Corporate Polluters Put Local Democracy at Risk When several massive factory farms set up shop in rural Pennsylvania, they brought with them the usual problems for local people: foul odors, contamination of groundwater, and dirty, noisy truck traffic. Nine Pennsylvania townships, fearing they'd be the next to be targeted, passed local laws to protect their communities from these factory farms. Sounds reasonable, right? Not to the agribusiness industry. They're pushing new legislation in Harrisburg which would prevent communities from banning these operations. So towns would be stuck with polluting, smelly factory farms, whether they want them or not. Local protections against factory farms are described by agribusiness as "frivolous". But this bill would threaten the democratic right of communities everywhere to determine their own future, rather than having it forced upon them by corporations. And there's nothing frivolous about that. For more information on this assault on local democracy, go to http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5641 ---- 4. Take Action to Keep International Trade Clean, Green, and Fair President Bush is pushing "fast track" legislation, which would let the White House negotiate sweeping global trade deals without input from Congress. So the administration would be able to expand provisions in NAFTA that allow private corporations to sue foreign governments whenever environmental protections affect corporate profits. If fast track passes in its current form, many of our most crucial environmental and public health safeguards could be jeopardized. There is a solution - Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is sponsoring an amendment that would fix these dangerous provisions and make sure our environmental laws stay put. Congress will vote soon, so contact your senators and urge them to support the Kerry amendment. Call your senators at 877-611-0063 (courtesy of the AFL-CIO). Deliver the message on the Kerry amendment. Then go to the site below for more information on the fight for fair trade. http://www.sierraclub.org/trade 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]