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Environment Action
Alerts for
May 8 - May 15, 2001
from Defenders of Wildlife May 8, 2001
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from World Wildlife Fund May 8, 2001
Protect Tigers and Other Rare Species Around the World
Dear WWF Conservation Action Network
Activist:
Please help protest
the large cuts in funding that the Bush
administration
is recommending for U.S. Agency for International
Development (AID) programs to conserve biodiversity. These
cuts
would devastate wildlife and habitats around the
world that are
protected by these
initiatives. AID is the primary U.S. government
agency that administers international environmental
programs. AID
funds go to local communities
for on-the-ground projects to protect
some of the
world's rarest and most threatened biodiversity. For
example, AID funding recently helped pull tiger populations
back
from the brink of extinction in the Russian Far
East. Maintaining
adequate AID funding is one
of World Wildlife Fund's highest
priorities for
international wildlife conservation.
Please go to http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ to send free
messages
urging your congressional representatives to
support these critically
important
programs. Congress will be making its funding decisions
soon; please act now.
P.S. The Conservation Action Network
works! In a major victory,
Florida Governor
Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet recently voted
unanimously to approve the Tortugas Reserve in the Florida
Keys, the
largest no-fishing zone in the United
States. The reserve is expected to
encompass
191 square nautical miles when all the approvals are
secured. It will protect an irreplaceable,
high-biodiversity coral reef
ecosystem, in addition to
helping to replenish depleted fisheries
throughout the
Keys and beyond. Conservation Action Network
activists sent thousands of messages to the numerous
government
agencies that need to approve the
reserve. We'll keep you posted on
the final
outcome.
from Zero Population Growth May 8, 2001
Anti-family planning lawmakers are mounting an aggressive
campaign to strike a provision repealing the Global
Gag Rule from the State Department Authorization bill
(H.R. 1646). The vote is scheduled to occur sometime
in the next couple of days and it will be extremely
close! Please contact your Representative today and
urge him/her to oppose any attempt to strike the GDPA
from H.R. 1646.
You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A20951B0508052236C158
We encourage you to take action by
May 11, 2001
U.S. House to vote
on Global Gag Rule
----------------------
Anti-family planning lawmakers are mounting an aggressive
campaign to strike a provision repealing the Global
Gag Rule from the State Department Authorization bill
(H.R. 1646). The vote is scheduled to occur sometime
in the next couple of days and it will be extremely
close! Please contact your Representative today and
urge him/her to oppose any attempt to strike the GDPA
from H.R. 1646.
----------------------
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://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A20951B0508052236C158
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program, and edit the letter below as you wish. Do
not delete "-YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW-" and "-END
OF LETTER-". Please do not add your name and address
to your letter. Our system automatically does this
for you.
We STRONGLY encourage you to make edits directly to
our sample letter below, and put the alert talking
points into your own words. An individualized letter
is worth ten computer generated letters. Of course,
hundreds of unedited letters will still create a large
impact, so please reply even if you don't have time
to personalize the letter.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Representative Maurice Hinchey
-------YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER
BELOW---------
I am writing to
urge your support for a critical provision
in H.R.1646,
the State Department Authorization bill.
The provision,
known as the Global Democracy Promotion
Act, will ensure
that U.S. foreign assistance programs
reflect our values
of free speech, democratic participation
and the right
to full and complete health care information.
I understand that an effort to strike this provision
from the bill will be made when it comes to the House
floor this week. I strongly urge you to oppose any
such amendment. This provision makes it clear that
U.S. funds may not be denied to a family planning group
overseas simply because it uses privately raised funds
to provide a medical service that is legal in its own
country and legal here in the United States. It further
ensures that overseas family planning providers will
not be subjected to restrictions on their freedom of
speech that would be unconstitutional here at home.
The Global Democracy Promotion Act sets a simple standard:
restrictions we do not dare impose on Americans should
not be imposed on those who live outside our borders.
I find the global gag rule
deeply offensive. It undermines
reproductive health care
around the world by forcing
health care providers to
make a cruel choice: either
sacrifice desperately needed
funding for voluntary
family planning services or give
up their rights to
free speech and their
responsibilities to provide patients
with information
that could save a life.
Please take a stand in defense free speech, democracy,
and voluntary family planning. Oppose any effort to
strike the Global Democracy Promotion Act from H.R.
1646.
-------END OF LETTER-------------------------
Sincerely yours,
from League of Conservation Voters May 8, 2001
======================================
LCV WEEKLY ENVIRONMENTAL UPDATE
May
7, 2001
======================================
The League of Conservation Voters
(LCV) continues to monitor Congressional
and
Administration activity and highlight lawmakers for their actions on
important environmental issues. For a concise look at
current events on
Capitol Hill and beyond click below.
=====================================
Congress Watch
=====================================
· The House-Senate budget compromise
should hit the floors of both
chambers this week.
Natural resources and the environment got a boost with
spending increased to $30.4 billion, an amount higher than
either the
Senate or House passed resolutions. A
compromise of $1.36 billion was
reached on total energy
spending.
· A controversial
electricity bill aimed at rescinding clean air
regulations is scheduled for mark-up in the House this week.
Sponsored by
Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), HR 1647 would
permit the EPA to waive restrictions
on nitrous oxide
emissions. The legislation would also allow changes to
the State Implementation Programs (SIPs) that curb the
release of nitrous
oxides.
· Plus, see this week's schedule of events and learn more
about what
members of Congress are doing on the
environment.
· Get the details
at Congress Watch: http://www.lcv.org/
=====================================
Eye on the Administration
=====================================
· Last week, Vice President Dick
Cheney offered a general outline for the
administration's energy plan. Explaining the need for a
dramatic increase
in domestic drilling and power plant
construction, the former oilman
referred to conservation
as a "personal virtue" and not a strategy that
should
guide the nation's energy policy. By the end of the week the
President issued an executive order directing all federal
buildings to cut
energy use by 10 percent. For a look at
energy issues see LCV's "A
Citizen's Guide to the First
100 Days".
(http://lcv.org/presidential/100-days/)
· The Bush administration has
decided to uphold the Clinton administration
ban on
roadbuilding in national forests, but only until a forest-by-forest
review can be conducted by the U.S. Forest Service.
· Find out more by visiting Eye on
the Administration:
http://www.lcv.org/presidential/
====================================================================
The LCV Environmental Update is brought to you by the
League of
Conservation Voters, the nonprofit political
voice of the environmental
community. LCV is the only
national organization dedicated full-time to
informing
the public about the environmental records of federally elected
officials and candidates.
Committee hearing schedules and floor votes in this update
are retrieved
from "Greensheets" at www.greensheets.com
and "Environment and Energy
Daily" at www.eenews.net.
LCV publishes annually the
National Environmental Scorecard, which rates
members of
Congress on the most critical environmental votes cast during
that year.
WHAT YOU CAN DO!
*Add your voice to the tens of thousands of citizens across
the country
already holding elected officials
accountable for their votes on the
environment and
helping to elect a pro-environment Congress! Join LCV in
its fight to prevent the hard-won progress of the last 30
years from being
dismantled. Click http://lcv.org/join
*If this update
has been forwarded to you and you would like to receive
your own updates, send the following command via email to:
lyris@client-mail.com subscribe lcv-update
*Any questions or comments about
lcv-update can be sent to lcv@lcv.org
*If you ever want to remove yourself from this mailing list,
send the
following command via email to:
lyris@client-mail.com unsubscribe
lcv-update
League of Conservation Voters
1920 L Street, NW Suite 800
Washington, DC 20036
202-785-8683
Fax: 202-835-0491
Email: lcv@lcv.org
from Environmental Defense May 9, 2001
***************************
Action
Network from Environmental Defense. Finding
the ways
that work. Funded by members like you.
***************************
You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A20954B0509014332C231
Visit the web address below and tell
your friends to
take action on this important campaign!
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/NEC/forward?rk=27qUq8d14dzgW
We encourage you to take action by
July 7, 2001
Help Preserve
Caribbean Coastal Ecosystem
----------------------
The Northeastern Ecological Corridor (NEC) is a 3,200
acres coastal fringe located on the northeastern region
of Puerto Rico (PR), between the municipalities of
Luquillo and Fajardo.
The NEC contains an extraordinary
array of tropical
habitats seldom found in other parts
of the world,
including over 25 critical marine mammal,
bird, snake,
sea turtle and plant species. The NEC is
home to the
federally endangered PR Plain Pigeon, the
Snowy Plover,
the Brown Pelican, the PR Boa, the
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
and the West Indian Manatee. The
region, is best known
as one of the most important
nesting grounds for Leatherback
sea turtles in areas
under the US jurisdiction and
the Caribbean. All of the
coastal wetlands found in
PR, such as coral communities
and mangroves, are also
encompassed within this region.
These wetlands are
essential to the existence of a
biological phenomenon
rare in the world, but occurring
in the NEC, a bioluminescent
lagoon. In addition, the
NEC has important recreational
resources including a
world class surfing beach known
as La Selva.
In 1992 the PR Department of Natural
and Environmental
Resources proposed the NEC as a nature
reserve. However,
in 1996, this region was rezoned for
high density tourist
development. At the present time,
the NEC is threatened
by the development of two massive
resorts, which would
include the construction fo over
3,000 tourist-residential
units and three golf courses.
These two projects will
result in the filling of
wetlands and the destruction
of the natural integrity of
the NEC. In addition, the
construction of the resorts,
along with other developments
in the area, will limit
the water resources already
needed by local communities.
A deficit of over 2,000,000
gallons of water per day
will result even after a proposed
artificial lake is in
place adjacent to the Fajardo
River.
Please urge PR's Senate, House of
Representatives and
the Environmental Quality Board to
initiate a legislative
investigation of the effects that
these large development
projects will have on the
northeastern region of PR.
Ask them to support the
designation of the NEC as a
nature reserve, as originally proposed by
the Commonwealth.
Thank you
for your help.
Sincerely,
Azur Moulaert
amoulaert@environmentaldefense.org
Environmental Defense
PS: For maps and photos please visit our Action Network
partner:
http://www.surfrider.org/puertorico/neec/
----------------------
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://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A20954B0509014332C231
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program, and edit the letter below as you wish. Do
not delete "-YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW-" and "-END
OF LETTER-". Please do not add your name and address
to your letter. Our system automatically does this
for you.
We STRONGLY encourage you to make edits directly to
our sample letter below, and put the alert talking
points into your own words. An individualized letter
is worth ten computer generated letters. Of course,
hundreds of unedited letters will still create a large
impact, so please reply even if you don't have time
to personalize the letter.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Mr. Luis Jorge Rivera
Honorable
Antonio Fas Alzamora
Honorable Sila M. Calderon
Honorable Carlos Vizcarrondo
-------YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW---------
The Northeastern Ecological
Corridor (NEC), comprising
the San Miguel I and II, Las
Paulinas and El Convento
properties, in the
municipalities of Luquillo and Fajardo,
is one of
Puerto Rico's last great unprotected areas
and home to
over 25 endangered, threatened, and endemic
species.
This area was proposed as a nature reserve
by the PR
Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
in
1992, but was rezoned for tourist-residential development
in 1996.
The PR Tourism Company and the PR Planning Board are
proposing the development of the San Miguel-Four Seasons
Resort and the Dos Mares-J.W. Marriott Resort within
the NEC. These two projects will have an adverse
significant
impact on the unique natural and
recreational resources
found in the NEC. A deficit of
over 2,000,000 gallons
of water will result from their
development even after
the construction of the
Northeastern Regional Aqueduct,
worsening the present
situation for many local communities
in the region that
lack potable water. The development
of these two
projects is contrary to Federal and Commonwealth
environmental policies, and thus to the public interest,
since it would undermine current and past conservation
efforts. Of special concern is the fact that the
proposed
projects would be significantly financed by
public
funds and would be established mostly on public
lands.
I respectfully urge
that a legislative investigation
be conducted to
evaluate the effects that the San Miguel-Four
Seasons
Resort and the Dos Mares-J.W. Marriott Resort
will have
on the northeastern region of PR. I also
urge you to
support the designation of the NEC as a
nature reserve,
as originally proposed by the Commonwealth.
-------END OF LETTER-------------------------
Sincerely
yours,
from Global Response May 9, 2001
Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"
Great News! Shell
Oil has dropped its plans to explore for gas and oil in
Pakistan's Kirthar National Park! A THOUSAND
THANKS TO A THOUSAND GLOBAL
RESPONSE MEMBERS WHO WROTE
LETTERS TO SHELL! The Global Response
letter-writing campaign in November and December 2000
clearly had an impact
on Shell's decision, in
combination with very well-organized local
opposition
and legal action coordinated by Friends of the Earth. While the
Pakistani government has not scrapped the Kirthar gas
development project,
Shell's decision is a significant
blow.
We hope this victory
will encourage communities that are fighting against
oil/gas development in Bangladesh's mangrove forests
(Global Response Action
#5/00), Costa Rica's Caribbean
Coast (Global Response Action #2/01), and
many other
regions.
And we hope Global
Response members will be ever more motivated to write
letters in response to our Action alerts, knowing that our
voices really CAN
make a difference.
To read the Global Response Action
Alert, "Stop Gas Development in Kirthar
National
Park/Pakistan," see:
http://www.globalresponse.org/gra_index/gra0600.html
-Paula Palmer,
Executive Director
P.S. Here's
a press release from Friends of the Earth, with more details:
May 8, 2001
SHELL PULLS OUT OF PAKISTAN NATIONAL PARK
Shell is dropping plans to explore
for gas in Kirthar National Park in
Pakistan. The oil
giant has announced a "re-alignment of their Pakistan
business portfolio". The sudden move has been greeted with
delight by
Friends of the Earth International, which
was pursuing a major legal
case against Shell in the
Pakistani courts.
Kirthar
National Park is one of Pakistan's largest protected areas,
stretching over 3087 square kilometres of rugged mountain
desert in the
southern province of Sindh. It is home to
numerous threatened species,
such as the unique Sindh
ibex (a mountain goat) and the Urial sheep, and
to
desert wolves, striped hyena, golden jackal,"Chinkara" (a type of
gazelle), and no less than eight species of eagle.
Shell and Premier Oil had formed a
joint venture company (Premier-Shell
Pakistan) to
explore for gas in the park, despite its protected status
under Pakistani wildlife laws. Section 15 of the Sindh
Wildlife
Protection Ordinance states that the
"...clearing or breaking up of any
land for
cultivation, mining or for any other purpose" is prohibited.
Friends of the Earth International
was concerned that Shell was seeking
to avoid
respecting the wildlife law. Under the current military regime
in Pakistan, laws can be amended without reference to
Parliament.
Earlier this year, the Governor of Sindh
province, Mohammed Mian Soomro
- a director of
Shell-Pakistan until he became Governor last year -
amended the wildlife laws to allow pipeline construction in
the park.
The oil minister in the Federal military
Government, Usman Aminuddin, is
a former director of a
Shell subsidiary.
Friends of
the Earth International (FOEI), the world's largest
environmental network, last month joined Pakistani
environment groups in
a legal challenge against Shell
in a bid to protect wildlife in the park
from big
business. In written evidence to the court, Royal Dutch Shell
had sought to play down environmental fears by citing
examples of where
it claims the oil and gas industry
has operated in "harmonious
coexistence" and "perfect
harmony" with the environment [1]. But FOEI
last month
submitted a 380-page dossier of evidence to the contrary,
including a detailed synopsis of the appalling
environmental and human
rights abuses associated with
the industry in Nigeria.
Shell
has now announced that it will be swapping its controversial 49.9%
holding in Premier-Shell-Pakistan for a Premier holding in
an
alternative Pakistan gas development project. The
Bhit development is in
the so-called "Kirthar
concession", but nowhere near Kirthar National
Park.
MORE>>>
The
announcement has been made at a time when environment groups are
increasing the pressure on environmentally damaging oil
companies.
Earlier this week, Friends of the Earth,
Greenpeace and People and
Planet announced a joint
boycott of Exxon (Esso) (see www.stopesso.co.uk
).
Shell's announcement is likely to
shift attention from Shell to Premier
Oil, which is
already facing controversy over its operations in Burma.
But Shell still has a stake in other controversial
projects, including
exploration for oil and gas in the
Sunderbans region of Bangladesh -
home to endangered
tigers.
Craig Bennett,
Habitats Campaigner for Friends of the Earth said:
"We're delighted that Shell has dropped plans to explore
for gas in
Pakistan's oldest protected area. But we're
outraged that Premier Oil
are still prepared to exploit
this fantastic wildlife haven. Shell must
now scrap its
plans for oil exploration in tiger territory in
Bangladesh.
"Shell should avoid making these damaging decisions in the
first place.
It should give a cast-iron guarantee to
stay out of protected areas, and
to invest the money in
renewable energy instead".
Farhan Anwar, of the Pakistani NGO Shehri-Citizens for a
Better
Environment, said:
"Exploration for gas in Kirthar National Park is illegal.
Pakistani law
clearly prohibits any kind of mining or
exploration activity in
protected areas. We welcome the
fact that Shell has now pulled out. But
how on earth
can Premier Oil defend its intention to stay? We call on
British investors in Premier to demand that this company
starts taking
its social and environmental
responsibilities seriously".
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Extracted from the Affidavit filed in the High Court of
Sindh,
Karachi, Pakistan, by "Premier & Shell
Pakistan B.V. Holland through
Premier Exploration
Pakistan Ltd", Constitutional Petition number
1986/2000.
********************************
Paula Palmer, Executive Director
Global Response
PO Box 7490
Boulder CO 80306
Tel. 303-444-0306
Fax. 303-449-9794
Website:
www.globalresponse.org
Mission: Global Response empowers people of all
ages, cultures, and
nationalities to protect the
environment by creating partnerships for
effective
citizen action. At the request of indigenous peoples and
grassroots organizations, Global Response organizes
internatinoal
letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental
destruction. Global Response involves young
people as well as adults in
these campaigns, to develop
in them the values and skills for global citizen
cooperation and earth stewardship.
from Defenders of Wildlife May 9, 2001
DEN ALERT:
Help Save an Imperiled
Species
The grizzly bear -- a
noble symbol of the wilderness -- may lose its
best
chance for moving into the American West unless we persuade the
politicians to go forward with a citizen-managed program to
restore
these majestic animals to the vast Bitterroot
Mountains of Idaho and
Montana. It's a
sensible plan developed over seven years by local
citizens to save part of our natural heritage. Even the
timber
industry has approved it. So has the public and
the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. Yet Interior
Secretary Gale Norton reportedly may
be about to kill
it. There are only about a thousand grizzlies left
in the Lower 48 states. This program calls for the release
of only
25 bears over five years into the rugged
Selway-Bitterroot wilderness.
That's as big as the
state of Rhode Island, and mostly free of humans
and
livestock. If we can't bring back grizzlies here, where can this
animal exist in the West? Scientists say
grizzlies may be doomed to
disappear from the Lower 48
unless we act now.
WHAT YOU
CAN DO:
There is still time to
save the grizzly bear plan. Let Interior
Secretary
Norton know that you support grizzly bear recovery in the
Bitterroot ecosystem. A decision may be made
soon, so please send
your e-mail
TODAY! Thanks for doing your part to support threatened
and endangered species recovery efforts!
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE
WEB:
If you have access to the
web, simply click on the link below which
will take you
to the DEN Action Center web site:
http://www.denaction.org
If you don't have access to the
Internet, please send your letter to:
Secretary Gale
Norton, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C
Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20240 or via e-mail at:
gale_norton@ios.doi.gov
Sample Letter:
Dear Secretary Norton:
I strongly urge you not to cave into pressure from a
powerful minority
and withdraw your support for the
reintroduction of grizzlies to the
Bitterroot-Selway
ecosystem under the Citizen Management Plan. You
have
said that you believe in balanced, local solutions to
endangered-species problems. This plan meets your goals.
This
proposal strikes an excellent balance between
restoring grizzlies
and respecting the needs of people
who will live near the bears.
Bears should
thrive in this remote area. Please consider the
following points as you decide the fate of the Citizen
Management
Plan:
1. The Citizen Management Plan carefully
considers potential
conflicts with people - This
proposal calls for moving bears that
routinely come
into conflict with people. The intent of the plan
is to restore grizzly bear populations to wilderness areas
and
remote areas, not to valleys where people live.
2. The Citizen
Management Plan provides direct bear management
involvement for local people - Defenders of Wildlife worked
collaboratively with the timber industry and organized
labor to
develop a grizzly reintroduction plan, which
the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service has now
adopted. The centerpiece of this plan is
creation of a citizen management committee that would be
responsible
for management of the Bitterroot bear
population.
Because grizzly
bears reproduce so slowly, it may take 50 years or
more
to establish a healthy population. I strongly urge you to
stand by your testimony and support the Citizen Management
Plan.
This is the most important grizzly bear
conservation initiative
that the Interior Department
and the Fish and Wildlife Service can
undertake with
the Lower 48 states.
Sincerely,
====================================================================
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denlines@defenders.org and put the
word UNSUBSCRIBE in
the subject line.
====================================================================
To subscribe, visit Defenders' website at
http://www.defenders.org/den
or send an e-mail to denlines@defenders.org and put the
word SUBSCRIBE
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====================================================================
If your e-mail address has changed, send an e-mail to
changeaddress@defenders.org and put your new e-mail
address in the
subject line. Make sure you put nothing
in the subject line other
than your new e-mail address.
====================================================================
Defenders of Wildlife is a leading national
conservation organization
recognized as one of the
nation's most progressive advocates for
wildlife and
its habitat and known for its effective leadership on
saving endangered species such as brown bears and gray
wolves, Defenders
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 420,000 members and
supporters.
Defenders
of Wildlife
1101
14th Street, NW, Suite 1400
Washington,
DC 20005
http://www.defenders.org
http://www.kidsplanet.org
from Working Assets 'Act for Change' May 9, 2001
from Natural Resources Defense Council May 10. 2001
========================================
NRDC EARTH ACTION:
The Bulletin
for Environmental Activists
May 10, 2001
========================================
In This Issue:
--Action alerts--
GLOBAL WARMING: Tell President Bush to regulate global
warming pollution from motor vehicles
--Updates on Previous alerts--
NATIONAL FORESTS PROTECTION PLAN
======================================================
You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action
Center, which includes tools for taking action easily
online, at http://www.nrdc.org/action
(Please do not
reply to this message; see the instructions
below for
how to unsubscribe or contact NRDC with questions
or
comments.)
=============
Action alerts
=============
GLOBAL WARMING
Tell President Bush to regulate global warming pollution
from motor vehicles
In March we told you how President Bush broke his campaign
promise to cut global warming pollution from power
plants,
the country's biggest source of carbon dioxide.
Now the Bush
administration has another opportunity to
reduce these
harmful emissions as the EPA must consider
a petition to
regulate carbon dioxide emissions from
motor vehicles.
Scientists
agree that manmade greenhouse gases are trapping
heat
in the earth's atmosphere, causing a rapid temperature
increase around the world. Cars and trucks alone account
for
nearly one-fifth of all U.S. global warming gases,
and these
emissions have increased by more than 14
percent since 1990.
If we are to combat global
warming's devastating
consequences -- ecological
disruption, floods, droughts,
disease -- we must cut
greenhouse pollution.
An
official comment period on the proposal to cut CO2
tailpipe emissions runs through May 23rd. The president
needs to hear that the public won't sit quietly while he
continues to neglect the issue of global warming, but
instead expects his administration to treat carbon
dioxide
and other greenhouse gases as the dangerous
pollutants that
they are.
== What to do ==
Send a message
**before the May 23rd official comment
deadline**
telling the Bush administration to force
automakers to
cut tailpipe emissions of CO2.
== Contact information ==
You can
send an official comment directly from NRDC's
website
at http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/co2cars_2.asp
Or use the contact information and sample letter below to
send your own message (please do not remove the docket
number from the subject line of the sample message).
Air and Radiation Docket
Room M1500
401 M Street, SW
Washington D.C. 20460
Email:
A-and-R-Docket@epamail.epa.gov
cc:
president@whitehouse.gov
==
For background ==
Global Warming: In Brief
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/brief.asp
== Sample letter
==
Subject: EPA A&R Docket
#A-2000-04 - Regulate Motor Vehicle
CO2 Emissions
To: EPA Administrator Christie
Whitman
cc: President George W. Bush
Scientists agree that carbon
dioxide and other global
warming gases are trapping
heat in the atmosphere, causing
rising temperatures
around the world. To combat the
devastating
consequences of global warming we must cut CO2
pollution. You can do that by granting the pending petition
to control CO2 emissions from motor vehicles.
I urge you to use your authority
to force automakers to cut
tailpipe emissions of CO2.
Our health and well-being depend
on it.
Sincerely,
[Your name and address]
==========================
Updates on Previous alerts
==========================
NATIONAL FORESTS PROTECTION PLAN
At the end of March we reported that the Bush
administration
had delayed until May 12 the effective
date of the landmark
rule adopted in January that
banned logging and roadbuilding
in over 58 million
acres of wild roadless areas in our
national forests,
and had indicated it might suspend the
rule
indefinitely. On May 4 the administration announced it
would temporarily let the rule go into effect, but would
next month propose amendments to reopen these wildlands
to
possible development. Secretary of Agriculture
Veneman
described the envisioned changes as allowing
local officials
more say on whether and how individual
roadless areas would
be roaded, logged, or otherwise
developed. That kind of
discretion, however, even with
nominal review by higher
level agency officials, is in
fact just the old system that
allowed piecemeal
destruction of roadless areas and made a
nationwide
rule necessary in the first place. In the
meantime, a
federal judge has just granted Boise-Cascade's
request
for an injunction blocking the rule; NRDC will be
appealing this ruling immediately. We'll of course keep you
posted on further developments and let you know when
the
administration announces its proposed amendments to
the
rule, so stay tuned and get ready to raise your
voice once
again in defense of our national forests.
==================================================
About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
==================================================
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==========
About NRDC
==========
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit
environmental organization with over 400,000 members
nationwide and a staff of scientists, attorneys and
environmental experts. Our mission is to protect the
planet's wildlife and wild places and ensure a safe and
healthy environment for all living things.
For more information about NRDC or
how to become a member of
NRDC, please contact us at:
Natural Resources Defense
Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-4511
(voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email:
nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
Earth Action email:
nrdcaction@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org
Also visit:
BioGems -- Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
from Alaska Rainforest Alliance May 10, 2001
WHAT'S NEW IN ALASKA'S RAINFOREST
ROADLESS RULE UPDATE
On May 4 the Bush Administration
announced that it would allow the roadless rule to go into effect on May 12, but
it will propose amendments to the rule sometime in June. At the same time the
Administration offered virtually no defense of the rule in the Idaho lawsuit
brought by the timber industry. The Judge in that case, Judge Lodge, today
issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Roadless Rule from going into
effect-just days before it was to be implemented. The conservation community is
calling on the Administration to appeal Judge Lodge's decision and issue a
moratorium on all roadless area development nationwide (including the Tongass)
until the issue can be resolved.
In the proposed amendments President Bush is calling for
more "local decision-making" - having the roadless issue decided on a forest by
forest basis. It is clear that the changes the Administration wants
will render the rule useless. The transition from a national policy to a local
forest by forest planning process means we are back to the old days in
Alaska. Local control on the Tongass means nothing other than
corporate control. The Forest Service is expected to take public
comments and we will again have the opportunity to voice our support for
roadless area protection.
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT DEMONSTRATED FOR PROTECTING ALASKA'S
CHUGACH NATIONAL FOREST.
A
recent analysis of comments submitted during the revision process for The
Chugach National Forest, our nation's second largest, demonstrate huge support
both in Alaska and nationwide to keep the Chugach wild.
The Chugach is 98% roadless, yet not one acre has been
formally designated as Wilderness. One of the most important areas in the
Chugach is the Copper River Delta which lies just east of Prince William Sound.
At 700,000 acres the Delta is the largest wetlands complex on the Pacific coast
of North America. Among Alaskan residents who commented on the future of the
Delta, 93% or 1,379 expressed support for designating it Wilderness. When
comments from outside Alaska are included, a whopping 99.6% of all comments
support Wilderness for the Copper River Delta, pushing the number to more than
30,000 citizens, from across the US. Thanks to everyone who took the time to
comment on saving the wild places of the Chugach. The Forest Service
is expected to issue its final plan in early fall.
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO'S- LIVING ON
EARTH FEATURES ALASKA'S TONGASS
Living on Earth is the weekly environmental news and
information program aired by 230 National Public Radio stations throughout the
country. For the first two weeks of May, they are running a special series
highlighting the crown jewel of the national forest system-the Tongass. This
week's show featured the natural history of the Tongass, including a look at the
wildlife and people who live in America's largest national forest. If
you missed the show you can still check it out on line at
www.loe.org. Next week's show will focus on the roadless rule and the
controversy surrounding the Tongass. Tune in to find out more.
Show dates and times vary
according to your local station. For a complete list of NPR stations that air
the show visit the Living on Earth website at http://www.loe.org/where/where.htm or call your
local NPR station.
If at
anytime you wish to unsubscribe please visit http://www.akrain.org/howtohelp/default.asp where you can
easily remove yourself from the list. To speak with someone directly
please e-mail info@akrain.org or call 907-747-8292.
Thanks for your support.
Alaska Rainforest Campaign Staff.
from the Nature Conservancy May 11, 2001
The Nature Conservancy's Nature News, May 11, 2001
_____________________________________________
1. Illinois Chapter's Largest Land
Acquisition Ever
2. An Online Expedition: Palmyra Atoll
3. Nature by the Numbers: Rainfall
4. Happy Mother's Day!
5. What is
a nene?
Have you moved? Update your membership
information by going to our change of address form in our Help Center at:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a11
To receive a
personalized Nature News tailored to your interests, or to update your profile,
go to
http://www.clickaction.net/ClickAction/subscriber?c=1&p=14464&i=2&func=S_survey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Illinois Chapter's Largest Land Acquisition Ever
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Nature Conservancy is in
the midst of its most important land acquisition
ever
in Illinois. We are working to restore one of the Last Great Places -
Emiquon, the largest wetland restoration in the country
outside of Florida.
Located
south of Peoria, in the Illinois River Valley, restoring Emiquon will
protect nearly 7,700 acres of wetlands and floodplain that
once hosted thriving
communities of native plants,
animals and ancient fishes. The land has been
extensively farmed for row crops, but now scientists,
partners and the public
are involved in discussing
options for the restoration and management of this
land. This project will serve as a model for recovering and
managing large
floodplain river systems, and will
demonstrate the river's ability for
regeneration.
For more information on the
Emiquon project, please visit the Emiquon preserve
profile online at http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a5, or
contact the Conservancy's Great Rivers Area Office in
Havana, Illinois at
(309) 543-6502.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. An Online Expedition: Palmyra Atoll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palmyra Atoll is the last
intact marine wilderness in the Pacific Ocean, and
consists of 680 acres of land and 15,512 acres of coral
reefs, emerald islets
and turquoise
lagoons. It's also the only nesting habitat for migratory
seabirds and shorebirds within 450,000 square miles of
ocean. Undeveloped and
preserved in
isolation just above the equator, Palmyra is one of The Nature
Conservancy's most significant land acquisitions.
Join the award-winning web
expeditions team from OneWorldJourneys.com along with
author and writer Terry Tempest Williams, writer Brooke
Williams, wildlife
photographer Jeff Foott and
Patagonia Inc. founder Yvon Chouinard as they
explore
and document Palmyra's coral reefs, rare bird population and fascinating
history.
Throughout the 8 day expedition, May 15-23, the crew on
Palmyra will share
photos, stories and live dispatches
- daily.
Log on to the
expedition now, visit:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Nature by the Numbers: Rainfall
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mt. Waialea, Hawaii, receives
460 inches of rain per year, while Sonora, Mexico,
only
gets 1.3 inches.
================================================================================
***RENEW ONLINE***
Renewing
your Nature Conservancy membership is easier than ever!
By clicking the "renew" link
below, you will be taken to our
online renewal form,
located on our secure server. Just fill out your
information and click on submit. This easy step renews your
commitment to help
save precious lands and waters.
If you aren't a member yet, but
would like to join us in our efforts, clicking
the
"join" link below will take you to our online join form, and
you'll join the 1 million people helping to save nature's
Last Great Places.
To join,
click here:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a2
To renew, click
here:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a1
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Happy Mother's Day!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our great gifts for
Mother's Day! In our "Fun Stuff" web section
you'll find free e-cards to send mom, screen savers and
desktop wallpaper to
spice up her computer and much
more.
The gifts
are just a click away - but hurry, Mother's Day is May 13th.
Visit: http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a8 for our Fun Stuff
web section
===============================================================
** FREE MAGAZINE**
Nature
Conservancy is a bimonthly magazine published for our members, but we're
offering non-members a chance to check it out
too. Sign up for a free issue to
see vibrant
photos and incredible stories about our latest conservation work,
the plants and animals we encounter along the way, and much
more.
Our May/June
'01 issue has great features, such as fire in the rain forest and
prometheus unbound. But we don't want to spoil the surprise
for you, so sign up
for your free issue today.
To sign up for your free issue,
click here:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a6
================================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. What is a nene?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the spirit of our South Pacific adventure, we
thought it would be fitting to
learn about a South
Pacific bird, the Hawaiian goose.
The Hawaiian goose, a.k.a. the nene, is found on only three
islands in Hawaii,
and is the world's rarest goose and
a conservation success story. During the
1940s, due to habitat depletion and over-hunting during
their prime mating
season, there were as little as 50
nene left. Thanks to a huge captive-breeding
program,
there are over 2,000 of them.
The nene is a small bird, weighing only 5
pounds. It has long legs and short
wings,
and its legs, bill, face and nape are all black.
The name nene actually came from the low nay-nay call that
the bird makes, and
when adopted as the state bird, it
also became known as the Hawaiian goose.
Now that you've learned all about the nene, why not learn
about some other
winged creatures on our Wings of the
Americas page at:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please forward Nature News to interested friends,
families, and associates. To
learn more about The
Nature Conservancy, please visit:
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a12
This e-mail is
being sent to all subscribers for Nature News, eNews, and What's
News Digest to keep you up-to-date on The Nature
Conservancy's efforts to help
save the Last Great
Places.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tell your friends to visit us at http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a14464a34669a67074702a12 so they can help
out too!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from Environmental Defense May 11, 2001
You can take action on this alert either via email
(please see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A21088B0511023120C234
Visit the web address below and
tell your friends to
take action on this important
campaign!
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ECA/forward?rk=9dqUq8d147q7W
We encourage you to take action by
May 17, 2001
Support Social
and Environmental Standards
----------------------
Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) are governmental or
quasi-governmental
entities that subsidize a country's
exports and investment
abroad. If Caterpillar wants to
sell tractors to the
Three Gorges Dam project in China,
it turns to the
U.S. Export-Import Bank for help. If
Siemens wants
to sell turbines, it turns to Hermes -
the German ECA.
Each of the wealthy nations' ECA is
quietly locked
in a battle to win export contracts.
ECAs are the largest publicly
supported institutions
financing infrastructure
projects in the developing
world. Their dollar value
dwarfs the role of all other
public institutions
combined (including the World Bank
and the
International Monetary Fund). Most of the developing
world's large dams, mines, power plants, chemical plants,
oil and natural gas developments and pipelines, etc.,
do not proceed without their financing.
Most ECAs do not have standards
ensuring that their
activities do not cause social or
environmental harm.
Many are engaged in completely
non-productive activities,
such as subsidizing arms
sales. Some of the world's
most widely criticized
projects with major human rights
and environmental
impacts are being financed by ECAs.
These include
China's Three Gorges dam, Turkey's Ilisu
dam,
Indonesia's Paiton coal plants and Brazil's Urucu
gas
and oil project.
In response
to pressure from organizations like Environmental
Defense, many governments directed their ECAs to adopt
environmental and social standards and guidelines.
After years of negotiations, there is little progress
- only an outline of an agreement that fails to live
up to international good practice in environmental
impact assessment. The Finance and Environment Ministers
of the world's wealthiest nations congregate in Paris
on May 16-17 under the very same organizational
umbrella
where these negotiations have taken place -
the Organization
for the Economic Cooperation and
Development. Tell
the Secretary General of the OECD
that the world will
not allow ECAs to continue dragging
their feet!
Sincerely,
Aaron Goldzimer
International Program
Environmental Defense
agoldzim@environmentaldefense.org
----------------------
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://actionnetwork.org/take-action.tcl?key=419220A21088B0511023120C234
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program, and edit the letter below as you wish. Do
not delete "-YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW-" and "-END
OF LETTER-". Please do not add your name and address
to your letter. Our system automatically does this
for you.
We STRONGLY encourage you to make edits directly to
our sample letter below, and put the alert talking
points into your own words. An individualized letter
is worth ten computer generated letters. Of course,
hundreds of unedited letters will still create a large
impact, so please reply even if you don't have time
to personalize the letter.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Secretary General Donald J. Johnston
-------YOU MAY EDIT THE LETTER BELOW---------
I am sincerely disappointed by
your lack of attention
to and lack of progress in the
negotiations taking
place within the OECD Export Credit
Group (ECG) on
common approaches on the environment.
These negotiations
have been ongoing for nearly five
years - under G8
and OECD mandates that expire this
year - and still
there is no agreement, the draft
agreement that is
being discussed is wholly inadequate,
and the OECD
Environmental Strategy for the First
Decade of the
21st Century scarcely makes reference to
the issue.
In contrast to many
of the other items discussed in
the Environmental
Strategy and scheduled for discussion
in the OECD Forum
and Joint Ministerial on "Sustainable
Development",
this attempt to integrate environmental
considerations
into a major aspect of trade and investment
policy, as
well as achieve a greater policy coherence
with
existing multilateral financial agency standards,
is
actually in process under the OECD's own institutional
umbrella and is within reach of the OECD.
I urge you to use your good
offices to ensure that
the Environment and Finance
Ministers, at the OECD
Joint Ministerial meeting taking
place in Paris on
May 16-17, 2001:
1. State the need for the OECD
Export Credit Group
(ECG) to agree on predictable,
coherent, consistent
environmental standards and
guidelines based on internationally
accepted good
practice, including specific commitments
to
transparency, public access to environmental information,
and stakeholder consultation in environmental assessment;
2.
State the need for the ECG to continue negotiations
until these criteria are met; and
3. Include these challenges in the
Environmental Strategy
as among the priority tasks for
the OECD in this decade.
-------END OF LETTER-------------------------
Sincerely
yours,
from National Wildlife Federation May 11, 2001
The House has delayed the vote regarding international
family planning in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY02 and FY03
until next Wednesday, May 16.
On Wednesday, there will be a vote on the Hyde/Smith
Amendment. This amendment is an attempt to remove the Global Democracy
Protection Act language from the bill, allowing the global gag rule to remain in
place.
(The Global democracy
Promotion Act language in the bill was introduced in the House International
Relations Committee by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) and passed in
committee. The provision protects international family planning
programs aimed at ensuring access to educational materials for families,
training for health care providers, improvements in girls' education, and
improving the status and public participation of women worldwide - saving
women's lives, and helping to create a more sustainable environment.)
YOUR HELP IS CRITICAL. This vote
is expected to be very close.
First - Please call or write your representative today
urging them VOTE NO on the Hyde/Smith Amendment in H.R. 1646, the Foreign
Relations Authorization Act for fiscal years 2002-2003. Tell them how
important full and unrestricted funding of international family planning is for
ensuring healthy women, healthy children, and a healthy planet.
To call your representative,
simply call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected
to your Representative's office. You can also go to http://www.nwf.org/action/ for more
information and to email your representative directly.
Second - Spread the word!
· Work with others in your community to get them involved.
· Write an op-ed or letter to the editor of your local
paper.
DON'T FORGET. Even if
your representative has a good voting history on this issue it is vital that
they hear words of thanks and encouragement.
Thank you for your help with this important vote!
If you have any questions, please
do not hesitate to contact me at 202-797-6800 or at lesky@nwf.org. Please let us
know of your communication with your representative and their response. Also, if
you submit a letter to your local paper we would like to receive a copy.
Working together, we can make a
difference!
Thank you,
Marcia Lesky
Population Policy
Analyst
from the Wilderness Society May 11, 2001
***********************
*WILD
ALERT
*Friday, May 11, 2001
***********************
Dear WildAlert Subscriber,
The Bush administration announced last week that it will
implement the
National Forest Roadless Area
Conservation Rule, but propose substantial
amendments
to this already balanced policy. Yesterday, largely due to the
administration's lackluster defense of the roadless rule in
court, a
federal district judge put a temporary halt to
implementation of the rule.
The Bush Administration's
cynical treatment of this policy, which has the
strong
support of the American people, is inexcusable. See below for
background, or visit http://www.wilderness.org/roadless.htm
JUDGE ISSUES
TEMPORARY INJUNCTION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ROADLESS
PROTECTION RULE
On May 10, Idaho
Federal District Judge Edward Lodge issued a preliminary
injunction stopping the Forest Service from enforcing the
Roadless Area
Conservation Rule. The
Wilderness Society and other environmental
intervenors
in the case immediately filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals in San Francisco seeking a reversal of
Lodge's decision.
While the
injunction remains in effect, the Forest Service could begin
building new roads into roadless areas for timber sales,
oil drilling, and
other projects. It is
unclear at this time whether the agency will do so,
given the administration's announcement last week that it
is committed to
roadless protection.
***************************************************************
BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND THE ROADLESS RULE
On May 4, the Bush Administration announced it would allow
the roadless
conservation rule to go forward, but that
it would propose new amendments
to the rule in June.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
The amendments that the administration intends to propose
in June would
greatly weaken the roadless area
protection in the current rule. According
to the
administration's press release, the amendments will be based on
five principles.
**1. "Informed decision-making...through the local forest
planning
process." The failure of local forest planning
to protect roadless areas
is the main reason for the
Roadless Rule. Under current forest plans, 59%
of the
inventoried roadless areas are open to road construction (34.3
million acres out of 58.5 million). As Forest Service Chief
Bosworth has
stated, "From my perspective, it makes
sense that the issue of whether or
not to build roads
into roadless areas is a matter of public policy as
opposed to a forest planning question. For us to try to
grind through
forest plans once again with the roadless
issue overshadowing everything
else doesn't make sense"
(The battle over roads; Missoulian; June 18,
2000;
Sherry Devlin).
**2. Working
together with states and local communities. With more than
1.6 million comments, the current Roadless Rule was
developed with the
most public participation in the
history of federal rulemaking. More than
1,000 comments
came from people in each of the 50 states. Local
decision-making consistently undervalues the national
interest in roadless
areas. The administration's
proposal would allow the clear wishes of the
American
public for roadless area conservation to be overridden by a
relative handful of development-oriented local residents
and officials.
**3. Protecting
roadless forests from fire and insects. This appears to
be a veiled threat to conduct extensive salvage logging in
the roadless
areas. There is no scientific
justification to salvage log roadless areas,
which
typically are the healthiest parts of the forest.
**4. Protecting communities and property from fire. The
Roadless Rule and
EIS process have already dealt
extensively with this issue and arrived at
a reasonable
compromise that balances the potential benefits and risks.
While thinning overly dense stands of small trees may
reduce fire risk,
building access roads into roadless
areas will increase fire risk. The
Forest Service does
not intend even to begin fuel reduction work in
roadless areas for at least another decade, since they are
located far
from homes and communities.
**5. Protecting access to
property. Access to state and private land
inholdings is a non-issue, but opponents of the Roadless
Rule have somehow
failed to realize or admit it. The
Forest Service has made it very clear
that the Roadless
Rule has no effect on access. Roadless areas are no
different from any other national forest lands regarding
inholder access.
***************************************************************
For a full list of Action Items, visit
http://www.wilderness.org/whatcan/takeaction.htm
***************************************************************
An archive of past Wildalerts can be found at
http://www.wilderness.org/wildalert/wildalerts.htm
***************************************************************
WildAlert is an email action alert system brought to
you by The Wilderness
Society to keep you apprised of
threats to our wildlands -- in the field
and in
Washington. WildAlert messages include updates along with clear,
concise actions you can take to protect America's last wild
places. You
are welcome to forward Wildalerts to all
those interested in saving
America's wildlands.
FEEDBACK: Please send your
comments to <action@tws.org>. If you simply
hit "reply" to this
message, please include your email
address in the body of the
message.
TO SUBSCRIBE: If you have been
forwarded this message and would like to
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the list, send the following message to <lyris@lists.wilderness.org>: "subscribe
wilderness-alert" (inserted in the body of the message,
without quotes).
TO
UNSUBSCRIBE: If you wish to be removed from this list, see the
instructions at the end of this message.
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness
Society works to protect America's
wilderness and to
develop a nation-wide network of wild lands through
public education, scientific analysis and advocacy. Our
goal is to ensure
that future generations will enjoy
the clean air and water, wildlife,
beauty and
opportunities for recreation and renewal that pristine forests,
rivers, deserts and mountains provide. To take action on
behalf of
wildlands today, visit our website at
http://www.wilderness.org
***************************************************************
from Rainforest Action Network May 11, 2001
In this post :
1. Ecuador's
Proposed OCP Pipeline - More Oil Investments from the World's
Most Destructive Bank
2. TAKE
ACTION! MAY 15TH PHONE ZAP
3. Sample Letter to
Citigroup and other Pipeline Funders
For background info on the Citi campaign see www.ran.org or
email
organize@ran.org
For
more info on the OCP pipeline and other destructive projects threatening
the Amazon see
www.amazonwatch.org
#1
CITIGROUP FUNDS PROPOSED ECUADORIAN PIPELINE
WHICH THREATENS FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES
Ignoring the devastating toll
thirty years of reckless oil development has
taken on
the country of Ecuador - particularly on the Amazon and its
people - the government and a consortium of multinational
oil companies are
poised to make the same irreversible
mistake by moving ahead with a
controversial new oil
pipeline project known as the OCP (Oleoducto de Crudo
Pesado). Among the consortium's main
funders is Citigroup - the world's
most destructive
bank. As the number one funder of oil pipelines around the
world it is no surprise to find Citi playing a central role
with yet another
massive, destructive fossil fuel
project.
Financially backed by
Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, and Deutsche Bank,
the OCP consortium is comprised of Alberta Energy (Canada),
Kerr McGee
(USA), Occidental Petroleum (USA) -
notorious for their invasion of the U'wa
people's land
in Colombia, AGIP (Italy), Perez Companc (Argentina),
Repsol-YPF (Spain) and Techint (Argentina). The
pipeline would transport
heavy crude from the country’s
eastern rainforest region to the Pacific
Coast, placing
fragile ecosystems and dozens of communities along the
300-mile route in jeopardy.
The pipeline route chosen by the OCP consortium affects 11
protected areas,
and cuts through the middle of the
Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest Reserve and
the surrounding
ecologically sensitive forests. This area is home to more
than 450 species of birds---46 of which are threatened by
extinction --and
has been designated the first
"Important Bird Area" of South America by
Birdlife
International. The pipeline also represents a threat to the area’s
burgeoning eco-tourism industry, which is expected to
bring in $600 million
over the next 20 years.
In order to fill the new pipeline,
Ecuador would have to double its current
oil
production, setting off an unprecedented boom in new oil exploration
that could lead to the irreversible loss and destruction of
some the country
’s last remaining old growth
rainforest and territories of isolated
indigenous
peoples. Hundreds of new oil wells and flow lines would be built
from existing oil concessions along with facilities
necessary to process and
refine the heavy crude for
transport across the country. These activities
threaten protected areas such as Yasuni National Park,
Cuyabeno Wildlife
Reserve, and the Limoncocha and
Panacocha Biological Reserves. This project
would also fuel the search for additional oil reserves
covering 2.4 million
hectares of frontier forest, the
majority of which falls on the ancestral
territories of
Achuar, Shuar, Huaorani, Quichua, Shiwiar, and Zapara
indigenous communities. Many of these
communities have vowed to never
permit oil development
on their land.
Prominent
Ecuadorian and international environmental and human rights
organizations are calling for the cancellation of the OCP
project and a
moratorium on all new oil exploration in
the country’s Amazon region.
CONAIE, the powerful
national indigenous organization whose non-violent
uprisings have led to the ousting of two presidents in the
last five years,
is joining environmental groups and
local communities in filing for a legal
injunction in
the coming weeks to void the OCP contract with the government.
The Ecuadorian government, the OCP
consortium, and the financiers have
failed to fully
assess or disclose the long-term impacts of the new OCP
pipeline on ecologically and culturally sensitive areas in
the Amazon region
or the coast. The
government is attempting to silence all public debate on
these concerns by closing the public review process a mere
three weeks after
the release of the 1,500-page
Environmental Impact Assessment and pushing
ahead with
the licensing of the project by early June. Construction is set
to begin in six weeks.
Ecuador’s oil exports are primarily destined for
consumption in the United
States, particularly in
California. Not only does this pipeline threaten
fragile areas and local communities, it further increases
our reliance on
oil - the main fossil fuel responsible
for climate change. We must call on
the
involved financial institutions to stop bankrolling destruction of the
Amazon and environmental injustice and urge them to invest
in renewable
energy alternatives - not Amazon crude!
#2
WHAT YOU CAN DO : CALL CITIGROUP!
MAY 15TH PHONE ZAP!
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW! Citi is involved in
destructive projects around
the world. As we build a
movement for systemic change in the global economy
it
is essential that we stop specific destructive projects. The OCP
pipeline is exemplary of the type of unsound project that
would be excluded
if Citigroup was to adopt
comprehensive environmental and social investment
screens. Let’s use our voice in defense of
environmental and social justice
and demand
that Citigroup :
1)
Stop disbursement of further loans to the OCP Ltd. consortium;
and;
2) Stop any further financing
for oil exploration and production activities
in the
Ecuadorian Amazon
or anyplace else in
the world and shift their investments towards renewable
energy sources
ON MAY 15TH LET'S MAKE SURE CITI
HEARS FROM ALL OF US!
Call
1-888-250-3985 then dial 0
also
E-mail Chris Beale the Global Head of Project Finance (See
sample letter
below)
chris.beale@citicorp.com
Fax 605-357-2073
TALKING POINTS
* The pipeline will
devastate fragile rainforest ecosystems and the
communities which depend on them.
* The pipeline crosses 11 protected areas including the
Mindo Nambillo
Cloudforest Reserve an internationally
recognized bird sanctuary with over
450 bird species, many of which are already endangered.
* The pipeline will massively increase oil exploration in
the Amazon
threatening biological diversity and
violating the rights
of numerous indigenous peoples who
stand opposed to oil exploitation.
* Fossil fuel
development is causing global warming and related extreme
weather that is displacing millions of people from their
homes, destroying
fragile ecosystems and causing
billions of dollars in damage. Why is Citi
still investing in fossil fuels instead of renewable
energy?
#3
SAMPLE LETTER TO CITIGROUP, J.P.
MORGAN CHASE, AND DEUTSCHE BANK
PLEASE CALL, EMAIL OR WRITE TODAY! Contact
information for all three main
funders is listed below
this sample letter. We also recommend CC-ing the
President of Ecuador and the involved oil companies in your
home country.
For a complete list of contact
information, please visit www.amazonwatch.org
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to urge you to take immediate steps in
preventing a tragedy in
the making--one that your
companies have the power to avert. Currently, the
government and a consortium of seven international oil
companies are moving
ahead with a controversial new oil
pipeline project known as the OCP
(Oleoducto de Crudos
Pesados), financed and brokered in part by J.P. Morgan
Chase, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank. This
pipeline project places fragile
ecosystems, countless
endangered and threatened species, and hundreds of
communities in jeopardy and could lead to irreversible
destruction of
Ecuador's national parks and frontier
forests.
The pipeline route
chosen affects eleven protected areas, and cuts through
the middle of Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest Reserve and
surrounding
ecologically sensitive forests, an area
designated as the first “Important
Bird Area” of South
America which contains over 450 species of birds. The
pipeline will also lead to the doubling of oil production
in the Ecuadorian
Amazon, threatening the country’s
protected areas and last remaining old
growth
rainforest, much of which falls on the territories of several
isolated indigenous communities.
Your immediate action on this
issue is critical given that the Ecuadorian
government
closed its public review period just 27 days after the release of
the 1,500-page Environmental Impact
Assessment. Furthermore, neither the
government nor the OCP Ltd. consortium are evaluating or
disclosing the
serious long-term impacts of the
projects on the Ecuadorian Amazon and its
people.
Ecuador is experiencing the
highest rate of deforestation in the Amazon
Basin and
indigenous communities are suffering from the devastating
environmental and social impacts of thirty years of
irresponsible oil
development. What steps
are your banks taking to ensure that loans to the
OCP
Consortium don' t end up financing the permanent loss of critical
rainforest ecosystems and threatening the survival of
indigenous peoples?
I urge you
to end all loan disbursement to the OCP project and stop
financing oil exploration and production in the Ecuadorian
Amazon.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Citigroup
Sandy Weill
CEO
Citigroup Center
153 East 53rd St
New York, NY 10043
Phone:
1-800-950-5114
Fax: 605-357-2073 (customer service)
investorrelations@citi.com
J.P. Morgan Chase
William B.
Harrison, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 270
Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017-2070
Phone: 212-270-6000
Fax:
212-270-6522
Email: todd.maclin@chase.com (Oil &
Gas), brian.oneill@chase.com (Latin
America)
Deutsche
Bank (Germany)
Rolf-E Breuer
Spokesman, Board of Managing Directors
E-mail: Rolf-E.Breuer@DB.com
Phone: 49 69 910 33012
Fax: 49 69
910 35512
or
Bettina
Klump-Bickert
Head of Environmental Coordination
Taunusanlage 12
60325 Frankfurt
Phone: 069 / 910 - 35893
E-mail: bettina.klump-bickert@db.com
Deutsche Bank (New York)
Phone: 212-469-8000
Sr. Gustavo Noboa
Sr. Presidente
de la República del Ecuador
fax 593 2 580735
email despresi@ec-gov.net
from the Green Party May 14, 2001
"Nader continues to travel the country, 25 states since the
election, in
part trying to build the Green Party, to
raise money and encourage Green
candidates to run for
state, local and federal office."
New
York Times
Monday,
April 23, 2001
Report from
Nader 2000 Headquarters:
Who
should decide the future of America: People or Corporations? Ralph
Nader's 2000 presidential campaign rocked the two
corporate-controlled
parties. Nader
secured nearly 3 million votes, recruited 150,000
volunteers, and raised over $8 million from individual
contributors.
Issues that would have escaped public
discourse -- electoral reform,
corporate power,
universal health care, child poverty, the death
penalty, fair trade, the criminal injustice system,
corporate welfare, a
bloated military budget, and
authentic environmental protection -- were
pushed
forward.
We want to thank all
our supporters, contributors, and volunteers.
Without
your tireless commitment, none of this would have been
possible. But now, to challenge excessive
corporate and special
interests, our grass-roots
movement must enter a new phase. To stay
involved, please follow the link at the end of this
message.
George Bush has
proven his allegiance to the corporate power
structure. Where have the Democrats
stood? Democrats confirmed all of
Bush's
cabinet appointees. Thirty-four Democratic Senators voted for a
bankruptcy bill that will directly harm small
businesses. Democrats
even voted to weaken
the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill.
Ultimately, the Republican and Democratic parties serve the
same
corporate interests.
It is up to us, the people, to stand up against corporate
lobbyists,
polluters, weapons manufacturers, the war on
drugs, HMOs, and autocratic
trade agreements.
We are building a long-range
political movement. A team of organizers,
researchers,
and attorneys is laying the groundwork for two new citizen
groups. They will work with local Green Parties,
countless civic
groups, and campaign supporters to
advance justice and democracy.
We invite you to join us in this struggle, working with
citizen groups
and Green Party chapters on local,
state, and national campaigns.
Please, get involved in your community
now. Solve its problems. Run
for
office. Write your Congressman. Hold press
conferences. Call
radio
programs. Stand with your neighbors and fight.
As for us, you will hear details
soon. Stay tuned.
YOU MUST CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
TO STAY INFORMED
The Nader
2000 campaign respects your privacy rights and promised to
keep your information confidential. This means
we will not tra
