I thought you all might be interested in this issue of Sierra Club Currents.
Very interesting!
Lyle
Subject: Sierra Club Currents -- Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
Sierra Club Currents -- Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
Volume II, #70
Thursday, September 12
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Quote of the Day:
"Calling Wayne Allard an environmental champion is like calling Ken Lay a
champion of corporate responsibility"
Margaret Conway, Sierra Club political director
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(1)POLITICS: Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
(2)CLEAN CARS: Spreading the Word in St. Louis
(3)PUBLIC LANDS: Continuing a Family Tradition
(4)TAKE ACTION: Protect our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
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1. Everybody Wants to be an Environmentalist
Judging by the behavior of two senators up for re-election this year, it
pays to tout your environmental credentials these days - even if you have
to make them up. Senators Wayne Allard (R-CO), and Gordon Smith (R-OR) are
savvy enough to know that voters care about clean air, clean water, and
special places. So both ran TV ads recently painting themselves green,
Smith's even boasting that he "stopped oil drilling in Alaska".
Problem is, Allard and Smith are far from being environmental champions.
Sierra Club quickly pointed out to reporters and the public that Allard has
consistently voted against clean air and water protections, and also
opposed making polluters clean up their mess. As for Smith, Tim Hester of
the Oregon Sierra Club called his Arctic vote "an election year
conversion", noting that the Senator has left the door open to supporting
drilling in the future, and has voted to drill in National Monuments. All
the slick TV ads in the world can't gloss over an awful environmental
record.
For more information on the Sierra Club's voter education campaigns, go to
http://www.sierraclub.org/voter_education/
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2. Spreading the Word on Clean Cars in St. Louis
St. Louis will be breathing a little easier, thanks to the Sierra Club!
Last weekend, a park in the Gateway City was converted into a car showroom
to promote hybrid cars. The Clean Energy Car Bazaar, hosted by the Sierra
Club and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, featured the Toyota
Prius, the Honda Civic, and the Honda Insight. Over one hundred people
showed up to learn about the fuel-efficient vehicles, including local car
dealers and the manager of a city fleet.
Hybrids are more important now than ever, as automakers promote more and
more gas-guzzling SUVs. Hybrids use less gas by relying in part on
electricity, allowing some cars to average about 45 miles per gallon. That
saves consumers money at the gas pump, cuts pollution, and reduces our
dependence on foreign oil. St Louis could soon be leading the way.
To learn more about hybrid cars, go to
http://www.sierraclub.org/roadtrip/drivecleanonly/hybrid.asp
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3. Continuing a Family Tradition of Protecting Public Land
Looks like another Roosevelt cares about protecting America's environment.
Teddy Roosevelt IV, great-grandson of his presidential namesake, joined
Sierra Clubbers and other environmentalists, as well as reporters, for a
tour of North Dakota's Little Missouri National Grassland. Roosevelt, who
came all the way from New York City, is working to protect about 234,000
acres of the area by having it designated wilderness land.
The current protection plan for the area leaves most of it open to
potential oil and gas drilling. Over 600 new oil wells could crop up in the
grassland in the next decade. Wilderness designation would make the land
off-limits to further road and building development. Currently, the area is
disturbed by a road every four miles. For Grassland supporters, that is
already too much.
For more info on Teddy Roosevelt and the Sierra Club, go to
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5263117&BRD=2165&PAG=461&dept_id=4
02
378&rfi=8
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4. Take Action to Protect Our Forests, and the Communities Around Them
The laws protecting our wild forests are still under threat. A group of
western senators - backed by the powerful timber industry - has offered a
destructive and dangerous measure which uses this summer's spate of fires
as an excuse to gut crucial forest protections. The Craig-Domenici-Kyl
amendment keeps getting pushed back, to give its backers more time to twist
arms and gather more votes.
This plan would open up even more of our wild forests to commercial
logging, while doing nothing to protect communities threatened by fires.
Twist some arms yourself. Contact your senators and urge them to oppose
the Craig-Domenici-Kyl amendment on forest fires. Instead, they should
support legislation that: 1) makes protecting communities from fires the
number one priority 2) protects our forests from logging and road-building
3) upholds crucial forest safeguards
To send a message directly to your senators, go to
http://whistler.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=184&st=curr
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Sierra Club Legislative Hotline - (202) 675-2394
Sierra Club National Headquarters - (415) 977-5500
Sierra Club World Wide Web - http://www.sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Vote Watch Website - http://www.sierraclub.org/votewatch/
White House Comment Line - (202) 456-1111
White House Fax Line - (202) 456-2461
President George W. Bush's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
Vice President Dick Cheney's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121
To contact your senators - http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep
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