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		HELP CURB GLOBAL WARMING ACTION DEADLINE: May 12, 2003 Don't miss a chance to support a bill that would significantly reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and other heat-trapping gases that cause global warming. Polar bears and coral reef species are just some of the wildlife already feeling the damaging effects of accelerating climate change. Introduced by Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), the Climate Stewardship Act could come up for a vote soon. »»Learn more and send a personalized message to your U.S. senators.			POWERFUL OPTION: »» Personalize your letter QUICK OPTION: Just hit "reply" and "send" »»Want to read the letter first?
		»» Tell Your Friends »» Take Action Around the World »» Protect the Arctic Refuge from Drilling »» Urge Congress to Help Rhinos, Tigers, and More			You can follow along as WWF tracks the impacts of climate change on Lena and Yana, two polar bears.
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Donate | Tell Your Friends	©2002 World Wildlife Fund Tiger & Rhino:©WWF-Canon/Martin Harvey Whale:©Melissa S. Cole Panda:©EyeWire, Inc.

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On June 2, the Federal Communications Commission is planning on authorizing sweeping changes to the American news media. The rule changes could allow your local TV stations, newspaper, radio stations, and cable provider to all be owned by one company. NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox could have the same corporate parent. The resulting concentration of ownership could be deeply destructive to our democracy.

When we talk to Congresspeople about this issue, their response is usually the same: "We only hear from media lobbyists on this. It seems like my constituents aren't very concerned with this issue." A few thousand emails could permanently change that perception. Please join us in asking Congress and the FCC to fight media deregulation at:

http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

After the FCC and Congress relaxed radio ownership rules, corporate giant Clear Channel Communications swept in and bought hundreds of stations. Clear Channel has used its might to support pro-war political rallies and conservative talk shows, keep anti-war songs off its stations, coerce musicians into playing free promotional concerts, and bully them into performing at its music venues. In many towns that used to have a diverse array of radio options, Clear Channel is now the only thing on the dial.

Monopoly power is a dangerous thing, and Congress is supposed to guard against it. But the upcoming rule change could change the landscape for all media and usher in an era in which a few corporations control your access to news and entertainment. Please tell Congress and the FCC to support a diverse, competitive media landscape by going to:

http://www.moveon.org/stopthefcc/

You can also automatically have your comments publicly filed at the FCC.

Democracy is built on the idea that the views and beliefs of an informed citizenry are the best basis for political decision-making. Without access to fair and balanced news, the system simply doesn't work. And media corporations can't be trusted to balance themselves: news corporations have shown again and again that they're willing to sacrifice journalism to improve the bottom line. That's why we need many media entities -- to keep each other honest, and to provide the information and ideas that make democracy happen.

Please join this critical campaign, and let Congress know you care.

Sincerely,
--Eli Pariser
  MoveOn.org
  May 8th, 2003

P.S. Here's a copy of our recent bulletin on this subject. To sign up for the bulletin, just click here:
http://www.moveon.org/moveonbulletin/

MoveOn.org is an issue-oriented, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that gives people a voice in shaping the laws that affect their lives. MoveOn.org engages people in the civic process, using the Internet to democratically determine a non-partisan agenda, raising public awareness of pressing issues, and coordinating grassroots advocacy campaigns to encourage sound public policies. You can help decide the direction of MoveOn.org by participating in the discussion forum at:
http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=223

To:       All Activists

From:   Lisa Dix, American Lands

Date:    May 12, 2003 

      Urgent Calls to the House Judiciary Committee Needed:

Urge Judiciary Members to Strike Sections 104, 105, 106 and 107 in HR 1904

 On Wednesday, May 14, 2003 the House Judiciary Committee will consider Representative McInnis (R-CO) "Healthy Forests Restoration Act 2003"  (HR 1904).  The McInnis bill was scheduled to go to the floor tomorrow but has been postponed until next week as so the Judiciary Committee can consider the bill.  It is unusual for the Judiciary Committee to consider a bill under the jurisdiction of the Resources Committee.  However, due to the over reaching changes to the National Environmental Policy Act alternative analysis process, the repeal of the Appeals Reform Act and the unprecedented changes in judicial review the Judiciary Committee has urged that HR 1904 must go to the Committee for consideration. 

 Please Call the Members of the Judiciary Committee (see list below) and Urge them to strike Sections 104, 105, 106 and 107 of the "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003" (HR 1904) and to oppose the McInnis bill. 

 ·        Section 104 CUTS THE HEART OUT OF NEPA: The McInnis bill seeks to eliminate the most important part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) – the requirement that alternatives to agency actions are considered.  Under this section the Forest Service will be allowed to conduct large-scale, environmentally damaging logging projects without considering any alternatives, including the "no action" alternative or their relative environmental impacts.

 ·        Section 105 REPEALS THE APPEALS REFORM ACT:  The McInnis bill abolishes citizens' statutory right to appeal Forest Service hazardous fuels projects provided by the Appeals Reform Act of 1992. Instead, it simply directs the Forest Service to establish an undefined administrative process.  The bill gives the Forest Service unfettered discretion in designing the administrative process.  Conceivably, the agency could give citizens only a few days to participate in the process, impose substantial filing fees or bonding requirements, allow projects to proceed before completion of the process, or deny other interested parties an opportunity to intervene or comment. 

 ·        Section 106 IMPOSES SEVERE LIMITS ON JUDICIAL REVIEW:  The McInnis bill imposes unreasonable deadlines, restrictions, and burdens on the judicial system for lawsuits challenging expedited fuel reduction projects. 

    1.      Lawsuits would have to be filed within 15 days after the agency publishes notice of the project decision.  This extremely short deadline would effectively preclude the option for citizens to administratively appeal agency decisions before having to go to court.  Thus, more lawsuits would likely be filed, since litigation would be the only feasible way to contest an agency decision.

1. Judges would be expected to "expedite, to the maximum extent practicable" lawsuits challenging hazardous fuels projects and to issue final decisions within 100 days after the lawsuits are filed. 

3. The bill imposes a 45-day limit on the duration of any preliminary injunction.  Any renewal of the preliminary injunction by the court would require formal congressional notification. Thus, fuel reduction projects would, by law, be assigned top priority in the federal court system, above virtually all other civil and criminal cases.

 ·        Section 107 INTERFERES WITH OUR INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY:  The McInnis bill seeks an astounding change in American legal standards by requiring courts to give "deference" to agency findings regarding the balance of harms in deciding whether to enter a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction in ANY court challenge where the agency claims the action is necessary to reduce hazardous fuels.  In other words, even if the evidence presented to a court clearly demonstrates that a project would cause immediate and substantial harm to water quality or endangered species or the agency is found to violate the law, a judge would have to defer to the agencies' claims of long-term benefit and the agency would be able to proceed.  This would be a terrible precedent undermining the impartiality of the judicial system.

 Please Call the Judiciary Committee below and tell them to strike sections 104, 105, 106, 107 in the McInnis Bill.

Judiciary Committee Members

James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) 202-225-5101

John Conyers (D-MI) 202-225-5126

Henry Hyde (R-IL) 202-225-4561

Steve Chabot (R-OH) 202-225-2216

Melissa Hart (R-PA) 202-225-2565

Mark Green (R-WI) 202-225-5665

Howard Berman (D-CA) 202-225-4695

Rick Boucher (D-VA) 202-225-3861

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) 202-225-5635

Bobby Scott (D-VA) 202-225-8351

Mel Watt (D-NC) 202-225-1510

Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 202-225-3072

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) 202-225-3816

Maxine Waters (D-CA) 202-225-2201

Marty Meehan (D-MA) 202-225-3411

William Delahunt (D-MA) 202-225-3111

Robert Wexler (D-FL) 202-225-3001

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) 202-225-2906

Anthony Weiner (D-NY) 202-225-6616

Adam Schiff (D-CA) 202-225-4176

Linda Sanchez (D-CA) 202-225-6676

From: Matt Howes, National Internet Organizer, ACLU
To: ACLU Action Network Members
Date: May 13, 2003

Under an infamous provision in the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI has the power to search your library and book-buying records by simply telling a secret court that the records are "sought for" an intelligence investigation.  Furthermore, if the librarian or bookseller tells you that they turned your records over to the government, they could be imprisoned.

Proposed legislation before the U.S. House of Representatives -- the "Freedom to Read Protection Act" -- would remove this power to search your records without a warrant or probable cause.  It is a much-needed fix to the USA PATRIOT Act, the controversial and sweeping anti-terrorism law rushed through Congress just after September 11.

This positive legislation will restore constitutional protections of our privacy. It deserves our support!

Click here to get more information and to take action!

http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=12607&c=110

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

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

A Bi-weekly Update from Defenders of Wildlife: Working to Save Wildlife and Wild Lands ETHICS PROBE: Top Interior official under investigation for conflicts of interest TIMBERRRRRRRRRR: Wildfire legislation is giveaway to logging industry NO REFUGE: Arctic photographer feels political heat FULL SPEED AHEAD: Careless boaters could doom manatees to extinction COUNTDOWN TO SAVE AMERICA'S WOLVES RISING DEATH TOLL: Record numbers of sea otters washing ashore UNDERMINING THE LAW: Administration targets key environmental statute SAVE DOLPHINS: Judge bars tuna kingpins from lawsuit 1. ETHICS PROBE: Top Interior official under investigation for conflicts of interest Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles came under investigation this week by his department's inspector general for his cozy relationship with the oil, gas and mining industries that he's supposed to regulate. Griles was a lobbyist for those same industries before he was appointed by Interior Secretary Gale Norton as her second-in-command, and he hasn't stopped his extensive contacts with his former clients, the news media reported. Griles took part in meetings about oil leases off Florida and California, even though his former clients had huge financial stakes in those issues. Before Griles was confirmed by the Senate in 2001, he agreed to refrain for a year from participating in such issues. To learn more, click here As Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton has filled her department's most senior positions with industry insiders and lobbyists, allowing big corporations to determine government policies that will seriously weaken implementation of our nation's environmental laws. To urge President Bush to remove Norton from office, go to www.stopnorton.org. 2. TIMBERRRRRRRRRR: Wildfire legislation is giveaway to logging industry Under the guise of reducing the threat of wildfires, anti-environmental congressmen are pushing legislation that calls for logging 20 million acres of federal lands, often far from any community. The bill, which has whisked through both the House Resources and Agriculture committees, could reach the floor this week. Among its many bad provisions, it would allow the Bush administration to authorize clear-cutting sites of up to 1,000 acres in the name of controlling insects. Defenders of Wildlife and a broad coalition of environmental groups are warning that the bill actually would leave Western communities at risk from wildfire. We have made our own proposal that would focus aid on communities at risk. To urge your representative to vote against this legislation, go to www.denaction.org and respond to Alert # 231. 3. NO REFUGE: Arctic photographer feels political heat Secretary Norton derides the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as "an area of vast nothingness." Subhankar Banerjee proved her wrong, spending 14 months in the refuge to photograph America's greatest wildlife preserve in all seasons. His pictures are on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. But when Sen. Barbara Boxer showed Banerjee's photos on the Senate floor in March to make the case against drilling in the refuge, the Smithsonian moved his exhibit to the basement and replaced photo captions with one-line descriptions. One caption by Banerjee read: "The refuge has the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen and is so remote and untamed that many peaks, valleys and lakes are still without names." It was changed to read: "Unnamed Peak, Romanzof Mountains." Smithsonian officials deny they caved in to political pressure. But Banerjee said he was told by a museum official "there was pressure to even cancel the show." To learn more about Banerjee and his time in the Arctic refuge, click here. 4. FULL SPEED AHEAD: Careless boaters could doom manatees to extinction Florida's manatees could face extinction unless law officers crack down on careless boaters, a new federal report says. If deaths from boat collisions continue at their present rate, there won't be enough manatees left within 100 years to sustain the population, according to the report by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. A record 95 manatees were killed last year by boats and their slicing propellers. That's 15 more than the average number of deaths for each of the previous three years and 46 more than the average from 1992-98. "If you want to save the manatee, you have got to bring that watercraft-related mortality under control. If not, it's a prescription for disaster," said Eric Glitzenstein, an attorney who has helped Defenders of Wildlife and other environmental groups force the government to establish more sanctuaries for manatees. Because of this study, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided against relaxing some protections against manatees. But more action is needed to save these gentle sea cows. To send a message to the government, go to http://www.helpmanatees.org. 5. COUNTDOWN TO SAVE AMERICA'S WOLVES Defenders of Wildlife needs to raise $150,000 to go to court and block Interior Secretary Gale Norton's lifting of essential federal protections for wolves. Already DEN readers have contributed $29,677. Thank you! Norton's actions will take us back to the days when certain state governments actively promoted the wolf's extermination. Please help with an online gift.. When you make a donation of $25 or more we'll send you a Defenders of Wildlife backpack with our thanks. Go to http://defenders.spacely.com/contribute/contribute.cfm?ORGID=WDN2 6. RISING DEATH TOLL: Record number of sea otters washing ashore Dramatically increasing numbers of dead sea otters are washing ashore up and down the California coast, and scientists don't know why. Since January, 91 otters have been found -- a record 44 in April alone. There are many possible causes: parasites, drownings in fishing nets, a shortage of sea urchins and abalone (staples of the sea otter's diet), and infectious diseases, such as one spread by cat litter dumped into sewage systems. The rise in deaths underscores the desperate need for the government to allocate money to research how to save this important wildlife species. To urge the government to seek more research funding, go to http://www.saveseaotters.org. 7. UNDERMINING THE LAW: Administration targets key environmental statute In an analysis of court cases, Defenders of Wildlife has found that the Bush administration is systematically trying to undermine the National Environmental Policy Act, one of the nation's fundamental environmental laws. In only two years, the administration has argued in court nearly 100 times for weakening that law, according to our report. The administration has lost more than three-quarters of these cases, largely because its arguments clearly violate established judicial opinion, the study concluded. As Defenders President Rodger Schlickeisen pointed out, the study shows the administration "is hell-bent on weakening our environmental protections." Read the DENlines interview with Defenders of Wildlife chief counsel William Snape. To read our report, go to http://www.defenders.org/publications/nepareport.pdf. How did the administration choose its environmental team? See the DENlines cartoon by Bruce Plante. 8. SAVE DOLPHINS: Judge bars tuna kingpins from lawsuit In a legal victory last week for Defenders of Wildlife, a federal judge barred Mexican and Venezuelan tuna industry millionaires from intervening in our lawsuit to prevent the Bush administration from weakening "dolphin-safe" tuna labels. These countries want to ship cans labeled "dolphin safe" to the United States, even though their fishing fleets chase, net and kill dolphins in the process of catching tuna. The judge should decide our lawsuit sometime this summer or fall. As part of an essay contest sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife, more than 7,000 schoolchildren have written President Bush urging him to protect dolphins from this ruthless fishing method. Thanks to all those who wrote letters to the president. To send your own message to the president, go to www.savedolphins.org. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO DENLINES NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS? Just send an E-mail from your old address to: Changeaddress@defenders.org and put only your new e-mail address in the subject line. If you no longer have access to your old address send an e-mail to DEN@Defenders.org and in the text part of the message give us your "old" and "new" addresses. DENlines is a bi-weekly update of Defenders of Wildlife, a leading national conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. It is known for its effective leadership on endangered species issues, particularly predators such as brown bears and gray wolves. Defenders also advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that protect species before they become endangered. Founded in 1947, Defenders is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with more than 400,000 members and supporters. Defenders of Wildlife 1101 14th Street, N.W. Suite 1400 Washington, DC 20005 Copyright Defenders of Wildlife 2003

AIR FORESTS HEALTH & COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONAL OCEANS PUBLIC LANDS WATER WILDLIFE

IN THIS ISSUE:      Norton: Taking the wild out of the West   Pentagon above the law? Just say no!   Peruvian pollution solution in sight   Bush admin ignored the law--and lost!   Victories for Steller sea lions and Mammoth Lakes!   Deborah Reames: Dedicated to California's deserts   Buck in Brief: Discovering Costa Rica   Tom's Turn: War on Wilderness    May desktop download Click here to download this month's wilderness desktop!  Challenging delays of endangered status for the yellow-legged mountain frog  Exposing timber industry/government collusion to weaken Northwestern forest regulations  Contesting weakened and ineffective EPA "regulation" of ocean vessel emissions   ABOUT EARTHJUSTICE Founded as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in 1971, Earthjustice is the nonprofit law firm for the environment. Earthjustice represents hundreds of environmental organizations, large and small, from eight offices and two law clinics across the country. We do not charge our clients for our services. Visit our site.   TELL A FRIEND! Spread the word about Earthjustice! Click here to tell a friend. EARTHJUSTICE E-BRIEF MAY 2003 You hear it in every stump speech and patriotic anthem--the pristine beauty of the American landscape extolled as a blessing and source of national pride. So why is the Bush administration so keen on allowing the development of our remaining wilderness areas? From the forests of the Sierra Nevada to the red rock canyons of Utah--this month we're exposing the latest and most egregious attacks on our wildlands. Don't stand for it--read on to get up to speed and take action.   The Sierra Nevada Framework represents the hard work of more than 47,000 citizens and numerous state and federal agencies to develop a plan that would shift toward ecologically-based conservation planning for Sierra Nevada forests. But now the Bush administration seems to be welcoming pro-industry attacks that could undo the Framework by refusing to adequately defend it in court. Not if we have anything to say about it--check out our request to intervene on behalf of this critical environmental law.   Gale Norton has acted to freeze wilderness consideration on public lands through a behind-closed-doors, sweetheart settlement of a lawsuit brought by pro-development politicians in Utah. Her settlement agreement affects more than 200 million acres of public lands administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management across not only Utah but many western states. The way we see it, this maneuver is not only environmentally irresponsible; it also violates the law, the US constitution, and several federal court rulings. Find out how we're fighting back by filing suit in Utah.     The price for protecting our country's security shouldn't be that we lose protections for clean air, clean water, and wildlife. Yet that's what will occur if Congress approves the unnecessary Pentagon Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative. Don't let your legislators give away our natural treasures and public health protections when the laws now under fire already allow exemptions on a case-by-case basis for national security reasons--click here to take action!  The Doe Run Company, a US company operating in Peru, has a lot to answer for. Toxic emissions from its La Oroya smelter mean the adjacent community's air is polluted with heavy metals--99% of La Oroya's children have unsafe levels of lead in their blood. But after months of stalling on the part of both Peruvian government officials and Doe Run, it looks like Earthjustice's International Program and our partners in Peru are making progress.   When the Bush administration ignored US environmental requirements for American-owned electricity plants built in Mexico to feed the US grid, Earthjustice took them to court--and won! "We're all for new, clean, energy supplies, but in this case the court said it is illegal for the Bush administration to help American power producers dodge environmental laws by putting their plants on the Mexican side of the border and then shipping the power back to the United States," explained Earthjustice international attorney Martin Wagner. More.   After years of ecosystem degradation, and an almost 90 percent drop off in their population over the last few decades--Steller sea lions off Alaska's coast are finally getting a break! And that's not the only good news this month: California's Mammoth Lakes region is also being granted a reprieve. Get the good news here.  Talk about dedication! It's been more than 25 years since Deborah Reames joined our team, and she's as excited as ever to work at Earthjustice. Read on to see how this tireless advocate for California's deserts and air recharges from her hefty caseload by connecting with the environment she protects!  Costa Rican cloud forests, exotic birds, the Caribbean coast. It's all in a day's work for our own Buck Parker! Get the scoop on Buck's ten-day trip to Costa Rica and the broader body of work we're pursuing in North, Central, and South America. From ecosystems to the political climate, our intrepid executive director tells all... Tom Turner is Earthjustice's Senior Editor. E-mail him at tturner@earthjustice.org. War on Wilderness That muffled chuckling you hear is Jim Watt, getting his delayed revenge. Mr. Watt was Secretary of the Interior at the beginning of the Reagan administration. His tenure was raucous and colorful. He opposed nearly everything you can think of in the way of sound environmental policy and he couldn't keep his mouth shut. He was constantly in the papers, insulting people right and left. He divided the populace into "environmentalists" and "Americans." He was finally forced to resign when he bragged that an advisory group he had appointed would pass muster. We've got, he told a reporter, "a black, a woman, two Jews, and a cripple." Prior to taking over the Interior Department, Mr. Watt practiced law at the Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver. One of his subordinates was Gale Norton. Ms. Norton now runs the Department of the Interior. She seems to share her old boss' political views, but she learned from his gaffes: she says little and carries a very big stick. Lately, she has turned her stick against the millions of acres of wilderness managed by her Bureau of Land Management. The details are spelled out in great detail here, (www.leaveitwild.org). In essence, the administration has just issued a directive in Alaska and settled a suit filed by the state of Utah that together would limit the BLM lands eligible for wilderness protection to around 20 million acres out of a total of around 230 million. Earthjustice attorneys, representing a wide swath of the environmental movement, have moved to intervene in the Utah case and block the settlement. This is distressing but hardly surprising. It fits neatly with the administration's incredible hostility to all things environmental. They would do well to remember Wallace Stegner: "Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed... We need wilderness preserved, as much of it as is still left, and as many kinds because it was the challenge against which our character as a people was formed... We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope." --Tom Turner, Senior Editor tturner@earthjustice.org Mail Bag A selection of your e-mails to us this month. Have something to say? Drop us a line: tturner@earthjustice.org "Why even bother debating, fighting, or challenging anything coming out of the Bushies, from the war to the environment to the economy, seeing that our democracy has been overthrown by a dictatorship? Supreme ruler Bush will not listen to anyone except his unscrupulous, reprobate corporate robber barons and their obscene campaign contributions." --William Montgomery, Salem, OR "I read with interest Mr. Turner's commentary entitled "Down with Democracy." I am afraid that his whole article was based on a single, faulty assumption. The United States of America has never been a democracy. The framers of the Constitution never intended to create a democratic form of government. If you read the Constitution or recite the Pledge you will notice that our nation is a republic. This form of government does not allow public sentiment to directly impact every decision. Rather, public sentiment chooses people to represent us and trusts them with these decisions. This form of government allows Mr. Bush to make the decisions he makes and allowed Mr. Clinton to make the decisions he made without being accused of destroying democracy." --Dave Owens TOM: It is quite true that we do not have the right to vote on every decision of government, that we elect people to do that for us. My point, however, was that when laws and regulations invite citizens to advise their unelected bureaucrats in the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and many other agencies it is reasonable to expect that those people will pay attention. Otherwise, why solicit comments? --TT "Included in my MidAmerican Energy Company bill was a flier informing us that they are proposing to build in Iowa the world's largest land-based wind project.   I hope you don't think I'm daft, but I have a real problem with them harnessing the wind and charging me for what Mother Nature provides us. They will be using for free what they will be charging us for. If they are taxed for air space, it will be added on to our bill. We already pay for the water we use and drink, which is critical to our very existence, now we will be paying for Mother Nature's wind to bring us electricity. The very air we breathe we will be paying for. And worse, my fear that big corporations will make billions off the wind. Once started I'm sure there will be more individual corporations putting up their own wind projects. Like oil corporations that gouge and take home heavy paychecks." --Carol Ryan Witt, Bettendorf, Iowa "I appreciate what you are doing to preserve our homeland in ways that many ignore these days! While war talk grabs the headlines, the Bush administration undermines every environmental gain we have achieved for decades. When the focus is turned back to the homeland, I fear what will have been destroyed or given away in the name of "survival, growth, and energy independence." Please keep up the fight, and like-minded folks will hear, and carry the message! My husband and I recently purchased his family farm in North Carolina--it is over 150 acres of pristine beauty! Our monthly financial struggles are significant--but not nearly as significant as the satisfaction we feel knowing that the land will be preserved--untouched--for another generation." --Anne Jones, Severna Park, Maryland "I am writing to you about my concerns that the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 presents to American democracy. It is important to understand that under this bill, activist groups such as Greenpeace will be targeted as "terrorist" groups. Those good people who contribute financially to them could be targeted for legal and surveillance action as well. The structure of law as we know it today is in place because of substantial abuses in the past against our civil leaders and organizations by the Justice Department during the civil rights movement. The safeguards that have been put in place to protect us are being threatened. Please encourage your membership and readers to contact their senators and congressman and remind them that during his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was viewed and treated as a "terrorist" by the same group that now tells us it is in our own best interests to give up our civil liberties so Mr. Ashcroft can more effectively protect us." --For America, Andrew Drake If you'd like to contribute, drop us a line at tturner@earthjustice.org   ©2003 Earthjustice | 426 17th St., 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612 | 510-550-6700 | enews@earthjustice.org Powered by:

Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve is one of the premier wilderness national parks in America, but some components of a new National Park Service backcountry plan are threatening this pristine area.

   When it was established in 1917 as Mt. McKinley National Park, the park encompassed about two million acres. In 1980, it was expanded to six million acres and renamed Denali National Park and Preserve. In one of the backcountry plan's options is a Park Service proposal to open a majority of the added parkland to snowmobiles -- either riding on identified corridors or, worse yet, in uncontrolled dispersed riding areas jeopardizing wildlife, and other natural resources.

   While NPCA recognizes the need for limited, traditional use of motorized vehicles in certain areas, NPCA does not support recreational snowmobile riding in national parks, including parks in Alaska.

Take action >> We need your help today to encourage the Park Service to choose the alternative that "emphasizes wilderness resource values." Please write to Denali National Park's superintendent in  support of Alternative B by May 30.

http://www.npca.org/take_action/action_alerts/denali.asp

Donate now >> Support NPCA's efforts to keep one of America's premier wilderness parks free from snowmobiles.

https://www.npca.org/bear/denalisnowmobiles.asp

Play the Bear Necessities >> A special Denali grizzly bear knows one way to take a stand against recreational snowmobiles. Help him win a snowball fight.

http://www.npca.org/bear/denali.asp

Thank you for protecting Denali National Park and Preserve,
Gaby
National Parks Conservation Association
TakeAction@npca.org
http://www.npca.org/takeaction

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

The Bush administration is pushing for the development of new nuclear
weapons. The White House is interested in smaller, more "usable"
nuclear weapons and has asked Congress to lift the 10-year Spratt-
Furse ban on the development of new "mini-nukes." The Senate will
likely vote next week whether or not to maintain the ban. Take this
opportunity to tell your senators to oppose new nuclear weapons: tell
them to maintain the Spratt-Furse law.

TAKE ACTION:

1) Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224 - 3121. Ask to be
   connected to your senators' office. Tell the receptionist you
   want your senator "to maintain the Spratt-Furse law in the 2004  
   defense authorization bill." Calling is the most effective way to
   get your message to your senators.
                             ---- OR ----
2) To customize and send the letter below to your senator visit
   http://www.ucsaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=2680. Read the      
prepared letter and insert a sentence or two of personal message into
the first paragraph. Please take the extra minute to personalize! The
vote on new nuclear weapons may be the most critical global security
issue of this Congress, and personalized emails are much
more influential.

Learn more about the issue in the background section below.

Letter:

I am writing to ask you to maintain the ban on developing new low-
yield nuclear weapons, also known as "mini-nukes."

The Senate's FY 04 defense authorization bill repeals the 1993 Spratt-
Furse provision. Spratt-Furse bans the development of these weapons
while permitting research. Maintaining the ban serves US interests
overall.

As you may know, the United States has already developed and tested
low-yield nuclear weapons, and does not need to develop new ones.
Some argue that the ban impedes the development of new nuclear
weapons designed to attack deep underground targets and destroy
chemical and biological agents. However, technical analysis conducted
by nuclear weapon scientists shows that low-yield weapons would not
be effective for these tasks.

Other advocates of mini-nukes push them as more useable than larger
nuclear weapons. As the world's preeminent military power, however,
the United States should work to decrease rather than increase the
potential for nuclear use. Breaking the taboo on the use of nuclear
weapons can only harm US interests.

Finally, new mini-nukes put at risk international efforts to halt the
spread of nuclear weapons. The US pursuit of new nuclear weapons
legitimizes their development by other countries. It is also an
incentive for countries that are concerned that they may be a target
of such weapons to develop their own nuclear weapons as a deterrent.

As your constituent, I strongly believe that you should improve US
national security by voting to preserve the Spratt-Furse provision.

Background:

Next week, the Senate will likely consider the annual defense
authorization bill. Tucked deep within the bill is language calling
for the repeal of a 1993 law called the Spratt-Furse provision.
Spratt-Furse bans the development of new low-yield nuclear weapons
(with yields of less than 5 kilotons-about a third of the bomb that
destroyed Hiroshima), also known as "mini-nukes." It is critical to
maintain this ban for two reasons.

First, many advocates of mini-nukes push them as more useable than
larger nuclear weapons. However, the use of any nuclear weapons, with
their destructive power and radioactive fallout, is unacceptable. As
the world's preeminent military power, the United States should work
to decrease rather than increase the potential for nuclear use.
Breaking the taboo on use of nuclear weapons can only harm US
interests.

Second, new mini-nukes put at risk international efforts to halt the
spread of nuclear weapons. The US pursuit of new nuclear weapons
legitimizes their development by other countries. It is also an
incentive for countries that are concerned that they may be a target
of such weapons to develop their own nuclear weapons as a
deterrent.   

For detailed information on the Spratt-Furse provision, please see
our backgrounder at:
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_security/nuclear_weapons/page.cfm?
pageID=1182

Act now to help stop the US development of new mini-nukes by
preserving the Spratt-Furse law!

Here's a press release about our current campaign in Ghana. Copied below is
the full statement of Ghana's National Coalition of Civil Society Groups
Against Mining in Forest Reserves.

Please support the Coalition of environmental and human rights organizations
in Ghana by writing letters to Ghana's President and to the CEO of Newmont
Mining Corporation. We need to stand by these Ghanaian citizens who are
determined to protect their last remaining forests and to prevent the
gutting of Ghana's conservation laws.

To read the Global Response action alert and write your letters now, please
see:
www.globalresponse.org/ghana.

THANKS for helping out in this campaign! Please circulate the press release
far and wide.
  --Paula Palmer

*********************
May 13, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paula Palmer, Program Director, 303/444-0306;
paula@globalresponse.org
www.globalresponse.org/ghana

GLOBAL RESPONSE BACKS GHANA CITIZENS' PLEA TO UPHOLD CONSERVATION LAWS

On May 8, a coalition of 14 environmental and human rights organizations in
Ghana launched a campaign to rebuff five powerful mining companies that are
trying to muscle their way into Ghana’s protected forest reserves.  The
National Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Mining in Forest Reserves
argues that these big companies should not be pressuring Ghana to change its
conservation laws.

Citing Ghana’s 1994 Forest and Wildlife Policy and its ratification of the
Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat
Desertification, the Coalition is demanding that Ghanaian government
officials and the mining companies uphold existing protections for the
forest reserves, where mining has never been permitted.  It also issued an
appeal to the international community to “echo our demands and support our
course.”

The Coalition charges that industry giant Newmont Mining Corporation,
Chirano Goldmines Limited, Satelite Goldfields Limited, Nevsun/AGC and
Birim/AGC are pressuring Ghanaian authorities to open the forest reserves to
mining.

Global Response, an international network for environmental action and
education, is launching a letter-writing campaign, urging citizens around
the world to write letters to Ghana’s president and Newmont Mining
Corporation’s CEO. “Letters from thousands of citizens will show Ghana that
the world is watching, and that we expect the government to enforce its
environmental protection laws,” said Global Response program director Paula
Palmer.

The Boulder, Colorado-based organization led protests and street theater at
Newmont’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Denver on May 7.  “Newmont
projects an image as an industry leader in responsible mining practices,”
said Palmer, “but right now Newmont is pressuring Ghana to relax its
environmental protection laws. That is unacceptable behavior for an industry
leader.”

Coalition member Daniel Owusu-Koranteng of the Wassa Association of
Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) has already seen too much
environmental destruction and human suffering from mining.  WACAM is
demanding clean-up and compensation after two disastrous cyanide spills from
gold mines in 2001. Recalling the toxic spills that killed fish, crabs and
birds in rivers and marshlands and left thousands of villagers without safe
water for drinking and agriculture, Owusu-Koranteng says, “Ghana’s precious
forest reserves must not suffer this fate.”

“Mining in forest reserves will aggravate the already alarming rate of
forest degradation in the country and wreak havoc on freshwater systems and
watersheds, …as well as the entire ecosystem and biodiversity,” the
Coalition stated.  Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Forestry reports that a
mere 2 percent of the country’s original forests remain intact.  These
savanna and tropical rain forests have over 700 different tree species and
provide critical habitat for many endangered species, including rare
primates and the forest elephant.

***************************************************
DECLARATION: Campaign Against Mining in Ghana’s Forest Reserves

By: National Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Mining in Forest
Reserves
7-8th May 2003, Accra

Mr Chairman,
Members of the press
Colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen

I am happy to make this presentation on behalf of the National Coalition of
Civil Society Groups against Mining in Ghana’s forest reserves. The
presentation I am about to make focuses on concerns we as a coalition have
about national decision-making efforts for mining in Ghana’s forest
reserves. Knowing that we are all interested in the sustainable development
of our natural resources we are hopeful that by the end of the presentation
many would see our campaign as justified and worthy of support.

The Government of Ghana has declared her intention to release portions of
Ghana’s closed forest reserves for mining. Five mining companies are already
lined up for mining leases to exploit mineral resources in the forest
reserves. Therefore we the Civil Society Coalition against mining in forest
reserves are concerned about this decision by the government and we call on
her to withdraw the decision and to revoke those mining leases if already
granted. We believe that the decision to release portions of the country’s
forest reserves is just an entry point for opening up the entire forest
reserves to mining. The decision does not only undermine the significant
role that forest reserves play in the economic, environmental and social
development of a people and their country but also contradicts the
government’s own policy on natural resource conservation.

The forest reserves in question include : Subri River Forest Reserve, a
globally important bio-diversity area which is also the largest forest
reserve in the country.It is also a critical watershed between major
rivers -Rivers Bonsa and Pra.  Others are the Supuma Shelterbelt ; Opon
Mansi Forest Reserve in the Western Region ; Tano-Suraw and Suraw Extension
also in the Western region ; Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve in the Eastern
region ; Cape Three Points Forest Reserve in the Western region and the
Atewa Range Forest Reserve in the Eastern region.

Chirano Goldmines Limited, Satelite Goldfields Limited, Nevsun/AGC,
Birim/AGC and Newmont Ghana Limited are the companies fronting to mine in
these reserves.

Forests reserves have important environmental and ecological linkages. They
are linked to water and soil resources, genetic resources of plants and
animals and to food production and food security. In particular they
constitute a major source of fresh water bodies for domestic and industrial
use and enhance local climatic conditions for agricultural production. In
Ghana most freshwater bodies take their source from forested areas. For
example, rivers Ankobra and Suraw take their source from the Tano-Suraw
forest reserve, which also protects river Tano that passes through it.
Clearly, if this reserve is being considered for mining then we are being
confronted with serious livelihood and environmental consequences in a much
larger magnitude. Forets reserves are also important to the economic and
social-cultural relationship of rural communities and the nation as a whole.
They create jobs, provide health and food security and help in the cultural
identity of a people. It is for these and many other important reasons that
Ghana Government has committed herself to several international conventions
and has also enacted various legislation to protect and conserve forest and
forest resources.

In spite of the important role that forest reserves play they have been
undergoing qualitative and quantitative deterioration over the years.
Already, much of the original vegetation of the country has been removed or
considerably deteriorated. The size of existing forests and forestry
resources and their adequacy for supplying critical goods and environmental
influences neccessary for the continued viability of local production is
dwindling year afetr year. The nation’s total forest cover has reduced from
the 8.2 million hectares around 1900 to less than 1.6 million hectares as at
now, which is even less than the initial 1.76million hectares reserved as
permanent forest estates. Out of the 1.6 million hectares, only 32,000
hectares representing 2% of the remaining forest reserves is said to be in
excellent condition.

The government’s decision to open up the forest reserves for mining  is
influenced by the demands of the Chamber of Mines who represent the interest
of the mining industry based on their narrow economic benefits and not based
on a proper assesment of the environmental and social costs to the nation.
Proponents for mining in forest reserves are hiding behind what they call
production zones within the forest reserves to back their claim. Clearly, it
is hard to believe that mining   is one of the activities that constitute
productive activity in forest reserves.

Mining in forest reserves will aggravate the already alarming rate of forest
degradation in the country and wreak havoc on freshwater systems and
watersheds, which are already global scarce commodities, as well as the
entire ecosystem and biodiversity.

Mining in forest reserves also contravenes the principles underlining the
establishment of forest reserves in Ghana. The 1994 Forest and Wildlife
Policy of Ghana aims at ‘conservation and sustainable development of the
nation’s forest and wildlife resources for the maintenance of environmental
quality and perpetual flow of optimum benefits to all segments of society’.
Mining especially surface mining in forest reserves have no place in this
policy objective because surface mining does not conserve, sustain the use
of nor preserve biological diversity, water resources and the environment.
By removing the entire forest biomass (plants and animals) biodiversity is
lost, water cycle function of the forests is lost, local climate for
agricultural production is seriously distorted, headwaters of streams and
rivers get vanished with consequent distorted effects on domestic and
industrial water supplies even in remote settlemnts. If these are some of
the adverse effects of surface mining in forest reserves of which Ghana
seeks to protect through Forest Certification, then a clrear contravention
is established by any attempt to permit mining in forest reserves.

The decision to permit mining in forest reserves undermines the reasons
behind the establishment of statutory bodies such as the Forestry Commission
and international conventions which Ghana is signatory. Ghana is signatory
to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat
Desertification (CCD) which all aim to conserve natural resources for
sustainable development. If the country is signatory to all these
conventions that seeks to protect natural resources including forest
reserves and forest products and yet is permitting mining especially surface
mining in forest reserves then the Government’s concern about general
environmental degradation is mere rhethoric.

We are deeply concerned about the lukewarm attitude successive governments
in Ghana have accorded the forestry sector which unfortunately has allowed
so much damage to the country’s closed forest estates. This same lukewarm
attitude is being used as an excuse to permit mining in forest reserves. For
instance Honourable Kwadwo Adjei-Darko the outgone Minister of Mines once
indicated that ‘…..some of these areas that they are calling forest reserves
are only on paper as forest reserves…’ The logical implication of this
statement is that the forest reserves are degraded therefore we as a nation
should intensify the degradation by permitting surface mining in the forest
reserves.

Demands :

On the basis of the foregoing we the National Coalition of Civil Society
Groups against Mining in forest reserves make the following demands:

1. That Government should withdraw her decision to allow mining in forest
reserves and also revoke all mining leases on forest reserves if already
granted.

2. Government should enact a clear cut regulatory framework that prohibits
mining in forest reserves.

3. Government should demonstrate the political will and commitment for the
protection and conservation of the country’s forest estates by strengthening
the capacity of state institutions responsible for the protection and
management of  these forests estates.

4. We call on the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and other Multinational Financial Institutions  not to finance or
support the Ghana Government and the five companies to carry out mining in
forest reserves in the country.

5. We also call on the public and the media to echo our demands and support
our course.

Organisations
1. Third World Network-Africa (TWN-Afr)
2. Centre for Public Interest Law (CEPIL)
3. Wassa Association of Communities Affeted by Mining (WACAM)
4. League of Environmental Journalist (LEJ)
5. Food First International and Action Network (FIAN)
6. Friends of the Earth Ghana, (FOE-Ghana)
7. Green Earth Organisation
8. Abantu for Development
9. Ever Green Club of Ghana
10. Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA)
11. Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU)
12. Centre for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development (CERES)
13. Federation of Environmental Journalist (FEJ)

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

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

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


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

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

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

To: Northeast Activists
From: John Demos, American Lands
Date: May 15, 2003

FINAL PUSH TO STOP MCINNIS FIRE BILL

The McInnis "Healthy Forests Restoration Act," HR 1904 will be on the House floor tomorrow.

I have heard the following from several Northeast Offices.

Boehlert’s (R-NY) staffer told me last week that Boehlert is going to speak on the floor in support of McInnis.  He needs to feel the heat on this one.

Shays’ (R-CT)  aide told me on Friday that he will vote against McInnis.  He needs a big thank you on this.  The White House is putting major pressure on the moderate R’s.

Bradley (R-NH) told me himself on Saturday that he was undecided.  Please call his office (and Bass’) to let them know this is a rotten piece of legislation.

Other moderates in our region have not answered my phone calls.

PLEASE CALL YOUR REPS TODAY (The Democrats need to be shored up on this too!) Phone numbers  at end of this message.

BACKGROUND

This is an urgent situation.  The Timber Industry, biomass industry, the Society of American Foresters, other timber industry front groups and the White House have been on Capitol Hill lobbying for this bill for weeks.  Many Representatives, Republican and Democrat alike have stated that they are "undecided" about how they are going to vote on this legislation.  Many Representatives, even Representatives that have a good record for voting to protect the environment have stated "this issue is a tough one for them back home."  

Even more Representatives have said that this is an election issue for them and they have to vote to do "something," therefore they might vote for HR 1904.  The perception for these Representatives, both Democrat and Republican, is that voting for a bill that will devastate our forests and cut citizens out of management decisions affecting their public lands is better for them and has more support back home than to actually be strong and vote against 1904.  Please educate your Representative and let them know that voting for HR 1904 will have consequences and is unacceptable. Your Representatives need to be educated about the effects this vote will have on the ground in our National Forests.  

Keep up the pressure.  Please call your Representative (and try to generate as many calls as possible) at 1-800-839-5276.  Ask for the staff that handles National Forest issues and tell them to vote NO on HR 1904, "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003."  

The "Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HR 1904) will:

· ·        Not Ensure Any Increased Protection for Communities: HR 1904 does not include any specific measures to protect homes or communities.  It is also inconsistent with the Western Governors’ Association 10-Year Comprehensive Strategy, which does not call for any changes in existing laws.  The only proven method to protect homes and communities is to reduce flammable materials in the immediate vicinity of structures, yet the sham definitions in H.R. 1904 would not require any activities to be near homes.  Instead, the bill seeks to further subsidize the timber industry and eliminate obstacles to logging large, fire-resistant trees miles away from the nearest home.  The country’s top forest scientists, including the Forest Service’s own scientists, have found that this kind of logging can actually increase fire risk and make fires larger and more intense.  

· Cut the Heart out of NEPA.  HR 1904 allows the Forest Service to conduct large-scale, environmentally damaging logging projects without considering any alternatives, including the "no action" alternative or their relative environmental impacts.

· Remove the Public from the Process.  HR 1904 eliminates the statutory right of citizens to appeal Forest Service logging projects.

· Interfere with the Independent Judiciary.  HR 1904 seeks to restrict a core principle of our democracy -- the right of Americans to seek redress in the court for grievances involving the federal government.  The bill limits preliminary injunctive relief to 45 days, and forces any U.S court to render a final decision on the merits of a case within 100 days.  Finally, the bill seeks an astounding change in American legal standards by requiring courts to give deference to agency findings regarding the balance of harms in deciding whether to enter a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or a permanent injunction in ANY court challenge where the agency claims the action is necessary to "restore fire-adapted forest or rangelands ecosystems."  

· Create New Insect Categorical Exclusion.  HR 1904 creates a new Categorical Exclusion from the National Environmental Policy Act on all Department of Interior and Forest Service lands by authorizing an unlimited number of projects (up to 1,000 acres each) for all lands that the agencies claim are at risk of infestation by certain insects.  

· Provide New Logging Subsidies.  HR 1904 would authorize $125 million in subsidies to the biomass industry to log our National Forests.

CT
Rosa DeLauro      D CT 3 (202) 225-3661
Rob Simmons       R CT 2 (202) 225-2076
Nancy LJohnson    R CT 6 (202) 225-4476
John Larson       D CT 1 (202) 225-2265
James Maloney     D CT 5 (202) 225-3822
Christopher Shays R CT 4 (202) 225-5541

MA
Michael Capuano    D MA 8 (202) 225-5111
William Delahunt   D MA 10 (202) 225-3111
Barney Frank       D MA 4 (202) 225-5931
Stephan Lynch      D MA 9 (202) 225-8273
Edward J. Markey   D MA 7 (202) 225-2836
James McGovern     D MA 3 (202) 225-6101
Martin Meehan      D MA 5 (202) 225-3411
Richard E. Neal    D MA 2 (202) 225-5601
John Olver         D MA 1 (202) 225-5335
John Tierney       D MA 6 (202) 225-8020

ME
Thomas Allen       D ME 1 (202) 225-616
Mike Michaud       D ME 2 (202) 225-6306

NH
Charles F. Bass    R NH 2 (202) 225-5206
Jeb Bradley        R NH 1 (202) 225-5456

NJ
Andrews Robert      D NJ 1  (202) 225-6501
Holt Rush      D NJ 12 (202) 225-5801
Menendez Robert      D NJ 13 (202) 225-7919
Pallone Frank      D NJ 6  (202) 225-4671
Pascrell William     D NJ 8  (202) 225-5751
Payne Donald M.    D NJ 10 (202) 225-3436
Rothman Steven      D NJ 9  (202) 225-5061
Ferguson Mike      R NJ 7  (202) 225-5361
Frelinghuysen Rodney R NJ 11 (202) 225-5034
Garrett      R NJ 5  (202) 225-4465
LoBiondo Frank A.    R NJ 2  (202) 225-6572
Saxton Jim      R NJ 3  (202) 225-4765
Smith Christopher    R NJ 4  (202) 225-3765

NY
Gary L. Ackerman     D NY 5 (202) 225-2601
Bishop  Timothy      D NY 1 (202) 225-3826
Sherwood L. Boehlert R NY 24 (202) 225-3665
Joseph Crowley       D NY 7 (202) 225-3965
Eliot L. Engel       D NY 17 (202) 225-2464
Vito Fossella        R NY 13 (202) 225-3371
Maurice Hinchey      D NY 22 (202) 225-6335
Amo Houghton         R NY 29 (202) 225-3161
Sue Kelly            R NY 19 (202) 225-5441
Peter King           R NY 3 (202) 225-7896
Steve Israel         D NY 2 (202) 225-3335
Nita M. Lowey        D NY 18 (202) 225-6506
Carolyn Maloney      D NY 14 (202) 225-7944
Carolyn McCarthy     D NY 4 (202) 225-5516
John McHugh          R NY 23 (202) 225-4611
Michael R.McNulty    D NY 21 (202) 225-5076
Gregory Meeks        D NY 6 (202) 225-3461
Jerrold Nadler       D NY 8 (202) 225-5635
Major R. Owens       D NY 11 (202) 225-6231
Jack Quinn           R NY 27 (202) 225-3306
Charles B. Rangel    D NY 15 (202) 225-4365
Thomas Reynolds      R NY 26 (202) 225-5265
Jose Serrano         D NY 16 (202) 225-4361
Louise McIntosh Slaughter D NY 28 (202) 225-3615
John Sweeney         R NY 20 (202) 225-5614
Edolphus Towns       D NY 10 (202) 225-5936
Nydia Velazquez      D NY 12 (202) 225-2361
James T. Walsh       R NY 25 (202) 225-3701
Anthony Weiner       D NY 9 (202) 225-6616

PA
Brady Robert D PA 1 (202) 225-4731
Doyle Michael D PA 14 (202) 225-2135
Fattah Chaka D PA 2 (202) 225-4001
Hoeffel Joseph D PA 13 (202) 225-6111
Holden Tim D PA 17 (202) 225-5546
Kanjorski Paul D PA 11 (202) 225-6511
Murtha John D PA 12 (202) 225-2065
English Philip R PA 3 (202) 225-5406
Gerlach Jim     R PA 6 (202) 225-4315
Greenwood James R PA 8 (202) 225-4276
Hart Melissa R PA 4 (202) 225-2565
Murphy Tim     R PA 18 (202) 225-2301
Peterson John R PA 5 (202) 225-5121
Pitts Joseph R PA 16 (202) 225-2411
Platts Todd R PA 19 (202) 225-5836
Sherwood Donald R PA 10 (202) 225-3731
Shuster Bill    R PA 9 (202) 225-2431
Toomey Patrick R PA 15 (202) 225-6411
Weldon Curt R PA 7 (202) 225-2011

RI
Patrick J. Kennedy   D RI 1 (202) 225-4911
James Langevin       D RI 2 (202) 225-2735

VT
Bernard Sanders     I VT AL (202) 225-4115

Your action is needed immediately to defend our rivers - and the
wildlife that depends on them - from environmental overrides on
behalf of the Department of Defense.   

Hidden in a bill covering Department of Defense programs, the House
of Representatives is considering provisions THIS WEEK that would
exempt the Department of Defense from some of our nation's most
important environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act.  
One specific provision included by Representative Renzi of Arizona
would allow Fort Huachuca to increase its water consumption without
considering the impacts on the San Pedro River (one of our nation's
last intact desert river ecosystems) and the endangered species it
supports.

TAKE ACTION TODAY!  Contact your Representative now and urge him/her
to oppose the Renzi language (Section 319) and all environmental
exemptions in the Defense Authorization Bill (H.R. 1588).  You can
call your Representative by dialing the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-
3121) or you can use our action alert system to send an email
letter.  Visit:
http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/index.asp?step=2&item=2682


*************************************
Thank you for helping to protect and
restore America's rivers, and being a part of American Rivers' River
Action Center (http://amriversaction.ctsg.com/wac/).

Take the next step - become a member of American Rivers!
http://www.americanrivers.org/joindonate or call us at 202-347-7550,
or toll free at 1-877-347-7550.

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

To:      All Activists

From:  Anne Martin and Randi Spivak - American Lands Alliance, Chris van
Daalen - Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment, Todd Schulke -
Center for Biological Diversity, Rick Brown - Defenders Of Wildlife,
Katherine Groves - Georgia Forest Watch, Brett Brownscomb - Hells Canyon
Preservation Council, Jake Kreilick - National Forest Protection Alliance,
Hugh Irwin - Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, Marnie Criley -
Wildlands CPR, Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala - World Wildlife Fund

Date:  May 21, 2003

Subject:  Announcing the Citizen's Call for Ecological Restoration: Forest
Restoration Principles and Criteria

Today, 121 local and national organizations, unveiled the "Citizen's Call
for Ecological Restoration: Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria." The
Restoration Principles are the result of a 2-year bridge building effort
between conservation groups, community forestry advocates and restoration
practitioners to develop agreement on a common sense, scientifically-based
framework for restoring our nation's forests.

The Restoration Principles serve as a national policy statement to guide
sound ecological restoration. They clearly define principles and criteria in
order to evaluate proposed forest restoration policies and projects.  By
including social and economic criteria, the Restoration Principles also help
bridge the gap between what's good for the land and what's good for
communities and workers.

The Restoration Principles stand in stark contrast to the so-called "Healthy
Forests Restoration Act of 2003" passed yesterday by the U.S. House and the
Bush administration's "Healthy Forest Initiative." Instead of restoring our
National Forests, this bill and the bush so-called Healthy Forest Initiative
(HFI) limits citizen participation and undermine key environmental laws in
order to increase logging and road building on National Forests, thereby
creating an even greater need for ecological restoration in the future.

The so-called HFI and the House bill purport to restore forest health, but
the focus remains on logging and "thinning" forests. These approaches
represent the same failed management practices of the past decades now being
advanced under the guise of  "hazardous fuels reduction" and "forest
health."

During a period of significant change in forest policies at the federal,
state and local level, the Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria
establish a vision for restoring natural ecosystems and a sustainable human
relationship with the land. They strongly reject the false claims of
"regulatory streamlining" and "healthy forests" initiatives that use
pseudo-science and failed economic theories, and purport to serve the public
interest. The Principles and Criteria provide an essential tool for
stakeholders and decision-makers at all levels to evaluate, critique,
improve, support or reject a proposed project or policy. All interested
parties are invited to endorse and utilize this document.

A copy of the Restoration Principles is available at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/restoration/principles.pdf

An Executive Summary of the Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration
is below as well as a list of the organizations that have endorsed the
document.  

Who Developed the Restoration Principles?

These Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria are based on values and
principles that were developed by a diverse group of forest activists and
forest ecologists from around the U.S. with input from representatives of
forest practitioners and community forest groups who participated in the
Forest Activist Summit on Forest Restoration in Boulder Colorado, February
16-18, 2001. This diverse group was brought together because of the
recognition that, to develop and implement a sound restoration agenda, the
conservation community must learn from and work with those who do the
restoration work on the ground. A steering committee of grassroots, regional
and national conservation organizations worked for over a year and a half to
finalize the Principles and ensure that they were scientifically credible. A
second summit was held in Spokane, Washington February 15-17th, 2002 to
bring together environmentalists, forest practitioners and community
forestry advocates to further the conversation about implementing ecological
restoration. A third Summit took place in Ashland, Oregon March 13-15, 2003
to continue this dialogue.

How will the Principles be used?

The Restoration Principles will be used to guide restoration policy and
educate Members of Congress and their staff on what is good and bad forest
restoration and how ecological forest restoration should be implemented.
The Principles are also a tool for forest watch activists, forest
practitioners, restorationists, scientists and others to guide development
and assess restoration projects in the planning or implementation stage. To
make the principles more "field friendly", they have been formatted into a
checklist that can be used in the field to determine if restoration projects
are restoring ecological integrity and meeting restoration objectives.  This
checklist has been published along with a manuscript version of the
Restoration Principles in the March 2003 issue of Ecological Restoration
available at: www.worldwildlife.org/klamathsiskiyou
<http://www.worldwildlife.org/klamathsiskiyou>.

For more information about the Restoration Principles, please contact:

Anne Martin, American Lands Alliance, annem@americanlands.org  or at
509-624-5657.

_____________________

Executive Summary

Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration:
Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria

Forests are among the most precious and beloved places on our continent,
providing pure air, clean water, climate control and other ecosystem
services that are vital to our quality of life and the survival of fish and
wildlife.  Regrettably, centuries of resource extraction and development
have fundamentally altered most of America's forests, resulting in loss of
habitat, water quality and old-growth forests, as well as economic and
social harm to communities and workers.

Ecological forest restoration can help reverse these declines, but only if
it is based on science and recognizes that ecosystems are complex and our
understanding is limited.  Preserving wild forests and investing in degraded
landscapes through thoughtful, science-based restoration will foster a just,
conservation-based economy that can create and sustain family wage jobs
within the capacity of healthy forest ecosystems.

The Citizen's Call for Ecological Forest Restoration is a national policy
statement to guide sound ecological restoration.  It clearly defines
principles and criteria to serve as a yardstick for evaluating proposed
forest restoration policies and projects.  By including social and economic
criteria, it also helps bridge the gap between what's good for the land and
what's good for communities and workers.  The Restoration Principles were
developed by a diverse group of forest activists and ecologists, with input
from forest practitioners and community forestry groups since 2001.

Successful ecosystem restoration must address ecological, economic and
social needs including community development and the well-being of the
restoration workforce.  While emphasizing that the primary goal of
restoration is to enhance ecological integrity, the document encompasses two
additional core principles that address the value of "natural capital" and
socio-economic issues that set the context and criteria for restoration.

Core Restoration Principles:
1. Ecological Forest Restoration.  The primary goal of forest restoration is
to enhance ecological integrity by restoring natural processes and
resiliency.  Effective forest restoration should reestablish fully
functioning ecosystems.  Ecological integrity can be thought of as the
"ability of an ecosystem to support and maintain a balanced, adaptive
community of organisms having a species composition, diversity and
functional organization comparable to that of natural habitats within a
region (Karr and Dudley 1981)."  A restoration approach based on ecological
integrity incorporates the advantages of historical models while recognizing
that ecosystems are dynamic and change over time.

Ecological sub-principles and criteria indicate that restoration planning
should be based on restoration assessments at multiple scales, and that
projects need clear goals and benchmarks for use in monitoring and
evaluation, leading to a process of adaptive management.  Restoration
budgets should include adequate funding for planning, monitoring and
adaptive management.  Restoration must uphold all local, state and federal
laws and regulations.  

In the interest of cost-efficiency and effectiveness, restoration programs
should place priority on the least intrusive and intensive methods needed to
enhance ecological integrity, including protection of high integrity areas
("core refugia") and passive restoration (i.e. ceasing harmful activities).
Active restoration - such as road removal and prescribed burning - may be
necessary in cases of clear need, and where there is broad stakeholder and
scientific support.  The Principles also distinguish between protecting the
Community Protection Zone (a small area immediately surrounding homes in the
forest), and the broader goal of landscape restoration.  The principles
define the CPZ to help shape fire policy now being considered in Congress.

2. Ecological Economics.  Intact forest ecosystems provide essential
ecological services, including clean air and water, upon which all life and
all human economies depend.  Restoration of these natural systems is an
investment in natural capital diminished by decades of logging, road
building, mining, grazing, fire suppression, and invasion by exotic species.
An economic and institutional framework that fully accounts for non-market
ecological services should be established to recognize the value of intact
ecological systems and to guide restoration efforts.

Ecological Economics sub-principles and criteria stress the need to develop
positive incentives to encourage ecological restoration, and to eliminate
commercial and other incentives that drive activities, that harm ecosystems,
communities and workers.  For example, the current timber sale program is
not appropriate for restoring forests.  Rather, government should
appropriate multi-year funding for all aspects of restoration, and reform
contracting mechanisms to award contracts on the basis of "best value"
criteria rather than lowest-bid.  This includes preference for contracting
with local crews, small rural businesses, underserved communities and
multicultural mobile workers.  Market values should be seen as a secondary
by-product of restoration for ecological integrity.

3. Communities and Workforce.  Restoration must foster a sustainable human
relationship to the land that promotes ecological integrity, social and
economic justice for workers and communities, and a culture of preservation
and restoration.  In turn, effective restoration depends upon strong,
healthy and diverse communities and a skilled committed workforce.

Communities and Workforce sub-principles and criteria emphasize the need for
collaborative efforts to build community and worker capacity to perform
ecological restoration and create quality jobs.  This should emphasize a
"high-road" approach that provides family wages and benefits, professional
training and career development, equal access to work and training, and the
right to organize and bargain collectively.  Furthermore, restoration and
sustainable community development should involve an open, inclusive and
transparent democratic process that eliminates undue influence by any group
on public-land management decision-making.

Sound forest restoration requires an integrated multi-disciplinary approach
rooted in conservation biology and principles that include preserving and
protecting intact landscapes, allowing the land to heal itself, and where
necessary, helping it to do so through active restoration.  Through
thoughtful strategies employed over time, we can reestablish sustainable
human connections to the land creating quality restoration jobs and
encouraging conservation-based economies.

During a period of significant change in forest policies at the federal,
state and local level, the Forest Restoration Principles and Criteria
establish a vision for restoring natural ecosystems and a sustainable human
relationship with the land.  They reject the false claims of "regulatory
streamlining" and "healthy forests" initiatives that use pseudo-science and
failed economic theories, and purport to serve the public interest.  The
Principles and Criteria provide an essential tool for stakeholders and
decision-makers at all levels to evaluate, critique, improve, support or
reject a proposed project or policy.  All interested parties are invited to
endorse and utilize this document.

The following 120 organizations have endorsed the Restoration Principles:

20/20 Vision, DC
Appalachian Voices, NC
Alabama Environmental Council, AL
Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and the Environment, OR
Allegheny Defense Project, PA
Alliance for the Wild Rockies, MT
Ambience Project, MT
American Lands Alliance, DC
American Wildlands, MT
Aspen Wilderness Workshop, CO
Audubon Minnesota, MN
Beausoleil Mediation Service, OR
Bradford Environmental Research Institute
Buckeye Forest Council, OH
California Wilderness Coalition, CA
Cascadia Fire Ecology Education Project, OR
Cascadia Wildlands Project, OR
Center for Biological Diversity, AZ
Center for Environmental Economic Development, CA
Center for Native Ecosystems, CO
Cherokee Forest Voices, TN
Chiricahua-Dragoon Conservation Alliance, AZ
CLEAN (Citizens of Lee environment action Network), VA
Coalition for Jobs and the Environment, VA
Colorado Wild, CO
Committee for the High Desert, ID
Defenders of Wildlife, DC
Devil's Fork Trail Club, VA
Dogwood Alliance, NC
Environmental Protection Information Center, CA
Environment Council of Rhode Island, RI
The Empty Bell, MA
Forest Conservation Council, NM
Forest Ecology Network, ME
Forest Guardians, NM
Forest Stewards Guild, NM
Forest Trust, NM
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, MN
Friends of the Clearwater, ID
Friends of Wild River, NM
Georgia Forest Watch, GA
Gifford Pinchot Task Force, WA
Gila Regional Information Project, NM
GilaWoodNet, NM
Grass Lakes West Consulting, WA
Greater Wyoming Valley Audubon Society, PA
Great Basin Mine Watch, NV
Habitat Education Center, WI
Headwaters, OR
Healing Harvest Forest Foundation, VA
Heartwood, IN
Hells Canyon Preservation Council, OR
High Country Citizens' Alliance, CO
High Uintas Preservation Council, UT
Idaho Conservation League, ID
Indiana Forest Alliance, IN
John Muir Project, CA
Kentucky Heartwood, KY
Kettle Range Conservation Group, WA
Klamath Forest Alliance, OR
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, OR
Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, OR
League Of Wilderness Defenders-Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, OR
Lomakatsi Restoration Project, OR
Massachusetts Audubon Society, MA
Missouri Forest Alliance, MO
National Catholic Rural Life Conference, IA
National Forest Protection Alliance, MT
Native Forest Network, MT
New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, NM
North Coast Restoration Jobs Initiative, CA
Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, WA
Olympic Forest Coalition, WA
Oregon Natural Resources Council, OR
Pacific Rivers Council, OR
Patrick Environmental Awareness Group
Pennsylvania Wildlands Recovery Project, PA
Prescott National Forest Friends, AZ
Quiet Use Coalition, CO
Rainforest Action Network, CA
Resource Stewardship Council, IN
RESTORE:  The North Woods, ME
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, CO
Santa Fe Forest Watch, NM
Selkirk Conservation Alliance, ID
Serpentine Art and Nature Commons, Inc., NY
Sinapu, CO
Sisters Forest Planning Committee, OR
Sky Island Alliance, AZ
Soda Mountain Wilderness Council, OR
South Carolina Forest Watch, SC
Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, NC
Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, NC
Superior Wilderness Action Network, MN
Swan View Coalition, MT
Taking Responsibility for the Earth and Environment, VA
Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, TN
The Clinch Coalition, VA
The Ecology Center, MT
The Four Corners Institute, NM
The Lands Council, WA
The Larch Company, OR
The Northern Appalachian Restoration Project/The Northern Forest Forum, NH
Tradelocal
Umpqua Watersheds, OR
Dr. Peter Stacey, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, NM
Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, NM
Vermont Natural Resources Council, VT
Vermont Forest Watch, VT
Virginia Forest Watch, VA
Western Colorado Congress, CO
Western North Carolina Alliance, NC
West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, WV
Wild Alabama, AL
Wildlands Project, AZ
WildLaw, AL
Wildlands CPR, MT
Wild Watershed, NM
White Mountains Conservation League, NM
The Wilderness Society, DC
World Wildlife Fund, DC

Please join Amnesty International in this urgent effort to protect the
rights and safety of environmental activists in Honduras. Thanks very much
for helping in this campaign. --Paula


AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION APPEAL
UA 144/03   Fear for safety/Death threats 21 May 2003

HONDURAS
Jose Andres Tamayo (m), priest and environmental activist

Gilberto Flores (m)
Orlando Najera (m),
- community leaders from Gualaco municipality, Olancho department

Priest Jose Andres Tamayo has reportedly been threatened with
death due to his activism in protection of the environment in
Olancho department, northern Honduras. Community leaders
Gilberto Flores and Orlando Najera have also reportedly been
harassed. Amnesty International is seriously concerned for their
safety.

Jose Andres Tamayo, priest of the municipality of Salama,
Olancho department, has reportedly been warned to leave the
country by the end of May. The warning allegedly comes from a
group of powerful men involved in the logging business
(madereros) in the department. According to reports, on 19 May
they agreed to call on the authorities to take action in order to
force the priest to leave Honduras. On 5 and 6 May, the mayor of
Salama reportedly said on four occasions that ''the environmental
problem in Olancho will be only resolved by ordering the killing
of Father Tamayo'' (''el problema ambiental en Olancho
solamente se va a resolver mandando a matar al Padre
Tamayo''). These statements were allegedly made in front of two
members of Comite de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos
en Honduras, (COFADEH), Committee of Relatives of the
Disappeared in Honduras, an organization working with
community leaders in Olancho department.

Community leaders Gilberto Flores and Orlando Najera, who are
campaigning against the construction of a hydroelectric dam in
Olancho department, have also been intimidated by the police
guards and local authorities. According to reports, police guards
have recently fired shots in the air outside the house of Orlando
Najer in the community of Ocotal, in Gualaco municipality.

Father Jose Andres Tamayo has been actively campaigning with
local communities in northern Olancho against intense
deforestation and logging in the area. He has been intimidated
and threatened several times. In October 2001 a police officer
reportedly pointed his gun at Father Jose Andres Tamayo during
a demonstration calling for the protection of the environment. He
was also under threat from local criminals who had reportedly
been offered money to kill him because of his legitimate and
peaceful environmental activism (UA 169/01 issued 14
November 2001and follow-ups).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The campaign against Father Jose Andres Tamayo and
grassroots activists, including indigenous people, is part of a
pattern of human rights abuses against those involved in
defending the environment. Illegal logging of the forests in
Honduras and the construction of dams is causing grave
environmental damage. In October 2002 the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights acknowledged that environmental
degradation has a serious impact on human rights. On 30 June
2001 Carlos Roberto Flores, a community leader and
environmental activist protesting against the construction of a
hydroelectric dam, was shot dead in the municipality of Gualaco,
Olancho department. He was reportedly killed by security guards
hired by Energisa, the firm building the dam. Although five of
the security guards were charged and warrants issued for their
arrest, they still have not been brought before a court.

In 2001 another priest involved in helping communities in the
area, Peter Marchetti, was also reportedly threatened and
harassed by landowners, and eventually had to leave Honduras
for his own protection.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive
as quickly as possible:
- expressing concern for the safety of Father Jose Andres
Tamayo following reports that he has been receiving death
threats;
- expressing concern for the safety of  Gilberto Flores, and
Orlando Najera after reports that they have been intimidated by
local authorities and police guards;
- urging the authorities to take action to protect Father Jose
Andres Tamayo, Gilberto Flores and Orlando Najera according
to their wishes;
- requesting an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation
into the campaign of harassment and threats to those named
above, and that the results be made public and those responsible
brought to justice;
- reminding the authorities of the right of human rights defenders
to carry out their activities without any restrictions or fear of
reprisals, as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals, Groups and
Institutions to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised
Human Rights and Fundamental Liberties, and in the equivalent
declaration from the Organization of American States.

APPEALS TO:
President of Honduras:
Lic. Ricardo Maduro
Presidente de la Republica de Honduras
Casa Presidencial, Boulevard Juan Pablo Segundo
Palacio Jose Cecilio del Valle
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Telegram: Presidente de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax:  011 504 2214552
Salutation: Dear President/ Sr. Presidente

Minister of Security:
Dr. Oscar Alvarez
Ministro de Seguridad Publica
Ministerio de Seguridad Publica
Edificio Poujol, 4o piso, Col. Palmira (Blvd. Morazan)
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Telegram: Ministro de Seguridad, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax: 011 504 220 4352
Salutation: Dear Minister/Senor Ministro

Attorney General:
Dr. Roy Edmundo Medina
Fiscal General de la Republica
Fiscalia General de la Republica
Colonia Loma del Guijaro
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Telegram: Fiscal General de la Republica, Tegucigalpa,
Honduras
Fax: 011 504 221 5666
Salutation: Dear Attorney General/ Senor Fiscal General

COPIES TO:
National Commissioner for the Protection of Human Rights:
Comisionado Nacional de Proteccion de los Derechos Humanos
Ramon Custodio Lopez
Avda. La Paz No. 2444
Contiguo a Galerias La Paz
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax:  011 504 232 6894

Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared of Honduras:
Comite de Familiares de Desaparecidos de Honduras
(COFADEH)
Apartado Postal 1243
Barrio La Plazuela, Ave. Cervantes
Casa 1301, a la par de JM Stereo
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Fax: 011 504 220 5280 (if someone answers ask for the fax:
''me da tono de fax, por favor'')

Ambassador Mario Miguel Canahuati
Embassy of Honduras
3007 Tilden St. NW Suite 4-M
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 966 9751

Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado
office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time,
weekdays only, if sending appeals after July 2, 2003.

Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots
movement that promotes and defends human
rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept
intact, including contact information and stop
action date (if applicable). Thank you for your
help with this appeal.

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

Tell your senators to make the U.S. a leader in fighting global
warming by supporting the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA). This
landmark legislation--introduced by Senators McCain and Lieberman--is
a responsible first step that will require reductions in the heat-
trapping pollution that causes climate change. As the world's #1
emitter of global warming gases, the United States must act
responsibly. The Senate may vote on this as early as June 2, so
please send your letters today.

TAKE ACTION:

Hit reply and send in your email program to automatically email the
letter below to your senators.

To learn more about the issue and to customize your letter, visit
http://www.ucsaction.org/index.asp?step=2&item=2689

*****************
LETTER:

Dear [Your Senators name will be inserted],

I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of limiting carbon dioxide
and other heat-trapping gases from major industrial sources. These
gases are contributing to global warming, which will bring with it
serious changes to our way of life and damage America's economy.

Senators McCain and Lieberman's Climate Stewardship Act (S. 139) is a
reasonable first step in limiting heat-trapping gas emissions. As 85%
of U.S. global warming-related emissions come from our energy use, it
is irresponsible to pass energy legislation without addressing this
human-caused problem.

The Climate Stewardship Act's market-based approach would harness
American technological know-how to find the most cost effective ways
to cut our emissions of heat trapping gases.  Off-the-shelf
reductions already available include producing more electricity from
clean renewable sources, limiting carbon pollution from dirty coal-
fired power plants, increasing the energy efficiency of our homes and
factories, and making cars go further on a gallon of gas. By
encouraging investment in these and other methods, the act would also
ensure that American technology remains competitive as other
countries move to reduce their own emissions.  

As the world's number one emitter of heat-trapping gases, the United
States should be a leader in the fight to curb global warming instead
of trailing behind the rest of the world. Our voluntary emission
reduction measures have failed. In fact, U.S. emissions are nearly 12
percent higher now than they were in 1990.

Please demonstrate your commitment to responsible stewardship of
America's environment for our children and grandchildren by voting
for the Climate Stewardship Act amendment to the energy bill. I look
forward to hearing your position on this issue.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address will be inserted here]

*****************
Background:

Our environment faces many risks, but few as large in scale as global
warming. Global warming is caused when we emit gases-primarily CO2
from burning fossil fuels-that blanket the earth and trap heat. The
latest climate models anticipate 2.5 to 10.4 degrees warming this
century, and the warming in the U.S. could be as much as 50 percent
more than this average. That means that during our grandchildren's
lifetime Chicago will feel like Texas, and Boston like Atlanta.
Extreme heat, coastal erosion, increased storms and flooding, and
longer droughts will all potentially wreak havoc on our lives. With
only one degree warming to date, we have already begun to see many
indicators. Responsible action is needed today to avoid
dramatic climate change.

Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) recently
announced a historic global warming bill, the Climate Stewardship Act
(CSA), that is a good first step in addressing this human-made
problem. The bill places mandatory, but modest, limits on the largest
emitters of heat-trapping gases, such as power plants and oil
refineries.  It also allows for 'market-based' methods that help
industry achieve reductions at the lowest cost.

Sens. McCain and Lieberman plan to offer the CSA as an amendment to
the energy bill currently under debate in the U.S. Senate. A vote on
this amendment could come as early as June 2. Because energy use
accounts for 85% of U.S. emissions of CO2 and the other heat-trapping
gases, it is irresponsible to pass energy legislation that ignores
this problem

While the CSA is not expected to prevail in this vote, a good showing
would accomplish several important goals: First, it would strongly
position the CSA for rapid progress in the future. Second, it would
forever eliminate the widely touted but inaccurate notion that the
Senate is unanimously opposed to setting limits on heat-trapping gas
emissions. Finally, it would directly challenge the Bush
administration's "too little, too late" policy of waiting until 2012,
when this administration is out of office, to consider moving beyond
voluntary-only action on global warming. In short, a strong showing
for the CSA in the upcoming vote will dramatically improve the
climate debate within the Congress.

To justify its opposition to mandatory emissions reductions, the Bush
administration claims they would be too costly. The administration's
economic arguments fail to account for global warming costs such as
rising sea levels, extreme weather, and loss of biodiversity. They
also ignore our responsibility to leave our children and
grandchildren with a healthy environment.

Please take action to curb global warming by urging your senator to
vote to add the Climate Stewardship Act to the energy bill.


************
If you have questions, comments or concerns about this action, send
email to action@ucsusa.org -- replying to this action will send the
letter.

Greenpeace: ExxonMobil Global Headquarters Shut Down

Business at the international headquarters of the world's most powerful company ground to a halt today as the Greenpeace Global Warming Crimes Unit converged on ExxonMobil's compound in Irving, Texas.

Please read on to find out how you can support this important action.
Our news release is below. For more information, including regular updates as the action unfolds, please visit:

http://www.dontbuyexxonmobil.org

You can help by uploading your picture to the speech bubble gallery here (which automatically forwards it to the ExxonMobil board):

http://act.greenpeace.org/gpdesigner2/SubmitImage

and by sending a personal letter to the board of ExxonMobil here:

http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=esso_board&s=blue2

You can post comments and read updates at the weblog:

http://weblog.greenpeace.org/esso

Here's the release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 27, 2003

EXXONMOBIL BUSTED BY GREENPEACE GLOBAL WARMING CRIMES UNIT
Global Headquarters Shut Down Day Before Annual Meeting

DALLAS, Tex. - Business at the international headquarters of the world's most powerful company ground to a halt this morning as the Greenpeace Global Warming Crimes Unit converged on ExxonMobil's compound in Irving, Texas. Some members of the Unit are positioned across the entrance while others have entered the building to serve a list of charges against the company. The move comes as ExxonMobil's Board of Directors and international executives attempt to gather from across the world for tomorrow's Annual General Meeting.  

As of 7:45 AM (CDT), 15 members of the Global Warming Crimes Unit are secured to the main gates, where two police-style vans are parked across the entrance used by staff and management.  More than 30 members of the Unit have entered the compound, fabled for its high security.  Some members of the Unit, including a Baptist minister, are actually inside the building, while others are on the roof, holding a banner that brands the building a "global warming crime scene."  Employees arriving to work are turning away.  

James Moore of the Global Warming Crimes Unit said, "This is where ExxonMobil plots to sabotage all meaningful efforts to solve global warming. Within these walls, ExxonMobil executives fight to conduct business as usual while the catastrophe of global warming - which impacts millions of ordinary people - is completely ignored."

ExxonMobil stands accused of running a 10-year campaign of sabotage against international efforts to solve global warming. The company has used its influence and money to block agreements that would reduce global warming pollution. Recent figures show the company gives millions of dollars to ultra-conservative groups that aggressively lobby against action to protect our climate and direct President Bush's extreme energy policies.

The list of charges is accompanied by pages of evidence against the company. Copies of classified documents and letters demonstrate the unique role that ExxonMobil has played in sabotaging action on global warming, fraudulently misrepresenting the science, and lying to the American people.  

"While 109 nations have signed the Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming, ExxonMobil has done all it can to ensure the United States sits on the sidelines," added Moore. "We will leave only when the company agrees to stop sabotaging international action on global warming. Meanwhile, everyone can help by refusing to buy gas from ExxonMobil."

VISIT THE CYBERCENTRE

Please don't forget to visit the Greenpeace Cyberactivist Community at:
http://act.greenpeace.org

To: Northeast Activists
From: John Demos
May 28, 2003

ROADLESS BILL INTRODUCED NEXT WEEK

I have been told that 5 Northeastern Representatives are needed to cosponsor the Rep. Boehlert (R-NY) and Inslee (D-WA) “National Forest Roadless Area
Conservation Act of 2003”. The Act will codify the Roadless Area Rule
promulgated in January 2001, and will protect nearly 59 million acres of
roadless National Forest lands. The 2003 National Forest Roadless Area
Conservation Act is identical to the original Roadless Rule.

The Act will be introduced next Wednesday or Thursday.

Please call the following and ask them to sign on.

CT
Rob Simmons R CT 2 (202) 225-2076

NJ
LoBiondo Frank A. R NJ 2 (202) 225-6572

NY
Sue Kelly R NY 19 (202) 225-5441
Gregory Meeks D NY 6 (202) 225-3461
Nydia Velazquez D NY 12 (202) 225-2361

BACKGROUND

Several Important developments have taken place since last year. On December
12, 2002, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, reversed an
order the Idaho U.S. district court, which had placed a preliminary
injunction on the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The 9th Court decision not
to review the earlier decision was unanimous (unlike the original decision)
and is therefore an even stronger message from the court.

However, there are a half dozen or so other lawsuits brought by similar
interests in other districts that continue to threaten the rule. Until these
legal challenges are settled the Rule remains in limbo and these roadless
areas continue to be vulnerable to exploitation.

Meanwhile the Forest Service and the White House are working to
administratively weaken the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and get back to
large-scale logging in roadless areas.

Please tell your elected officials that the Roadless Rule is a popular
measure and of historic importance. The Forest Service held more than 600
public meetings throughout the country and received a record-breaking
1.6-million+ official comments – five times more comments than in any other
federal rulemaking process. More than 95% of these comments supported the
strongest possible protection for all of the Nation’s remaining roadless
areas.

Also recently, a group of sporting and some timber industry leaders released
a report supporting the Roadless Policy. Although many had feared that the
group would suggest changes that would weaken the Policy, the group has
called on the administration to put it into immediate effect unchanged.

After two years of study, the group, comprised of the Forest Roads Working
Group (FRWG) – made up of Wildlife Forever, the Wildlife Management
Institute, the Wildlife Society, Trout Unlimited, Izaak Walton League of
America, International Paper Co., the Outdoor Industry Association and
Pinchot Institute for Conservation - recommended that the Rule be implemented
without change.

Take Action Online!
http://capWiz.com/vision/issues/alert/?alertid=2423806&type=CU

May 2003
Close the Dirty Diesel Loophole
Take Action Now!

What’s At Stake:

Saving 9,600 lives each year and cleaning up urban smog

Americans will breathe easier if an unusually strong EPA proposal to control “non-road” diesel emissions survives the regulatory gauntlet.  It would extend the pollution control standards for diesel trucks and buses (which 20/20 Vision fought for in 2000) to other types of big dirty diesel engines like bulldozers and tractors.  A bulldozer can emit up to 8 times more toxic particulates than the average urban bus.  The total non-road emissions exceed that from all the diesel trucks and buses on the road today!

Health dangers of unregulated diesels are severe.  Particulates, NOx and more than 40 other hazardous substances come from diesels.  Occupational health studies show that workers exposed to diesel exhaust suffer a 20-50% increase in the risk of lung cancer or mortality.  EPA says its proposal will each year prevent 9,600 premature deaths, 8,300 hospitalizations, 1,600 heart attacks, 5,700 children’s asthma-related emergency room visits, 260,000 respiratory problems in children and close to one million work days lost to illness.  Diesels have long been a source of the smog in our most polluted cities.

The current EPA proposal is—surprisingly—a strong one.  It would slash cancer-causing particulate soot by 90 percent and smog-forming nitrogen oxides to 95 percent by 2014.  Sulfur in fuels would be cut sharply enough to allow the use of catalytic converters.  But there is still a risk that politicians' knives and industry influence will delay or weaken the proposal.

Action:

Grassroots action is urgently needed to flood the public docket, which the EPA is required by law to consider before finalizing the proposal.  Urge the EPA to:

• Not weaken or delay the rule in any way

• Reject the “alternative analysis” that discounts the value of a human life in risk assessments

• Tighten emission standards for locomotive and marine diesel engines

• Reduce the sulfur levels in locomotive and marine diesel fuel to 15 parts per million, so the same fuel can be used for all diesels

Speak about your own experience with air pollution, because letters that look like form responses will be ignored.  Comments must be received no later than August 20, and may be sent by e-mail.

Write: Air Docket, EPA
Mail Code 6102 T
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460

E-mail: nrt4@epa.gov and mention Docket ID No. A-2001-28

Act on-line! http://capWiz.com/vision/issues/alert/?alertid=2423806&type=CU

Public Hearings: Call us about participating in hearings scheduled
for June in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

RAN Action Alert
May 30, 2003

Activists from across the country are gearing up for the June wave of
protests to pressure Ford Motor Company to stop driving America’s oil
addiction. The protests will kickoff on May 31st in San Francisco and
will continue through Ford’s 100th Anniversary celebration in Dearborn,
MI in mid-June.  To get involved, please visit
www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/ford/action.html.

In addition to demonstrating in Dearborn, RAN will be participating in
Ford’s Annual Shareholders’ meeting on June 16th.   RAN is looking for
proxies so that we can take our demands directly to Ford’s Board of
Directors.  To donate your proxy, please contact Christine Corwin ASAP
at (415) 398-4404 or ccorwin@ran.org.  

On June 7th - the Jumpstart Ford national day of action - hundreds of
activists will be lining up at Ford dealerships across the U.S. and
Canada to say "NO" to another 100 years of driving oil addiction. Here
are the locations and times for a few of the protests taking place on
June 7th.

Burley, ID
Time: 3:00pm
GOODE MOTOR, INC
1096 E. Main St.
Contact: Tom Mong, 208-431-5261

Charlotte, NC
Time: 3:00pm
TOWN AND COUNTRY FORD
5401 E. Independence Blvd
Contact: David Dixon, (704) 449-6925; nomorevictims@yahoo.com

Chicago, IL
*Time and location TBA
Contact Jason Mark at jason@globalexchange.org for more info.

Dallas, TX
*Time and location TBA

Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Time:  2pm-4pm
MAROONE FORD
Corner of U.S. 1 and 13th St.
Contact: Karen Gottlieb, 954-483-5485; peek888@aol.com

Houston, TX (Spring, TX in North Houston)
Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
PLANET FORD
20403 I-45 North
Contact: Anne Bayerkohler, 936-271-4917; greens@zounds.net

Longmont, CO
Time: 1pm-2pm
VALLEY FORD, INC
235 Alpine Rd. (at 119 Freeway)
Contact: Ann Rick, (303) 678-1801

Milwaukee, WI
Time: 12pm-1pm
BRAEGER FORD
3804 S. 27th St.
Contact: Michael Komba, ceramical@hotmail.com

New York, NY (Manhattan)
Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm
MANHATTAN FORD
787 11th Ave. (Between 54 & 55 Streets)
Contact: Gabrielle Engh, 917-886-1977

Portland, OR
*Time and location TBA
Contact: Lew Church, 503-725-7798; lc@pdx.edu

Santa Clara, CA
Time: 12pm-2pm
FRONTIER FORD
3701 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Contact: Charlotte Casey, 408-251-4355; ccasey@cagreens.org

Tampa, FL
Time: TBA
BILL CURRIE FORD
5815 N. Dale Mabry Hwy
Contact: Mariana Sarmiento, 504-236-3057; msarmien@tulane.edu

Thousand Oaks, CA
Time: 9:45am-10:45am
KEMP FORD
3810 Thousand Oaks Blvd
Contact: Joanie McClellan, (805) 241-8855; gx_ventura_to@aol.com

Vancouver, BC
Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm
BROWN BROS. FORD (BC's biggest Ford dealer!)
270 SE Marine Dr.

Vancouver, WA
Time: 10am-12pm
VANCOUVER FORD
6801 NE 40th St. (at SR 500 and Andresen)
Contact:  Peter Anderson, 360-260-8937

Washington, DC
Time: 12pm
KOONS COLLEGE PARK FORD
8315 Baltimore Ave. (Hwy 1 in College Park right across from the main U.
of Maryland entrance)
Contact: Maritza Valenzuela, 202-213-0480; activist19@yahoo.com


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Rainforest Action Network
221 Pine Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA  94104
tel: 415-398-4404
fax: 415-398-2732
URL: http://www.ran.org/