home of the wildlife conservation environmental and freedom activist

www.akwildlife.org

To:  All Activists
From:  Steve Holmer, American Lands Alliance, 202/547-9105,
wafcdc@americanlands.org
Date:  August 1, 2002

Senate Fire Logging Rider & House Legislation Introduced

The Senate is not likely to consider the Interior Appropriations bill
this week before the month-long summer recess, but it will be one of the
first orders of business when they return in September.  When the
Interior bill does come before the Senate, we expect to see a rider
offered by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) and others that seeks to suspend
environmental laws, ban citizen involvement and prohibit judicial review
for logging projects on the National Forests under the guise of fire
prevention.

We have not seen language of Sen. Craig's fire rider so it remains
unclear how far the exemptions from law will go and what parts of the
landscape would be at risk.  But if several new House bills are any
indication, this could be the worst logging rider ever.

Calls are urgently needed to alert your members of Congress to this
threat.  The summer recess also offers activists an important
opportunity to meet with their elected officials and discuss their
concerns.

House Bills Introduced to Suspend All Laws for Logging
Last week, a fire logging bill, the National Forest Fire Prevention Act,
H.R. 5214, was introduced in the House by Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-MT)
that proposes to permanently suspend all laws for logging and bans
citizen appeals and judicial review.  This language is much broader than
the infamous Salvage Logging Rider of 1995.

The bill's "not withstanding any other law provision" suspends the
National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act,
the Endangered Species Act, the Wilderness Act of 1964 and all other
laws.  The bill applies to all "existing timber sale analysis areas."
Depending on how far back that term applies, this bill could overturn
forty years of conservation progress by allowing currently protected old
growth, roadless areas and Wilderness Areas on the National Forests to
be roaded and clearcut with no option of appeal.

H.R. 5214 now has 24 cosponsors including Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA),
chairman of the Forestry Subcommittee of the Agriculture Committee.
Other Cosponsors who should by publicly criticized for supporting this
outrageous anti-environmental bill include Reps. John Peterson (R-PA),
Don Young (R-AK), Wally Herger (R-CA), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Butch Otter
(R-ID), Chris Cannon (R-UT), Walter Jones (R-NC), John Doolittle (R-CA),
John Duncan (R-TN), Jim Gibbons (R-NV), George Radanovich (R-CA), Tom
Tancredo (R-CO), Billy Tauzin (R-LA), Gil Gutknecht (R-MN), Virgil Goode
(I-VA), Jo Anne Emerson (R- MO), Bob Schaffer (R-CO), Pete Sessions
(R-TX), Barbara Cubin (R-WY), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Elton Gallegly (R-CA),
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), and Doc Hastings (R-WA).

Another bad fire bill, the Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health
Protection Act of 2002, H.R. 5309, introduced by Rep. John Shadegg
(R-AZ) is somewhat more limited, but also proposes to suspend
environmental laws and citizen involvement in any project that involves
thinning or salvage logging.  Cosponsors to this anti- environmental
bill include Reps. James Hansen (R-UT) chairman of the Resources
Committee, Scott McInnis (R-CO) who is chairman of the Forest
Subcommittee of the Resources Committee, Flake, Schaeffer, Gibbons,
Herger, Cubin, Jack Kingston (R-GA), Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Doolittle,
Joel Hefley (R-CO), Tancredo, Jim DeMint (R-SC), Ed Bryant (R-TN),
Peterson, Hayworth and Cannon.

There is a very real danger one of these bills or some combination could
pass through committee and be voted on by the full House in September.
Please urge your Representative to oppose both of these harmful bills.

Stewardship Contracting Rider May Reappear
As if all this weren't bad enough, the Bush Administration has now
indicated that they want permanent stewardship contracting authority to
give away unlimited amounts of trees to pay for fire related projects.
At a House hearing two weeks ago from all stakeholders including Chief
Dale Bosworth that we need to learn more from the existing 84 pilot
projects before permanently authorizing the program.  Despite this, the
administration testified at a hearing last week that they need this
authority to carry additional restoration and fuel reduction projects.
Permanent extension of stewardship contracting was defeated on the Farm
bill earlier this year and needs to be stopped again.

With your help we can stop the lawless logging rider/legislation and
stewardship contracting, which would provide the Forest Service with a
blank check to pay for unlimited amounts of lawless timber sales.
Please contact your Senators and your Representative this week at
202/224-3121 and also over the summer recess at their district offices.
Please ask:

1.  Your Senators to oppose any riders that would suspend environmental
laws or limit public involvement for forest management decisions.  The
last time this happened under the Salvage Logging Rider, the Forest
Service abused their authority to cut green trees under the guise of
salvage and to cut old growth forests in the name of forest health.

2.  Your Representative to oppose H.R. 5214, H.R. 5309 and any other
riders or bills that would suspend environmental laws or limit public
involvement for forest management decisions.

3.  Support directing fuel reduction projects to the immediate vicinity
of homes and communities. Right now, only 31% of the acres treated by
the Forest Service and BLM are close to homes and communities.  This
number should be increased to at least 90% of the acres treated.  The
latest scientific review indicates that a zone 60 meters from structures
and up to 500 meters for firefighter safety are the maximum areas needed
for legitimate fuel reduction treatments for community protection.

4. Oppose expanding stewardship contracting.  Logging proponents want
the Forest Service to be able to give away unlimited amounts of trees to
pay for projects.  This program has been very controversial and a large
number of the projects are environmental failures.  Until the existing
84 pilot projects can fully reviewed and monitored, no additional
contracts or permanent authority should be approved.

We are one again witnessing corporate America doing its worst by
proposing that greed trump the rule of law and for brazenly fanning
peoples fears of wildland fire.  Rather than concede to hysteria, we
must fight for the truth and to the end, and leave these corrupt
corporations and the politicians doing their bidding in the ash heap of
history when we are through.  Thanks for all your efforts.
http://americanlands.org

Thank you for taking ACTION, Care2's eco-alerts newsletter.
Care2 finds the most important environmental alerts,
supported by the world's leading environmental nonprofit
organizations, to empower you to help our environment.
This week we partnered with The Heritage Forest Campaign
to bring you an alert on the threatened Tongass National
Forest! Check it out!

1. Grizzly, Salmon, Bald Eagle Habitat at Risk!
2. Eco-Tips: Save Paper, Reduce Waste
3. Inspirational Quote


*****************************************************
1. Grizzly, Salmon, Bald Eagle Habitat at Risk!

Alaska's Tongass National Forest is once again under assault!
A current "preservation" plan will open up over 9 million acres
to logging and mining development, threatening grizzlies and
bald eagles.

You Can Help Save The Tongass: http://www.care2.com/go/z/2391

The Tongass National Forest-- a dramatic landscape of glacial
fjords, volcanic mountains, misty rainforests, giant conifers,
and luxurious tundra-- contains rich salmon spawning grounds,
prime grizzly bear habitat and the world's densest population
of bald eagles.

Because of the unique nature of the Tongass, a federal court
required the Bush Administration to review all roadless areas for
permanent protection. Unfortunately, a variety of sound
environmental options were rejected. Instead, a proposal was
put forward that heavily favors the commercial timber industry!
The so-called permanent protection proposal recommends NO
PROTECTION for roadless areas and offers no new wilderness
designations.

The clearly better alternative is the Alaska Rainforest Conservation
Proposal, Alternative 6. It is a sensible plan that SAFEGUARDS
VALUABLE OLD GROWTH STANDS and other pristine areas of
the Tongass.

With more than 30 large-scale timber sales moving forward in the
Tongass, we need you to take action NOW. The Forest Service has
asked for your opinion in a special public comment period. So
please tell the Forest Service today that you want this area
protected. DEADLINE AUGUST 17th!

Help Now, it's FREE: http://www.care2.com/go/z/2391

Our national forests are national treasures and once they're
gone, they're gone forever.


**********
2. Eco-Tips: Save Paper, Reduce Waste

* Buy recycled paper whenever possible. Not only does
it save trees, but it cuts down on pollution and toxic
waste.

* Get rid of junk mail. Write to your credit card company
and tell them to stop sending you promotional offers.


*********
3. Inspirational Quote

"Friends at home! I charge you to spare, preserve, and
cherish some portion of your primitive forest; for when
these are cut away I apprehend they will not be easily
replaced."
             -- Horace Greeley, New York Tribune, 1851

Natural Resources Defense Council's

LEGISLATIVE WATCH

August 1, 2002

Contents:

1) Legislative Watch
2) About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe
3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us

The information in this bulletin is also available on our website at
http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/legwatch.asp. The web version links
to the text of bills and congressional web pages. To take action on
these and other environmental issues, visit NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action, where you can use our online
activism tools or subscribe to Earth Action, our biweekly activist
bulletin.

1) LEGISLATIVE WATCH

This is a status report on congressional action on the environment.
To make new or updated sections easy to find, we've highlighted them
with:
= N O T E ! =

8/1/02

Before leaving for its August recess, Congress advanced trade
authority and homeland security bills, both of which could weaken
enforcement of environmental and public health laws. The House and
Senate completed action on a supplemental spending bill to fund
defense and security functions. In addition, a House-Senate
conference committee is continuing negotiations to close the gap
between House and Senate versions of the energy bill.

Like Congress, Legislative Watch will be on recess through Labor Day.
Look for our next edition in early September.

...

Budget/Appropriations

= N O T E ! =
On 8/1, the Senate approved the FY '03 Department of Defense spending
bill (H.R. 5010). The House approved the bill on 6/27. The bill
includes $4.1 billion for departmental pollution prevention programs,
cleanup of contaminated DOD sites, and other environmental programs.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/26, Congress sent a nearly $29 billion supplemental spending
bill for FY 02 (H.R. 4775) to the president for his signature. The
bill, which consists primarily of new funds for homeland security,
was approved in the Senate by a vote of 92-7 on 7/24, and in the
House by a vote of 397-32 on 7/23. The final version of the bill does
not include language offered by Rep. Kolbe (R-AZ) in the House bill
that would exempt the Department of Defense from the Endangered
Species Act in certain instances. The bill, however, does include a
provision offered by Sen. Daschle (D-SD) that would waive
environmental review of logging activities on public lands in South
Dakota. Although it is narrowly tailored, environmentalists oppose
this provision.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved S. 2797, which
includes funding for the Environmental Protection Agency. The bill
contains a significant increase in funding (more than $670 million
over what the Bush administration requested) for the EPA and ensures
funding increases for water quality programs, toxic waste site
clean-ups, and enforcement. Significantly, the bill also would ensure
that the EPA have sufficient funding to continue its work in the area
of pesticide regulation.

= N O T E ! =
Also on 7/25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the
agriculture spending bill. On 7/11, the House Appropriations
Committee approved its bill to fund the Agriculture Department. The
bill would restore funding for watershed protection initiatives that
was cut in President Bush's budget request, but would limit a new
program that would pay farmers for implementing conservation
practices and setting up wetland reserves.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/24, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill that
funds energy and water programs (S. 2784). Environmental groups
oppose an effort by Sen. Bond (R-MO) to attach a provision to
override the Endangered Species Act and prevent much-needed reforms
in the current federal management of Missouri River water flows when
the bill reaches the Senate floor. Current management practices have
created conditions in the Missouri watershed that threaten the
continued existence of three endangered or threatened species.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/18, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to fund
the Department of Commerce and other agencies (S. 2778). The bill
includes funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's ocean and coastal conservation activities, but
environmentalists note that the bill does not adequately fund NOAA's
fisheries management and coastal runoff programs.

= N O T E ! =
Also on 7/18, the budget for federal foreign operations (S. 2779) was
approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. It includes solid
funding levels for biodiversity, tropical rainforest conservation,
and renewable energy programs in developing countries.

On 7/17, the House passed the Interior Department's FY 03 funding
bill, H.R. 5093. The House added modest funds for conservation
programs -- most of which were allocated to state wildlife grants and
cooperative endangered species programs -- and for fire management.
Rep. Hinchey (D-NY) added a provision that would prohibit funding of
oil and gas drilling in the Finger Lakes National Forest in New York.
A few environmentally-friendly amendments were adopted, including a
provision offered by Rep. Capps (D-CA) and Rep. Rahall (D-WV) to
prevent federal funds from being used to develop 36 California
offshore drilling leases. An amendment from Rep. Blumenauer (D-OR) to
ensure that commercial farmers who lease land in national refuges
reduce their use of pesticides and comply fully with refuge
regulations was defeated. The Senate version of the Interior bill (S.
2708) was approved in committee on 6/27. Both bills contain language
that would expand damaging grazing practices on public lands.
Environmentalists want the final bill to include increased funding
for the Land Conservation, Preservation, and Infrastructure
Improvement program, and are hoping to prevent money slated for the
Land and Water Conservation Fund from being siphoned off to cover
other expenses.

Also on 7/17, under pressure from fiscal conservatives, the House
Republican leadership decided to revisit the spending allocations in
the budget plan passed by the House Appropriations Committee on 6/23.
Environmentalists are concerned that the decision increases the
likelihood that environmental spending will be further reduced in
future bills.

See NRDC's analysis of the Bush budget.
http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/abudget03.asp

For a step-by-step guide to our annual odyssey through resolutions,
reconciliations and appropriations, see NRDC's budget process fact
sheet.
http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/fbudg.asp

...

Clean Air and Energy

= N O T E ! =
On 7/29, the Bush administration's plan for regulating pollution from
power plants (the "Clear Skies Initiative") was introduced in the
House (H.R. 5266) by Rep. Barton (R-TX) and Rep. Tauzin (R-LA), and
in the Senate (S. 2815) by Sen. Smith (R-NH). This bill would set
significantly weaker limits for several key pollutants than a measure
already passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
(S. 556). Unlike S. 556, the administration's bill ignores carbon
dioxide emissions, which are largely responsible for global warming.
The bill also would repeal and weaken current safeguards for meeting
public health standards, protecting local air quality, curbing
pollution from upwind to downwind states, and protecting national
parks.

= N O T E ! =
House and Senate energy bill conferees met on 7/25 to address some of
the legislation's less contentious issues, such as energy production
on Indian lands, low-income home energy assistance and research on
nuclear power generation. During August and September, the committee
plans to take up the more controversial provisions relating to
renewable energy and energy efficiency, electricity deregulation,
climate change, ethanol mandates, fuel economy standards, and oil
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While the Senate
defeated attempts to include provisions for Arctic drilling in its
version of the bill (S. 517), the House bill (H.R. 4) would allow
drilling in the refuge. Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill
includes a provision increasing the use of renewable fuels -- mostly
ethanol -- in gasoline by five billion gallons by 2012. The Senate
bill also would ban MTBE (a gasoline additive that has contaminated
drinking water), require companies to report their emissions of
greenhouse gases, and require electric providers to produce 4-5
percent of their energy from new, renewable resources. The House bill
includes over $33 billion in tax incentives that are largely for the
oil, coal, and nuclear energy industries. The Senate bill includes
$15 billion in incentives, about half of which would be available to
improve energy efficiency in vehicles, appliances, and buildings, as
well as to increase the use of solar, wind, and other cleaner
alternative energy sources.

On 7/16, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a
joint hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Bush
administration's recent proposed changes to the "New Source Review"
provisions of the Clean Air Act. Witnesses included high-level
representatives from the EPA and the Department of Justice and the
New York Attorney General. On 6/27, the committee postponed a vote on
issuing a subpoena to the EPA to gain access to documents related to
the New Source Review changes. Power plants are currently required to
install pollution-control devices when they modernize, but the rule
change weakens these protections and would allow old, dirty power
plants to generate more pollution than under the existing rules.

On 6/27, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved
S. 556, a bill co-authored by committee chair Sen. Jeffords (I-VT)
and Sen. Lieberman (D-CT), by a vote of 10-8. The bill seeks to
reduce four types of power plant emissions by imposing mandatory cuts
in carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and mercury
emissions. No action has been taken on the House companion bill (H.R.
1256), which was introduced on 3/27/01 by Rep. Waxman (D-CA) and Rep.
Boehlert (R-NY). The Bush administration opposes regulating carbon
dioxide emissions, arguing that the costs on the economy would be too
high.

NRDC has detailed an energy policy that would provide a secure energy
future without destroying wilderness or rolling back environmental
safeguards in reports including Dangerous Addiction: Ending America's
Oil Dependence
(http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/oilsecurity/securityinx.asp)
and A Responsible Energy Policy for the 21st Century
(http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/rep/repinx.asp).

...

Clean Water

On 6/6, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean
Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change held a hearing to examine the
impact of Bush administration changes to the Clean Water Act that
could make it easier for mining companies and other industrial
operations to dump waste into U.S. waters. On 5/3, the Bush
administration finalized a change to Clean Water Act rules that would
expressly allow dumping of waste from mountaintop removal coal mining
into streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other waters. Five days
later, on 5/8, a federal district court blocked the Army Corps of
Engineers from issuing any additional permits for disposal of
mountaintop removal mining waste in these waters (the administration
is appealing the court's decision). Also on 5/8, Rep. Pallone (D-NJ)
and Rep. Shays (R-CT) introduced H.R. 4683, which would reverse the
administration's changes.

On 6/5, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved
Sen. Boxer's (D-CA) and Sen. Feinstein's (D-CA) bill to reauthorize
CALFED (S. 1768), an important federal and state partnership in
California that provides water for urban and agricultural users, as
well as for wildlife and habitat restoration. The committee approved
an amendment to the bill, crafted through negotiations among Sen.
Feinstein, Sen. Kyl (R-AZ), and Sen. Murkowski (R-AK), to limit the
program's duration and level of funding. Environmentalists want to
ensure that, as the bill goes to the Senate floor for debate,
agricultural water use is not given priority over the environment. On
5/2, Rep. Tauscher (D-CA) and Rep. Napolitano (D-CA) introduced a
similar bill (H.R. 4657) in the House. Environmentalists oppose a
related bill (H.R. 3208) by Rep. Calvert (R-CA) that would allow the
construction of new dams in California without appropriate review,
and could give agricultural water users priority over the
environment.

On 5/16, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the
Water Investment Act of 2002 (S. 1961) by a vote of 13-6. The bill,
which was introduced by Sens. Graham (D-FL), Jeffords (I-VT), Smith
(R-NH), Warner (R-VA), and Crapo (R-ID), authorizes significant
increases in funding for cleaner water. Environmental groups are
seeking to ensure that the bill provides incentives for states and
cities to fund water quality projects that are good for the
environment, such as stream buffers, wetlands restoration, and
stormwater controls. Environmentalists are also eager to prevent the
funds from supporting sprawl or noncompliance with environmental
regulations. The committee approved an amendment from Sen. Reid
(D-NV) that would create a grant program to help small public
drinking water systems comply with new environmental regulations, and
one from Sen. Voinovich (R-OH) that would reauthorize a wet-weather
grant program to help remedy sewage overflows. The committee also
accepted amendments from Sen. Wyden (D-OR) to make funding available
for water conservation projects and provide loan-forgiveness for
projects that address pollution runoff. On 4/17 and 3/20, the House
Ways and Means and Transportation and Infrastructure committees,
respectively, considered the House companion bill (H.R. 3930). This
bill would increase the level of funding available to states for
clean water projects under the Clean Water Act by $1 billion per
year, up to a total of $6 billion in 2007. The Bush administration
objects to the cost of these bills, claiming that it needs the money
to fund the war on terrorism.

...

Climate Change

= N O T E ! =
On 7/24, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a
hearing on the Bush administration's decision to abandon an
international treaty to curb global warming emissions. On 7/11, the
Senate Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing on the same
topic. Facing criticism from senators about the administration's
decision to withdraw from the treaty, administration officials
defended the decision and suggested the need for a long-term policy.

On 5/2, Rep. Olver (D-MA) introduced a bill (H.R. 4611) that would
require companies to report their global warming pollution emissions
to a federal database.

...

Coastal and Marine Resources

On 7/10, the House Resources Committee approved by a vote of 23-17
Rep. Gilchrest's (R-MD) controversial bill to reauthorize the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (H.R. 4749),
the primary law governing fisheries management in the United States.
The committee rejected an amendment introduced by Rep. Rahall (D-WV)
that would have promoted both sustainable management of marine
fisheries and recovery of depleted fish stocks. Environmentalists
oppose this bill in its present form, because it contains language
that could lead to continued overfishing and destroy important fish
habitat.

On 6/13, the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation,
Wildlife, and Oceans held a hearing on H.R. 4781, a bill to
reauthorize the Marine Mammal Protection Act, introduced on 5/17 by
Rep. Gilchrest (R-MD), subcommittee chair. While the bill does not
change current legal definitions and standards that protect marine
mammals, the Department of Defense has tried for years to weaken this
act for years by changing definitions to exempt its activities.
Environmentalists argue that the Defense Department's proposal would
limit the circumstances under which activities potentially harmful to
marine mammals could be reviewed or restricted.

...

Forests

= N O T E ! =
On 7/25, Sens. Cantwell (D-WA), Warner (R-VA), and Chafee (R-RI),
among others, introduced a bipartisan bill to permanently protect our
remaining wild national forests from roadbuilding and logging (S.
2790). On 6/5, Rep. Inslee (D-WA) introduced H.R. 4865, similar
legislation that also would protect wild forests.

...

International Environmental Protections

= N O T E ! =
On 8/1, the Senate passed H.R. 3009, legislation granting new trade
negotiation authority (called "fast track") for the president, by a
vote of 64-34. The House approved the bill, 215-212, on 7/27.
Environmental groups oppose "fast-track" authority legislation
because it contains weak environmental standards and safeguards and
inadequate protection for international environmental agreements.

...

Lands

= N O T E ! =
On 7/31, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved
several land conservation bills, including S. 1846, which would
protect the Finger Lakes National Forest from oil drilling, and
several bills to create national heritage trails in Rhode Island,
Utah, New Mexico, Georgia, Massachusetts and Nevada.

Due to mounting opposition, the National Monument Fairness Act (H.R.
2114), sponsored by Rep. Simpson (R-ID), was abruptly pulled from the
House floor debate schedule on 6/20. The bill is opposed by Democrats
on the committee because it would restrict the president's authority
to create national monuments under the Antiquities Act by requiring
congressional consent within two years after a president designates
any national monument over 50,000 acres, thereby preventing quick
presidential action to protect significant and environmentally
sensitive public lands and resources.

On 5/16, Rep. Shays (R-CT) and Rep. Rahall (D-WV) introduced a bill
(H.R. 4748) to reform the 1872 Mining Law. The bill would for the
first time require mining companies to pay royalties for minerals
taken from public lands, and to use that revenue to fund reclamation
and restoration of abandoned mines. The bill would also strengthen
the law's environmental protections and cleanup standards for
projects on Interior Department lands.

The House and Senate passed the final version of the farm bill (H.R.
2646) on 5/2 and 5/8, respectively, and President Bush signed the
bill on 5/13. Conservation programs -- including funding for energy
efficiency and renewable energy programs on farms -- total about $9
billion of the bill's $45 billion in new spending. But
environmentalists claim that commodities subsidies and
environmentally damaging provisions in the bill will outweigh
conservation funding. For instance, the bill raises the payment cap
on funding that giant livestock farms, whose waste management
practices pose a threat to local water supplies, will be able to
receive. Several other environmentally damaging provisions, including
language that would have provided incentives to log national forests,
were ultimately eliminated from the bill.

...

Nuclear

= N O T E ! =
On 7/23, President Bush signed Public Law No. 107-200, a resolution
designating Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the sole repository for the
nation's high-level radioactive waste. The Senate and House approved
the resolution on 7/9 and 5/8, respectively, overruling Nevada
Governor Guinn's (R) veto of the site designation. Opponents of the
selection of Yucca Mountain, 90 miles from Las Vegas, believe that
the proposed facility would not adequately protect the public and the
environment from radiation contamination.

...

Public Health

= N O T E ! =
On 7/26, the House approved the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (H.R.
5005). The bill includes provisions that would shield companies that
voluntarily provide information relating to national security from
public disclosure requirements and the civil consequences of law
violations. Efforts by Rep. Schakowsky (D-IL) to strike this
provision on the House floor fell short, 188-240. Environmentalists
argue that these provisions are unnecessary and would hinder
enforcement of environmental and public safety laws. On 7/24, the
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved its version of the
homeland security bill (S. 2452), which does not include these
provisions.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/25, the Environmental and Public Works Committee unanimously
approved Sen. Corzine's (D-NJ) Chemical Security Act (S. 1602), which
would require the EPA to conduct vulnerability assessments of
chemical plants; the plants would then be required to reduce any
hazards uncovered during the assessments.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/23, the House passed a pipeline safety bill (H.R. 3609) after
adding more stringent inspection and enforcement measures. The bill
will likely be considered as part of the energy bill conference
negotiations.

On 6/27, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a
bill (S. 351), introduced by Sen. Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Kerry
(D-MA), that would ban the sale of mercury thermometers and provide
grants for a thermometer exchange program. Mercury is a dangerous
neurotoxin that causes brain damage and developmental disabilities.

On 6/12, President Bush signed the bioterrorism bill into law (Public
Law No. 107-188.). The new law, which authorizes bioterrorism-related
funds for public health infrastructure, food inspection and nuclear
security, includes language requiring drinking water facilities to
assess their vulnerability to terrorist attacks that could threaten
water supplies. It also authorizes $20 million to facilitate
cooperation between the EPA and drinking water facilities to improve
basic security, reduce chemical threats, and develop emergency
response plans. The House approved the final version of the bill on
5/22 by a vote of 425-1, and the Senate followed suit the following
day with a vote of 98-0.

...

Smart Growth

= N O T E ! =
On 7/23, the House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. 3995, a housing
bill introduced by Rep. Roukema (R-NJ) that includes a provision that
would require federal agencies to conduct an affordable housing
impact analysis when proposing new rules. Environmentalists argue
that the provision would prevent new environmental, labor, and public
health rules from moving forward, and would not help low-income
families. The bill could also have a negative impact on smart growth
initiatives by undermining emerging alliances between affordable
housing and environmental advocates.

...

Wilderness and Wildlife Protection

On 7/10, along a nearly party line vote, the House Resources
Committee approved H.R. 4840, a bill introduced by Rep. Hansen (R-UT)
that would require additional scrutiny of data when extending extra
protection to an endangered species, but not when withholding extra
protection. Environmentalists oppose the bill, along with two others
(Rep. Pombo's (R-CA) H.R. 3705 and Rep. Walden's (R-OR) H.R. 2829)
that would modify the Endangered Species Act, making it harder for
the government to protect endangered and threatened species. These
bills would impose a higher burden on federal agencies to obtain
additional scientific information on species and mandate additional
review of that data, resulting in delay and additional hurdles before
protections could be put in place.

The House and Senate have appointed conferees to finalize the $393
billion Defense Authorization bill. The House version of the bill
(H.R. 4546) includes provisions that would give the Department of
Defense broad exemptions under the Endangered Species Act and the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as language that would reduce
protections for Utah wilderness lands. The provisions were part of a
larger proposal by the Department of Defense that also included
exemptions from the Clean Air Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act,
Resource Recovery and Conservation Act, and Superfund. Democratic
leaders and environmentalists argue that the exemption provisions
have not received adequate review, and that language in existing laws
already provides flexibility for the Defense Department to seek
exemptions on a case-by-case basis. The Senate version of the bill
(S. 2514) does not contain these harmful exemptions.

On 5/16, the House Government Reform Committee held a hearing at
which the General Accounting Office presented its findings from a
study on the impact of environmental regulations on military
readiness and training. The GAO report concludes that the Department
of Defense has achieved readiness and has failed to demonstrate how
and to what extent environmental laws have negatively affected its
mission.

...

For information on the environmental voting records of members of
Congress, see the League of Conservation Voter's National
Environmental Scorecards at http://www.lcv.org/scorecard/index.asp

...........

2) About Our Bulletins/How to Subscribe & Unsubscribe

NRDC distributes three bulletins by email. To subscribe to any or all
of them or to join our activist networks, go to
http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/subscribe.asp. If you already
subscribe and want to change your subscriptions or update your email
address or other information, go to
http://www.join.nrdcaction.org/profileeditor (or see the unsubscribe
information below).

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

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

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

...........

3) About NRDC/How to Contact Us

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

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

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
NY, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General information: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
Email subscription questions: nrdcaction@nrdc.org
http://www.nrdc.org

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

Action deadline:  September 5, 2002

An ominous bill that would weaken the crucial protections of the
Endangered Species Act has gathered support in Congress.  Please act
now to stop it.

Every species loss diminishes the diversity of life on Earth with
untold consequences for the web of life.  Sadly, at present rates of
extinction, as much as 20 percent of the world's species could be gone
in the next 30 years.  The Endangered Species Act is our bulwark
against extinction.  As a result of the act, species like the bald
eagle, the California condor, the gray wolf, and the black-footed
ferret are making a comeback.

Please forward this email to your friends and urge them to take
action.

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

If you are a World Wildlife Fund Conservation Action Network member,
you can take action by following the simple steps below.  If you
received this email from a friend, visit
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/action.asp?step=2&item=1725 to
take action.  

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

BETTER YET, ADD YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND GREATLY INCREASE YOUR IMPACT --
Log in to your Personal Action Center --       
http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/login.asp -- with your email
address (alerts@earthhopenetwork.net) and your password.  Once you are in your
Personal Action Center, click on "Keep the Endangered Species Act
Strong" and follow the instructions for adding your own thoughts to
your message.

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

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

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

I write to urge you to oppose H.R. 4840, the so-called Sound Science
for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2002.  This bill would
seriously weaken the Endangered Species Act.  

The bill has numerous flaws.  It would seek to limit the ability of
scientists to use the best available science to conserve endangered
species.  It would add independent scientific review requirements and
extend deadlines in ways that could be used to delay and hamstring
species protection.  It fails to ensure that reviewers are independent
and come from qualified scientific bodies.  It attempts to drastically
limit the ability of citizens to petition for species preservation.  
And the bill seeks to give special rights to industry.

The Endangered Species Act is a strong, effective, and flexible
science-based "safety net" for the many species hovering on the brink
of extinction.  Please do all you can to oppose H.R. 4840, which poses
a serious threat to the act.

Sincerely,

Your name and address
will be inserted here

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

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

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

To:  All Activists
From:  Steve Holmer
Date:  August 2, 2002

Senate Fire Rider Opens Door to More Logging - Ignores Community
Protection

At a press conference yesterday, a group of Senators called for the
creation of a new national fire plan that would prohibit citizen
involvement in fire management decisions and suspend environmental laws
protecting Clean Water, Endangered Species and sensitive forest lands.
In addition to Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
and Ron Wyden (D-OR) also were involved in the press conference.

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) indicated the legislation would be based on
the precedent set by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) in the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations bill, which includes a complete suspension
of environmental laws and citizen involvement on 8,000 acres of the
Black Hills National Forest.  No final language has been agreed to by
the participants, but discussions about the content and extent of the
rider are currently underway.

In addition to your own Senators (202/224-3121), calls are urgently
needed to the following offices urging them to oppose any forest riders
restricting citizen involvement or that suspend environmental laws:

    Phone   Fax
Sen. Tom Daschle  202/224-2321  224-7895
Sen. Ron Wyden  202/224-5244  228-2717
Sen. Dianne Feinstein 202/224-3841  228-3954

Also, please contact your Representative and urge him/her to oppose H.R.
5214, H.R. 5309 and any other riders or bills that would suspend
environmental laws or limit public involvement for forest management
decisions.

Other points to mention to your Senators and Representative:

Support directing fuel reduction projects to the immediate vicinity of
homes and communities. Right now, only 31% of the acres treated by the
Forest Service and BLM are close to homes and communities.  This number
should be increased to at least 90% of the acres treated.  The latest
scientific review indicates that a zone 60 meters from structures and up
to 500 meters for firefighter safety are the maximum areas needed for
legitimate fuel reduction treatments for community protection.

Oppose expanding stewardship contracting.  Logging proponents want the
Forest Service to be able to give away unlimited amounts of trees to pay
for projects.  This program has been very controversial and a large
number of the projects are environmental failures.  Until the existing
84 pilot projects can fully reviewed and monitored, no additional
contracts or permanent authority should be approved.

http://americanlands.org

Greenpeace's Positive Energy
July 29 - August 5, 2002
v 2.26

Time for Greenpeace's CLEAN ENERGY NOW! campaign's
weekly good news update!

Inside this edition:
- SustainUS Wins a Bet with President Bush
- Greenpeace Activist Tells All
- The Kill Zone

+++++
SustainUS Wins a Bet with President Bush

Remember the bet that youth across the nation
were waging with President Bush?  SustainUS, a
network of students and youth groups dedicated to
sustainable development, waged a bet with President
Bush that the nation's young people could collectively
conserve 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide by July 31st.  
They won the bet by 1800 tons!  

Now that the bet is won, President Bush should go
to Jo'burg and attend the World Summit on Sustainable
Development this August in South Africa, accompanied
by U.S. youth delegates who will sharing
their visions of a sustainable future.  

To read more about the winners,
go to: http://www.sustainus.org

To learn about Greenpeace's Youth Delegation to the
WSSD, go to:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/features/wssd.htm

+++++
Greenpeace Activist Tells All

The day in the life of Greenpeace Clean Energy Now!
Campaigner Kristin Casper is featured in this week's
Grist Magazine.  Her daily entries tell the story
of her life living and working for a clean energy
future. Her grassroots work extends from local issues
in California, to working with a national youth delegation
that will be sending a strong message to the White
House - "Bush: Don't Burn Our Planet."

To here what Kristin has to say, go to:
http://www.gristmagazine.com

+++++
The Kill Zone

Are you living in the shadow of a nuclear reactor zone?  
This week, Greenpeace unveiled its zip code nuclear
indicator zone, where you type in your zip code and
find out how close you are to high-risk areas. Don't
you wish this indicator were for clean energy zones
instead?  Type in your zip code and take action in your
nuclear reactor kill zone to demand clean energy!

To find out how close you are to a nuclear reactor, go to:
http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/nuclear/locator.htm

The "Positive Energy" newsletter and our web site,
http://www.cleanenergynow.org, will give you good news
about ways to achieve clean air, climate justice, and
renewable energy solutions to our ongoing energy crisis.

Want to do more?  Become a Greenpeace member today!
To give online, go to: https://www.greenpeaceusa.org/join2/cen.htm

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------
August 4, 2002  
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's EarthNet's July review! The long summer days
are growing shorter but there's still plenty of time
for reading. And in this issue we point you to some
great stuff in our GREEN READING sections.

July was a hot one reminding many of us of exactly
how serious climate change is. Read about some striking
new evidence coming out of Alaska's sweating glaciers
in MERCY, MERCY ME. Plus, check out how the auto industry
fits into all of this and what you could do about it
in CORPORATE CORNER.

Meanwhile, WHO'S WHO will keep you inspired and remind
you that you're not alone.  

Remember: EarthNet is in the summer cycle. That means
we're publishing monthly and looking at a review of
the month's most interesting enviro news. We'll be
back to our regularly scheduled weekly programming
come September.  

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

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

1. Corporate Corner: Chug, Chug, Chug
2. Quote of the Week  
3. Glimmer of Hope: What's freedom, Willy?
4. Mercy, Mercy Me: Don't Sweat It
5. Who's Who
6. Green Reading I
7. Green Reading II
8. Jobs and Internships  
9. Conferences and Gatherings  
10. Activist Phone Book & EarthNet News Info  

----------------------------------------------------------------------
CORPORATE CORNER
----------------------------------------------------------------------

CHUG, CHUG, CHUG

Courtesy of Environmental Defense... http://actionnetwork.org/ct/z1qAAaF1mcDd/

It may be common knowledge that the United States is
the world's largest greenhouse gas polluter - sending
a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) out into
the atmosphere, where it and other greenhouse gases
form a heat-trapping blanket around the earth. But
did you know that American cars and light trucks alone
emit more carbon dioxide than almost every other nation
on earth?  

To grasp the enormity of the problem, consider this:
Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee, weighing just under
two tons, emits over three times its body weight in
CO2 per year. Now imagine all the millions of cars
on the road today, and you start to get the picture.
Clearly, controlling CO2 emissions from cars and light
trucks by improving their fuel efficiency would be
one of the most important steps we can take to curb
global warming, as well as reducing our country's dependence
on oil imports.  

A new report from Environmental Defense called Automakers'
Corporate Carbon Burdens introduces the notion of a
corporate carbon burden - how much carbon a car maker's
fleet will pollute over the course of its life. Says
co-author and car expert John DeCicco, "we cannot affix
blame on SUVs alone or expect hybrid cars alone to
solve the problem, but rather, we need to lift all
ships, so to speak - all cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans,
pickups - to higher efficiency levels. That would lower
CO2 emissions and reduce the carbon burden in a significant
way."

TAKE ACTION NOW:  
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/1pqAAaF1mcDA/THE_PLEDGE
Click here to tell automakers to clean up their act.


FOR MORE INFO:
**Environmental Defense's Report
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/z7qAAaF1mcDB/  
** Interview with John DeCicco
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/zdqAAaF1mcDc/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely.

-- John Emerich Edward Dalberg

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

WHAT'S FREEDOM, WILLY?

Summer is the time for family reunions. Whales included.
A year after the mother of Orca killer whale A-73 --
also known as Springer -- disappeared, the orphan was
reunited with a pod including her grandmother and other
relatives near Puget Sound this July 14th. The two-year-old
Orca spent the last six months being studied and cared
for by a team of researchers while waiting for a pod
to come near enough for her release. Scientists will
now follow her movements via radio and a network of
wale-watchers with the hope that she will be welcomed
into the pod and adopted by an older whale. Eventually,
they expect her either to move from pod to pod or to
be more solitary. Springer has captivated area residents
and scientists alike and they are all rooting for her
speedy adjustment to the open ocean. But there's a
larger, more tragic story behind this mammal interest
story. Springer and her kind are becoming increasingly
rare in the Puget Sound and the government isn't doing
much about it.

FOR MORE INFO:  
**Seattle Weekly Article 08-01-02
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/L1qAAaF1mcD5/
** People for Puget Sound
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/S7qAAaF1mcDf/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
MERCY, MERCY ME
----------------------------------------------------------------------

DON'T SWEAT IT

A study published in the journal Science the week of
July 15th declared that glaciers in Alaska have been
melting faster than we realized. Researchers at the
University of Alaska in Fairbanks found that, on average,
glaciers are melting away at rate of six feet each
year. Because these glaciers are hanging our on shore,
the water they're sweating runs into the ocean -- displacing
ocean water and causing a rise in sea level. And rising
sea levels lead to flooding and saltwater in fragile
brackish ecosystems. Turns out the sea level near Alaska
is changing faster now than it has for the past ten
thousand years. The release of the study adds to the
hunch that the climate is changing at an alarming rate.
In the past thirty years, Alaska's temperature has
risen an astounding four times the global average.


FOR MORE INFO:  
** Science Magazine
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/SpqAAaF1mcDv/
** Washington Post Article 07-18-02
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/LdqAAaF1mcDt/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
WHO'S WHO  
----------------------------------------------------------------------

HOT POTATOES?

"Green Plans," "Affluenza," "Escape from Affluenza,"
"Running Out of Time," "Visible Target," "Garden Song,"
"Circle of Plenty," "Genetic Time Bomb," and "Hot Potatoes."
These are all likely things to be find on signs at
an environmental activist's protest. Well, maybe not
that last one. They are also all the titles of films
by the award-winning environmental documentary film
director/producer John DeGraaf. "Hot Potatoes" included.
Born in 1946, DeGraaf has been producing films for
both US public television and commercial television
for more than twenty years. One of his more recent
films, "Green Plans," measures the progress of the
environmental movement against its surrounding rhetoric
in The Netherlands and New Zealand. And "Hot Potatoes"?
It chronicles the search for an environmentally sustainable
solution to potato blight for developing countries.
DeGraaf will be speaking at this year's Environmental
Journalism Academy in Seattle, WA courtesy of us, the
Center for Environmental Citizenship.  

FOR MORE INFO:  
**A little more about De Graaf  
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/S1qAAaF1mcD4/
**Environmental Journalism Academy
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/q1qAAaF1mcDM/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN READING I
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Check it out from Grist Magazine... http://www.gristmagazine.com/

LET THEM EAT CARBON

The Bush administration has turned its back on climate
change. But when the federal government drops the ball,
someone else is bound to pick it up: All across the
country, concerned Americans are taking action on climate
change. In dorm rooms and boardrooms, in city halls
and houses of worship, activists are taking it upon
themselves to protect the global climate. Come meet
the new climate movement in "Power Shift: Looking for
Leadership on Climate Change," a special edition of
Grist Magazine.  

**Grist Magazine Exclusive
Power Shift -- looking for leadership on climate change
-- a special edition of Grist
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/zpqAAaF1mcDX/?

----------------------------------------------------------------------
GREEN READING II
----------------------------------------------------------------------

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR

In this modern age, it's hard to know what's real.
We often assume the glut of information we're hit withe
everyday is legit. But how do we know if we are getting
the whole story? Whose spin has distorted the information?
John Stauber, the executive director of the Center
for Media and Democracy, and Sheldon Rampton, the editor
of PR Watch, answer these questions and provide historical
background on public relations cover ups in their book
*Toxic Sludge Is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies and
the Public Relations Industry*. Clearly written and
critically acclaimed, this book is especially pertinent
as environmental scientists and big industry lobbyists
engage in the continuing argument over the accuracy
and exaggeration of environmental problems caused by
pollution. The book challenges the propaganda and censorship
of PR firms. For your daily dose of truth and skepticism,
add this book to your summer reading list.

FOR MORE INFO:
**Go to the source
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/SdqAAaF1mcDr/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
JOBS AND INTERNSHIPS  
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Job Title: Campus Energy Efficiency Coordinator
Organization: Illinois Student Environmental Network
Location: Urbana, IL
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/apqAAaF1mcDe/

Job Title: Research Intern
Organization: Container Recycling Institute
Location: Arlington, VA
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/a7qAAaF1mcD3/

Job Title: Environmental Professionals  
Organization: Ecology & Environment, Inc.
Location: Las Vegas, NV
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/adqAAaF1mcDx/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
CONFERENCES, GATHERINGS AND VIEWINGS  
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Event: Northwest Renewable Energy Festival
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Date: 9/20/2002 - 9/22/2002
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/q7qAAaF1mcD2/

Event: Save the Mesas Music Festival
Location: Golden, CO
Date: 8/25/2002
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/a1qAAaF1mcDs/

Event: Greening the Campus: Values in Action
Location: Amherst, MA
Date: 10/26/2002
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/qpqAAaF1mcDw/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTIVIST PHONE BOOK  
----------------------------------------------------------------------

U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202.224.3121  
White House Comment Line: 202.456.1111  

White House Address:  
1600 Pennsylvania Ave  
Washington, DC 20500  

Senate Address:  
US Senate  
Washington, DC 20510  

House Address:  
US House of Representatives  
Washington, DC 20515  

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

Write your own short articles for submission to EarthNet.
We are particularly interested in articles about student
activism on your campus.  

For general comments:  
mailto:earthnet@envirocitizen.org  

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

Submit Events at:  
http://actionnetwork.org/ct/qdqAAaF1mcDN/

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

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

http://actionnetwork.org/join-forward.html?domain=san&r=rdqAAaF1mcFt

Sign up for Student Action Network at:

http://actionnetwork.org/san/join.html?r=rdqAAaF1mcFtE

From:   Steve Holmer
Date:    August 6, 2002

Fire Rider to Suspend Laws & Citizen Involvement Barreling Forward

Collective amnesia is a dangerous thing.  But it would appear that the
U.S. Congress has forgotten what a joy the Salvage Logging Rider was for
the National Forests, the U.S. Forest Service and those lawmakers who
supported lawless logging.  Now is a good time to remind them because
the Senate is currently negotiating a new logging rider and two bad
bills have been introduced in the House.

Please contact your Senators and your Representatives at 202/224-3121 or
at their district offices and urge them to:

Oppose any fire related riders or legislation that would suspend
environmental laws or citizen involvement.  Remind them that the last
time environmental laws were suspended in the name of "forest health"
under the Salvage Logging Rider, the forests were heavily abused, the
public was outraged and Forest Service credibility was seriously
undermined.   Tell them that an effective fire program should focus on
non-controversial projects to protect homes and communities, not
re-polarizing the logging debate and creating new controversy.

In addition to your own Senators calls are also urgently needed to the
following offices urging them to oppose any forest riders restricting
citizen involvement or that suspend environmental laws:

    Phone  Fax
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)           202/224-5244  228-2717
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)   202/224-3841  228-3954
Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD)          202/224-2321  224-7895


Fire Scientists Defend Beschta Report Against Forest Service Attack
A group of top Northwest scientists have rebuked Forest Service Chief
Bosworth in a letter defending their 1995 report entitled, “Wildfire and
Salvage Logging, Recommendations for Ecologically Sound Post-Fire
Salvage Management and Other Post-Fire Treatments” (Beschta et al.,
1995).   Bosworth has blamed the report, which has served as the basis
for recent federal court decisions unfavorable to the agency, to
contributing to the “analysis paralysis” that slows agency logging
projects.

However, scientists from the University of Washington, Oregon State,
Idaho State University, Pacific Rivers Council, and the Center for
Biological Diversity told Congress that the Forest Service is mired in
conflict of its own doing.

“The agency often strives to ignore or deny the vast body of knowledge
that has accumulated in recent decades, and instead favors antiquated
policies,” the scientists said.  “The [Forest Service] diverts staff and
money to extraordinarily costly salvage logging projects at the expense
of reducing...the road network or undertaking needed fine-fuels
reductions in unburned forests.  [Such a direction] is not only a recipe
for controversy, but also a recipe for the continued deterioration of
forested landscapes.  Humans, too, suffer when these resources are
degraded, as will often happen if the forest practices advocated by the
chief...are continued.”

Bosworth has still called the report “[a document] of questionable
science proposed for an advocacy group that has never been
peer-reviewed.”  But, The Beschta Report was peer-reviewed by
researchers at Oregon State and more than 50 others who endorsed it in a
letter to the president.  “It was peer-reviewed more than most
peer-reviewed papers are,” said James Karr, a professor of aquatic
sciences and zoology at the University of Washington. “And far more than
the Forest Service’s own work is peer-reviewed.”

Deteriorating forest roads and overgrown, flammable stands pose the most
immediate threats to forests, the scientists told Congress.  “There’s
this huge need to do fuel reduction, yet they seem to have this huge
interest in doing salvage logging,” Beschta said.  “They could have been
aggressively thinning forests over the last decade, and I don’t know if
they could have made a dent, but they certainly could have gotten
further than they have.”

For more information, download the report at
http://www.westerntrout.org/trout/Reports/bosworth_response_to_Salvage_Report.pdf.

Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"

Attached is an article by Raimunda Monteiro, a Brazilian activist with the
Movement for the Development of the Transamazon and the Xingu (MDTX), giving
excellent background on the recent murders of two community leaders in Para
state. If you have not yet sent a fax/letter to the president of Brazil,
please review our recent action alert, below, and send a letter today.
Thanks.


GLOBAL RESPONSE EMERGENCY ACTION -- BRAZIL -- ISSUED 7/25/02

Another social and environmental activist in the state of Para, Brazil, has
been murdered.

Last fall Global Response initiated an international letter-writing campaign
to bring to justice the murderers of Ademir Federicci ("Dema"), who was
organizing protests against the construction of huge dams on the Xingu River
(see http://www.globalresponse.org/gra_index/gra0501.html. Although we were
successful in persuading the Brazilian government to order a federal
investigation into the murder, Dema's associates say there's been no
progress on the case.

Last Sunday, rural union leader Bartolomeu Morais da Silva ("Brasilia") was
found brutally murdered.  Brasilia was a leader in the small farmers'
struggle to stop illegal logging, land fraud, and destructive large-scale
infrastructure projects. His organization, the Altamira Union, calls for
creating two very large protected areas to be managed by local communities.
Such proposals directly conflict with the interests of large ranchers who
are seizing and clearing huge areas for soy plantations and cattle ranches.

Farmers unions and other community organizations in Para state report an
atmosphere of impunity, where the wealthy are getting away with murder and
the poor are terrorized for opposing large-scale environmentally destructive
development projects.

Please write again to the president of Brazil and demand immediate and
complete federal investigations into the murders of Dema and Brasilia.  Let
him know that the international community expects him to guarantee the
rights and safety of community activists in Para state, and their full
participation in decision-making concerning development of the region.

Thanks to Environmental Defense for drafting the following Action Alert:

**************
-URGENT ACTION-

Rural Union Leader Brutally Murdered in Brazilian Amazon

Government road project unleashes violence, deforestation on lawless
frontier
                                          July 23, 2002

On July 21, 2002 rural union leader Bartolomeu Morais da Silva, "Brasília",
was murdered in the town of Castelo dos Sonhos, Pará state in the Brazilian
Amazon.  The activist's body was found by the side of the Cuiabá Santarém
highway with 12 gunshot wounds and broken legs. Brasília had denounced
large ranchers and their gunmen to state and federal authorities for a
campaign of threats and violence to take small farmers' land.  The federal
government has promised to pave 1,000 kilometers of the Cuiabá - Santarém
road to increase soybean exports, and mega-ranchers are taking over and
declaring themselves the owners of vast expanses of forest lands along the
road in the expectation of price increases and expansion of soy farming.
Many of these areas are already occupied by small farming families. State
and federal governments have essentially abandoned the region to
environmental devastation and feudal rule by the soy and cattle  barons.

In June of this year, military police from the neighboring town of Novo
Progresso arbitrarily arrested 19 rural workers, who were farming an area
claimed by ranchers. The nineteen were imprisoned for thirty days without
being charged.  In April 2002, rancher Nilton Albuquerque de Barros with
hired gunmen attempted to force various families off of an area he claimed
to own.  The farmers succeeded in disarming the gunmen, and delivered the
weapons to the police, who took no action.

Brasilia denounced these and similar abuses to the relevant authorities in
both the national and state capitals, as well as reporting the repeated
death threats he was receiving because of his work organizing small farmers
along the Cuiabá Santarem road.  No action was taken.

Rural worker's unions in the Amazon, such as the Altamira Rural Worker's
Union that Brasilia represented in Castelo dos Sonhos, have taken a leading
role in fighting illegal logging, land fraud, and destructive large-scale
infrastructure projects, while proposing sustainable alternatives and
large-scale protected areas.  The Altamira Union is calling for the creation of
two very large protected areas to be managed by local communities
"extractive reserves" in a neighboring region.  Such proposals directly
conflict with large ranchers' interest in seizing and clearing huge areas
for soy plantations and cattle ranches.  The paving of the Cuiabá
Santarém road is expected to result in the deforestation of 25,000 to 53,000
square kilometers of new deforestation -- an area between the sizes of West
Virginia and Florida in the coming twenty years, unless measures to avoid
it are taken.

Nearly a year ago, union leader and activist Ademir Federicci, "Dema" was
assassinated in Altamira, Pará, and essentially no progress has been made
in bringing his killers to justice. This only worsens the climate of
judicial impunity for the perpetrators such crimes on the frontier.

Please Fax  Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, respectfully
requesting that he charge the Federal Police with investigating the murder
of Brasilia and bringing the perpetrators to justice.  A sample text
follows:

      Ilmo. Exmo. Sr.
      Fernando Henrique Cardoso
      Presidente da Republica do Brasil
      Palacio do Planalto
      Brasilia, DF
      Brasil

      fax: Int'l code+ 55-61-411-2222


Dear Mr. President,

I am deeply concerned by the brutal torture and murder of union leader
Bartolomeu Morais da Silva in Castelo dos Sonhos, Pará on July 21.  This
brazen assassination follows the murder of Ademir Federicci, "Dema", in
Altamira, Pará nearly a year ago, in which police have made not even
a plausible pretence of investigating the crime.  Your government's planned
infrastructure development program for this region, in the absence of any
organized effort to control its social and environmental effects or instill
respect for the most basic human rights, appears to have generated a
chaotic land boom and a climate of total impunity for large scale ranchers
engaged in seizing huge tracts along the road.

I urge you to assign the Federal Police to investigate this heinous crime,
since local authorities are clearly unable or unwilling to do so.  Failure
to bring to justice the killers of Bartolomeu Morais da Silva, and of Dema,
as you know, will inevitably lead to further violence and repeated
atrocities.

                  Sincerely,

********************************
Paula Palmer, Executive 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

Global Response empowers people of all ages, cultures, and nationalities to
protect the environment by creating partnerships for effective citizen
action.  At the request of indigenous peoples and grassroots organizations,
Global Response organizes international letter-writing campaigns to help
communities prevent environmental destruction.  Global Response involves
young people as well as adults in these campaigns, to develop in them the
skills for global citizen cooperation and earth stewardship.

Alaska's grizzlies need your help!

A recent "preservation" plan for Alaska's Tongass National
Forest will open up over 9 million acres to logging and
mining development, threatening grizzlies and bald eagles.
You Can Help Save The Tongass: http://www.care2.com/go/z/2424

The Tongass wilderness houses salmon spawning grounds, prime
grizzly bear habitat, and the world's densest population of
bald eagles. Yet, over 30 pending large-scale timber sales
threaten the region and its wildlife.

Please tell the Forest Service today that you want this area
protected. http://www.care2.com/go/z/2424
Deadline: August 17th!

Background: Because of the unique nature of the Tongass, a
federal court required the Bush Administration to review
all roadless areas for permanent protection. Unfortunately,
a variety of sound environmental options were rejected.
Instead, a proposal was put forward that heavily favors the
commercial timber industry! The so-called permanent protection
proposal recommends NO PROTECTION for roadless areas and offers
no new wilderness designations.

The eco-friendly alternative, the Alaska Rainforest Conservation
Proposal, Alternative 6, SAFEGUARDS VALUABLE OLD GROWTH STANDS
and other pristine areas of the Tongass.

The Forest Service has asked for your opinion in a special public
comment period. So please tell them today that you want this area
protected. DEADLINE AUGUST 17th!

Help Now, it's FREE:  http://www.care2.com/go/z/2424

Our national forests are national treasures and once they're gone,
they're gone forever.

Thank you for your help!
Rachel Saunders
Eco-Activism Manager
Care2 & ThePetitionSite.com

========================================
NRDC's EARTH ACTION:
The Bulletin for Environmental Activists

August 7, 2002
========================================
In This Issue:

--Action alerts--

1. CHILDREN'S HEALTH: Tell the EPA to protect kids from dangerous
pesticides in foods

2. AIR POLLUTION: Tell the Bush administration not to weaken our
clean air rules

--Updates on Previous alerts--

1. Homeland security legislation
2. National forest protection

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

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

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

1. CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Tell the EPA to protect kids from dangerous pesticides in foods

In the past six months, the Environmental Protection Agency has
approved a number of new uses for more than a dozen old and dangerous
pesticides, including one previously used to make Agent Orange, a
military herbicide used during the Vietnam War. These toxic
pesticides will now be used on common foods -- including kids'
favorites like grapes, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries -- even
though safe and effective alternatives are available.  

In allowing these new pesticide uses, the EPA ignored requirements
intended to protect children from exposure to these dangerous
chemicals. Young children's organs are still developing, and their
bodies and immune systems may be more vulnerable to toxic chemicals;
they can also be exposed to far more pesticide residue than adults.
The Food Quality Protection Act -- passed unanimously by Congress in
1996 -- therefore typically requires the EPA to set the safe level of
pesticide exposure for kids at one-tenth of the safe level for
adults.

But the EPA ignored this part of the law in allowing the new
pesticide uses, even while admitting that the risks to children are
not fully understood. In light of signs that some pesticides harm
children's developing brains and nervous systems, the EPA has ordered
chemical manufacturers to do more research on these pesticides. But
in the meantime, the EPA nevertheless has decided to approve these
new pesticide uses now, without taking the required steps to protect
kids.

The EPA is accepting public comments until August 19th on whether or
not kids deserve additional protection from pesticide exposure.

== What to do ==
Send a message to the EPA before the August 19 deadline, urging the
agency to protect kids from harmful levels of pesticides in food.

== Contact information ==
You can send an official comment directly from NRDC's Earth Action
Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or use the contact information
and sample letter below to send your own message, and please include
your own reasons why you want the government to protect children from
pesticide exposure.

Docket # OPP-2002-0057
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs
Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB)
Information Resources and Services Division (7502C)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Email:  opp-docket@epa.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Re: Docket # OPP-2002-0057 - Protect kids from pesticides

Dear Administrator Whitman and EPA Staff,

In light of the uncertainties concerning the full risks of children's
exposure to toxic pesticides, the EPA must follow the law and set the
safe level for children at one-tenth the safe level for adults.

Children are uniquely sensitive to pesticides -- they are not "little
adults." Their bodies are still developing and are potentially more
vulnerable to the harms caused by toxic chemicals. And children are
exposed more than adults, because they eat and drink much more for
their size.

The EPA has admitted that it does not have all the necessary
information on the effects of these pesticides. The harms could be
devastating: pesticide exposure may disrupt the normal development of
a child's brain and nervous system.

I expect the EPA to protect my family and me from public health
threats. The fact that millions of children are exposed to
pesticide-laced food at potentially unsafe levels certainly qualifies
as such a threat. Again, I urge the EPA to give kids the extra
protection from pesticides in their food that the law requires.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

2. AIR POLLUTION
Tell the Bush administration not to weaken our clean air rules

In the most aggressive attack that the Clean Air Act has faced in its
30-year history, the Bush administration has let big corporations
dictate the rewriting of rules that protect the public against
uncontrolled increases in air pollution from power plants, oil
refineries, and manufacturing facilities. If the new rules go into
effect, it will mean tens of thousands more asthma attacks,
hospitalizations, and premature deaths in this country *every year.*

== What to do ==
Tell the administration to start listening to the American public
instead of industry lobbyists, and to shelve the new rules.

== For background ==
The Bush Administration's Air Pollution Plan
http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution/fclearsk.asp

== Contact information ==
You can send a message to EPA Administrator Christie Whitman directly
from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or
use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own
message.

Administrator Christie Whitman
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Fax:  202-501-1450
Email:  whitman.christine@epamail.epa.gov

== Sample letter ==

Subject:  Don't weaken New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air
Act

Dear Administrator Whitman,

I strongly oppose the EPA's proposal to roll back the clean air
protections contained in the Clean Air Act. The changes that you have
announced would allow companies to increase pollution from power
plants, oil refineries, and manufacturing facilities without
installing modern pollution controls and without regard for the harm
inflicted on public health and the environment.

Your agency has acknowledged that the soot and smog caused by
industrial air pollution are responsible for tens of thousands of
asthma attacks, hospitalizations, and premature deaths every year. If
your proposed gutting of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review
program takes effect, the amount of harmful soot and smog pollution
in our skies would be allowed to increase radically all across
America. This excess pollution would result in unacceptable increases
in death and disease, more acid rain destroying our lakes and forests
and more haze ruining our national parks.

Please stop listening to the lobbyists for the coal, oil and power
industries and start listening to the American people. We want to
move forward in the fight against air pollution, not backward. More
loopholes for corporate polluters will only cause more pollution,
more death, more disease, and more environmental damage.

I urge you to drop your announced changes to the New Source Review
program, and to keep our clean air laws strong for us and for future
generations.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

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

1. HOMELAND SECURITY LEGISLATION
In our last alert we asked you to urge your senators and
representatives to strike language from the Homeland Security Act
that would exempt companies that voluntarily provide information
relating to "critical infrastructure" from public disclosure
requirements and civil liability laws. You sent more than 8,000
messages (thank you!), and here's where the bill currently stands:  A
Senate committee reached a bipartisan compromise (thanks partly to
your efforts) to significantly narrow the exemption to only
information concerning security vulnerabilities that the government
presently doesn't receive. But similar efforts failed in the House,
where the harmful exemption provision remains intact. Differences in
the House and Senate versions ultimately will need to be resolved in
conference committee when Congress returns from its August recess;
we'll keep you posted.

2. NATIONAL FOREST PROTECTION
Last month we asked you to urge your representatives to support an
amendment that would protect roadless areas in our national forests.
Thousands of you contacted your reps, and while many of them were
committed to voting for such protection, ultimately the vote did not
occur. The key sponsors of the legislation were not able to get
approval from the House parliamentarian for amendment language that
would truly protect roadless areas, and did not want to submit an
amendment that was only sham protection. We expect the issue to
re-surface in the future, so stay tuned (and thanks to all who took
action and helped so much to raise congressional awareness).   

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

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The CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT is distributed monthly
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tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the
state's natural resources and the health of its citizens. 

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

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

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

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40 West 20th Street
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212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
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http://www.nrdc.org

Also visit:
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A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org

A Bi-weekly Update from Defenders of Wildlife: Working to Save Wildlife and Wild Lands NORTON THREATENED WITH CONTEMPT: Judge scolds government for refusing to protect manatees ON THE BRINK: Defenders fights to save Sonoran pronghorn DEN VICTORY: Your e-mails help stop poisoning of birds FREE CELL PHONE: Announcing Defenders Wireless ALEC WATCH: Corporate polluters wining, dining lawmakers at posh resort SAVING OUR FORESTS: Bill to preserve woodlands wins bipartisan support WOLF AWARENESS WEEK: Ask your governor to proclaim it 1. NORTON THREATENED WITH CONTEMPT: Judge scolds government for refusing to protect manatees A federal judge is threatening to hold Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt of court for refusing to designate new sanctuaries to protect endangered Florida manatees from boaters. The Interior Department agreed nearly two years ago to designate new protection areas throughout Florida to settle a lawsuit by Defenders of Wildlife and other environmental groups, but Norton has refused to comply. Meantime, boat collisions are killing more manatees than ever before. Already this year, 71 manatees have died in boat collisions, only 10 fewer than the record number killed during all of 2001. Norton is asking Judge Emmet Sullivan to set aside the agreement to protect manatees. But at a hearing last week, Sullivan called the government's arguments "ludicrous" and said the Interior Department "is not above the law." He said the government is showing "total insensitivity to the manatee." Powerful special interests, including the boating industry, are against new sanctuaries for manatees, and the judge suggested that the Bush administration is refusing to act as a political favor to the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. To sign our petition urging Secretary Norton to protect manatees, go to www.helpmanatees.org. 2. ON THE BRINK: Defenders fights to save Sonoran pronghorn The Sonoran pronghorn is on the edge of extinction after a sharp population drop this spring, scientists say. But Secretary Norton is refusing to comply with a federal judge's order to help save these elegant creatures. Defenders of Wildlife, which won the judge's ruling in a lawsuit a year and a half ago, went back to court this week to try to force Norton to act to save pronghorns from extinction. To read more, click here http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/pronghorn.html. 3. DEN VICTORY: Your e-mails help stop poisoning of birds DEN members helped save thousands of birds, including bald eagles, from poisoning deaths in Louisiana. Farmers were about to dose their rice fields with the highly toxic pesticide carbofuran, amazingly, with special permission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. But then more than 2,000 DEN members sent e-mails protesting the EPA's decision and forced officials to reverse it. Even a single granule of carbofuran is lethal, and the poison has been banned for a decade. "We are very pleased that the EPA has recognized that granular carbofuran is so toxic to birds that it should not ever be used," said Caroline Kennedy, special projects director for Defenders of Wildlife. 4. FREE CELL PHONE: Announcing Defenders Wireless Through Defenders Wireless, you can now enjoy a free cell phone, complete accessories package and your choice of calling plans from such companies as AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Voicestream Wireless and others. For every cell phone package activated through Defenders Wireless, our partner InPhonic will make a contribution of $50 in your name to help us save America's wildlife and habitat. Click here http://www.defenders.org/donate/phone/wireless.html to see all the additional free equipment you'll receive and the plans you can choose with low monthly rates. 5. ALEC WATCH: Corporate polluters wining, dining lawmakers at posh resort Do you know where your state lawmaker is this week? The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate-funded group that pushes special-interest legislation, is entertaining hundreds of lawmakers at a resort in Orlando, Fla. They're being joined by platoons of lobbyists for corporations, which give huge sums of money to ALEC for this access. To learn more about ALEC's activities and how they threaten our environment and public health, go to www.alecwat