balance the budget each year).  

State environment and public health programs account for only about
two percent of the $100+ billion annual budget but, in the past,
environmental programs have all too often been first on the chopping
block when times are lean. The Senate and Assembly begin work on the
budget upon their return to Sacramento later this month; Governor
Davis will present his proposed budget on January 15th.

== What to do ==
Contact Robert Hertzberg, Speaker of the Assembly, and remind him that
a clean and safe environment is good for the economy and does not hurt
the budget.

== Contact information ==
You can send an email or fax to Speaker Hertzberg directly from NRDC's
Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact
information and sample letter below to send your own message, and
please include your own reasons why protecting California's air, land,
water and health is important to you.

Assemblymember Robert M. Hertzberg
Speaker of the Assembly
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:  916-319-2040
Fax:  916-319-2140
Email:  robert.hertzberg@asm.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Don't cut environmental funding in this year's budget

Dear Speaker Hertzberg,

I urge you not to reduce funding in this year's state budget for
environmental programs that safeguard California's air, land and
water. For the past three years California has made progress in
rebuilding many of the core agencies and programs that protect the
state's environment. These programs are already quite lean and should
be sustained to the maximum extent possible (and in any case should
not be disproportionately cut).

Please ensure adequate funding for essential environmental agencies in
the Resources Agency and CALEPA, including the Air Resources Board,
State Water Resources Control Board, Department of Fish and Game,
Coastal Commission, Parks Department, Department of Pesticide
Regulation and others, to effectively carry out their missions and
achieve their goals. The hard-won improvements to California's ability
to protect our environment and health should not be lost, even in this
challenging fiscal climate.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

==========================
Updates on Previous alerts
==========================

LOS ANGELES URBAN PARK VICTORY
Many of you may remember taking action concerning the Los Angeles
"Cornfield," a former rail yard located between Chinatown and the Los
Angeles River that had been slated for industrial warehouse
development. In July 2000 we asked you to contact then-mayor Riordan,
urging him to reject the development plan. At about the same time,
NRDC and a coalition of other environmental groups convinced the
developers to sell the land to the state, a proposition that would
work only if the money was there to back it up. So one year ago, in
January 2001, we asked you to urge Governor Davis to allocate state
budget funds to purchase the Cornfield and convert it into a downtown
park.

On December 21st Governor Davis gave Californians a wonderful holiday
present when he announced the state would allocate $36 million of
Proposition 12 parks bond funds to buy and convert the Cornfield.
During 2002, arsenic and other toxins will be removed from the land,
and the park is scheduled to open to the public by the end of the
year. An additional $22.5 million has been allocated to buy Taylor
Yards, another former rail yard along the river that a developer had
wanted to turn into an industrial park. Together, these two historic
purchases are helping state and local activists realize a dream to
create an "emerald chain" of park land along the Los Angeles River.
Many thanks to all of you who contacted city and state officials in
support of the park project over the last year and a half -- you
helped write this story's exceptionally happy ending!

==================================================
About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
==================================================

NRDC distributes three bulletins by email. To subscribe to any or all
of them or to join our activist networks, go to:
http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/subscribe.asp.

If you already subscribe and want to change your subscriptions or
update your email address or other information, go to:
http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/profileeditor
(or see the unsubscribe information below).

The CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT is distributed monthly to
members of NRDC's California Activist Network and provides action
tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the state's
natural resources and the health of its citizens. To unsubscribe from
the California Activist Network Action Alert, send an email message to
wildcalifornia@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the subject line.

EARTH ACTION is sent biweekly and calls out urgent environmental
issues at the national level and from around the country. To
unsubscribe from Earth Action, send an email message to
earthaction@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the subject line.

LEGISLATIVE WATCH is sent biweekly when Congress is in session and
tracks environmental bills moving through the federal legislature. To
unsubscribe from Legislative Watch, send an email message to
legwatch@nrdcaction.org with REMOVE in the subject line.

==========
About NRDC
==========

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental
organization with over 500,000 members nationwide and a staff of
scientists, attorneys and environmental experts. Our mission is to
protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and ensure a safe and
healthy environment for all living things.

For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC,
please contact us at:

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
California Activist Network email: wildcalifornia@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org

Also visit:
BioGems -- Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org

===========

The new issue of E/The Environmental Magazine is now online at emagazine.com. Check it out at:

<http://www.emagazine.com>

This issue features the following articles, among many others...

+++++ SPECIAL REPORT: The Case Against Meat
<http://www.emagazine.com/january-february_2002/0102feat1.html>
There has never been a better time for environmentalists to become vegetarians. Evidence of the environmental impacts of a meat-based diet is piling up at the same time its health effects are becoming better known. Meanwhile, modern factory farming methods have given rise to recent, highly publicized epidemics of meat-borne illnesses... By Jim Motavalli

+++++ CURRENTS: Clean Coal? New Technologies Reduce Emissions, but Sharp Criticisms Persist
<http://www.emagazine.com/january-february_2002/0102curr_coal.html>
Most environmentalists cringed when they heard the words “clean” and “coal” used together in Vice President Dick Cheney’s energy plan. Coal is unpopular enough with the general public, but among the environmentally aware, it ranks only slightly higher than drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But the Bush Administration is making a major push for clean coal... By Lisa Kosanovic

+++++ GREEN LIVING MONEY MATTERS: Preservation via Land Trusts
<http://www.emagazine.com/january-february_2002/0102gl_money.html>
Land trusts are an option more and more environmentally conscious property owners are choosing. Land trusts, nonprofit organizations that protect environmentally significant acreage, are the fastest-growing arm of the conservation movement. More than 1,200 land trusts exist today, up from 53 in 1950, according to the Land Trust Alliance. The majority of these organizations operate locally, focusing their efforts on just one county, one watershed, one forest or one island... By Nathan Hill

SEARCH THE E MAGAZINE ONLINE ARCHIVE

The emagazine.com archive is a keyword-searchable collection of past articles from five years of articles from E/The Environmental Magazine. So come see what you're missing at...

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Dear Defender,

Field staff report that the latest count indicates there are 572
wolves in the Northern Rockies! Thanks to you this wolf restoration
program is one of America's crowning conservation victories.

But these magnificent wolves face great danger. Powerful politicians
and special interests are now pressuring the federal government to
remove protections for these wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

This would put wolves at the mercy of state governments -– like in
Idaho where the politicians want to rid the state of wolves by
whatever means necessary.

We're counting on your renewed support to help us safeguard these
wolf packs. If you haven't sent your 2002 renewal yet, I do hope you
will today! Your renewal will make a lifesaving difference to
protect America's imperilled wildlife.

We've set up three easy ways you can renew your tax-deductible support:

** You can call 1-800-385-9712 and make your contribution by credit
card -- Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover. Our
operators are available from 7:00 a.m. to midnight eastern time,
7 days a week.

**You can renew online and make your credit card gift through our
secure system at http://www.defenders.org/renewals/02.html

**You can mail your renewal check to our NEW renewal processing
address at: Defenders of Wildlife, P.O. Box 1553, Merrifield,
Virginia 22116-1553.

You'll see from my letter I just mailed you how carefully and
effectively we spend donations from caring supporters like you.
We take pride in that Worth magazine has just named Defenders of
Wildlife as one of America's best charities.

Best wishes for the new year!

Kate Mathews
Vice President for Membership