Earthhope Action Network environment action Alerts for April, 2003

from ETC Group April 1, 2003

ETC Group
News Release
April 1, 2003
www.etcgroup.org

Terminator Technology & Exorcist Technology:
New Issues and Old Controversies

The ETC Group (formerly known as RAFI) today releases "Terminator Technology: Five Years Later," a report on new issues and controversies surrounding the ongoing development of genetic seed sterilization - plants genetically engineered to render sterile seeds. Terminator technology is being developed as a biological mechanism to extinguish the right of farmers to save and re-plant seeds from their harvest, thus creating greater dependence on the commercial seed market.

ETC Group also reports on "Exorcist Technology," the biotech industry's recent attempt to develop genetically modified crops that shed their foreign DNA before harvest - with the help of chemical inducers - as a means of silencing anti-GM critics. "Exorcist is a new technology, but the basic strategy is the same - the biotech industry wants to shift all the burden to the farmer and society. If gene flow is a problem, the farmer will be obliged to apply a chemical inducer to excise the offensive transgenes. It's the newest bag of genetic tricks to fix the biotech industry's leaky genes and public relations problems," explains Hope Shand of ETC Group.

"We're still discovering new patent claims on Terminator, this time by Syngenta, and now the seed industry and the US Department of Agriculture are boldly extolling the virtues of Terminator technology for small farmers and indigenous peoples," explains Shand.

"Even more dangerous, industry is greenwashing Terminator by promoting it as a biosafety tool," says Jim Thomas of ETC Group. "The promotion of Terminator seeds as a biosafety mechanism to prevent GM pollution is biotech's Trojan Horse," explains Thomas, "If Terminator technology wins market acceptance under the guise of biosafety, it will eventually be used everywhere as a monopoly tool to prevent farmers from saving and re-using seed."

Even UPOV, the international body that promotes plant breeders' rights, concedes that Terminator has "considerable disadvantages for society." A new memo from UPOV explains that Terminator will hinder access to genetic resources.

If ministers of trade, agriculture and environment accept the US government's invitation to attend the Sacramento Ministerial Conference on Agricultural Science and Technology, June 23-25, the ETC Group recommends that the US government be held accountable for its role in developing, patenting and licensing Terminator technology. The meeting is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture (owner of 3 Terminator patents), US AID, and the US Department of State. "If the US government plans to showcase biotech's new and controversial agricultural technologies for the South in the lead up to the WTO Ministerial in Cancún, it should begin by explaining why it supports an anti-farmer, anti-diversity technology for use in the developing world - where 1.4 billion people depend on farm-saved seeds," advises Silvia Ribeiro of ETC Group.

Five years later, Terminator is not dead yet. Together with hundreds of civil society, farmers' and indigenous peoples organizations worldwide, ETC Group concludes that the only solution is for governments to recommend a global ban on suicide seeds.

The full text of the 10-page report on Terminator is now available:
http://www.etcgroup.org

For more information:

Silvia Ribeiro, ETC Group (Mexico) silvia@etcgroup.org
Hope Shand, ETC Group (USA) hope@etcgroup.org
Jim Thomas, ETC Group (UK) jim@etcgroup.org

The Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration, formerly RAFI, is an international civil society organization headquartered in Canada. The ETC group is dedicated to the advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. www.etcgroup.org. The ETC group is also a member of the Community Biodiversity Development and Conservation Programme (CBDC). The CBDC is a collaborative experimental initiative involving civil society organizations and public research institutions in 14 countries. The CBDC is dedicated to the exploration of community-directed programmes to strengthen the conservation and enhancement of agricultural biodiversity. The CBDC website is www.cbdcprogram.org

from American Lands April 1, 2003

To: All Activists

Fr: Lisa Dix, American Lands

Date: April 1, 2003

ENERGY BILL PROMOTES UNRESTRICTED PUBLIC LANDS LOGGING

Calls are urgently needed to House Resource Committee members to urge a no vote on Chairman Pombo's (R-ID), Energy Security Act of 2003, which is going to be marked-up in the House Resources Committee tomorrow April 2, 2003.
Phone

Rep. Nick Rahall (R-WV) 202/225-6065

Jay Inslee, (D-WA) 202/225-6311

Tom Udall, (D NM)                  202/225-6190

Mark Udall, (D-CO)                202/225-2161

George Miller,(D-CA) 202/225-2095

Jim Saxton, (R-NJ) 202/225-4765
Wayne T. Gilchrest, (R-MD) 202/225-5311

Rep. Dale E. Kildee(R-MI)       202/225-3611
Neil Abercrombie, (D-HI)        202/225-2726
Solomon P. Ortiz (D- TX)        202/225-7742
Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-NJ)        202/225-4671
Calvin M. Dooley, (D-CA)        202/225-3341
Ron Kind, (D-WI)                    202/225-5506
Grace F. Napolitano, (D-CA) 202/225-5256
Brad Carson, (D-OK)              202/225-2701
Raúl M. Grijalva, (D-AZ)          202/225-2435
Dennis A. Cardoza, (D-CA)     202/225- 6131
Edward J. Markey, (D-MA)      202/225-2836
Rubén Hinojosa, (D-TX)          202/225-2531
Ciro D. Rodriguez, (D-TX)        202/225-1640
Joe Baca, (D-CA)                    202/225-6161
Betty McCollum, (D-CA)          202/225-6631

from The Wilderness Society April 1, 2003

*******************************************
*Your WildAlert for Tuesday, April 1, 2003
*******************************************

This is an urgent request for your phone calls and
faxes to the U.S. House of Representatives to protect
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge yet again. Despite
the Senate's 52-48 bipartisan rejection of Arctic drilling
on March 19, the House continues to push its drilling
plans through every available vehicle.

The latest attack comes in the House energy bill, which
the House Resources Committee will begin debating starting
Wednesday, April 2. The measure will probably come
to the House floor sometime next week. Among its many
damaging provisions, the bill would open the Coastal
Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
and gas drilling.

Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA), Nancy Johnson (R-CT), and others
will offer an amendment on the floor next week to strike
the Arctic Refuge provisions. We can't be sure which
day the vote will come, but House leaders have vowed
to pass an energy bill before they leave for their
spring recess April 11. Two years ago, the House narrowly
approved an energy bill that would have opened the
Arctic to drilling. We expect the vote to be very close
this time as well and we can't afford to take even
a single vote for granted. Drilling proponents are
applying heavy pressure on swing members. Conservationists
are pushing back just as hard.

Because of the accelerated timetable for this legislation,
we urgently need you to call your member of Congress
NOW! You can reach your representative through the
Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Please make your
call today! We've listed talking points below.

It will help us in this immensely in this effort if
you will let us know by email (action@tws.org) what
you hear when you phone your Representative.

If you are unable to call, you can send a fax to your
representative immediately from http://ga1.org/ct/Bda4MzE1d116/house_arctic

**************************************
BACKGROUND
Despite the Senate's bipartisan 52-48 vote to strip
Arctic drilling out of the federal budget for 2004,
drilling proponents continue to press to open the Arctic
Refuge through other bills. The latest threat comes
in the energy bills being considered in both houses
right now. The House's version would open the Refuge
to oil and gas leasing.

Make no mistake: this bill poses a grave threat to
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate will
mark up its own version of the bill next week. In its
current form, the Senate bill does not contain Arctic
drilling language, but the House passes an Arctic drilling
provision, then a House-Senate conference convened
to reconcile differences in the two measures could
decide to include drilling in the final bill.

INCOMPARABLE HABITAT AND WILDERNESS
The rolling tundra of the Arctic Refuge coastal plain
with the snow-capped Brooks Range in the background
is a breathtaking sight. The Refuge is prized the world
over for its wildness, beauty, and the incomparable
habitat it provides to arctic wildlife, including wolves,
grizzlies, caribou and millions of migrating birds.
It is also the subject of an intense lobbying campaign
by the oil industry.

Oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic will ruin
one of our last great wild places, all for what the
U.S. Geological Survey concedes is less oil than the
U.S. uses in six months, and which wouldn't get here
for 10 years or more. Moreover, the Energy Information
Administration has concluded that drilling in the Refuge
would only reduce American dependence on oil imports
from a projected 62% of our total oil supply in 2020
to 60% at peak production.

The energy bill the House is now considering is very
similar to HR 4, the ill-conceived legislation that
passed the House in August 2001. In addition to Arctic
drilling, the bill would extend massive subsidies to
the fossil fuels industries. Other provisions seek
to "expedite" the development of energy projects on
federal lands, almost certainly at the expense of environmental
values.

In fact, throughout the bill, existing laws and policies
designed to protect environmental values are labeled
as "impediments" and "restrictions" on energy development.
Sacrificing our environment in order to make it easier
for energy companies to exploit publicly owned resources
should not be the foundation of an energy policy for
the 21st century. We need an energy policy that protects
our wild places and invests more in cleaner, safer,
renewable sources of energy.

***********************************
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Call Now!
Phone calls are the most helpful action you can take
because there is so little time. Please use the talking
points below when you call. The number for the House
switchboard, again, is 202-224-3121. Again, if you
could let us know by email what you hear when you call,
it will help us considerably in defending the Arctic
Refuge.

If you can't call, you can send a fax to your representative
immediately from http://ga1.org/ct/Bda4MzE1d116/house_arctic
. If you'd prefer to send your own fax we've provided
a sample below that you can draw from.

Thank you for helping us, once again, protect the incomparable
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And thank you for
being an important part of WildAlert, our online community
of wilderness advocates!

To find the fax number for your member of the House
of Representatives, go to http://ga1.org/ct/B7a4MzE1d11O/house-gov

***********************************
TALKING POINTS
When you call your congressional office, simply tell
the person who answers the phone that you'd like to
provide your Representative your opinion about the
Energy Bill. That person will take a message and may
also be keeping a tally of calls. Please express these
major points:

1. Please ask the Representative to support the amendment
to the energy bill that will protect the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.

2. The Arctic Refuge is an incomparable wilderness
and important wildlife habitat.

3. Oil development will do little for American energy
security; we need an energy policy that protects wild
places and invests more in cleaner, safer, renewable
energy sources;

***************************************
SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Representative:

I am very concerned about the attempt to include a
proposal to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
in the energy legislation now under consideration in
the House. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate
last spring soundly defeated a provision to drill in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And the Senate
defeated Arctic drilling again less than two weeks
ago. Those votes reflected the will of the solid majority
of the American public that strongly supports protecting
the Arctic Refuge. The House should stay the course
and reject attempts to drill the Arctic now.

We need an energy policy that protects our wild places
and invests more in cleaner, safer, renewable sources
of energy. Drilling in the Arctic will ruin one of
our last great wild places. But it will do nothing
to increase national security or reduce our dependence
on imported oil. The U.S. Geological Survey concedes
that the Refuge likely holds less oil than the U.S.
uses in six months and it wouldn't reach consumers
for 10 years or more. Moreover, The Energy Information
Administration has concluded that drilling in the Refuge
would only reduce America's dependence on imported
oil from a projected 62% of our total supply in 2020
to 60% at peak production.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has long been recognized
as a place too special to sacrifice for short-term
gain. For more than thirty years the oil industry has
tried to open it to development. Thankfully, Senators
throughout the past three decades have refused to yield
to the industry's arguments, despite international
wars, rising gas prices and budget deficits. I look
to you to for such far-sighted leadership. I urge you
to support the amendment to strike Arctic Refuge oil
drilling from the Energy Bill.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

*******************************************

You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://ga1.org/campaign/house_arctic/inbx8bzp7mi6

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://ga1.org/campaign/house_arctic/forward/inbx8bzp7mi6

We encourage you to take action by April 11, 2003

Despite Senate Vote, House To Push for Arctic Drilling

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:

http://ga1.org/campaign/house_arctic/inbx8bzp7mi6

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program.

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Congressperson

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am very concerned about the attempt to include a
proposal to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
in the energy legislation now under consideration in
the House. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate
last spring soundly defeated a provision to drill in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. And the Senate
defeated Arctic drilling again less than two weeks
ago. Those votes reflected the will of the solid majority
of the American public that strongly supports protecting
the Arctic Refuge. The House should stay the course
and reject attempts to drill the Arctic now.

We need an energy policy that protects our wild places
and invests more in cleaner, safer, renewable sources
of energy. Drilling in the Arctic will ruin one of
our last great wild places. But it will do nothing
to increase national security or reduce our dependence
on imported oil. The U.S. Geological Survey concedes
that the Refuge likely holds less oil than the U.S.
uses in six months and it wouldn't reach consumers
for 10 years or more. Moreover, The Energy Information
Administration has concluded that drilling in the Refuge
would only reduce America's dependence on imported
oil from a projected 62% of our total supply in 2020
to 60% at peak production.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has long been recognized
as a place too special to sacrifice for short-term
gain. For more than thirty years the oil industry has
tried to open it to development. Thankfully, Senators
throughout the past three decades have refused to yield
to the industry's arguments, despite international
wars, rising gas prices and budget deficits. I look
to you to for such far-sighted leadership. I urge you
to support the amendment to strike Arctic Refuge oil
drilling from the Energy Bill.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----

Sincerely,

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

If you received this message from a friend, you can
sign up for The Wilderness Society at:

http://ga1.org/wilderness/join.html?r=Gpa4MzE1A1zfE

from American Civil Liberties Union April 2, 2003

From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To: ACLU Action Network Members
Date: April 2, 2003

1) Wrong Answer to Victim's Rights!

The Senate Judiciary Committee is preparing to once again consider a misguided effort to amend the Constitution. You're receiving this special email because one of your Senators is on the Judiciary Committee and it is crucial that you speak out now to stop this amendment before it gets to the Senate floor.

The proposal -- the so-called Victims' Rights Amendment (S.J. Res 1) -- would, if passed, jeopardize the bedrock legal principles that the accused are innocent until proven guilty and that everyone in this country should have the right to a fair trail.

While many provisions of the proposed amendment reflect laudable goals, it is unnecessary, even counterproductive, to amend the U.S. Constitution to achieve them. Every state has either a state constitutional provision or law protecting victims' rights -- or both. For this and other reasons, victims groups including National Network to End Domestic Violence, Survivors Advocating for an Effective System, Safe Horizons and the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women are speaking out against this constitutional amendment.

Take Action! You can read more and help stop this effort to amend the Constitution by sending a FREE FAX to your Senators from our action alert at:

http://www.aclu.org/CriminalJustice/CriminalJustice.cfm?ID=9955&c=52

2) Support Oversight over the Secret FISA Court!

In the wake of government scandals about illegal wiretaps and break-ins carried out by the FBI during the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to provide oversight to intelligence gathering activities in the United States. In the decades since its original passage, however, FISA and the super-secret court it created have steadily expanded their reach to where they now pose a significant threat to the individual rights they were originally designed to protect.

In a rare public opinion, the FISA court itself criticized the government for going too far with wiretaps. But citing procedural arguments, the Supreme Court recently rejected the case, leaving those concerned about an over-reaching government with nowhere to turn but Congress.

The Department of Justice, for example, refuses to release even the most basic information about the FISA court, such as the number of Americans under surveillance and the number of times FISA information has been used in law enforcement. But bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Patrick Leahy of Vermont would ensure that this secret court has Congressional oversight without hindering law enforcement. Without this legislation, we will be denied the proper public accounting of this secret court's activities.

Urge your Senators to support the FISA Oversight Bill and ensure that secret courts have proper oversight!

Click here to get more information and take action:

http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=12219&c=110

************************************************************************
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http://www.aclu.org/contribute/contribute.cfm?ORGID=AA02

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To find out what more you can do to protect your civil liberties, please visit http://www.aclu.org/action

from Defenders of Wildlife April 2, 2003

A Bi-weekly Update from Defenders of Wildlife:
Working to Save Wildlife and Wild Lands

WOLF ALERT: Defenders suing Norton over weakening of protections

ARCTIC VICTORY: Senate strikes blow for environment and common sense

POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM: Pentagon seeks environmental exemptions

BIG CATS CHECKS: Four designs

SAVING FORESTS: Last chance to make your voice heard

DOLPHIN SAFE? Court hearing is next step in protecting dolphins

FLIPPER JOINS FIGHT: Dolphins hunt mines in war with Iraq

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Read the new Defenders magazine

1. WOLF ALERT: Defenders suing Norton over weakening of protections

Defenders of Wildlife has notified Interior Secretary Gale Norton of our intent to sue her for trying to weaken protections for America's endangered gray wolves. Norton wants to classify gray wolves in most of the Lower 48 states as merely threatened rather than endangered. It's the first step toward putting wolves under the control of states where politicians want to eradicate these magnificent animals. Meanwhile, in Alaska where wolves aren't federally protected, state legislators are considering letting hunters shoot wolves from airplanes or helicopters. Hundreds of wolves would be needlessly killed by this notorious land-and-shoot hunting.

Take action to help save America's wolves: http://defenders.spacely.com/alerts/alertsMain.cfm?orgid=wdn

Click here to read "America's wolves threatened again" in the just-released issue of our Defenders magazine: http://www.defenders.org/defendersmag/issues/spring03/wolves.html

2. ARCTIC VICTORY: Senate strikes blow for environment and common sense

Environmentalists are celebrating a great victory in the Senate, which recently voted to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling. This incomparable wilderness isn't safe yet, though. We could face a major vote on the issue next week in the House. If the House allows drilling, that could send the matter back to the Senate for reconsideration. In pressuring senators to vote with Big Oil, Secretary Norton derided America's greatest wildlife preserve as "a flat, white nothingness." But as the New York Times pointed out, the Senate "struck a blow for the environment and for common sense" by rejecting this Bush administration proposal for the second time. "It is plainly time to move forward in a systematic way with new ideas," the Times observed. "But the best we can do, it appears, is to beat back bad ones."

To read more of what newspapers are saying about this issue, click here. http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/editorial.html

3. POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM: Pentagon seeks environmental exemptions

The Pentagon is pressuring Congress to grant the military blanket exemptions from major federal environmental and wildlife protection laws in this country. But environmental groups are working to save the laws, which include the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act. A blanket waiver isn't necessary because federal law already allows case-by-case exemptions for the rare occasions when environmental laws might hurt troop readiness. The military controls 25 million acres of open space across the United States, home to more than 300 endangered plant and animal species. Learn more: http://www.defenders.org/habitat/dod .

To send a message to Congress on this issue, go to www.denaction.org and respond to Alert #221.

4. BIG CATS CHECKS: Four designs

Help save America's imperiled wildlife when you purchase Defenders' checks and accessories from Classic Checks. Select either our new Big Cats Checks with four designs (jaguar, lynx, cougar, and ocelot) -- or our logo species, wolves -- or playful dolphins to grace your checks and send a conservation message with every check you write! Save up to 50 percent off what your bank charges for checks: http://www.defenders.org/shop/checks.html

5. SAVING FORESTS: Last chance to make your voice heard

The deadline is only a few days away for public comments on the Bush administration's attack against America's national forests. Our Defenders' Environmental Network has generated more than 230,000 e-mails to the Forest Service and Congress protesting this attempt to gut the National Forest Management Act and throw open the forests to more unsustainable logging. But if we're going to stop this outrageous proposal, we need the support of everyone who cares about wildlife and its habitat. Comments will be accepted only until April 7. So please join our campaign today and tell your friends about this threat to our national forests.

To make you voice heard, go to www.savenationalforests.org .

6. DOLPHIN SAFE? Court hearing is next step in protecting dolphins

Defenders of Wildlife will join other environmentalists next week in urging a federal judge to save dolphins from death in the nets of tuna fishermen. The Commerce Department, under pressure from the Mexican fishing industry, is trying to severely weaken the requirements for dolphin-safe labels on tuna cans. That could result in the deaths of tens of thousands of dolphins every year. Our lawsuit asks the judge to stop the department from taking action until our case can be fully heard.

Meanwhile, we're asking schoolchildren to write letters to President Bush urging him not to roll back protections for dolphins. For more information, go to www.kidsplanet.org .

7. FLIPPER JOINS FIGHT: Dolphins hunt mines in war with Iraq

Dolphins are so smart they are helping U.S. troops locate mines in the waters around Iraq. Enough mines have been cleared to allow shipments of humanitarian aid to reach shore. Dolphins use their highly tuned natural sonar to seek out the mines. The safety of these dolphins is a top priority, the Navy said. Flown to the Iraqi waters in fleece-lined slings, they are trained not to make contact with mines but to place markers near them.

8. HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Read the new Defenders magazine

The spring issue of Defenders magazine features articles on new threats to America's wolves, on the plight of our vanishing songbirds, on the Bush administration's dismantling of decades of environmental protection laws, and on our new campaign to protect wildlife from Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

To read the online version of the magazine, click here: http://www.defenders.org/defendersmag/

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO DENLINES

DENlines is a bi-weekly update of Defenders of Wildlife, a leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. It is known for its effective leadership on endangered species issues, particularly predators such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders also advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400,000 members and supporters.

Defenders of Wildlife
1101 14th Street, N.W.
Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20005

Copyright Defenders of Wildlife 2003

from Earthjustice Defense League April 3, 2003

Bush's Proposed Forest Rules: A Gift to Big Timber

ACT NOW: COMMENT DEADLINE ON NEW FOREST RULES IS APRIL 7

At the urging of big logging companies the Bush administration suspended rules that were just finalized in 2000, and now propose a fundamental rewrite of the National Forest Management Act regulations.
These rules guide the development of 15-year management plans for each National Forest. To put it bluntly, the administration has practically proposed to give the timber industry everything they have ever wanted by:

Attempting to create weak and unenforceable standards for wildlife conservation.
Proposing that most forest lands should be available for industrial uses.
Attempting to eliminate environmental reviews for the 15-yearr blueprints that guide the management of national forests.

Please send a letter to the Forest Service asking them to drop this ill-conceived proposal. The Forest Service’s deadline for accepting comments on proposed new rules for managing our National Forests is April 7.

Thank you for taking the time to save your national forests.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Chief Dale Bosworth

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Official Comment on NFMA proposed rule changes

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am submitting this letter as an official comment to your proposed rewrite of the National Forest Management Act regulations as published in the Federal Register on December 6.

I am particularly opposed to the attempt to change what have historically been mandatory and enforceable requirements for maintaining viable populations of wildlife in our national forests into optional considerations that could be left to the complete discretion of forest planners. This flaw is contained in both of the alternative wildlife viability requirements presented in the December 6 proposal.

Similarly unacceptable is the proposal's indication that forest planning may be categorically excluded from the National Environmental Policy Act. As our nation's bedrock environmental law, NEPA ensures both full consideration of potential environmental impacts of planning decisions and meaningful public participation. I am also troubled that the draft regulations seek to create a presumption that national forest lands are open to logging and other development first, and that other uses of our national forests should be a secondary consideration.

The obvious attempt to create broad discretion throughout all aspects of these proposed regulations calls into question the very foundation upon which the National Forest Management Act was based. I urge you abandon these proposed regulations in their entirety and return to the balanced and accountable forest planning envisioned by the NFMA.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Take Action!

Instructions:
Click here to take action on this issue or choose the "Reply to Sender" option on your email program.

Tell-A-Friend:
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about President Bush's Gift to Big Timber.
Tell-a-Friend!

What's At Stake:

In late-November 2002, the Bush administration proposed a radical and sweeping rewrite of the forest policy that has governed the nation since shortly after passage of the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) reform legislation in 1976. The changes seek to eliminate or seriously weaken vital safeguards for all of America's 155 national forests, allowing reckless logging by timber-industry profiteers and the destruction of habitat for many species of wildlife.

Under this proposed rule, forest plans could be adopted and revised without preparing an environmental impact statement, leaving the American people with only minimum information about the environmental effects of Forest Service proposals. The comment period on the proposed rule ends on April 7, 2003.

Listening to the Timber Industry Not the Scientists

Industrial interests have tried for more than a decade to have the NFMA's wildlife management requirements removed, claiming they impede logging, mining, oil and gas drilling, and motorized recreation. When the regulations were revised in 2000, they did not turn out the way industrial interests wanted due to extensive scientific and public input. At industry's request, the Bush Administration pulled the revised regulations and promised to rewrite them. The agencies proposed new rule indicates the Bush Administration is listening only to industry in this process. In particular, the agency has indicated plans to discard scientifically developed standards for assuring that logging and other activities do not undermine wildlife conservation objectives. Other proposals attempt to undermine environmental analyses, compliance with the Endangered Species Act, and the ability of the public to participate in management decisions.

NFMA Requires Wildlife Be Protected

In 1976, Congress passed the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) to direct how National Forests are managed, specifically charging the Forest Service with maintaining the diversity of animals and plants on its lands. The law requires each forest and grassland to create a Forest Plan to guide how the land is managed. NFMA is based upon the premise that a comprehensive analysis of environmental impacts leads to better management decisions. NFMA's implementing regulations were originally developed based on input from a blue-ribbon "Committee of Scientists." The regulations require the Forest Service to maintain well-distributed, "viable populations of native and desired non-native vertebrate species" on National Forests. To comply with these provisions, Forest Service regional offices maintain lists of "sensitive species" -- those that are not yet officially designated endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act but for which there is concern and evidence of decline. These NFMA wildlife management requirements act as an early warning system by requiring that the needs of sensitive species are specifically considered in forest management before they become threatened or endangered.

In 1997, the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service began updating the NFMA regulations to reflect new knowledge and science. A second high level Committee of Scientists was convened to advise the regulation revision process. The Committee urged that National Forests be managed in an ecologically sustainable manner which maintains all native wildlife. Revised regulations based on their input, plus three years of development and public involvement, were adopted in November, 2000. Five months later, in May, 2001, responding to the complaints of industrial interests, the Bush Administration withdrew those regulations and announced plans to rewrite them. Their proposed rewrite was published in the Federal Register on December 6.

Wildlife At Risk

The National Forest System includes 155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands encompassing more than 191 million acres. Though much used for timber, mineral and energy production, and outdoor recreation, these forest lands also harbor much of the nation's biological diversity. National Forests provide habitat for more than 25% of the imperiled species at risk of extinction in the U.S., including more intact populations of these rare species than any other federal land system. National Forests and grasslands are therefore critical to safeguarding wildlife and biodiversity in the U.S. Weakening NFMA regulations, especially the wildlife viability regulation, will lead to the need to list more species as threatened and endangered. (courtesy of www.saveourenvironment.org)

Review the draft rule

Campaign Expiration Date:
April 7, 2003

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Earthjustice .

from Alaska Rainforest Campaign April 3, 2003

Help Stop the Assault on Our National Forests

Bush Administration Proposal Severely Weakens National Forest Protections
Make Your Voice Heard - 5 Days Left in Public Comment Period!

TAKE ACTION:
Visit the Defenders of Wildlife "Save Our National Forests" website (http://www.savenationalforests.org) to send a comment online.
(A sample letter and instructions for comment by mail, email and fax are included at the end of this alert.)

BACKGROUND:
The Bush administration has proposed to eliminate vital protections that apply to all of our national forests – including the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska. Protections that safeguard our drinking water by preserving vital watersheds, protect habitat for nearly 3,000 species of wildlife and assure that our forests remain American treasures for future generations.

Instead of listening to scientists, forest experts and the public, the Bush Administration has apparently heard only one voice -- that of his timber industry supporters who want to log our national forests without worrying about the needs of wildlife, the environment and the public.

Not that his timber industry supporters haven't already benefited from the president's help. His administration has already:
    * Appointed a former timber industry top lobbyist to set policy for the U.S. Forest Service.
    * Failed to recommend wilderness protection for a single acre in the Tongass National Forest, out of over 9 million roadless acres reviewed.
    * Rollback back Wilderness recommendations in the Chugach National Forest which at 98 percent road-free is arguably the wildest forest in the nation.
    * Opposed, undermined and failed to defend the Roadless Rule which permanently protect from logging and road-building our remaining 58.5 million acres of wild, road-free national forests.
     * Actively sought to exempt the Tongass Chugach from the Roadless Rule.

And now the Bush administration has launched its most far-reaching attack yet. Under the guise of simply changing federal regulations implementing the National Forest Management Act, they plan to eliminate or seriously weaken vital environmental protections that apply to every one of our 155 national forests, protections that have been supported by Democratic and Republican presidents alike since 1979.

Specifically, President Bush's proposal would eliminate a longstanding requirement to maintain native wildlife species on national forests; exempt forest management plans from environmental analysis; make forest plans meaningless by allowing projects like timber sales to proceed even if in violation of the plan; limit opportunities for public participation in public forest planning; and eliminate requirements for scientific input and monitoring and evaluation of plan impacts.

You can help stop this latest giveaway of our national forests. Tell Forest Service Chief Bosworth that the national forests belong to all Americans, not the administrations corporate friends in the timber industry.

Comments on there regulations are due by April 7th 2003.

****

To send your comments:

Online:
Defenders of Wildlife “Save Our National Forests” (http://www.savenationalforests.org)

By Mail:
USDA FS Planning Rule
Content Analysis Team
PO Box 8359
Missoula, MT 59807

By Email: planning_rule@fs.fed.us

By Fax:  Attn: Planning Rule Comments at (406) 329–3556.

****

Sample NFMA comment letter:

Dear Chief Bosworth,

I am registering my strong objection to the newly released proposal that seriously weakens protections for wildlife and the environment under the National Forest Management Act.

Mandatory rules to keep native species on National Forests are needed, especially since these forests are heavily used for logging, mining and oil and gas drilling. Maintaining our native wildlife must be required by law, and not be voluntary or subordinate to logging and other extractive interests. Mandatory environmental impact statements, scientific review, public participation, monitoring and evaluation are also needed.
National Forests provide sanctuary for millions of wild animals. It is the Forest Service's obligation to maintain species that depend on healthy forest habitats, and to prevent them from becoming endangered by excessive logging, clear-cutting, road-building and other extractive industrial processes.

Too many of America's National Forests have already been seriously damaged. I urge you to stop this proposal -- and protect our National Forests by managing them so they include healthy populations of all their native wildlife.

Sincerely,

NAME
ADDRESS

****

For more information on this issue or other issues effecting Alaska's rainforest, contact: Laurie Cooper, Forest Outreach Director (laurie@alaskacoalition.org).

from World Wildlife Fund April 3, 2003

Action Deadline:  April 10, 2003

We urgently need your help to oppose yet another attempt to open the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling.  The House of Representatives will vote next week on national energy legislation that authorizes drilling in the refuge.  The bill also proposes a flawed and unsustainable energy policy that would cause more global warming, pollution, and wildland destruction.  Caribou, penguins, coral reefs, estuaries, and other wildlife and habitat would all suffer from adoption of such a policy.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE SIMPLE STEPS BELOW TO SEND A FREE MESSAGE URGING YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO KEEP OIL RIGS OUT OF THE ARCTIC REFUGE AND TO OPPOSE THE OVERALL ENERGY PACKAGE.

You can have an even greater impact by also calling the Washington, D.C. office of your member of Congress and relaying the same message. To do so, call 1-877-703-9491 (toll-free).

Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.

**************************TAKE ACTION NOW!*********************

If you received this email from World Wildlife Fund's Conservation
Action Network, follow the steps below for taking action.  If a friend forwarded this email to you, go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=2012 to take action.

TO TAKE ACTION QUICKLY -- To send the message below, as is, to your member of Congress, hit "reply" to this email and then "send."  We will automatically send the message for you.

BETTER YET, ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR IMPACT -- Log in to your Personal Action Center --  http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=2013 -- with your email address (alerts@earthhopenetwork.net) and your password.   Once you are in your Personal Action Center, click on "Critical Arctic Refuge Vote" and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message.

If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help.

***************************LETTER TEXT**************************

Dear (your representative's name will be inserted here):

When the House considers the Energy Security Act of 2003, I urge you to support an amendment to be offered by Edward Markey (D-Ma.) and Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) to remove provisions that would authorize oil and gas development in the pristine coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The United States faces real energy issues that deserve consideration.  Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would do nothing to help lower the nation's gasoline or electricity bills, nor would it help reduce the carbon emissions that cause climate change.  The government estimates that only six months of economically recoverable oil exists in the coastal plain.

Drilling would devastate the coastal plain of the refuge.  A recent report by the National Research Council confirmed that oil and gas activities on Alaska's North Slope have taken a serious toll on the arctic environment and that the federal and state government have failed to do the planning necessary to minimize these impacts. The North Slope is a globally outstanding area for both marine and terrestrial wildlife species including polar bears, caribou, bowhead whales, and ringed seals.  The area affected by drilling is already the size of Rhode Island and is expected to double.  Therefore, I urge you to support the Markey/Johnson amendment and, if you haven't already done so, to cosponsor H.R. 770, which would protect the coastal plain of the refuge as wilderness.

I also encourage you to reject the overall energy bill.  Overly reliant on fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas, this proposal is a short-sighted approach to our country's energy future.  As a nation, we hold only 3 percent of the world's reserves of oil, yet we consume almost 25 percent of the world's daily production.  As long as this is the case, we will remain dependent on world oil markets, and we will pay the world price for oil, whether it is produced domestically or abroad.

The safest and fastest way to increase our energy security is to improve the energy efficiency of our cars, trucks, homes, factories, and offices, and to increase the use of renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, and geothermal.  Simply increasing fossil fuel production, at the expense of the wilderness areas and wildlife we all cherish, will not buy America energy security--in either the short or the long run.

Please do all you can to protect the Arctic Refuge and to support our country's transition to a sustainable energy future.

Sincerely,

Your name and address
will be inserted here

***********************END OF LETTER TEXT*********************

from American Rivers April 3, 2003

Tell your representative to support Representative Dingell's
hydropower amendment to the energy bill that will uphold existing
standards for protecting rivers and fish! PLEASE ACT TODAY - the
House of Representatives is aggressively moving an energy bill, and
the full House is expected to vote on the bill next week.

Take action today:
http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/index.asp?step=2&item=2573

The hydropower title (Title III) of the proposed Energy Bill will
undermine basic environmental protections for our nation's rivers and
will only further complicate hydropower dam licensing.  Legislative
action isn't necessary - collaborative efforts already underway will
improve the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) licensing
process without harming rivers.  The approach taken in Title III will
have environmentally harmful consequences and won't fix anything.
Because hydropower dam licenses last 30 to 50 years, the results of
this bill are critical to the long-term health of our rivers.

Please urge your member of Congress to oppose this unnecessary and
misdirected legislation!  Urge your Representative to support the
Dingell amendment! Visit:
http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/index.asp?step=2&item=2573

Representative Dingell's (D-MI) amendment would remove the energy
bill's ill-conceived hydropower title, which will make hydropower
licensing slower, more expensive, and worse for the environment.
Instead, the amendment would replace the hydropower title with
straightforward process changes - a compromise struck last year
between Chairman Tauzin and Congressman Dingell, and between the
environmental community and the industry.

Specifically, the hydropower title of the proposed energy bill
creates several problems:
1. It would decrease protection for public resources including public
land, fish, and wildlife by lowering the standard for agency
conditions;
2. It would vastly increase the red tape, time and expense of the
relicensing process; and
3. By excluding all parties except the hydropower applicant, the
proposed hydropower title would skew licensing outcomes toward
hydropower interests and shut out all other users of the river.

Please visit http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/ to read more and
contact your Representative.

Thank you-
American Rivers' Running Rivers Campaign
http://www.amrivers.org/hydropowerdamreform/default.htm

*************************************
Thank you for helping to protect and
restore America's rivers, and being a part of American Rivers' River
Action Center (http://www.americanrivers.org/takeaction/).

To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@amrivers.org

from American Lands April 4, 2003

To: All Activists

From: Lisa Dix, American Lands & Andrew George, National Forest Protection Alliance
Date: April 4, 2003

Act Now to Protect National Forest Rules:

1) Please comment to the Forest Service on the proposed changes to the National Forest Management Act regulations. Comments are due Monday April 7, 2003. Please see sample comment letter below.

2) Please use sample campaign materials-- press release, letter to the editor, and more to generate press on Monday April 7, 2003 in response to the Forest Service's attempt to gut NFMA regulations.

3) Get involved in the April 22 Day of Action!

_____________________________________________

SAMPLE COMMENT LETTER -- Comments need to be postmarked by Monday April 7, 2003

Please cc your Representative and Senators

(Thanks to help from WildLaw)

USDA FS Planning Rule, Content Analysis Team
PO Box 8359, Missoula, MT 59807
Email: planning_rule@fs.fed.us / Fax: (406) 329-3556

Dear Forest Service,

As an individual with an interest in how my public lands are managed, I am filing these comments on the proposed changes to the National Forest Management Act (NFMA) planning regulations 36 CFR Part 219. I believe that the proposed regulations violate several laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Appeals Reform Act (ARA), and NFMA itself. The proposed regulations undermine the very purpose of NFMA - to guide the Forest Service to manage the public estate in a manner that is sustainable and in the best interests of its owners as a whole.   For these reasons and the reasons outlined below, I believe that the proposed regulations should be withdrawn.

The proposed regulations are largely discretionary and are written so as to make them voluntary and unenforceable. "Shield's appear where "must, will, or shall's belong. Site-specific projects would not have to comply with the land and resource management plans (forest plans or plans). Interim amendments lasting four years could be issued without public review. The discretionary language and loopholes are meant to address problems implementing the current planning regulation and give forest managers more flexibility in designing and carrying out management plans. But, there has been no evidence made available to the public that shows any problem in implementing the current plans or that the new regulations would increase administrative efficiency. The Forest Service has neither earned nor justified the need for the greater trust from the public that accompanies more flexibility for the Service.

Most troubling about the proposed regulations is the fact that forest plans would be able to be categorically excluded from environmental analysis. This categorical exclusion (CE) of forest plans significantly limits the ability of the public to participate in the management of the national forests. With the CE, there is no opportunity for administrative appeal and there is no requirement that "all reasonable alternatives" be considered in the development of the plans. These limitations effectively exclude the public from the decision making process. CEs are accompanied by much more cursory environmental analysis than is done for environmental assessments (EA) or environmental impact statements (EIS), thus giving the public less information on which to comment and the Forest Service less information on which to base its decisions. Since they were mandated, the forest plans have always been the vehicle for evaluating the cumulative impact of multiple projects that an area could be expected to endure. This analysis of cumulative impacts is critical to maintaining the sustainability of our national forests and must be subjected to the rigorous environmental analysis embodied in an EIS. Forest Plans should not be categorically excluded; to do so violates NEPA, NFMA, and ARA.

There was no consultation with a committee of scientists during the formulation of the proposed regulations as there has been for every prior rewriting. This lack of independent scientific input epitomizes how the Forest Service plans on conducting all of its decision-making under the new regulations. There are no requirements for peer review, scientific advisory boards, adaptive management, or standardized monitoring. Species protections will be significantly weakened with the elimination of the requirement to monitor management indicator species (MIS) or do population surveys. There are no binding requirements to ensure the viability of species or safeguards adequate to protect the habitat of MIS or threatened and endangered species as required by NFMA. This shunning of science in the management of the forests will lead to the listing of ever more species as threatened or endangered, the decline of the productivity and resiliency of our forests, and the violation of the public trust.

The proposed plans clearly prioritize logging and natural resource extraction over all other uses in contradiction of the will of the public for whom these lands are held in trust. This prioritization of logging and the resulting de-emphasis of sustainability violates the Multiple Use and Sustained Yield Act (MUSYA), which requires that public lands are used to "best meet the needs of the American people," and the Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA). The public must be allowed to express its desires for the use of its lands and the Forest Service is under legal obligation to meet the public's management goals. For years the public has sustained its message that it doesn't want logging to undermine the many other resource and ecosystem values of its land. Any regulations that do not recognize values such as recreation, aesthetics, water quality, species habitat, and ecosystem integrity should not be considered.

I am also very concerned about the cumulative effect of the numerous proposals and actions taken by the Bush Administration in the last several months. Together these changes in the regulations guiding forest management would affect changes that could not be predicted or analyzed by looking at any single proposal. If all regulations are adopted, the total effect would be to allow the categorical exclusion of nearly every project on our national forests, eliminate most avenues available to the public for weighing in on public lands management, and eliminate meaningful consideration of the cumulative impact of multiple projects on a landscape.

Please withdraw these proposed regulation and thank you for the opportunity
to comment.

_______________________________

TALKING POINTS FOR LETTER TO EDITOR

… The laws that protect America's national forests are more threatened than any other time in US history.

… America's National Forests comprise some of the most biologically and economically significant land left on earth. The 191 million acres that comprise our National Forest system is the best wildlife habitat in the US for over 3,000 fish and wildlife species and 10,000 plants. In fact, more than one quarter of the nation's imperiled species are found on National Forests.

… Despite the high value of these irreplaceable treasures, the Administration in Washington, D.C has put career corporate logging lobbyist Mark Rey in charge of deciding the fate of America's endangered national forests.

… While the nation is distracted by the war on Iraq, Rey and the timber industry are working behind-the-scenes to re-write our environmental laws. Their goal: increase commercial logging and resource extraction by eliminating public participation and the laws that restrict logging.

… If Rey's corporate takeover is successful, logging corporations will have more authority over America's Forests than the Americans who own the forests.

… The American people overwhelmingly support the complete protection of National Forests from logging and commercial exploitation. We treasure our national forests for providing clean water, places to hunt, fish and camp and open spaces.

… Commercial logging and road-building in national forests costs us, U.S. Taxpayer's, over $1.2 BILLION a year to supply the country with only 2% of the wood we use.

… It's time we put local people to work restoring the damage caused by over a century of logging on our National Forests. The National Forest Protection and Restoration Act does this by permanently protecting our federal public lands from commercial logging and redirecting those funds toward ecologically based restoration. Learn more at www.forestadvocate.org and www.americanlands.org.

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE EDITOR

(Thanks to Joshua Martin from American Lands)

On Thursday, April 3rd, 107 members of Congress sent a letter to George W. Bush expressing deep concern about several proposals, which if carried out, would severely degrade our national forests and undermine citizen rights.
These changes are part of a systematic assault by the Administration on the role of science and public participation in the decision making process for our national forests. Without sound policies, our public forests will be left vulnerable to profit-oriented exploitation. The letter asks the President to withdraw these misguided proposals immediately. The proposals relate to the way the executive branch is enforcing, or failing to enforce, bedrock environmental legislation such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Forest Management Act. Specifically the letter states, "the cumulative effect of these proposals is a radical rewrite of national forest policy to the detriment of the public." Here in the state of (your state), (members who signed on), should be commended for this support for this letter. Those that did not should be called and encouraged to speak up, for their silence equals compliance with this destructive agenda. The Forest Service is taking your comments on these changes to the National Forest Management Act regulations until April 7th at planning_rule@fs.fed.us.
SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE:

(Thanks to Defenders of Wildlife)

Please feel free to change the quotes to your own. Press release should not go out until Monday April 7, 2003.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Embargoed until April 7, 2003

YOUR ORGANIZATION

107 Members of Congress, 325 Scientists, More Than 100,000 Citizens

Oppose Changes to Forest Policy

WASHINGTON - More than 100 congressional representatives today joined 325 scientists and researchers, including Michael Soule, Gordon Orians and renowned Harvard scientist E. O. Wilson, and more than 100,000 citizens in opposition to the Bush administration's efforts to radically change how the public’s 155 national forests are managed. The letters and emails ask the administration to withdraw proposed changes to the National Forest Management Act regulations, which govern all activities that take place in the nation's publicly-owned forests. Today marks the end of the public comment period on the proposal, which was announced in November 2002.

The proposed rule change would :

· Weaken safeguards for wildlife and wildlife habitats;

· Exempt forest plans from environmental review;

· Place sharp new limits on the ability of citizens to participate in the development of management plans for national forests;

· De-emphasize the priority placed on achieving ecological sustainability; and

· Reduce the role of science, scientists, and monitoring in forest planning.

The end result of the proposed changes would be to allow a dramatic increase in logging and the destruction of forests and habitat for many species of wildlife.

Rep. Nick Joe Rahall (D-WV) and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) authored the letter co- signed by 105 other members of the House of Representatives. It is the latest of four letters sent by senators and members of Congress since release of the proposal, including one from Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) and 10 other House Republican members calling for a review of the proposal by the National Academy of Sciences.

Unlike all other revisions of the National Forest Management Act regulations since 1979, the proposed rules were developed without the input of an independent committee of scientists authorized by the law. The regulations were just revised in 2000, after three years of public and scientific meetings held across the nation. The final 2000 revision was based on the recommendations of an independent committee of scientists.

"Excluding the input of scientists in this process is effectively rolling the dice on the future of many imperiled fish and wildlife species in the national forests," said Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D., the director of World Wildlife Fund's Klamath Siskiyou office and one of the authors of the scientist’s letter.
Details of the administration’s proposal :

·          Allow forest plans to be exempted from the analysis of their environmental impacts required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

·          Undermine public participation in the forest planning process. The rule would discount petitions, cards and other methods citizens use to contact their government. For this proposed rule change, the Forest Service filtered certain e-mail comments and did not include them in the official record.

·          Do away with the "population viability" rule that requires the Forest Service to maintain native species of wildlife in each national forest. The rule provides a clear yardstick for assessing the impact of logging on wildlife conservation and on forest ecosystem health.

The administration’s proposal adopts at least eight major recommendations made by the association that represents the nation's largest logging companies, the American Forest and Paper Association.

National forests encompass 8 percent of the United States and harbor much of the nation's biological diversity. They are home to more than 3,000 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and amphibians and more than 10,000 plant species, including 17 percent of federally endangered and threatened species and more than 2,000 species designated as sensitive. National Forests have significantly more populations of rare species than any other system of public lands.

GET INVOLVED IN THE DAY OF ACTION APRIL 22 -- EARTHDAY

National Day of Action
Protect America's Endangered Forests!

The Bush Administration has put career timber lobbyist Mark Rey in charge of deciding the fate of America's endangered national forests. At stake is the future of our National Forests and the species that depend on them. Also at risk is YOUR right to participate in decisions that affect YOUR National Forests.

The bottom line is this: if Rey's corporate takeover is successful, logging corporations will have more authority over America's Forests than the public.

Protecting America's endangered forests will require us to call upon our greatest strength - the American people - who overwhelmingly support the complete protection of National Forests from commercial logging.

We must also use this momentum to advocate for an ecologically driven and non-commodity based approach to public lands stewardship that will put local people to work restoring the damage caused by over a century of logging on our National Forests.

With your help, we will permanently protect American's endangered National Forests!

from Marine Fish Conservation Network April 7, 2003

Dear Advocate:

Because of fishing industry pressure the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) is considering weakening the regulations that prevent overfishing
and require the rebuilding of overfished stocks.  Please send NMFS your
comments – DON'T LET THE INDUSTRY SPEAK FOR YOU!  Visit
http://www.politicaloutreach.com/AA.asp?C=102&ID=98 for more information
on how your voice can be heard.  Comments must reach NMFS by April 16,
2003.

The potential for irreversible effects of overfishing continues despite
clear mandates from Congress to conserve and manage ocean fish
sustainably.  Over the years, increased fishing pressure has resulted in
populations of fish declining so rapidly that their long-term existence
has become threatened.  Evidence of the scope of overfishing can be found
in the 2001 report to Congress by NMFS on the status of the nation’s fish
stocks, which found that almost a third of all evaluated stocks are
overfished, experiencing overfishing, or both – 93 out of 304 (30.6%).

Despite this, the government is considering rollbacks to overfishing
regulations – and this at a time when the future of fish stocks is far
from bright.  Ocean fish are a finite resource needing more protection,
not less, to ensure healthy oceans and stable economies.  Please see
http://www.politicaloutreach.com/AA.asp?C=102&ID=98 to send a letter to
NMFS asking them to maintain the guidelines that will put an end to
overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks and NOT make changes that will
ultimately weaken implementation of the law.

Don’t let industrial fishing sectors have the only word – send your
comments today and help protect ocean fish and fishing communities
http://www.politicaloutreach.com/AA.asp?C=102&ID=98

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Background Information:

NMFS, the government agency charged with the conservation and management
of the nation’s ocean fish has published an Advanced Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPR), asking the public whether it should revise the
regulatory guidelines for National Standard 1.  National Standard 1 as
stated in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), says that conservation and management measures
shall prevent overfishing while achieving on a continuous basis, the
optimum yield from each fishery for the United States fishing industry.

Fishery managers follow a set of guidelines to identify when a fish
population is overfished or is experiencing overfishing (“overfishing”
refers to a rate of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the long-term
sustainability of a fish population and “overfished” refers to a
population size that is at unsustainably low levels); to develop
rebuilding plans for overfished populations; and to define maximum
allowable fishing levels.

The ANPR could be the first step in rolling back these important fish
conservation regulations.  To guard against this, we are asking citizens
to speak out in favor of saving ocean fish and fishing communities that
depend on them by sending comments regarding the ANPR to NMFS.

Please send a letter to NMFS and let them know that weakening the
regulatory guidelines for National Standard 1 is not acceptable
http://www.politicaloutreach.com/AA.asp?C=102&ID=98.

from National Parks April 7, 2003

Don't let the Department of Interior take us down the Road to Ruin

PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY

Dear National Park Advocate,

   We need your help to fight a new Interior policy that could allow thousands of miles of new roads to be built through public lands, including national parks. This policy, which could damage parks from Denali to Grand Canyon, revives a Civil War-era law, Revised Statute 2477 of the 1866 Mining Act, originally designed to encourage mining and western settlement in the mid-19th century. Moffat County, Colorado, already is threatening to build roads through Dinosaur National Monument. Alaska, Utah, and several California counties may claim road-building rights through some of our most treasured national parks.

   The National Parks Conservation Association has joined a nationwide effort to keep Congress from implementing this arcane law. Please join thousands across the country tomorrow, April 8, for a National Call-in Day to Congress.

   Representative Mark Udall (D-CO) is gathering signatures on a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton demanding that she not process R.S. 2477 claims. Please call your representative Tuesday and ask him or her to sign onto the Udall letter. Be sure to express your concern with how this land-grab scheme will jeopardize national parks by opening them to haphazard and indiscriminate road construction and other development.

   Members listed below already have signed onto the Udall letter. If your representative is named, please feel free to call to say thanks for protecting our national parks.

   You can call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your representative, or call your representative directly. Direct phone numbers are listed at http://clerk.house.gov/members/mcapdir.php .

********
Suggested script:

   "Hello, my name is _______ and I'm from (city, state). Please tell Representative ________ that I urge him/her to join Representative Mark Udall in sending a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton to protect our parks from the Interior Department's harmful disclaimer rule, known as R.S. 2477, a land-grab scheme that opens national parks to haphazard and indiscriminate road construction and other development. National parks must be preserved for future generations. Thank you."

********

   For more information about R.S.2477 and its impacts on national parks, please visit
http://www.npca.org/take_action/action_alerts/rs2477.asp .

   If you contact your representative, please email us at TakeAction@npca.org to let us know.

   Thank you for your continued dedication to protecting our national parks. Your calls and letters have helped keep Congress aware of park threats and, even more importantly, have let your elected officials know that these issues are important to you, their constituents.

Members who have signed onto the Udall letter on R.S. 2477, to date:

Anibal Acevedo-Vila (D-PR)
Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY)
Corrine Brown (D-FL)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Ed Case (D-HI)
Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Danny Davis (D-IL)
Peter DeFazio (D-OR)
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)
Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA)
Rush Holt (D-NJ)
Mike Honda (D-CA)
Jay Inslee (D-WA)
William Janklow (R-SD)
Dale Kildee (D-MI)
Tom Lantos (D-CA)
Jim Leach (R-IA)
Barbara Lee (D-CA)
Edward Markey (D-MA)
Betty McCollum (D-MN)
Jim McDermott (D-WA)
James McGovern (D-MA)
Michael McNulty (D-NY)
George Miller (D-CA)
Jim Moran (D-VA)
Grace Napolitano (D-CA)
Frank Pallone (D-NJ)
Nick Rahall (D-WV)
Jim Ramstad (R-MN)
Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN)
Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Christopher Shays (R-CT)
Hilda Solis (D-CA)
Pete Stark (D-CA)
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA)
Mike Thompson (D-CA)
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Thank you for your time and dedication to helping enhance and protect our national parks for present and future generations,
Gaby
NPCA Grassroots Staff

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
* To learn how you and your friends can become more involved in national park advocacy, contact our grassroots staff at TakeAction@npca.org. Take action! Tell your friends! Just go to http://www.npca.org/takeaction.

Comments? Suggestions? Tell us how we can improve. Write TakeAction@npca.org.

Visit us online at http://www.npca.org.

from National Wildlife Federation April 7, 2003

URGENT ALERT: Arctic Refuge Drilling Scheme Moving Through U.S. House

Dear Friend of Wildlife:

Despite the recent bipartisan Arctic victory in the Senate, oil lobbyists continue to look for every opportunity to force an Arctic Refuge drilling scheme through Congress. The latest attack comes in the Energy Bill that will be voted on by the House of Representatives in a matter of days. Among its many damaging provisions, the bill would mandate drilling in the Arctic Refuge coastal plain. However, debate over opening other key public lands to oil development, improving the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles and increasing the use of renewable energy technologies is also expected to take center stage.

The decisions made by Congress will determine whether the United States becomes a driver of environmental progress or simply continues to rely on 19th century fuels and technologies, increasing air pollution and laying waste to some of our last great, unspoiled wild places. As a result, NWF is working to encourage House members to oppose any energy policy that:

Allows oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge;

Rolls back existing environmental safeguards for oil and gas drilling on public lands;

Fails to raise fuel economy standards for cars, SUVs and light trucks; and

Does not include measures to diversify America's energy supplies with renewable power sources.

You can help by writing or calling your Representative and urging him/her to oppose any attempts to open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling. Ask them to support a clean energy policy that both helps the economy and protects wildlife, wild places and public health .

There are two ways to take action:
1) Call NWF's toll-free Arctic Action Hotline at 1-877-703-9491 and be connected to your Representative's office at the touch of a button;
2) Send a free email directly from the NWF website, by clicking here .

For more ways to get involved and help with NWF's Arctic campaign, go to www.nwf.org/arcticrefuge . You can also email alerts@nwf.org for more information.

Thanks in advance for your help!
The NWF Arctic Refuge Team

* We look forward to receiving your feedback. Please email us at info@nwf.org or call us at 1-800-822-9919.
* Stay informed about NWF's conservation efforts and latest calls to action. Click here to receive NWF's free EnviroAction newsletter.
* Click here to support NWF conservation efforts.

(c) 1996-2003 National Wildlife Federation. All rights reserved. Read more About NWF and Your PRIVACY.

from Global Response April 7, 2003

During the last months most of us have been working double-time as citizen
activists, continuing our efforts for environmental protection and
indigenous peoples' rights, and at the same time doing everything we can to
stop the war in Iraq. The world community was not able to prevent this war,
but we have emerged as a global citizens' movement for peace -- the largest
and strongest peace movement the world has ever seen. I believe that we can
be THE major force in creating a politically, economically and
environmentally sustainable world community in the 21st century.

While we all in our own ways work and pray for peace, it feels good to also
work on very immediate, tangible issues -- doing the work that creates the
kind of world we want to live in.

In this spirit, I'm asking you today to write a letter to help convince the
United Nations that it can and it must take action to prevent the extinction
of the Pacific Leatherback sea turtle. I sent this action alert out just as
the war was starting. In these terrible circumstances I know it has not
received the attention it deserves. If you have not yet written your letter
to stop the wasteful, destructive practice of longline fishing, please take
a few moments to write today. Longline fishing also threatens the survival
of 23 endangered seabird species and the food security of coastal
communities worldwide.

The United Nations can prevent a chain of extinctions in the Pacific by
declaring a moratorium on longline fishing -- but it must take decisive
action now.

Please write a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan. Global Response will
HAND-DELIVER your letter to the United Nations on May 6 (see mail/fax/email
instructions below).

We can act as a world community, represented in the United Nations, to
protect the planet's largest resource: our oceans.

In peace, for peace,
Paula Palmer

GLOBAL RESPONSE ACTION ALERT #2/03
SAVE PACIFIC LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION / UNITED NATIONS
March-April 2003

         “The decline of the leatherback in the last five years is nothing
short of catastrophic, and it is imperative that the global community come
together to eliminate the use of the most destructive forms of industrial
fishing before it is too late.”

         -- Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic

The nesting population of Pacific leatherback sea turtles has plummeted from
91,000 in 1980 to fewer than 5,000 in 2002, a decline of 95%.  Pacific
beaches in Mexiquillo, Mexico and Playa Grande, Costa Rica that are famed
for the annual arrival of thousands of nesting sea turtles, reported just 4
and 58 leatherback arrivals last year, respectively.

Marine scientists warn that unless immediate and significant steps are
taken, the leatherback, which has swum the oceans since the time of the
dinosaurs, will be extinct within 10 years.  The plight of the world’s
largest and most wide-ranging sea turtle may foreshadow a host of other
extinctions.

What’s to blame, and what can be done? In an open letter to the United
Nations printed in the New York Times on Feb. 18, over 400 scientists and
100 organizations said the main threat to sea turtles is longline fishing.
Global Response joins a worldwide coalition in calling for a moratorium on
pelagic (high seas) longline fishing and gillnetting in the Pacific.

According to the California-based Sea Turtle Restoration Project, longliners
set up to 10 billion hooks in our oceans every year in their quest for
swordfish and tuna.  Longliners cast a fishing line up to 60 miles long on
the ocean’s surface, dangling as many as 3,000 baited hooks at various
depths depending on the fish they are targeting.

But longlining is non-selective; any bird, fish, or marine mammal that bites
the bait or becomes entangled in the lines is caught.   Worldwide, the
accidental “bycatch” constitutes one quarter of the annual seafood catch and
is thrown overboard, usually dead or dying.  Approximately 40,000 sea
turtles are caught and killed by longline operations each year, and 23
species of seabird are in danger of extinction due to impacts from longline
fishing.

Longline fishing also contributes to the disastrous overfishing of ocean
resources, leading to depletion and collapse of fisheries that provide the
main source of protein for some 950 million people, mostly in the developing
world. The United Nations reports that over 70 % of global fish populations
are now overfished or at the brink of being overfished, compared to just 5 %
reported only 40 years ago. In addition to the direct loss of a critical
food resource, declining fisheries threaten the livelihoods of small-scale
fishers and the tourist industry in coastal communities.

A moratorium on longline fishing in the Pacific, in combination with strict
protection of nesting beaches,  can save the leatherback from extinction,
says Dr. Larry Crowder of the Marine Laboratory at Duke University.  Dr.
James Spotila of Drexel University predicts, “Longline and gillnet fishing
in the Pacific will end during our lifetimes. It’s just a question of
whether we stop now, while we can save the leatherbacks and provide help for
the fishers. Or whether we’ll allow this fishery to collapse, at which point
leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles will be long gone.”

Evidence of overfishing and wasteful bykill led the United Nations General
Assembly to impose an effective ban on driftnet fishing in the early 1990s.
Now is the time for equally decisive action to stop destructive longline
fishing in the Pacific.

How You Can Help:  Urge the United Nations to institute a moratorium on the
use of longlines and gillnets in the Pacific. If Global Response receives
your letter by May 1, we will hand-deliver it to the office of Kofi Annan at
the United Nations on May 6.

**********************
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
**********************

LEATHERBACK SEA TURTLES –
The leatherback is the world’s largest sea turtle, growing up to 9 ˝ feet
long and weighing almost 2,000 pounds.  It is the only sea turtle without a
shell, having a leathery carapace instead. The leatherback dives deeper and
swims into colder waters than any other sea turtle.  Adult leatherbacks have
been known to dive up to 1,500 meters (nearly a mile) deep.  It takes
leatherbacks 8 to 15 years to reach reproductive maturity.   Like all other
sea turtle species, they return to the beach where they hatched to lay their
eggs.  Sea turtles have lived on the Earth for 150 million years, since
before the time of the dinosaurs. All seven species of sea turtles are
endangered and protected under various national laws and international
treaties.

THE CONSUMER CONNECTION: SKIP THE SWORDFISH
Many environmental organizations are asking consumers, grocery stores and
restaurants to stop buying and selling swordfish for two main reasons:

1) The longline fishing fleet that targets swordfish is responsible for most
of the sea turtle “bykill,” especially in the Pacific.

2) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns pregnant women, children and
women who might become pregnant to avoid eating swordfish, shark, tilefish
and mackerel because of their high methylmercury content.

At the Sea Turtle Restoration Project website (www.seaturtles.org), you can
send an email to the Red Lobster seafood chain, asking them to pull
swordfish from their menu until longline fishing is stopped and
methylmercury levels in swordfish are found to be safe for all people.  Talk
to your grocer, too, and check out these recommendations for fish
consumption: www.nrdc.org/wildlife/fish/gwhichfi.asp.

***************************************

REQUESTED ACTION:
Please write a polite letter to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United
Nations c/o Global Response.  All letters received by Global Response by May
1 will be hand-delivered to the Secretary General on May 6.  Letters
received by Global Response after May 1 will be forwarded to the U.N.  Also,
please send a copy of your letter to the Secretary of the Fisheries
Committee, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Tell the Secretary General of the UN and the FAO Fisheries Committee that
you join a coalition of over 400 scientists and 100 NGOs in urging them to:

*  Institute a moratorium on pelagic (high seas) longline and gillnet
fishing techniques that harm critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea
turtles.

*  Urge fishing nations to reduce the overall quantity of fishing to enable
the long-term survival of targeted fish populations and the fishers and
communities who depend on them.

*  Provide transitional aid to fishers and communities who are impacted by
shifts in policy that promote the sustainable use of the oceans.

Mail Your Letter To:

Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General
United Nations
C/O Global Response
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306  USA
FAX: Int’l code+303 449-9794
Email: action@globalresponse.org

Please send a copy of your letter to:

Dr. Benedict P.Satia, Secretary
Committee of Fisheries, FAO
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome, ITALY
FAX: Int’l code+39 06 5705 6500 (or 3605)
E-mail: benedict.satia@fao.org

************************************************
COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION

This Global Response Action was issued at the request of and with
information provided by the Sea Turtle Restoration Project
(www.seaturtles.org) and Asociacion PRETOMA, Costa Rica
(www.tortugamarina.org).   For more information on sea turtle conservation:
www.seaturtles.org;  www.tortugamarina.org; www.cccturtle.org/contents.htm.
Leatherback sea turtle photos:  www.cresli.org/cresli/slides/crslides.html.
Longline fishing: www.hsus.org/ace/15050;
www.seaturtles.org/pdf/Longline_facts.pdf.  Ocean resources:
www.oceansatlas.org/index.jsp; www.fao.org/fi/default.asp.

***********************************************

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LETTER! OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, WE HAVE CELEBRATED
VICTORIES IN 44% OF OUR LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGNS!

TO ORDER HARDCOPIES of this Action Alert, please write to:
action@globalresponse.org. Action alerts are also available for teens
(Eco-Club Actions) and children, grades 3-8 (Young Environmentalist's
Actions). Free Teacher's Packet and 5-minute video.

TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION to support Global Response, see
www.globalresponse.org. We need and appreciate your support!

********************************
Paula Palmer, Program Director
Global Response
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
USA
TEL: 303-444-0306
FAX: 303-449-9794
Email: paula@globalresponse.org
Website: http://www.globalresponse.org

At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations, Global
Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental destruction.  Young people and adults in
92 countries participate in these very effective campaigns.

To request Global Response Action alerts by mail or email, or to make a
tax-deductible donation, please visit http://www.globalresponse.org.

********************************
Paula Palmer, Program Director
Global Response
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
USA
TEL: 303-444-0306
FAX: 303-449-9794
Email: paula@globalresponse.org
Website: http://www.globalresponse.org

At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations, Global
Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental destruction.  Young people and adults in
92 countries participate in these very effective campaigns.

To request Global Response Action alerts by mail or email, or to make a
tax-deductible donation, please visit http://www.globalresponse.org.

from US PIRG April 8, 2003

Dear U.S. PIRG supporter,

In January, the Bush administration proposed a new rule that would severely limit the scope of the Clean Water Act, removing at least 20 million acres of wetlands and many other miles of rivers and streams from protection under the law.

The Environment Protection Agency is currently taking comments on this issue, and it is very important that they hear from the public that weakening the Clean Water Act is unacceptable.  Follow the link below to go to our web site where you can e-mail the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=245&id4=ES

BACKGROUND

On October 18, 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to make the nation's waters safe for fishing and swimming, reduce harmful discharges of pollution and protect the nation's wetlands.  Now, 30 years later, this landmark legislation is under attack by corporate polluters and the Bush administration.

On January 15, 2003, the U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced the first step in a plan to re-write what waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act by releasing what is called an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.  The EPA is looking at what waterways should continue to be protected under the Clean Water Act, and in particular whether certain streams, ponds, wetlands and other waters should be removed from federal protection.  Since these waters, including small streams, ponds and even so-called "isolated" wetlands, are usually connected to larger rivers, lakes and coastal waters, ALL of our nation's waters would be put at risk of increased pollution and ecological degradation if Clean Water Act protections are removed.

At the same time, the Bush administration issued a "guidance memorandum" directing the EPA and Corps of Engineers to immediately stop asserting protections over ALL so-called "isolated" waters.

The term "isolated" is not defined in the proposal.  It is not a term used in the Clean Water Act, which for 30 years has protected all of the nation's waters.  Very few water bodies are truly "isolated" from a scientific perspective, since pollution in or destruction of even small wetlands, headwater streams, natural ponds and seasonal waterways will have serious effects on the physical, chemical and biological integrity of other waters.  But the notice of proposed rulemaking and the guidance memo open the way for developers, mining companies and other polluters to argue to the Corps and EPA that all kinds of non-navigable streams, small ponds, wetlands and other waters - even some small tributaries - are "isolated."

The Bush administration's actions place a huge number of the nation's waters at risk.  As much as 60 to 80 percent of the nation's streams are non-navigable or seasonal waterways.  The EPA estimates that about 20 million acres of wetlands - 20 percent of the remaining wetlands in the lower 48 states - could lose protection under the new rulemaking and the guidance memo.  These unique and ecologically diverse wetlands including some prairie potholes, playa lakes, poccosins, vernal pools and bogs.  Additionally, many small natural ponds, especially those that do not have a direct connection to a navigable river, are at risk.  These streams, wetlands and ponds are critical in helping to control flooding and reduce water pollution.  They also provide important fish and wildlife habitat and support a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities.

The Clean Water Act was enacted to "restore the physical, chemical and biological integrity of our nation's waters," but the Bush administration's new rules threaten to do the opposite.  If allowed to move forward, these rules would turn back the 30 years of progress made under the Clean Water Act and lead to significantly more flooding, pollution and accelerated loss of wildlife habitat.

Please participate in the Environment Protection Agency's public comment period on this issue going on now by telling the EPA that you oppose the proposed rulemaking and guidance that would weaken the Clean Water Act.  Follow the link below to go to our web site where you can e-mail the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=245&id4=ES

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org

P.S.  Thanks again for your support.  Please feel free to share this with your family and friends.

from Care2 alerts April 8, 2003

Action Newsletter features important steps YOU can quickly take to
help make the world greener. This is an urgent request for your
help in convincing the House of Representatives to protect the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge in the upcoming Energy Bill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Arctic Threat in Energy Bill
Despite the Senate's unequivocal 52-48 bipartisan rejection
of Arctic drilling on March 19, the House has now launched
an Arctic attack in the House Energy Bill, which will be debated
in the House Resources Committee this week.  This vote will be
EXTREMELY close, so your individual actions are critical - every
vote and every call count!

What you can do:
1) Support Pro-Environmental Efforts in Washington:
Swing members (check the list below to see if your rep is
one of them!) are being subjected to extreme pressure from a
well-paid oil industry lobby, so we need to push back! In fact,
House representatives who voted to drill in the Arctic last
year received nearly six times as much campaign contribution
money from oil companies as did reps who voted against
drilling. Thus, The Wilderness Society is making personal
visits to Capitol Hill and working non-stop to mobilize public
comments to urge our reps to vote to protect the Arctic. To
support the people doing the footwork in Washington, please make
a donation to The Wilderness Society here:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/5202

2) Call your Representative
An amendment will be offered to strike the Arctic provisions, so even if
your rep is not a swing rep, be sure to tell him/her to support it. The
accelerated timetable for this legislation makes your phone calls to
your member of Congress urgently needed now!

Call the Capitol Switchboard and ask for your rep by name:
202-224-3121
(See talking points below to help your call go smoothly).

If you don't know who your rep is, enter your zip code
to get his/her name and number:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/5203

2. Talking Points for Your Call
* The representative should OPPOSE inclusion of the Arctic
Refuge in the Energy Security Act of 2003 by supporting an
amendment to be offered by Edward Markey and Nancy Johnson
to remove provisions that would authorize oil and gas development
in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

* Drilling in the refuge will ruin one of our last great wild
places, for what the U.S. Geological Survey estimates is less
oil than the United States uses in six months - and it wouldn't
get here for 10 years or more.

* Drilling would do nothing to help lower our gasoline or
electricity bills, or reduce the carbon emissions that cause
climate change. The safest and fastest way to increase our
energy security is to improve the energy efficiency and to
increase the use of renewable energy.

* You are aware that House representatives who voted to
drill in the Arctic last year received nearly six times as much
campaign contribution money from oil companies than did
reps who voted against drilling. You want your rep to vote
the way YOU want, not the way they've been influenced to vote.

3. Swing Reps and Their Phone Numbers:
These Representatives are particularly important to call because
they could vote either way. Check to see if your rep is one of
them, so you can be SURE to call today and urge them to vote
to protect the Arctic. (In alphabetical order by state)

AL - Davis Phone number: (202) 225-2665
AR - Berry Phone number: (202) 225-4076
AZ - Franks Phone number: (202) 225-4576
AZ - Renzi Phone number: (202) 225-2315
CA - Baca Phone number: (202) 225-6161
CA - Cardoza Phone number: (202) 225-6131
CA - Dooley Phone number: (202) 225-3341
CA - Nunes Phone number: (202) 225-2523
CO - Beauprez Phone number: (202) 225-2645
CO - McInnis Phone number: (202) 225-4761
CO - Miller Phone number: (202) 225-4136
CO - Musgrave Phone number: (202) 225-4676
FL - Brown-Waite Phone number: (202) 225-1002
FL - Diaz-Balart Phone number: (202) 225-2778
FL - Feeney Phone number: (202) 225-2706
FL - Goss Phone number: (202) 225-2536
FL - Harris Phone number: (202) 225-5015
FL - Meek Phone number: (202) 225-4506
GA - Bishop Phone number: (202) 225-3631
GA - Burns Phone number: (202) 225-2823
GA - Gingrey Phone number: (202) 225-2931
GA - Majette Phone number: (202) 225-1605
GA - Marshall Phone number: (202) 225-6531
GA - Scott Phone number: (202) 225-2939
IA - King Phone number: (202) 225-4426
IL - Biggert Phone number: (202) 225-3515
IL - Emanuel Phone number: (202) 225-4061
IL - Lipinski Phone number: (202) 225-5701
IN - Chocola Phone number: (202) 225-3915
KY - Lucas Phone number: (202) 225-3465
LA - Alexander Phone number: (202) 225-8490
LA - Jefferson Phone number: (202) 225-6636
MD - Ruppersberger Phone number: (202) 225-3061
MI - Kilpatrick Phone number: (202) 225-2261
MI - McCotter Phone number: (202) 225-8171
MI - Miller Phone number: (202) 225-2106
MI - Upton Phone number: (202) 225-3761
MN - Kline Phone number: (202) 225-2271
MN - Oberstar Phone number: (202) 225-6211
MN - Peterson Phone number: (202) 225-2165
MO - Skelton Phone number: (202) 225-2876
MS - Taylor Phone number: (202) 225-5772
MS - Thompson Phone number: (202) 225-5876
NH - Bradley Phone number: (202) 225-5456
NJ - Garrett Phone number: (202) 225-4465
NM - Pearce Phone number: (202) 225-2365
NV - Porter Phone number: (202) 225-3252
NY - King Phone number: (202) 225-7896
OH - Ryan Phone number: (202) 225-5261
OH - Turner Phone number: (202) 225-6465
PA - Brady Phone number: (202) 225-4731
PA - Doyle Phone number: (202) 225-2135
PA - Gerlach Phone number: (202) 225-4315
PA - Kanjorski Phone number: (202) 225-6511
PA - Murphy Phone number: (202) 225-2301
PA - Murtha Phone number: (202) 225-2065
PA - Weldon Phone number: (202) 225-2011
SC - Barrett Phone number: (202) 225-5301
SC - Clyburn Phone number: (202) 225-3315
TN - Cooper Phone number: (202) 225-4311
TN - Davis Phone number: (202) 225-6831
TX - Bell Phone number: (202) 225-7508
WV - Capito Phone number: (202) 225-2711
WV - Mollohan Phone number: (202) 225-4172

4. Activist Tip:
If your rep is not on this list, it still helps to call your
own rep! It would also help if you shared this email with
friends so that they can contact their reps.

5. Inspirational Quote
"Nothing is perfect but primitiveness"
John Audubon

--------------------------------------------------------------------
To SUBSCRIBE, e-mail:     care2-alerts-subscribe@australia.care2.com

from EarthNet News April 9, 2003

From: "EarthNet Editor" earthnet@envirocitizen.org
Subject: EarthNet News -- Apr. 8, 2003

EarthNet News
... a project of EnviroCitizen
http://www.envirocitizen.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------
April 8, 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly, if you are watching the news, you know that
many civilians, soldiers and journalists have thus
far died in the war in Iraq. It is confusing to watch
the news and see Iraqis cheering for U.S. troops in
one clip and cheering for Saddam in another. It makes
you rethink your own place as a citizen of this planet--and
you might ask, "What do I cheer for?"
Take action and tell President Bush to spare as many
civilian lives as possible in SHADOW CONGRESS.

Peace,
Amanda Jacobson
EarthNet Editor, Student Journalist University of Tennessee
earthnet@envirocitizen.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Shadow Congress: Tell Bush not to use indiscriminate
weapons
2. Quote of the Week
3. At the Grassroot: Oakland plant shut down by community
4. Glimmer of Hope: Talk the talk and walk the walk
5. Mercy Mercy Me: New York's Dirty Dozen
6. Jobs and Internships
7. Events and Gatherings
8. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News Info

----------------------------------------------------------------------
SHADOW CONGRESS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TELL BUSH NOT TO USE INDISCRIMINATE WEAPONS
Write President Bush and urge him not to authorize
the indiscriminate use of weapons on Iraqis. The protection
of life, safety, and security of civilians must be
of paramount consideration in any action taken to resolve
the crisis. Indiscriminate weapon use could include
direct attacks on civilians or civilian objects; attacks
which do not distinguish between military targets and
civilians or civilian objects; and attacks which, although
aimed at a military target, have a disproportionate
impact on civilians or civilian objects.

**TAKE ACTION: Write Bush and tell him to protect civilian
Iraqis:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/y1qAAaF1yc-d/

**Learn more on indiscriminate bombing from IndyMedia:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/ydqAAaF1yc-c/
**How many civilians have died so far? Find out here:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/y7qAAaF1yc-B/

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

"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought
to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you
have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and
denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and
exposing the country to danger. It works the same in
any country"
---Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg Trials

----------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE GRASSROOT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

OAKLAND PLANT SHUT DOWN BY COMMUNITY

Citizens of Oakland, California shouted for joy when
Red Star Yeast announced it would close the 100-year-old
polluting plant--activists have said its emissions
of acetaldehyde, a probable human carcinogen, are causing
health problems from asthma to cancer in the neighborhood.
About 150 workers will be laid off, but many more asthma-sufferers
in the area will be able to breathe easier.

**Read the whole story:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/EpqAAaF1yc-w/
**The plant and environmental justice in Oakland:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/E7qAAaF1yc-2/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
GLIMMER OF HOPE
----------------------------------------------------------------------

TALK THE TALK AND WALK THE WALK
Straight from Grist Magazine

With the U.S. military pummeling Iraq, people looking
for a way to walk their "No Blood for Oil" talk are
turning to biodiesel, reports Salon. In addition to
imparting rebel cred, biodiesel produces 78 percent
less carbon dioxide than regular diesel and mitigates
the cancer risks of diesel exhaust by 94 percent (though
nitrous oxide emissions are slightly higher than those
from petroleum diesel). This summer, look for more
biodiesel evangelists trekking cross-country, trailing
their signature french fry (er, freedom fry) scent
and spreading the gospel of grease. While homebrew
operations abound, the biodiesel infrastructure in
the U.S. remains nearly nonexistent, with only about
50 commercial pumps nationwide.

**All the gas from Grist:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/j7qAAaF1yc-a/

**Environmental cost of gasoline got you down? Biofuel-up
here:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/jpqAAaF1yc-z/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
MERCY MERCY ME
----------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW YORK'S DIRTY DOZEN

One New York environmental group has announced it's
first annual list of the dirtiest polluters in the
state. "While many polluters pose a threat to New York
State, this year's winners are particularly notorious
for the dangers they pose to the environment and their
neighbors," said Bobbi Chase, Associate Director of
Citizens' Environmental Coalition. She noted, "These
are some bad eggs you wouldn't want to find in your
Easter Basket."

**Here's the New York list!
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/j1qAAaF1yc-1/

**California wins this year's "Crappiest Air" award:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/UdqAAaF1yc-x/
**Working women exposed to cancer-causing pollutants:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/U1qAAaF1yc-s/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: Full Time Internship
Organization: Grist Magazine
Location: Seattle, WA
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/EdqAAaF1yc-N/

Job Title: Media Officer
Organization: Greenpeace
Location: Washington, D.C.
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/E1qAAaF1yc-M/

Job Title: Field Team 2003
Organization: Maine Conservation Corps
Location: Augusta, ME
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/m1qAAaF1yc-S/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
EVENTS AND GATHERINGS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lots more events listed at http://www.envirocitizen.org/enet/events/index.asp

Event: Lobby Day
Location: Seattle/Olympia, WA
Date: 4/17/2003
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/mpqAAaF1yc-A/

Event: Colorado Sustainability Summit
Location: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: 4/24/2003-4/25/2003
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/mdqAAaF1yc-L/

Event: Shut Down the World Agricultural Forum
Location: St. Louis, MO
Date: 5/18/2003-5/23/2003
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/m7qAAaF1yc-_/

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ACTIVIST PHONE BOOK
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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

Go to Congress.org to find contact info for YOUR elected
representatives:
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/jdqAAaF1yc-q/

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from Global Response April 9, 2003

Dear Members of the Global Response "Quick Response Network:"

Many thanks to all of you who wrote letters on behalf of environmental
activist Farid Tukhbatullin, who was imprisoned in Turkmenistan. He's been
released! Here's the report from Amnesty International's Urgent Action
Office:

07 April 2003

Further Information on UA 04/03 issued 7 January 2003 and
re-issued March 5, 2003
Prisoner of Conscience / Unfair Trial / Fear of Torture

TURKMENISTAN

Farid Tukhbatullin (m), aged 41, civil
society activist and co-chair of the
Ecological Club

Prisoner of conscience Farid Tukhbatullin has been released, and
is now reunited with his family. His release came as the result of
immense international pressure, including letters sent by
members of the Urgent Action network.

Farid Tukhbatullin had been serving a three-year prison
sentence, imposed after an unfair trial in March 2003. He was
released from the detention facilities of the Ministry of National
Security in the capital Ashgabat at around 7.30pm on 2 April, in
accordance with a presidential order that had been broadcast on
television the previous day.

His passport was returned to him on 4 April, and on 5 April
Farid Tukhbatullin flew to his hometown of Dashoguz near the
Turkmen-Uzbek border.

Prior to his release, Farid Tukhbatullin had to sign a
"confession", repenting his "guilt" and promising not to engage
in any "illegal activity" in the future. On 2 April the
"confession" was published in Turkmen newspapers.
Throughout his pre-trial detention and in court Farid
Tukhbatullin had insisted that he was innocent. Amnesty
International considered him a prisoner of conscience.

BACKGROUND
Farid Tukhbatullin is the co-chair of the Ecological Club in
Dashoguz. He had been detained since 23 December 2002,
charged with illegally crossing the border from Uzbekistan into
Turkmenistan and of concealing a serious criminal act.

The latter charge concerns Farid Tukhbatullin's attendance of an
international conference organized by human rights
organizations, which was devoted to rights issues ranging from
freedom of expression to the rights of the child. Farid
Tukhbatullin was accused of refusing to disclose information
about plans of exiled opposition groups to carry out an armed
coup which, according to the authorities, were discussed at the
conference. Amnesty International and other human rights
organizations - whose delegates attended the conference - stated
that discussions at the conference forum did not include the
violent overthrow of the government. Amnesty International
regarded Farid Tukhbatullin as a prisoner of conscience, arrested
and imprisoned solely to punish him for his peaceful activities as
a civil society activist.

In a meeting on 3 March in Ashgabat with Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer, the chair-in-office of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Turkmen President Saparmurad
Niyazov had promised that Farid Tukhbatullin "will be released
soon". The next day Farid Tukhbatullin was sentenced to three
years' imprisonment in an unfair trial.

No further action is requested from the UA network. Many
thanks to all who sent appeals.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax:     303 258 7881

********************************
Paula Palmer, Program Director
Global Response
P.O. Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
USA
TEL: 303-444-0306
FAX: 303-449-9794
Email: paula@globalresponse.org
Website: http://www.globalresponse.org

At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations, Global
Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental destruction.  Young people and adults in
92 countries participate in these very effective campaigns.

To request Global Response Action alerts by mail or email, or to make a
tax-deductible donation, please visit http://www.globalresponse.org.

from World Wildlife Fund April 9, 2003

Action deadline:  immediately

We urgently need your help.  The president of Peru is poised to sign a decree that would undermine efforts to stop the destruction of millions of acres of rain forest in Peru.  The highly threatened jaguar, the harpy eagle, and the giant river otter are just some of the creatures that need these special places.

FOLLOW THE SIMPLE STEPS BELOW TO SEND A FREE MESSAGE URGING THE PRESIDENT NOT TO SIGN THE DECREE.

Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues.

**************************TAKE ACTION NOW!*********************

If you received this email from World Wildlife Fund's Conservation
Action Network, follow the steps below for taking action.  If a friend forwarded this email to you, go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=2355  to take action.

TO TAKE ACTION QUICKLY -- To send the message below, as is, to Peru's president, hit "reply" to this email and then "send."  We will automatically send the message for you.

BETTER YET, ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR IMPACT -- Log in to your Personal Action Center --  http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=2356 -- with your email address (alerts@earthhopenetwork.net) and your password.   Once you are in your Personal Action Center, click on "Urgent Threat to Peruvian Rain Forest" and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message.

If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help.

***************************LETTER TEXT***************************

Dear President Toledo:

I urge you not to extend the 1,000-hectare, small-scale logging permits in Peru.

Peru's Congress let these damaging and outdated logging permits expire on March 31, 2003.  Ending these permits is vitally important to the health of Peru's forests.  Extending them would completely undermine years of work to protect Peru's ecologically-rich rain forests.  The small-scale permits provide a huge loophole for illegal and unsustainable logging.

Small-scale permits are decimating some of the richest and largest tracts of intact tropical rain forest in the world.  The current rate of deforestation in Peru is an alarming 260,000 hectares per year.  These forests harbor threatened species of high commercial value such as mahogany and cedar, and also provide habitat for wildlife such as the highly threatened jaguar, the harpy eagle, and the giant river otter.

As long as the small-scale permits remain, larger and sustainable forest concessions will not be economically viable.  These concessions must be granted through a transparent, public bidding process and managed according to a forest management plan.  The positive result is that concessionaires manage these forests in a way that conserves biological diversity and maintains ecosystem functioning, while providing sustainable economic resources to the local populations whose livelihoods are critically linked to forestry.  Concessions are expected to result in nearly 5 million hectares being sustainably managed.

Instead of extending the 1,000 hectare small-scale permits, please do all you can to ensure that forestry in Peru is sustainable.

Sincerely,

Your name and address
will be inserted here

**************************END OF LETTER TEXT*************************

______________________________________________________________________
Direct any questions about the WWF Conservation Action Network to
actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org
______________________________________________________________________
The Conservation Action Network is sponsored by World Wildlife Fund-
US.  Known worldwide by its panda logo, WWF is dedicated to
protecting the world's wildlife and the rich biological diversity
that we all need to survive.  The leading privately supported
international conservation organization in the world, WWF has
sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries and has more than
1 million members in the United States.  WWF calls on everyone --
government, industry, and individuals -- to take responsibility by
taking action to save our living planet.

World Wildlife Fund
1250 Twenty-fourth Street, NW
Washington, DC  20037
http://www.worldwildlife.org
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org

from Save Our Environment April 11, 2003

Terminator & Exorcist	Energy Bill Promotes Unrestricted Public Land Logging	Despite Senate Vote, House To Push for Arctic Drilling

Wrong Answer to Victim's Rights!	Denlines 4/2/03	Help Stop Bush's Gift to Big Timber

Help Stop the Assault on Our National Forests	Critical Arctic Vote Next Week - Send Email	Defend Rivers from Hydropower Utilities

Act Now to Protect National Forest Rules	Critical Protections for Ocean Fish Threatened	Call to Halt the Road to Ruin

Arctic Drilling Scheme Moves Through House	Write Today to Save Leatherback Sea Turtles	Help Protect the Clean Water Act

Arctic Threat in Energy Bill	EarthNet News April 8, 2003	Good News from Turkmenistan

Urgent Threat to Peruvian Rain Forest	Save the Clean Water Act Deadline Approaching!	Write UN General Assembly for Ceasefire in Iraq

Tell McDonald's & Burger King to Protect Public Health	Arctic Drilling Passes House	ACLU's 1st-ever Lobby Day Take Activism to Next Level

Good News on Citibank Campaign	Stop Federal Funds for New Nukes	Buffalo & Elk in Yellowstone in Danger of Slaughter

Oxy Gets Sued! Protest Tomorrow	Urge Congress to Protect Environmental Laws	Speak Up for Marine Mammals Protection

Monsanto's Species- Wide Patent on Trial