Sierra Club Currents -- Saying No to Nuclear Waste Volume II, #28 Tuesday, April 16 ----- Quote of the Day: "When more than 200 highly respected scientists agree that logging our National Forests is detrimental to the environment, wildlife and the economy, we hope the Bush Administration listens" Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director ----- (1)ENERGY: Saying No to Nuclear Waste (2)WILD LANDS: Protect our National Forests, Say Scientists (3)SIERRA CLUB PRODUCTIONS: Traveling the Seven Seas with Sierra Club - on T.V. (4)TAKE ACTION: Arctic Drilling - The Vote is On! ---- 1. Saying 'No' to Nuclear Waste Sierra Club joined top lawmakers and activists from around the country at a sweltering rally at the capitol today. They urged Congress to stand up for public health and the environment by rejecting a dangerous plan to transport thousands of tons of radioactive nuclear waste across the country, then store it at Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Nuclear waste would travel through 44 states on its way to Yucca, creating the potential for horrifying accidents, or a terrorist attack, on our roads and rails. Nevada has already vetoed the scheme. Congress will now decide, and a vote is expected in the next few months. Lawmakers should listen to the crowd of concerned citizens who came from across the country and gathered in the heat outside the capitol today. They should protect Americans' health by voting 'no' on Yucca Mountain. For more information on the dangers of nuclear waste, go to http://www.sierraclub.org/nuclearwaste/ ---- 2. Protect our National Forests, Say Scientists Take it from the experts: our forests need to be protected, not logged. Over 200 scientists from every state in the nation signed a letter to President Bush today, urging him to end commercial logging of our National Forests. The list included a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a recipient of the President's National Medal of Science. Since taking office, the current administration has tried to pay back its contributors in the timber industry by weakening many of the key initiatives that safeguard our forests. But when 200 leading scientists weigh in on the importance of protecting our forests for water quality, wildlife, recreation, and the economy, even the President might want to listen. For more information on the scientists' letter, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/science/16LOGG.html To read a copy of the letter and a complete list of its signers, go to http://www.sierraclub.org/logging/letter ---- 3. Traveling the Seven Seas with Sierra Club - on T.V. Set sail with Sierra Club and the Ciszek family! Check out this intrepid band of six as they travel the globe by boat. Sierra Club Productions is presenting their cruise as a reality T.V. series. The Ciszek's maiden voyage sets sail today in the Queen Charlotte Islands. You can catch it on the National Geographic Channel on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week at 7pm and 10pm EST. Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for news on this family's big trip. For more information on the trip, go to http://sierraclub.org/scp/thepassage/index.asp ---- 4. Arctic Drilling - The Vote Is On! At last the months and years of waiting, watching, and guessing are over. Senator Frank Murkowski introduced his amendment to drill the Arctic at 3pm today, with a vote expected Thursday. Knowing that he needed to dress up his proposal to destroy the pristine refuge for six months worth of oil, Murkowski added some wrinkles: The amendment would allow the President to open the refuge "in the interest of national security". There's a few other cute tricks in there, but none of them masks the fact that this legislation would destroy the crown jewel of our nation's wildlands for six months worth of oil. Now's not the time to relax: contact your senators and urge them, one last time, to protect the Arctic refuge! Call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224 3121 and ask for your senators. Then go to the site below to send an email to them directly: http://www.sierraclub.org/action/?alid=143&st=curr ---- To take action on all your favorite Sierra Club issues, please visit: http://www.sierraclub.org/action Erin Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]