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Bush Administration Moves to Undermine the Endangered
Species Act
As part of the Bush administration's ongoing efforts to
log first and ask questions later, they have proposed
a new regulation to eliminate a vital check and balance
on logging and other development projects that could affect
endangered species. The administration is taking comments
on their new proposal to bypass the critical role of federal
fish and wildlife agencies when it comes to Forest Service
or Bureau of Land Management projects that may affect
threatened or endangered species and their habitat.
To help protect threatened and endangered species -- and
the forest ecosystems they need to survive -- please take
a minute to ask the Forest Service to abandon this ill-conceived
and dangerous proposal. The Forest Service is accepting
public comments until August 4.
You can take action on this alert either via email (please
see directions below) or via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/logging_esa/
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/logging_esa/forward/8gxg5d2p78367n
We encourage you to take action by August 5, 2003
ACT NOW TO PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/logging_esa/
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program.
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Fish and Wildlife Service
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
Please accept these comments on the proposal, published
in the Federal Register on June 5, 2003, to let land management
agencies such as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) carry out projects that may affect federally
endangered and threatened species without first consulting
with the Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine
Fisheries Service (NFMS).
This proposal is inconsistent with the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), and the central role it requires that federal
wildlife agencies play in reviewing projects that may
affect species listed under the ESA. It is very important
for the federal wildlife agencies to review the Forest
Service's and BLM's conclusions about the impacts of proposed
projects on endangered and threatened species before those
projects proceed. The wildlife agencies have the staff
and know-how to best protect and recover vanishing wildlife,
and no conflicts of interest that might cloud their judgment.
The land management agencies, on the other hand, have
other priorities and agendas -- such as logging, as well
as less expertise in recovering species in trouble.
I urge you to abandon these ill-conceived regulations
and keep the requirement that all federal agencies consult
with the Fish and Wildlife Service and/or NMFS on all
actions that may affect ESA-listed species and their critical
habitat, including actions that a non-wildlife agency
decides are "not likely to adversely affect" listed species.
I believe it is critical that the Forest Service and other
land management agencies continue to informally consult
with a wildlife agency on the impacts of timber sales
and other projects on endangered and threatened species,
including projects that are part of the National Fire
Plan. Commercial timber sales conducted under the National
Fire Plan can have the same impacts to species as any
other timber sale. Furthermore, these sales often target
the very trees that should be left behind for species
and forest health, namely those that are larger and more
fire-resistant.
Informal consultation helps make sure agencies do not
ignore the needs of species in trouble in their rush to
remove trees and other fuels from the forest. Informal
consultation is a quick, easy process that results in
efficient approval of projects and often results in important
modifications to benefit species. It also gives the wildlife
agencies a chance to catch projects that may have much
greater impacts, and refer them to a more thorough formal
consultation process.
Please withdraw this proposal and end all efforts to eliminate
consultation on fire-related timber sales.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign
up for Center for Biological Diversity - Biodiversity
Activist at:
http://actionnetwork.org/BIODIVERSITY/join.html?r=37qAxC71UuFdE
NATIONAL FORESTS IN JEOPARDY! The U.S. Forest Service seeks to remove critical protections for roadless areas within two national rainforests – the Tongass National Forest and the Chugach National Forest, both located in
Alaska -- and the public has only until August 14th to say no! There is no scientific or logical basis to exclude the Tongass or Chugach national forests from the Roadless Area Conservation Rule – an overwhelmingly popular, publicly mandated policy that protects 58.5 million acres of America’s pristine, roadless forests, while
continuing to allow public access and opportunities for recreational activity including birdwatching, fishing, hiking, hunting and camping. It also protects critical habitat for birds, fish and
wildlife including threatened or endangered species, and provide clean drinking water for 60 million Americans. Click here now for more information and to take action today! And please pass this message on to your friends and family! The more
opposition the U.S. Forest Service hears from the general public, the better chance there is they will maintain these protections and protect this critical bird and wildlife habitat! http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/summary.asp?subject=250
Greenpeace Activist News, Vol. 3, No. 7
1 August 2003
In this issue, unmasking the WTO, supporting the indigenous people of the Amazon, a German cybercentre, testing a new chat system and a survey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE WTO UNMASKED
With the next World Trade Organisation meeting in Cancun coming up during 11-14 September, here are a few things you can do to protest the WTO's prioritisation of corporate profits over the health of our planet and its people.
Genetically engineered food by Bush & Co.
The US and corporations behind genetically engineered (GE) food are using the World Trade Organisation to tell the world what to eat and where to buy it from.
Supported by Canada and Argentina, the US is trying to use the WTO to challenge the European Union's policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - a policy that is the strictest in the world. The US challenge amounts to a scare tactic to "encourage" countries to open their markets to GE food. Many countries fear that if they reject GMOs, they will be met with huge trade sanctions potentially worth hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars.
Introducing "Genetically engineered food by Bush & Co.". Political cartoonist Mark Fiore has designed this great e-card for us to protest corporate attempts to take over our food chain. Support the global movement for the right to say no to GMOs and spread the word by sending it to your friends and colleagues:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ecs/s2?i=863&sk=std
While you’re sending those e-cards, don’t forget to take part in the cyberaction to tell Argentina and Canada to stop supporting the US war on consumers, farmers and the environment:
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=859&s=gen
(This action link will also be sent along with the e-card.)
You can discuss this issue here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/1059220869
For more information
Look out for the weblog from our campaigners on-the-ground and around Cancun. We’ll be linking from our in-depth WTO pages where you can also find links to more action:
http://www.greenpeace.org/trade
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DRAWING THE LINE: DENI AMAZON TOUR
After 18 years of delays, bureaucracy and invasions, the Deni have finally won the recognition and protection of their lands. They had help from many of you along the way, as thousands of cyberactivists sent letters to the Brazilian government in support of their demarcation.
Other indigenous groups have not been as fortunate. About half of the indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon have not been demarcated. Their homes and the forest are vulnerable to logging invasions and other industrial activities.
Please write to the Brazilian government urging them to finish the demarcation of all indigenous lands in the Amazon to preserve their communities and protect their lands and all the biodiversity in those forests.
http://act.greenpeace.org/ams/e?a=855&s=for
A Greenpeace team is now on route to the Deni lands in a remote area of the Amazon rainforest. Follow their journey up the river and through the Deni lands:
http://forests.greenpeace.org/
Stay tuned next week for more opportunities to support the Ancient Forests. A new on-line community called Forest Guardians will launch soon, and we'll need your help and participation to make it a success!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A GERMAN CYBERCENTRE
It has long been a dream to have the (largely) English international Cyberactivism Centre available in more languages. At long last we have a German cybercentre operating at:
http://act.greenpeace.org/deutschland
If you can read and write German, please drop by and get involved!
Alles anders und doch sehr ähnlich: Nach langer Vorarbeit haben wir es geschafft, das Cybercentre auf deutsch zu übersetzen. Außerdem haben wir ihm ein anderes Design verpasst.
Schaut einfach mal rein: Cybercentre auf deutsch!
http://act.greenpeace.org/deutschland
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAT TEST
A commonly requested feature for http://act.greenpeace.org is a chat system. Well, now we have one and you can test it out at:
http://act.greenpeace.org/cht/chat_test
You need to be logged-in to use it. If you have forgotten your account information, you can have it mailed it to you from:
http://act.greenpeace.org/mailPassword
You can comment on the new chat system here:
http://act.greenpeace.org/1058535081
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!
We want your views about our website: the good, the bad, the glorious, the ugly. Your collective comments will be used to improve the Greenpeace website.
The survey is completely anonymous, so don't be shy!
Take part now at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=70981250429
VISIT THE CYBERCENTRE
Please don't forget to visit the Greenpeace Cyberactivist Community at:
http://act.greenpeace.org
ThePetitionSite has worked hard to provide you with monthly
Animals and Environment alerts, keeping you up-to-date on
the latest happenings in world around you -- including
information on important campaigns across the country and
what you can do to help! Today we are proud to bring you a
special environmental update with even more opportunities
to take action on behalf of the environment.
Special ALERT:
Please help by taking action on both of these critical
environmental petitions!
1. EPA Awaits Comments to Decide on Emissions Regulations
2. Global Warming: Action Needed in New York
**************************************************
1. EPA Awaits Comments to Decide on Emissions Regulations
Take action to prevent air pollution!
http://www.care2.com/go/z/6999
From code red ozone alerts in the nation's capital, to the
creeping return of smog in Los Angeles work remains for
healthy air across America. When sitting in traffic snarled
streets, it's easy to think that gridlock is the only culprit. In
reality "off-road" heavy diesel equipment --the bulldozers
that help build our cities to the combines that harvest our
crops -- contributes more than its share. While pollution from
highway vehicles has fallen over time, emissions from off road
engines have continued to climb, in large part because these
engines have not had to meet the stricter standards that
highway vehicles face.
Today, off-road engines release more soot than highway cars
and trucks combined. A typical tractor emits as much soot as
250 average cars. The EPA has proposed a new rule that would
eventually cut emissions from most non-road engines by over
90%, and the agency is now taking public comment on its plan.
They estimate that by 2030, their proposal will save nearly
10,000 lives every year to such causes as asthma, heart
disease, and cancer. The administration needs to hear that
you support a strong rule.
Sign this petition today to send your public comments!
http://www.care2.com/go/z/6999
Deadline -- August 20th
2. Global Warming: Action Needed in New York
A few months ago, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph
Lieberman (D-CT) included their Climate Stewardship Act (S. 139)
in the U.S. Energy Bill. This groundbreaking Legislation, which
*requires* cuts in U.S. emissions of the heat-trapping gasses that
cause global warming could be the turning point in a fight against
global warming. However, President Bush is aggressively pushing
a voluntary-only cuts in global warming pollution from power plants
which delays global warming prevention indefinitely.
In the meantime, we can do much more on a local level. For example,
California passed their own California Climate bill, designed to slow
global warming. You can contact New York's Governor to support
strong & effective global warming prevention policies in New York.
Sign this petition today and show the politicians in D.C. how easy
protecting the environment can be! http://www.care2.com/go/z/7003
Send your letter to New York's Governor and take a stand to stop
Global Warming today! http://www.care2.com/go/z/7003
Thank you for taking action! If you have already signed both petitions,
please take a moment to forward them to friends.
Ingrid Baker
- ThePetitionSite Team
Rainforest Action Network – Email Newsletter
July 2003
Welcome! Thank you for being a partner in Rainforest Action Network’s
campaigns. Read on to get the latest news and learn how you can help
save the world’s endangered forests.
In This Issue:
-Save Chile’s Threatened Coastal Forest
-Citigroup “Cease Fire” Extended
-You Are Invited To Attend Our Open House
-San Francisco's First Annual Race to Stop Global Warming
-RAN In The News
-Become A Sustaining Member Of Rainforest Action Network
SAVE CHILE’S THREATENED COASTAL FOREST: STOP FLEET BANK
One of the largest intact temperate rainforests in the world is the
Valdivian rainforest in Southern Chile. This is a siempre verde
(“forever green”) forest type that is unique to Chile and Argentina.
More than one-quarter of the world's remaining temperate rainforests are
in Chile, and these forests are home to a diverse array of unique and
rare plant and animal species, including the Magellanic woodpecker,
arboreal marsupials, and the world’s smallest deer (the pudu). Recent
government action protected the forest from the devastation of the
planned Coastal Range Road, which would have opened access to this area,
spurring its conversion to non-native plantations.
Yet, new and significant threats to this region are looming due to the
profit driven motives of a US bank. FleetBoston Financial Corporation is
the primary creditor to a bankrupt and debt-ridden timber company,
Bosques S.A. through its subsidiary, the Woodland Development Company.
Bosques SA owns 150,000 acres of pristine native forest in the region.
To learn more and to take action, please visit:
http://action.ran.org/action_detail.jsp?&id=93
CITIGROUP “CEASE FIRE” EXTENDED
We are pleased to report progress with Citigroup on the important issues
of forest protection, global warming and the rights of indigenous
people, and will extend for forty-five days the period of its cease-fire
with Citigroup to allow time to develop a comprehensive policy.
We believe that this partnership has the potential to lead to
unprecedented action in the financial sector with regard to
environmental and social issues. We also believe we are evolving an even
deeper understanding of how the financial services industry can help
promote sustainable development while protecting the environment.
During the extension, good-faith negotiations between RAN and Citigroup
will continue in an effort to achieve genuine resolution on the issues
of investment in industries that further global warming and global
deforestation.
To learn more about our Campaign for a Sane Economy, please visit:
http://www.ran.org/ran_campaigns/global_finance/
YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND OUR OPEN HOUSE
Rainforest Action Network invites you to attend an Open House at our
office in San Francisco (221 Pine Street, 5th Floor) on Wednesday,
August 13, 2003 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Come meet our new Executive
Director Michael Brune, hang out with founder Randy Hayes, and get the
latest on our Citigroup, Boise and Ford campaigns.
We look forward to seeing you!
Please RSVP to events@ran.org or (415) 398-4404 x334
SAN FRANCISCO’S FIRST ANNUAL RACE TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
Green House Network, an organization committed to building the
grassroots movement to STOP global warming, and recent recipient of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s 2003 Climate Protection Award, is
adding San Francisco to its 2003 Race to Stop Global Warming Series.
The first annual San Francisco Race to Stop Global Warming will be held
at 8:00 am on Sunday, August 17. Starting and finishing at Marina
Green, San Francisco's first annual Race to Stop Global Warming will
include an 8K run and a 5K run and fitness walk. For tomorrow's
leaders, there will be a FREE 1k children's fun run, a toddler trot for
two & under, and a diaper dash. Cost: $20 for adults and $12 for 18 &
under - $25 for adults and $17 for 18 & under on the day of the race -
event T-shirt is included. Randy Hayes, Founder of Rainforest Action
Network, is the Honorary Chair.
You can raise money for Rainforest Action Network from the Race via
pledges:
* Seek pledges from friends, family and co-workers
* Register for the Race to Stop Global Warming
* Run or walk in the race
* Collect the pledges and then send them directly into Rainforest Action
Network
To find out more about this option, head to the Race web site, then
click on "Help Your Organization" on the right hand side of the page.
To learn more, or to get a pledge form so you can help RAN, go to:
http://www.racetostopglobalwarming.org/rtsgw2003/SanFran/SanFrancisco.html
RAN IN THE NEWS
Check out the media section of our website to get the latest coverage of
RAN in the world’s media. Here’s a sample:
-Environmentalists Scale Building To Protest Ford (WDIV-TV Detroit)
-Banks Accept Environmental Rules (Wall Street Journal)
-Banks Sign up to Emerging Market Finance Accord (Oil & Gas Journal)
-California Protest Urges Ford to Boost Fuel Economy (Reuters)
-Financial Institutions Need to Take a Broader View (Johannesburg
Business Daily)
-Banks to Adopt Environmental Rules Amid Opposition (Forbes)
-Banks Sign up to Emerging Market Finance Accord (Financial Times)
-Environmentalists Say New Socially Responsible Bank Lending Principles
Flawed (Agence France-Presse)
To read all of the stories, please visit:
http://www.ran.org/news/
To view our video library, please visit:
http://www.ran.org/video/
BECOME A SUSTAINING MEMBER OF RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK
Members who give on a monthly basis are the backbone of support for our
critical campaigns. Please consider becoming a sustaining member of
Rainforest Action Network. Your ongoing partnership and support means a
lot to us – and to the rainforests.
To become a sustaining member, please visit:
https://action.ran.org/donate.jsp
Dear
Members of Global Response’s “Quick Response Network:”
In the past couple weeks we forwarded two Urgent Actions issued by Amnesty
International on the increasingly violent repression of environmental activists in the Olancho region of
Honduras. Since then we have conducted our own research to learn more about the environmental issues at theroot of the struggle in Olancho. Our concern about this region of tremendous biological diversity and unique
ecosystems goes back to 1992, when we helped Honduran environmentalists block a bid by Stone Container, Inc. to log Olancho’s pine forests. That
victory is being eroded now by Honduran and foreign logging companies. They are not only building roads and taking out lumber illegally, they are also
brutally repressing citizens who stand up for enforcement of environmental laws. Their most recent victim was a 23-year-old Catholic lay activist
who was murdered on July 18 after his name appeared with dozens of others on a death list circulated by sawmill owners.
Please write letters to Honduran government officials (see addresses below) in support
of the courageous citizens of Olancho and their demands for protection of their valuable and unique forests. Thanks very much. Paula Palmer Program Director *************************************************************** GLOBAL RESPONSE ACTION ALERT #5/03 Protect Forests and Environmental Activists / Honduras August-Sept 2003 ***************************************************************
“Something new and noteworthy has been born in Olancho, a feeling capable of uniting the voices of non-violent resistance for life. And this means that in the
face of the chainsaws and trucks, no longer will anyone stay quiet, even if we have to give up our lives to those who stand in our way.” --
March for Life statement, COFADEH, June 27, 2003 “The environmental problem in Olancho will only be resolved by ordering the killing of Father Tamayo.” --Mayor
of Salama, Olancho Department, statement made May 5 and 6, 2003, quoted by
COFADEH (Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared of Honduras)
In the Department of Olancho in northeastern Honduras, peasant farmers, local governments, priests, conservationists and human rights activists are joining
together to end a bloody era of corruption and repression. They are demanding protection of their unique forests and of their civil rights against
the powerful cabal of landowners, loggers and industrialists that is sacking the forests and repressing democratic processes by intimidation and murder.
They think pressure from the international community is critical to shift the odds in favor of democracy, accountability, conservation and sustainable development. Olancho is
Honduras’ most biologically diverse region, with ecosystems ranging from mountain-top elfin and cloud forests to rare old-growth
pine forests and lowland tropical rainforests. Nearly 500 species of birds and many endangered and endemic plants and animals depend on Olancho’s unique
range of ecosystems. It is one of only two places where you might spot the Honduran Emerald hummingbird and the Red-throated Caracara. In the Sierra de Agalta
National Park, the Babilonia River drops 2,000 feet in a little over a mile, through 10 spectacular cascades, some over 150 feet high.
For corrupt politicians, large landowners and logging companies, Olancho is the last frontier for illegal logging and agro-industrial development. All
they need to set industrial development in motion is electricity, so they’re building a dam on the beautiful
Babilonia River. For decades their guns, tear gas and death threats have held in check the
uprisings led by peasants, priests and indigenous peoples. In June 2001, anti-dam activist Carlos Flores was killed by security guards at the Babilonia
dam site. No one was prosecuted for this crime. Then, in June of this year, sawmill operators circulated a list of targeted citizen activists. On July 18
one name on the list became a name on a gravestone when 23-year old Carlos, Arturo Reyes was murdered in his own back yard.
Most Olancho residents desperately want to reclaim their homeland, govern and protect it for themselves and future generations. Throughout the region, city
and county governing boards, Catholic churches, environmental and human rights groups have declared their opposition to the Babilonia dam, currently under
construction by the Honduran energy company Energisa. They say Energisa’s Environmental Impact Study was bogus; the dam will cut the river’s flow
by 90 percent, affecting ecotourism and coffee farms as well as the river ecology itself. Industrial development made possible by the hydroelectric project will
further destroy the natural beauty and biological wealth of the region. Illegal loggers are already clearcutting the old-growth pine forests with
impunity and building illegal roads to take out tropical hardwoods, while federal officials look the other way. Olanchanos want the Honduran
government to recognize the authority of municipal councils to protect natural resources vital to the communities’ future and well being.
For seven days in June, in defiance of repeated death threats, Father Andres Tamayo led Olancho citizens in a 100-mile March for Life. They walked from Olancho’s
capital Juticalpa to the national capital, Tegucigalpa, rallying supporters in towns and villages along the way. They demanded a 10-year ban on
logging in Olancho, so that an independent audit of the region’s biological diversity can be completed and recommendations for conservation
made. Those who didn’t march participated in a huge tree-planting event, the beginnings of the reforestation program they want the government to
implement. The president refused to meet the marchers at the capital. Since then violence, threats and murders are increasing. How You Can Help: Write letters to support the demands of the March for Life, and
to end the threats and violence against Olancho citizens who work for environmental protection. ************************************* BACKGROUND INFORMATION ************************************* LOCAL GOVERNMENT LEADS CONSERVATION MOVEMENT -- Among county/municipal governments in
Olancho Department, Gualaco is taking the lead in demanding local self-determination for environmental protection and sustainable development.
The municipality is establishing its own system of municipal protected areas, including regions of ecological, historical and archaeological importance. It
demands the expulsion of Energisa and its Babilonia dam despite the menacing Honduran Special Forces (“Cobras”) who guard the project and killed
a protester in 2001. The municipality promotes production of shade-grown, bird-friendly coffee, ecotourism with birders, trekkers and spelunkers, and
sustainable agriculture and cattle ranching. Gualaco ranks with municipal governments of Talamanca, Costa Rica and Cotacachi, Ecuador, at
the forefront of local governmental action for biodiversity conservation.
UNIQUE
ECOSYSTMES -- Olancho’s old-growth pine forests and thorn forests are rare ecosystems that provide habitat for many endemic and endangered species.
The Red-Throated Caracara, thought to be extinct, was recently spotted in Olancho’s pine forest. Cycads, one of the most primitive of all seed plants, live over
2,000 years, reaching a height of about 30 feet. Ninety percent of known populations of the threatened cycad Dioon mejiae are in Olancho. For photos and more information on Olancho ecology, see
*************************** REQUESTED ACTION *************************** Please write a polite letter to the President of Honduras. Send copies of your
letter to the President of the National Congress and the Minister of Public Security. * Tell him you are alarmed to learn of the July 18 murder of environmental
activist Carlos Arturo Reyes, one of many citizens in Olancho Department who received death threats for opposing logging and the Babilonia dam.
Demand an investigation into this murder and prosecution of the perpetrators, putting an end to an era of impunity for those who have threatened and killed
dozens of indigenous leaders, parish priests and activists in the last decade.
*
Express your support for the demands made during the Olancho March for Life (Marcha por la Vida): •
create an Evaluatory Commission with authority to halt all illegal and irresponsible logging •
establish a 10-year moratorium on logging in Olancho
•
carry out an independent audit of Olancho’s biological diversity
•
stop construction of the Babilonia dam in the Sierra de Agalta National Park * Express your admiration for the citizens of Olancho who recognize the
extraordinary biological richness of the region and favor community-based models of sustainable development. ***************** ADDRESSES ***************** Note: no email addresses are available for Honduran government officials. It is very important to send your letter by regular mail or by fax. Thanks. Lic. Ricardo Maduro, Presidente Republicade Honduras Casa Presidencial, Blvd Juan Pablo Segundo Palacio Jose Cecilio de Valle Tegucigalpa, Honduras FAX: Int’l code+504-221-4552 Lic. Porfirio Lobo Sosa, Presidente Congreso Nacional de Honduras Tegucigalpa, Honduras FAX: Int’l code+ 504 238 6048 Lic. Oscar Alvarez, Ministro Ministerio de Seguridad Publica, Barrio Casamata Tegucigalpa, Honduras FAX: Int’l code+504 221 5666 ********************************* FOR MORE INFORMATION ********************************* This Global Response Action was issued at the request of and
with information provided by the Committee of Families of the Detained and Disappeared (COFADEH, Special thanks to Dr. Mark A. Bonta for information about
the ecology of Olancho. For more information, see:
On cycads: Photos of Sierra de Agalta National Park and cycads:
On Honduran forests and deforestation:
***************************************************************
******************************** 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. P.O. Box 7490 Boulder CO 80306 USA
As Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton's duty is to represent the public interest. She's supposed to protect America's imperiled species and the habitat they need to survive.
Instead, with former corporate lobbyists working from Interior Department offices, she is drastically weakening wildlife protections. Norton is promoting mining and oil and gas drilling on fragile public lands and off our coastlines...all to benefit special interests.
She is making decisions that put America's wildlife at much greater risk.
>> To help to stop Norton now, go to: http://defenders.org
Now that gray wolves are finally roaming free again, Gale Norton is trying to strip them of the vital federal protections they need to survive.
She's leading the charge to allow boats to speed through manatee safe havens - even disobeying a court-approved agreement to protect the gentle manatee.
And, she's stopping a consensus plan to bring grizzly bears back to federal public land in remote areas of Idaho and Montana - a project scientists herald as the key to the long-term survival of grizzlies in the lower 48 states.
It's time for citizens who care about our nation's wildlife and wildlands to say "No more!"
Defenders of Wildlife has launched Stop Norton Now! a national grassroots campaign to save America's wildlife from Interior Secretary Norton's destructive policies that seriously harm precious public lands and wildlife sanctuaries. And I am hoping that Defenders members like you will be among the first to sign on.
We urge you to join our campaign by taking the following steps right now.
FIRST: Go to http://defenders.org to add your name to our petition to President Bush and demand Gale Norton's resignation.
SECOND: Help us reach other Americans with an urgent tax-deductible contribution by going to http://defenders.spacely.com/alerts/Action and help our grassroots campaign to Stop Norton Now! If you make a gift of $25 or more, we'll send you a Defenders of Wildlife umbrella with our thanks.
Removing Gale Norton from her position as Interior Secretary is the single best thing we can do to safeguard America's wildlife and habitat. With caring people like you, we can Stop Norton Now!
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
In this Passport alert:
• New campaign: Sign our e-petition to stop destruction of a critical bird
habitat
• Campaign update: Thousands of Passport holders call for increased protection
of the Great Barrier Reef
A critical habitat for shorebirds in South Korea is threatened with destruction by a government plan to 'reclaim' more than 40,000 hectares of tidal-flat behind a 33km sea-wall.
The Saemangeum reclamation project is the largest of its kind in the world and will have serious consequences for migratory birds, as well as coastal fisheries and communities.
A recent court ruling has halted the project and demanded a re-evaluation of its aims. We now have a chance to shift the South Korean government's stance on this ecologically disastrous proposal.
A final decision is expected within the next 2-3 months, possibly as soon as the next few weeks. Please take action now to save this special area, visited by hundreds of thousands of birds every year - passport.panda.org/go.cfm?id=23
Thank you to everyone who sent a submission to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority calling for 50% of the Marine Park to be declared as marine sanctuaries. Passport holders sent close to 5,000 email submissions in one week!
The Authority has received more than 20,000 public submissions - the most
ever for any government planning process in Australia! At this early stage, we don't know whether the majority of submissions received by the Marine Park Authority are positive or negative.
We’ll keep updating the Great Barrier Reef Campaign website with the
latest developments and opportunities to get involved, and we'll let you know as soon as the Australian Government makes a decision on how much of the Great Barrier Reef will be protected.
Your time and effort is greatly appreciated.
Sarah Bladen
WWF International
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up to become a Panda Passport holder and receive action alerts. www.passport.panda.org/login/index.cfm?fuseaction=new_registration
I want to update you on our efforts to protect our nation's forests and prevent the Bush administration from weakening the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects 58.5 million acres of pristine national forests from most logging and road-building.
In July, forest champions in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill to protect our nation's forests. Although this amendment was defeated, it got 185 votes, and the bipartisan group of representatives who stood up for our nation's forests in opposition to the Bush administration's efforts to increase logging deserve our applause.
Now, at the behest of powerful timber companies, the Bush administration has proposed exempting Alaska's Tongass Rainforest, our largest national forest, and Alaska's Chugach National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Two simultaneous 30-day public comment periods on these proposals are going on now.
Please take a moment to tell the Forest Service that you strongly oppose proposals to exempt the Tongass Rainforest and the Chugach National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=11&id4=ES
The Bush administration recently announced its intention to gut the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects 58.5 million acres of pristine national forests from most logging and road-building. This historic policy was finalized in January, 2001, after decades of scientific study, 600 public hearings, and a record 1.6 million comments in support of the rule.
At the behest of powerful timber companies and other powerful interests, the Bush administration has proposed exempting Alaska's Tongass Rainforest, our largest national forest, and Alaska's Chugach National Forest from the Roadless Rule.
In anticipation of these Roadless Rule exemptions, the Bush administration is already planning for more industrial-scale logging in the Tongass. It has scheduled close to 50 timber sales in roadless areas currently protected by the Roadless Rule. More than 70 percent of the biggest and best trees have already been clearcut in the Tongass - these sales would effectively take the best of what's left.
Two simultaneous 30-day public comment periods on the administration's proposed exemptions of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests from the Roadless Rule are going on now. If we're going to stop the administration from letting the timber industry destroy our last wild forests, we need to show that the public still supports protecting our national forests.
Please take a moment to tell the Forest Service that you strongly oppose proposals to exempt the Tongass Rainforest and the Chugach National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=11&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
Our coasts today face unprecedented challenges that require
careful planning and protection to ensure they continue
supporting the diverse biology and ecosystems we have
all come to value and rely upon. However, the Bush Administration
has signaled its intention to weaken a landmark coastal
conservation law, the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)
that has helped states protect their coastal environment
for over 30 years.
Proposed changes to the CZMA regulations have the potential
to significantly hamper the ability of states to protect
their coasts from activities requiring a federal permit,
such as offshore oil and gas drilling. By altering these
regulations, the Administration potentially could also
affect the abilities of states to sustainably manage their
beaches, parks and coastal wetlands with respect to federal
permits.
Please respond to this alert today and let the administration
know you support the states' ability to protect their
coastal resources though the state and federal partnership
now contained within the CZMA and that you do not want
to see these regulations weakened.
You can learn more about this issue and take action on
this alert via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/CZMA/
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about
this.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/CZMA/forward/
We encourage you to take action by August 25, 2003
Help Ensure States' Ability to Protect their Coasts!
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA EMAIL:
Just choose the "reply to sender" option on your email
program and the Ocean Action Network will automatically
send the letter below in your name.
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action
on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/CZMA/
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
***To Make Edits to the Sample Letter, Please Visit the
Alert Website and Make Changes in the Letter Edit Window***
Dear Vice Admiral Lautenbacher,
I strongly oppose the proposed regulatory changes to the
Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and urge you not to
undertake these changes. The Act has a 30-year record
of success in managing the competing uses of our coastal
zones. The proposed rule, if enacted, upends the balance
of power intended by Congress between federal and state
agencies, making it easier for the oil and gas industry
to ignore legitimate environmental concerns raised by
states and local governments. While the industry asserts
these rules will "streamline" the process, I believe the
rules do so only in that they limit the states' voice
and role in the process, allowing this Administration
to give away my coast to the oil and gas industry. The
public and the states should be afforded every right to
have a voice in the management of our own coastal areas.
In particular, I object to changes that exempt certain
development activities from requiring state review and
to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
abdication of authority to the Minerals Management Service
with respect to future offshore oil and gas development
plans. In addition, many of the proposed review time lines
are so short that states will not have the ability to
provide public notice and receive comments on proposed
projects. The proposed rule also arbitrarily cuts off
a state's ability to ask for information from industry,
irrespective of the importance of that information to
informed decision-making.
The combined effect of the proposed rule changes is to
usurp state's rights established and strengthened by Congress,
NOAA's own regulations, and three decades of practice,
at the expense of our coasts. These rule changes ultimately
facilitate coastal oil and gas development without regard
for any other use or user of our coasts. I urge you to
withdraw the proposed CZMA rule changes. Thank you for
considering my views.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
Biodiversity Activist, No. 340
Center for Biological Diversity
August 9, 2003
www.biologicaldiversity.org
_______________________________
BUSH TO VISIT TUCSON TO PROMOTE BOGUS "HEALTHY FORESTS
INITIATIVE"
On Monday, August 11 the eyes of the Nation will be on
Tucson as President Bush arrives to tour the Aspen fire,
visit the devastated community of Summerhaven and promote
his misleadingly titled "Healthy Forests Initiative."
Bush's visit to Tucson is the first in a series of stops
in political swing states during the month of August.
During each of these visits, the President will attempt
to convince the public that his administration, one of
the most anti-environmental in the history of the Nation,
is working to protect our irreplaceable natural heritage.
It is important that we see through the smokescreen and
false rhetoric of anti-environmental proposals such as
the "Healthy Forests Initiative" and "Clear Skies Initiative,"
and hold this administration accountable for the broad
and systematic attack on the environment that it has waged.
Please read and enjoy the following editorial written
by Congressional Representative Raul Grijalva in anticipation
of Bush's visit to Tucson. We applaud Representative Grijalva's
commitment to environmental protections, and wish there
were many more like him in Congress.
Learn more about the Center's Ancient Forest Program.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/forests/index.html
Learn more about the Center's Restoration Program.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/restoration/index.html
_______________________________
GUEST OPINION: PRESIDENT'S PLAN ONLY AIDS LOGGERS
RAUL M. GRIJALVA
Tucson Citizen
On July 30 I had the opportunity to visit Mount Lemmon
and Summerhaven with John McGee, supervisor of the Coronado
National Forest.
I want to commend the Forest Service, Pima County and
all other parties for their outstanding efforts to save
the structures on the mountain. Given the limited resources
that were available to prevent such an event at the outset,
the officials and volunteers did a truly remarkable job.
What I saw on the mountain last week solidified my belief
that we must take action to fully protect our forest communities
from the inevitable event of fire, and we must do so now.
In Arizona, we now have 120 communities nestled in the
forest that are at "high-risk" for a catastrophic fire
event. Summerhaven was on the list, but the village is
now in part destroyed. We now have 119 potential Summerhavens
out there, and it is a question of when, not if, fires
similar to the Aspen fire will impact these communities.
On my trip with Mr. McGee, we discussed how to make communities
safer. Mr. McGee stated, and I agree, that there is no
100 percent guaranteed way to protect forest communities
- not even if you pave a three-mile-wide swath around
them. However, there are a number of proven ways to greatly
enhance the chances that lives and property will survive
a forest fire.
Scientists and fire ecologists have determined that thinning
of small trees and removal of brush from the immediate
vicinity of communities and controlled burning in a wider
circle around the thinned areas can go a very long way
in protecting communities. Residents can also protect
their homes and those of their neighbors by installing
metal roofs, burying propane tanks and clearing their
property of brush and small trees.
If this kind of work is done, is it likely that fire will
burn gently along the forest floor, making it far easier
for fire fighters to protect an area. John McGee showed
me where thinning was done around the camps at Organization
Ridge on Mount Lemmon. Firefighters had a much easier
time controlling the fire that approached this area because
the thinning slowed and lowered the intensity of the approaching
fire.
After the Bullock fire on Mount Lemmon last summer, the
Forest Service and residents requested $1 million so
that they could complete similar clearing work around
the village and other structures. However, the Republican-controlled
Congress and the Bush administration did not appropriate
the necessary funds for this work.
George W. Bush will be here on Monday to extol the virtues
of his so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative." But don't
be fooled by his rhetoric. His initiative would have done
nothing to prevent the destruction of homes in Summerhaven
or the Aspen fire itself.
Bush's initiative was designed by former timber industry
lobbyists within his administration. It will facilitate
logging of large, old-growth trees deep in the forest,
under the guise of forest health. The initiative will
also eliminate the ability of citizens to be involved
in planning for fuels reduction projects in their communities
or areas that they recreate in or otherwise enjoy.
Several months ago, Democrats in Congress proposed an
alternative that would have focused on community protection
while still maintaining citizen involvement in decision-making.
But we lost our fight to win support from Republicans
on this compromise legislation. Instead, a bill very similar
to Bush's initiative passed the House and is now before
the Senate.
I am adamantly opposed to the Bush initiative and its
companion legislation. Instead, I am proposing the following
five-point plan to address safety in forest communities:
* We must provide for immediate and comprehensive funding
for fire safety measures to protect communities before
fires sweep through them. Our efforts must focus on the
places where people live and work, not on the forest at
large.
* We must create opportunities for communities to work
to protect themselves. We should foster public/private
partnerships and micro business creation that would employ
community residents and put people to work thinning and
clearing around homes and structures.
* We must include citizens in the forest planning process.
* We must undertake a comprehensive and independent study
of the Aspen fire immediately so that we may determine
which fire safety measures worked on Mount Lemmon, which
did not, and exactly how much funding would have been
necessary to fully protect the community.
* We must allow natural fires that do not threaten communities
to burn. As a natural and necessary occurrence, fires
can assist in clearing out the forest of flammable materials
and making the forests healthier overall.
Keep in mind that Bush's initiative is about lining the
pockets of the timber industry, not about protecting communities.
Instead, let's focus on community protection and start
getting the job done before another Summerhaven-like disaster
happens.
--------
Raul M. Grijalva is a Democratic member of the U.S. House
of representatives representing Arizona's Seventh District.
_______________________________
VICTORY AT ZUNI SALT LAKE!
In an astounding victory for environmental protection
and preservation of sacred sites, Phoenix-based utility
Salt River Project (SRP) has announced that it is abandoning
its plans to develop the proposed Fence Lake coal strip
mine in western New Mexico. SRP announced on August 4th
that they will relinquish permits and coal leases acquired
for the mine, which would have provided electricity for
SRP's customers in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
The Center has been involved in the struggle to save Zuni
Salt Lake and defeat the Fence Lake Mine since the mid-1990's,
when CBD joined with the Pueblo of Zuni in challenging
the original state permit granted to operate the mine,
objecting to federal environmental analysis concluding
that the mine would have no impact on the Zuni Salt Lake,
and applying public pressure on SRP to abandon its plans.
In 2001, CBD again joined with the Pueblo of Zuni in challenging
the state's renewal of SRP's mining permit.
Learn more about this victory, and the Center's Mining
Program.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/zsl8-6-09.html
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/mining/index.html
_______________________________
CENTER OPPOSITION STOPS MEGA-DEVELOPMENT NEAR JOSHUA TREE
NATIONAL PARK
Saying resistance from environmentalists doomed the Joshua
Hills project, Coachella Valley developer Dick Oliphant
recently cancelled plans for a 7,000 home, 12 golf-course
mega-development on 9,000 acres next to Joshua Tree National
Park. This Sonoran desert area of southern California
is home to several endangered species, including the desert
tortoise, Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, Coachella
Valley milkvetch, flat-tailed horned lizard and desert
pupfish. The Center strongly opposed this project, sparking
national media and citizen scrutiny during Oliphant's
first press conference in February 2002 by asking tough
questions. The golf courses alone would have used 6 million
gallons of water daily. This victory is a part of the
Center's campaign to protect the California Desert Conservation
Area, fight unneeded urban sprawl.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/goldenstate/cdca/index.html
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/sprawl/index.html
_______________________________
CENTER SUIT LEADS TO 53,000 ACRE CRITICAL HABITAT PROPOSAL
FOR ALGODONES DUNES
On August 5 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed
52,780 acres -- nearly one third -- of the Algodones (Imperial)
Dunes be designated critical habitat for the Peirson's
milkvetch (Astragulus magdalenae var. peirsonii). FWS
is taking public comment on the proposal until Oct. 6.
The proposal is in response to a legal victory by the
Center and California Native Plant Society. Species with
designated critical habitat are less likely to be declining,
and twice as likely to be recovering than those without.
The Bush administration is set to finalize a BLM plan
(RAMP) later this summer that would open 50,000 acres
of currently protected dunes habitat. Parts of that plan
are already being challenged in court by the Center. FWS
stated in the proposed rule, "Species specific management
needs and measures for Astragulus magdalenae var. peirsonii
are not addressed in the RAMP."
Learn more about the Algodones Dunes and the Peirson's
milkvetch.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/species/peirsons/index.html
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/goldenstate/cdca/algodones.html
_______________________________
CENTER CREATES ACTION TO MOVE USDA KILLER BEE APIARY OFF
IRONWOOD NATIONAL MONUMENT
Working with a USDA whistle-blowing scientist, the Center
successfully exposed a dangerous invasive species threat,
and helped BLM push USDA to remove a killer bee apiary
from the Ironwood Forest National Monument west of Tucson.
Non-native Africanized "killer" bees often attack people
and displace native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, doves
and other important native pollinators, disrupting ecosystem
function. USDA had thirteen colonies at the apiary, with
each colony having 10,000 to 40,000 "killer" bees.
Learn more about the Center's program to protect deserts.
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/Programs/deserts/index.html
_______________________________
Click now and become a member of the Center for Biological
Diversity, and ensure a future for wildlife and habitat...
https://maxvps016.maximumasp.com/V016U45GEB/joinus/joinus.html
I'll get right to the point. You and many others
signed up to receive North America alerts with Care2 or ThePetitionSite
and we have information about sea otters that need your help.
Many folks know that the sea otter's soft, cuddly coat, and
friendly, inquisitive nature became the animal's downfall in
the 1800's. Until killing sea otters was outlawed, traders
drawn by that luxuriously soft fur drove the Oregon sea otter
to extinction and decimated populations all along the
California coast.
Sea otters were making a comeback, but recently, their struggling
populations began to decline again. To stop their demise this time,
however, we must heal the fragile web of life that has been disrupted
in our ocean habitats.
You are one of the FEW people who now knows that sea otters
are again in grave danger. This puts you in a unique position to
join Care2's campaign - with ocean specialists at Oceana - to
raise $10,000 to help save these brown-furred creatures and
protect our oceans. Please read on and find out more, or make
your contribution to Oceana right now:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/7254
What Has Happened to the Sea Otter:
Biologists think Alaska's killer whales began eating otters
when sea lions (their favorite food) began to disappear as a
result of declining polluck populations (due to overfishing).
These unprecedented sea otter deaths triggered an explosion of
sea urchins, resulting in a collapse of kelp beds and then,
a further decline in fish. So, although overfishing has not
directly harmed sea otters, it has resulted in a fractured
ecological web that now threatens sea otters AND other animals.
It is imperative that we heal the web now, before our last
remaining sea otters disappear forever. These special creatures
wrapped in their kelp beds are not just cute, but an integral
part of the marine ecosystems. Without the sea otters, our kelp
forests cannot thrive, and in turn, all of the young fish and
other sea creatures that depend on kelp forests will also die.
We partnered with Oceana to make your contribution really help;
Oceana is fighting overfishing across the world, and will work hard
stop this destruction of ocean ecosystems, especially the sea otters.
Become a member today so that your voice and your donation will
act a critical cry of outrage - and a glimmer of hope - in protecting
our oceans.
Join here: http://www.care2.com/go/z/7254
Thanks for your help. I'm sure the sea otters would thank you if
they could.
Hilary Stamper
Environmental Activism Manager
Care2.com
PS. You can check the progress of our campaign on the homepage of our
Race for the Oceans -
http://oceans.care2.com
(Note - the page is updated regularly but does not in real time.)
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Dear U.S. PIRG supporter,
The thick, black smoke that billows from diesel trucks and construction equipment not only smells awful but is also hazardous to our health. Diesel pollution is linked to childhood asthma attacks, lung cancer, and even deaths from heart and lung disease. While we're making progress cleaning up new diesel trucks and buses, just one diesel bulldozer pollutes as much as 26 new cars.
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed strong standards to reduce diesel pollution from new construction and other heavy equipment. If finalized, the rules would save thousands of lives each year. Unfortunately, this proposal stands in stark contrast to the rest of the Bush administration's record on the environment.
We need your help to make the diesel proposal a reality! Please take a moment to ask the EPA to strengthen and quickly finalize this proposal. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=109&id4=ES
UPDATE
I also want to update you on our efforts to stop the weakening of the Clean Air Act's New Source Review enforcement rules, which require modern pollution controls be installed on power plants and other smokestacks when the facilities are modified in ways that increase pollution. In late July, we sent out e-mail asking supporters to call their senators in support of an amendment sponsored by Sens. John Edwards and Joseph Lieberman that would have allowed states to choose to continue regulating air pollution from industrial facilities under their existing rules rather than having to adopt new, weaker EPA rules. Fearing defeat, the Senate leadership prevented a vote on the Edwards-Lieberman clean air amendment, but Sens. Edwards and Lieberman will continue to look for opportunities to pass this important amendment. Thanks to everyone who called their senators to ask them to support the Edwards-Lieberman clean air amendment!
BACKGROUND
Anyone who has been caught behind a diesel truck or bus on the road knows how much pollution they belch out. In the late 1990s, we led the successful campaign to clean up diesel trucks and buses. Starting in 2007, new clean air standards promise to reduce pollution from big rigs and yellow school buses alike by more than 90 percent, the equivalent of taking 13 million of today's trucks and buses off the roads.
Unfortunately, the diesel engines and fuel that power the heavy equipment used at construction sites, on farms and at ports remain largely uncontrolled. As a result, these vehicles produce more dangerous fine particle soot each year than cars, trucks and buses combined. They are also a major source of smog-forming pollutants and dozens of toxic chemicals, like benzene and formaldehyde.
In neighborhoods with construction projects ranging from a new shopping center to the reconstruction in Lower Manhattan, pollution from bulldozers, cranes and other construction vehicles jeopardizes the health of workers, residents, children and seniors. The pollution from these engines aggravates asthma and other respiratory conditions, contributes to heart disease, and cuts short the lives of thousands of Americans each year. Moreover, the Environmental Protection Agency recently concluded that diesel exhaust likely causes lung cancer at everyday levels of exposure. Diesel emissions also obscure visibility in national parks, damage plants and pollute lakes and forests with acid rain.
By requiring cleaner fuel and pollution controls similar to the catalytic converters used on cars for decades, the EPA has proposed cutting emissions from new diesel equipment by more than 90 percent — a plan the agency says would eventually prevent 9,600 premature deaths, 16,000 heart attacks and 5,700 children's asthma-related emergency room visits EACH YEAR. The proposal mirrors earlier EPA rules that will require new diesel trucks and buses to be much cleaner, starting in 2007.
Unfortunately, the new standards would not be fully phased in until more than a decade from now, and the proposal does not include trains and ships, which produce almost one-third of the pollution from "non-road" diesels.
In addition, the oil industry wants the EPA to make changes to the fuel requirements that could compromise the widespread availability of cleaner fuel. Diesel engine manufacturers want the EPA to further delay the rules and exempt certain engine classes, such as the smallest and largest engines, from the requirements, which would erode the public health benefits since smaller engines comprise 48 percent of all "non-road" diesel engines and larger engines produce a disproportionate amount of the pollution.
The EPA estimates that cleaning up "non-road" diesel fuel would cost an additional 4.8 cents per gallon, though engines running on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel will have reduced maintenance expenses equivalent to reducing the cost of the fuel by 3.3 cents per gallon. For the majority of equipment, the cost of meeting the standards would be roughly one to two percent of the typical retail price. The total cost of implementing the rules, estimated at $1.5 billion annually, would pale in comparison to the more than $80 billion saved each year in health and environmental benefits.
The Environmental Protection Agency is currently accepting public comments on this diesel proposal. Please take a moment now to ask the EPA to strengthen and quickly finalize these crucial health protections. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=109&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Gene Karpinski
U.S. PIRG Executive Director
GeneK@uspirg.org
http://www.USPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
Take action to save 10,000 lives by improving air quality in our cities. After you take action, please forward this alert to 5 or more friends who also want to save 10,000 lives. This measure requires a strong, quantifiable response from concerned individuals like you and people you know.
20/20 Vision is part of a coalition working to generate 100,000 comments in support of strong and urgently needed emission standards for construction vehicles such as bulldozers. Exhaust from these vehicles emits up to 8 times more toxic particulates than the average urban bus. Construction vehicles are the second leading contributor to air pollution, second only to power plant emissions. Currently these vehicles are virtually unregulated. An EPA docket on this issue is open until August 20th. We only have six more days. We are still 15,000 comments away, but with your help, our goal is achievable.
Nearly 10,000 lives will be saved each year by the proposed standards, and 6,000 children’s asthma-related emergency room visits will be avoided.
It is especially important to establish these standards now, as Bush’s nomination for the next EPA Administrator, Republican Governor of Utah Michael Leavitt, is a staunch supporter of industry.
Please take a moment to send your comment directly to the EPA through the following link, using any or all of the language provided or sending in your own personal statement. What matters is that your comment is counted. Hurry and tell your friends so their voices may also be heard.
http://capWiz.com/vision/mail/compose/?alertid=2423806&mailid=2423811&target=CU&customid=2423526&type=CU
_____________________________
20/20 Vision
1828 Jefferson Place NW
Washington, DC 20036
vision@2020vision.org
www.2020vision.org
202 833-2020
Dear NRDC BioGems Defender,
The Bush administration is about to take another step forward in its disastrous
scheme to take Yellowstone's last remaining grizzly bears off the endangered
species list by 2005. If successful, this delisting would throw open some of
the bear's most important habitat to rampant oil and gas development, as well
as allow the surrounding states to resume grizzly hunting.
But before the administration can move forward with this scheme, it must show
that it is taking steps to ensure the bear's future protection. To that end,
the U.S. Forest Service, which has authority over about 75 percent of the
grizzly's Yellowstone habitat, has submitted a proposed management plan for the
region.
As currently written, that plan leaves millions of acres of prime grizzly
habitat unprotected and vulnerable to commercial exploitation.
Please contact the Forest Service immediately and tell it to withdraw these
proposed plans before they push the grizzly bear back to the brink of
extinction. You can send an electronic message right now by going to
http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp
Time is running out for the grizzly. Only 200 years ago, more than 100,000
grizzly bears still roamed the American West. But a century-long campaign of
extermination drove the majestic bear from 99 percent of its historic range.
The grizzly would have vanished from the lower 48 states were it not given
endangered species protection in 1975.
Today, the Greater Yellowstone and Glacier Park ecosystems are the grizzly
bear's last strongholds in the continental U.S. But the embattled Yellowstone
population may number as few as 250 bears and has been cut off from other
grizzlies for more than a century.
The very survival of the Yellowstone grizzly now depends on aggressive
protection of its wild habitat so that the bear can be linked up, through
connecting forests, with healthier populations in Canada.
A female grizzly requires about 200 square miles of wild habitat, with little
human disturbance. She can ill afford the destruction of her favorite foraging
and denning areas. That's why the Bush administration's plan for delisting the
bear -- and the invasion of roads, wells, pipelines and chainsaws that would
follow in its wake -- could prove fatal to the grizzly bear's recovery.
Please call on the Forest Service to ensure the grizzly bear's future by
protecting its best habitat right now, before it is destroyed forever.
Go to http://www.savebiogems.org/yellowstone/takeaction.asp
and send your message on behalf of Yellowstone's grizzlies. Thank you.
Sincerely,
John H. Adams
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
. . .
BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places
A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.savebiogems.org
THERE’S STILL TIME TO COMMENT ON PROTECTIONS FOR AMERICA’S RAINFOREST!
Roadless Rule public comment period on the Rainforest extended through September 2, 2003!
The Forest Service announced on August 14 – the original deadline for comments - that they were extending the comment period on the Bush administration’s proposal to exempt America’s rainforest from the Roadless Rule. The extension came as a result of the agency’s failure to provide a timely response to conservation groups which requested more detailed information about plans to take the Tongass and Chugach out of the Roadless Rule.
The good news is that you have 2 addditional weeks in which to tell the Bush Administration you oppose their plans to exempt the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska from the Roadless Rule. Send an official comment today online: www.akrain.org!
Tens of thousands of Americans have already called on the Bush Administration to keep America’s rainforest protected. Make sure the Forest Service hears from you!
THE ISSUE:
On July 17, 2003 the Bush administration took the first procedural swipe at the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule by proposing to strip protections from America’s rainforest in Alaska – fully one-quarter of the lands protected by the Rule. The official notice appeared in the Federal Register and kicks off two, simultaneous 30-day public comment periods on the administration’s proposed exemptions of the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska from the Roadless Rule.
The Rainforest comment periods are the first opportunity the public has to officially comment on the Bush administration's attempts to gut the Roadless Rule. The administration is also expected, later this year, to propose to allow state governors to apply for exemptions from the Roadless Rule in their states. During development of the Rule, 2.2 million public comments were received in favor of enacting the conservation policy. More Americans took part in this rulemaking process than in any other federal rulemaking in history. Yet despite pledges to uphold the Roadless Rule, the Bush administration is moving to dismantle it.
In anticipation of the Roadless Rule exemptions, the administration has been planning for more commercial logging in the Tongass scheduling close to 50 projects in roadless areas protected by the Rule. The administration admits that over 300,000 acres will be clearcut. What they fail to reveal is that the 300,000 acres is not contiguous and will leave a patchwork of scars from industrial-scale logging and road-building across 2.5 million acres of the rainforest.
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For more information, please contact Laurie Cooper (laurie@alaskacoalition.org)
ETC Group is taking the unusual step of attaching the following message from la Via Campesina (the global network of small farmers’ organizations) requesting financial support to make it possible for farmers to organize buses from Mexico city (and elsewhere) to Cancun to participate in the Farmers’ Forum at the WTO 6th Ministerial Conference Sept 8-14. If you can provide any help-or can pass this message along to others who could provide help-this would be much appreciated. ETC group has never made a request like this before but we believe it is vitally important for farmers to be fully present in the Cancun negotiations.
URGENT APPEAL - Llamado Urgente
(Español más abajo)
DONATE NOW ON LINE TO HELP PEASANT FARMERS GET TO
CANCUN FOR WTO PROTESTS (instructions at end)
Dear Friend of Farmer and Peasant Organizations:
Dear Opponents of the WTO and Free Trade Policies:
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE!
Mexican farmers and peasants URGENTLY need your financial support now to organize against the World Trade Organization (WTO). Any amount large or small that you can give, will help (see below for how to give on-line or how to send funds).
The next WTO meeting is in Cancun, Mexico, this September. This is the meeting after Doha, Qatar, and after Seattle. As you know, free trade policies, like those being negotiated in the WTO, are driving family farmers, peasants and indigenous people off the land, around the world, North and South, East and West. As a result, farmers, peasants, the landless, farm workers, women, forest people and indigenous people around the world have come together in the Via Campesina (http://www.viacampesina.org), and are demanding "WTO Out of Agriculture" and have put forth the alternative of "peoples food sovereignty."
The Mexican National Union of Autonomous Regional Farmer Organizations, UNORCA (http://www.unorca.org.mx/omc/ingles/index.html) -- one of the Mexican members of Via Campesina - has the responsibility to organize and host an INTERNATIONAL FARMERS' FORUM and Farmers' Encampment in Cancun, on behalf of Via Campesina. This Forum is a very important opportunity for farmer organizations worldwide to come together to work on alternatives to free trade policies, and to protest the WTO.
It is critical for all people who are concerned about the undemocratic nature and very negative impact of the WTO and other neo-liberal "free" trade agreements like FTAA and NAFTA on our lives, that as many Mexican peasants delegates as want to protest in Cancun can actually get there (internal travel by bus in Mexico is not cheap, and Cancun is in a remote location, more than 20 hours from the capital). Our minimum aim is to bring 10,000 delegates! It is critical that the INTERNATIONAL FARMERS' FORUM be a success.
We need your support for the transportation costs of people to the remote Cancun location. Cancun is the most expensive location in Mexico, and UNORCA cannot pull this off without financial support.
If you want to help Mexican rural social movements get to Cancun, please sponsor delegates to the INTERNATIONAL FARMERS' FORUM, Farmers' Encampment and WTO protests.
Average estimated costs for each delegate are:
transport US $48 (chartered buses)
food (3 meals) US 10 per day
lodging (encampment) US 12
Support for the Farmer Support Center: US 25 per day
You will receive a special thank you from the community your support goes to when you sponsor a whole bus for $500 from nearby states
HOW TO DONATE:
The easiest way to donate is to go to our web site at http://www.unorca.org.mx/omc/ingles/index.html and give using your credit card at our secure server now, or send a U.S. check or dollar-denominated international money order to Food First, who is receiving the money and transferring it to UNORCA in Mexico. Make the check or money order out to:
"FOOD FIRST, Unorca project",
and mail it to Food First/UNORCA, 398 60th Street. Oakland, California, 94618, USA. Donations are tax deductible in the U.S.
QUESTIONS:
If you have questions, contact UNORCA at forocampesino@laneta.apc.org and/or Food First at foodfirst@foodfirst.org.
Thank for your support to make ANOTHER WORLD POSSIBLE!
The farmers, peasants and indigenous people of UNORCA
Alberto Gómez Flores, National Coordinator
National Union of Autonomous Regional Farmer Organizations (UNORCA)
Juan de Dios Arias 48
Vista Alegre, Mexico DF, MEXICO
Tel/Fax +52 55 5740-0486
Tel/Fax +52 55 5741-5065
omcfueradeagricultura@unorca.org.mx
http://www.unorca.org.mx
SOLICITUD URGENTE
DONE AHORA MISMO A TRAVES DE NUESTRO PORTAL SEGURO DE INTERNET, O DEPOSITE EN NUESTRA CUENTA Y AYUDE A QUE LOS CAMPESINOS DE TODO MEXICO PUEDAN LLEGAR A CANCUN PARA MANIFESTARSE FRENTE A LA OMC (instrucciones al final)
Queridos amigas y amigos de las organizaciones campesinas e indígenas:
Estimados opositores a la OMC y del libre comercio:
OTRO MUNDO ES POSIBLE!
AGRICULTURA FUERA DE OMC
Los agricultores, campesinos e indígenas mexicanos necesitan URGENTEMENTE su apoyo económico para organizar en contra de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). Cualquier monto, pequeño o grande, que usted pueda contribuir, sería de gran ayuda (vea abajo como donar en línea y/o como enviar fondos).
La próxima reunión ministerial de la OMC se llevará a cabo en Cancún, México, este septiembre. Es la reunión que sigue después de Doha, Qatar, y después de Seattle. Como Ud. sabe, las políticas de comercio libre, como las que estan siendo negociadas en la OMC, están desplazando a los agricultores familiares, campesinos e indígenas de sus tierras, en todo el mundo, Norte y Sur, Este y Oeste. Como resultado, los agricultores, campesinos, indígenas, los sin tierra, jornaleros, mujeres, negros, pueblos que habitan los bosques, y otros, se han unido en la Vía Campesina (http://www.viacampesina.org), y están demando "OMC fuera de la Agricultura," y han planteado como alternativa la soberanía alimentaria de los pueblos.
La Unión Nacional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesinas Autónomas, UNORCA (http://www.unorca.org.mx), -- uno de los miembros mexicanos de la Vía Campesina -- ha asumido la responsabilidad de organizar un FORO CAMPESINO INTERNACIONAL y Campamento Campesino, en Cancún, en nombre de la Vía Campesina. Este Foro es una oportunidad de suma importancia para que las organizaciones campesinas del mundo puedan juntarse para generar alternativas a las políticas de comercio libre, y para protestar en contra de la OMC.
Es crítico para todas las personas preocupadas por la naturaleza anti-democrática y el impacto muy negativo sobre nuestras vidas de la OMC y de otras políticas neoliberales, tales como el ALCA y el TLCAN, que el mayor número posible de los delegados campesinos e indígenas mexicanos que quieren manifestarse en Cancún pueden llegar hasta alla. Ya que el transporte en autobús es muy caro en México, y Cancún está situado a más de 20 horas de la capital. Nuestra meta mínima es de facilitar la presencia de unos 10,000 delegados. Es crítico que el FORO CAMPESINO INTERNACIONAL tenga éxito.
Nos urge poder contar con su apoyo económico para los costos de transportar a la gente al remoto lugar de Cancún. Además, Cancún es el lugar más caro de México, y la UNORCA no puede lograr sus metas sin su apoyo económico.
Si Ud. quiere apoyar a los movimientos sociales del campo mexicano, para que pueden llegar a Cancún, por favor patrocine a uno o más delegados al FORO CAMPESINO INTERNACIONAL, Campamento Campesino, y protestas contra la OMC.
Costo promedio estimado para cada delegado:
Transporte, USD $48 (autobuses contratados)
Alimentación, $10/día
Campamento, $12
Apoyo al centro de atención a los delegados: $ 25/día
Ud. recibirá un agradecimiento especial si patrocina a un autobus entero (US$500, de los estados más cercanos a Cancún).
COMO HACER SU DONACION:
La manera más fácil de hacer su donación es ir a nuestro sitio web en http://www.unorca.org.mx/omc/index.htm y utilizar su tarjeta de crédito internacional en nuestro servidor seguro.
Si Ud. prefiere efectuar una transferencia bancaria, favor de depositar en:
Banco Banamex, Sucursal 0196, a la cuenta numero 2165601 a nombre de Unorca, A.C., Clave Estándar (CLABE) 002180019621621656014. Dirección del banco: Calzada San Antonio Abad 178, Mexico City, 06820, Mexico. Tel: +52 (55) 2226-4772
Si Ud. tiene preguntas, dirigirse a: omcfueradeagricultura@unorca.org.mx
Gracias por su apoyo para que OTRO MUNDO SEA POSIBLE!
El pueblo campesino e indígena de la UNORCA
Alberto Gómez Flores, National Coordinator
Unión Regional de Organizaciones Regionales Campesinas Autónomas (UNORCA)
Juan de Dios Arias 48
Vista Alegre, Mexico DF, MEXICO
Tel/Fax +52 55 5740-0486
Tel/Fax +52 55 5741-5065
omcfueradeagricultura@unorca.org.mx
http://www.unorca.org.mx
conference between the House and Senate. Last winter, the Bush administration successfully encouraged
the House to pass a Defense bill that waives major requirements of the
Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws for the military. If this
bill is passed into law, many species will suffer for example, the Navy has
targeted species protections in order to deploy new, high-powered sonar systems
that have already been linked to the deaths of dozens of whales and dolphins
that washed ashore, bleeding from the eyes and ears due to severe acoustic
trauma.
strip protections from the Tongass and
She, her family and
all of the Yellowstone packs have brought joy and awe to thousands of park
visitors. Today, threats to wolves like Promise are mounting. Secretary of the
Interior Gale Norton has already removed essential protections for wolves under
the Endangered Species Act. And states around Yellowstone are ready to unleash
deadly efforts that could wipe out wolf packs. You can help protect America's
wolves by "adopting" a wolf pup with a tax-deductible contribution. To
thank you for your special adoption gift of $25 or more, we'll send you our
popular plush wolf pup toy -- FREE. 
Federal officials have
designated three new areas in Florida where watercraft must operate at reduced
speeds, but manatee activists say the restrictions are too weak. Boats caused a
record high 95 manatee deaths last year, and conservationists feel more areas
need to be restricted to protect this species. The restricted areas are along
portions of the Caloosahatchee, Halifax and St. Johns rivers in northern
Florida. For more information or to get involved, visit
Defenders of
Wildlife, the Northern Jaguar Project and the Mexican conservation group
Naturalia purchased a 10,000-acre parcel of land in northern Sonora,
Mexico,
that forms the core of a jaguar preserve. This area is home to the northernmost
breeding population of jaguars in North America and scientists believe their
survival is crucial to the recovery of America's jaguar. The land is also home
to endangered ocelot, military macaw and a host of rare native plants and
animals.
