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As I write this, thousands of baby harp seals are being slaughtered on the ice fields off Canada's east coast. IFAW needs your support to stop the killing: http://www.care2.com/go/z/12395 This annual Canadian seal hunt is happening right now, with the dawn of spring and young seal pups are born. In fact, over 95% of the seals killed during this hunt are just days or weeks old. If you were to witness this personally, your heart would break. Help now! Donate here: http://www.care2.com/go/z/12395 Hundreds of acts of animal abuse and violations of Canada's criminal code have been documented by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) during this hunt: baby seals impaled on hooks ... seals skinned alive or wounded and left to die under the ice. And now these seals need your help more than ever before. http://www.care2.com/go/z/12395 Last year, the Fisheries minister announced he would allow 975,000 seals to be killed over the next three years. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), however, spends only 1.5% of their patrol hours monitoring sealers to prevent criminal acts and kill limit violations during this hunt. Your support helps put IFAW seal rescue teams on the ice to expose this outrage. Without the presence of these teams, most of these abuses and crimes would go undocumented. IFAW led the campaign to "Save the Seals" in the 1970's. Now we need your help to stop this latest attack on defenseless seal pups. There's still time to act before this year's hunting season is over -- please contribute whatever you can to help stop this savage attack. http://www.care2.com/go/z/12395 For the seal pups, Fred O'Regan President and CEO International Fund for Animal Welfare PS. Your help is needed today, please consider supporting IFAW's campaign to protect these defenseless seal pups: http://www.care2.com/go/z/12395
***SPECIAL ALERT*** TAKE ACTION TO RESCUE AMERICA'S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS OF 2004 Visit http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28503 today to take action! Dear River Advocate: Today, American Rivers released the list of America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2004. Working with our conservation partners to highlight ten rivers reaching the crossroads in the next 12 months, American Rivers aims to draw attention to many threats facing our rivers today, including pollution, wetlands destruction, hydropower dams, inadequate sewer treatment systems, excessive water withdrawals, and urban sprawl. America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2004: 1. Colorado River 2. Big Sunflower River 3. Snake River 4. Tennessee River 5. Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers 6. Spokane River 7. Housatonic River 8. Peace River 9. Big Darby Creek 10. Mississippi River Take Action Today to Save the Most Endangered Rivers of 2004. Please help us remove these rivers from the most endangered list by taking action online. To take action and help protect all of the Most Endangered Rivers, visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28503 Thank you for your support. Together, we can create a legacy of healthy rivers in all of our communities. Sincerely, Rebecca Wodder President, American Rivers April 14, 2004 P.S. Please don't forget to pass this action alert on to your friends, family, and colleagues! ******************************************************************************* To view the full report, please visit http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28515 or read capsules about the Most Endangered Rivers of 2004 below: #1 Colorado River - Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California Threat: Looming Pollution Crisis Conservation Partners: Friends of the Earth, Bracy Tucker Brown, Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., Colorado River Regional Sewer Coalition, Environmental Working Group While conflict over Colorado River water allocations has grabbed headlines for years, water pollution problems from human waste, toxic chemicals, and radioactive material have been largely overlooked and threaten to get much worse. Unless Congress and the federal government step in to bolster local cleanup efforts, the drinking water for 25 million Americans will remain at risk. To take action to save the Colorado River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28417 #2 Big Sunflower River - Mississippi Threat: Wetlands Destruction and River Dredging Conservation Partners: Mississippi Chapter of the Sierra Club, Gulf Restoration Network, National Wildlife Federation A pair of costly flood control boondoggles promoted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers threatens Mississippi's Big Sunflower River. Unless the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) vetoes the Yazoo Pumps, this single project will drain and damage seven times more wetlands than all the nation's private developers harm in one year. Without firm opposition from EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Army Corps will also dredge more than 100 miles of the Big Sunflower's riverbed, destroying even more wetlands, stirring up a toxic stew of pesticides, and endangering the health of those who eat fish caught in the river. To take action to save the Big Sunflower River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28418 #3 Snake River - Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington Threat: Federal Dams Conservation Partners: Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Idaho Rivers United, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, Save Our Wild Salmon Dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers have caused dramatic declines in the Snake River's once abundant wild salmon population, with all the river's runs either extinct or sliding toward extinction. Studies show that local economies would benefit from thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars annually if wild salmon were restored to the Snake River. However, unless the Bush administration delivers a credible plan to rebuild wild salmon populations, these economic opportunities will be lost and our generation could be the last to enjoy these legendary species. To take action to save the Snake River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28419 #4 Tennessee River - Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky Threat: Inadequate Sewer Systems Conservation Partners: Tennessee Clean Water Network, Tennessee Izaak Walton League, Alabama Rivers Alliance, Kentucky Waterways Alliance Along the length of the Tennessee River, overloaded wastewater systems discharge large amounts of inadequately treated sewage into the river with distressing regularity. Unless the Bush administration holds these sewer systems accountable - and Congress provides financial assistance - the Tennessee River will continue to be deluged with sewage. To take action to save the Tennessee River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28420 #5 Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers - West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York Threat: Polluted Drainage from Abandoned Coal Mines Conservation Partners: Western Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Friends of the Cheat River Thousands of abandoned mines are leaking acid and other toxic substances into streams throughout the coal country of western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Unless Congress reauthorizes the Abandoned Mine Land Trust Fund, ongoing efforts to treat this problem will cease and the amount of pollution reaching the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers will increase, threatening 42 public drinking water intakes, thousands of private wells, and fish and wildlife. To take action to save the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28421 #6 Spokane River - Idaho, Washington Threat: Water Withdrawals and Pollution Conservation Partners: Sierra Club - Inland NW Office, The Lands Council, Idaho Conservation League More pollution concentrated in less water will be the future of the Spokane River unless new groundwater withdrawal applications are rejected, sewage plants meet stringent water quality standards, and mine waste is cleaned up. To take action to save the Spokane River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28422 #7 Housatonic River - Massachusetts, Connecticut Threat: Massive PCB Pollution Conservation Partners: Housatonic River Initiative, Housatonic environment action League, Berkshire environment action Team Irresponsible industrial activity has left the Housatonic River contaminated with some of the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the nation. People who consume contaminated fish and wildlife from the river are at elevated risk for cancer, birth defects, and immune problems. Unless the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) orders a cleanup of the remaining contamination, General Electric Company's (GE) toxic legacy in the Housatonic will remain a major health hazard for generations to come. To take action to save the Housatonic River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28423 #8 Peace River - Florida Threat: Phosphate Mining Conservation Partners: Charlotte County Commission, Environmental Federation of Southwest Florida, Hardee Citizens Against Pollution, ManaSota-88 Phosphate mining in the Peace River watershed has been the source of serious environmental problems for many years, and large new mines are planned. Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) must take measures to safeguard the river and communities in the watershed from mining impacts, including protecting drinking water as well as important tourism and commercial fishing industries. To take action to save the Peace River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28424 #9 Big Darby Creek - Ohio Threat: Rapid, Poorly Regulated Sprawl Conservation Partners: Big Darby Creek Association, The Nature Conservancy Despite its close proximity to Columbus, Ohio, Big Darby Creek has managed to escape many impacts of urban sprawl. That may be about to change. Unless state and local governments adopt and enforce river-conscious land use planning in the Big Darby watershed, one of the highest quality streams left in the Midwest may become just another polluted, flood-prone urban ditch. To take action to save Big Darby Creek, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28425 #10 Mississippi River - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana Threat: Navigation Infrastructure, Levees, and Pollution Conservation Partners: Environmental Defense, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Mississippi River Basin Alliance, National Audubon Society After decades of manipulation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi River is beset with problems. Unless Congress gives the agency marching orders that reflect the needs, desires and opportunities of today's communities, the river faces ecological collapse with vast negative economic impacts to tourism and recreation industries worth $21 billion per year. To take action to save the Mississippi River, please visit: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/ctt.asp?u=27370&l=28426 ************************************* Thank you alerts@earthhopenetwork.net for helping to protect and restore America's rivers, and being a part of American Rivers' River Action Center: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/ To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@amrivers.org To unsubscribe from one or more of our email lists, click here: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/unsubscribe/ To update your information and subscription preferences, please log in at: http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/profileEditor/index.asp (Note that if this is your first time using this tool, you will need to have a password emailed to you from the Profile Editor). *************************************
Action deadline: April 16, 2004 If you act before April 16, you can help stop a plan that would allow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to approve new pesticides or new uses of existing pesticides without properly assessing their impact on endangered plants and animals. FOLLOW THE STEPS BELOW TO OBJECT TO CHANGES IN THE RULES THAT PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES FROM PESTICIDES. The Bush administration wants to cut two key wildlife agencies -- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service -- out of the process of assessing the possible impacts of pesticides on endangered wildlife and plants. Under the plan, EPA would conduct the reviews alone. Shutting out these agencies would eliminate their invaluable expertise and independent perspective. A few months ago, WWF activists sent nearly 30,000 messages urging the administration not to even propose this change, but the agencies have proposed it, and now is your chance to formally object. Pesticides frequently harm wildlife and their lethal effect is almost never confined just to the targeted species. Four decades after Rachel Carson's Silent Spring alerted our country to the devastation wrought by pesticides on birds in farm country, these chemicals still kill millions of birds annually in the United States. Please forward this alert to your friends and colleagues. **************************TAKE ACTION NOW!********************* POWERFUL OPTION: Personalize your letter. Go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ctt.asp?u=26681&l=27736 and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to your message. Decision makers pay much more attention to personalized messages. QUICK OPTION: If you only have a minute, send the message below, as is, by simply replying to this email. (This option works only if you received this email directly from the Conservation Action Network.) If you have any questions or problems with taking action, contact us at actionquestions@takeaction.worldwildlife.org for help. ***************************LETTER TEXT************************** Assistant Director for Endangered Species U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 420 Arlington, Virginia 22203 Attn: 1018-AI95 Dear Assistant Director: I write to express my strong opposition to the proposed Joint Counterpart Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation Regulations. These regulations propose shutting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service out of the process of assessing the possible impacts of pesticides on endangered species. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would make its own decisions regarding the use of dangerous and highly toxic pesticides without any input from the agencies that are charged with protecting endangered plants and animals and their habitats. Pesticides kill millions of birds and other species each year and are particularly threatening to already vulnerable endangered species. San Joaquin kit foxes, salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and piping plovers in Florida are just a few of the endangered species that have suffered due to pesticide and rodenticide applications in recent years. Sadly, the EPA has an abysmal track record of protecting endangered species from pesticides. The agency continues to authorize the use of pesticides that the Fish and Wildlife Service has found will put endangered species in jeopardy. The EPA has no program for protecting endangered species despite proposing such a program in 1989. And, the EPA authorizes the use of pesticides that it has found to be harmful to fish or wildlife without putting mitigation measures into place. The EPA also lacks sufficient scientific expertise to adequately protect endangered species. For example, it lacks information on the status and habitat needs of endangered species. It bases its species assessments on doses that kill species without taking into account the peer-reviewed literature documenting serious impacts to species at levels below the lethal dose. And, it fails to assess the cumulative effects of multiple pesticides on imperiled species. For years, the pesticide industry has chafed under rules that require the EPA to consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service on potential impacts on endangered species when the EPA approves new pesticides or new uses of existing pesticides. Instead of making it easier for the EPA to ignore pesticide impacts on endangered species, we should demand more complete reviews of the effects of these chemicals on wildlife and plants. More thorough assessments would help reduce the side effects of pesticides on creatures they aren't meant to kill and would push the pesticide industry to develop products that do less damage to non-targeted species. I urge you to withdraw this proposal and, instead, to push for stronger protections for our nation's endangered species. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Your name and address will be inserted here **************************END OF LETTER TEXT*************************
SUV-TV Challenge News Update Industry-front Group Mobilizing to Block Better SUVs Final push needed to make overwhelming consumer statement for cleaner, safer highways April 19th, Washington DC: The Wall Street Journal has reported that the SUV Owners of America (SUVOA), a group run out of a public relations firm that has represented the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Ford, GM, and DaimlerChrysler, is leading a new initiative to demand the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) make no changes to improve SUV safety and fuel economy. Take this opportunity to tell NHTSA we want a safer more fuel efficient SUV today. TAKE ACTION, Click here, http://www.ucsaction.org/ctt.asp?u=44389&l=29766 More Information Instead of working to help SUV owners get cleaner, safer options, SUVOA has unfortunately chosen to ask consumers to rehash a litany of misleading arguments to block meaningful improvements. Their suggested talking points include: * Don't take away my choice of SUVs. * Don't diminish the cargo carrying capacity/towing capacity of SUVs. * Don't include the largest SUVs in the fuel economy program because their utility outweighs the need for improved fuel economy. The Union of Concerned Scientists' blueprint for a cleaner, safer SUV clearly shows that cost-effective improvements in SUV safety and fuel economy are possible without sacrificing any of the features owners have come to expect. It is therefore vital that SUV owners and all American consumers interested in cleaner, safer highways make an overwhelming statement asking our leaders to, just like with seat belts and air bags, prompt industry to get better SUV technologies off the shelves and on our roads. We are already off to an excellent start, as more than 25,000 people have already made their statement through the SUV-TV Challenge. But with those fighting fuel efficiency and U.S. oil security mobilizing, we can't stop there-we need to show NHTSA a landslide of consumer sentiment in favor of better SUVs. Help us reach our goal of 50,000 comments for cleaner, safer vehicles on America's roads by taking action today. TAKE ACTION Click here to send a letter to the National Highway Traffic Administration http://www.ucsaction.org/ctt.asp?u=44389&l=29766 * Note: You cannot reply to this message to take action. * Remember we're looking to hit 50,000 comments by the close of NHTSA's comment period on April 26th.
SYSTEMATIC DELAYS IN ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTING PROGRAM DROVE
NEARLY 100 SPECIES TO EXTINCTION
81% OF ALL EXTINCT PLANTS AND ANIMALS SINCE 1973 WERE NOT LISTED
AS ENDANGERED SPECIES
77% WERE KNOWN TO BE ENDANGERED, BUT PROTECTION WAS REPEATEDLY
DELAYED, OFTEN FOR TEN OR TWENTY YEARS UNTIL THE SPECIES BECAME
EXTINCT
Capping two years of research, the Center for Biological
Diversity released a report today identifying all species which
became extinct or missing in the first twenty years of the
Endangered Species Act. The number 114 is shockingly and
indicates a grave failure in federal management of the nation's
most powerful environmental law.
While only 19% of the extinctions involved species on the
endangered species list, a full 81% were not on the list.
Lacking legal protection, recovery plans, critical habitat, and
recovery funding, these species went extinct due a lack of
commitment and attention. "Virtually all of these species could
have been saved if the Endangered Species Act was properly
managed, fully funded and shielded from political pressure,"
said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for
Biological diversity and one of three authors of the paper,
"instead they were sacrificed to bureaucratic inertia, political
meddling, and lack of leadership."
Highlights of the study:
* 92 species became extinct with no Endangered Species
Act protection
* lengthy listing delays, sometimes as long as 20 years,
contributed to the extinction of 88 species
* 27 species became extinct while waiting on the federal
candidate or warrant review list
* 21 species became extinct while the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service illegally delayed processing of
petitions to protect them.
* In some cases the agency knew the delay would cause
extinction, but chose to do so rather than confront
powerful political interests
"Listing delays and extinctions have plagued the Fish and
Wildlife Service for 30 years," said Brian Nowicki, coauthor of
the paper, "but the Bush administration has pushed the crisis to
an unprecedented level. It has virtually shut down the listing
program, placing an average of just nine species on the list per
year. The Clinton administration averaged 65 listings per year,
Bush Sr. averaged 59, and even Reagan mustered 32. It's a
disgrace."
The greatest zones of extinction were the Pacific Islands, the
Western U.S., and the Southeast. Hawaii suffered over half of
all the extinctions. Southern tier states including California,
New Mexico, Texas, and Florida also ranked high.
The Center for Biological Diversity calls upon the Bush
Administration to fully fund the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's request for $153 million to list all species waiting
for protection on the federal candidate list. The Bush
Administration has asked Congress for just $17 million. It also
called on the administration to immediately propose all
candidate species for ESA protection and to develop a five year
plan to finalize protection for them all.
More...
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/policy/esa/eesa.html
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