When I got in from work, there was yet another action alert waiting....My first reaction was to holler HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP! I scared the dogs.
They got over it quick. Usually do..they are as used to me as I am sure Rex is to Bob Johnson.
Then I thought, Help? I know where there is some of that.....so, Help?
Have you a thought, perhaps a care or even passion for the environment? The water you drink, the fish you catch, the air you breathe? The history? The bio-diversity so necessary for the health of the future?
Grab a torch. The pitchforks are in the shed, down below....
The alert I got was from
National Parks Conservation Association, forwarded from a friend.
As part of a backdoor attempt to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), among other things, House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) recently drafted a proposal that would sell 15 of our national parks for energy exploration and commercial development, including hard rock mining. The proposal goes so far as to call for the sale of Theodore Roosevelt Island to commercial and residential development, the memorial to our nation's greatest conservation president. What's more, an additional component to the proposal would require the National Park Service to sell commercial sponsorship in the national parks' visitor centers, trails, transportation systems, museums and more. This latest assault on the National Park System goes way beyond reason and is an affront to our history and our heritage.
Theodore Roosevelt Island. Aren't they so subtle with their FUs over the environment.
Btw, if you check the Congressional scorecard on this site, keep in mind that it is for National Parks only. If the score included National Forests, and all enviro votes, it wouldn't look like a lot of these folks care so much! NPs are the traditional Sacred Cow. Which makes the suggested sell off even more troubling than it looks at first shocking glance.
League of Conservation voters has a more well rounded scorecard.
And if anybody looks into this site, please report back with the names of the 15 parks. <I'd do it, but I'm busy trying to write this action alert diary.>
Action Network This site has a cool "select a partner" drop down menu on the left that allows you to pick an organization to work with.
Current online activity includes: 43 open action alerts
9 partners with active campaigns
1,789,741 activists mobilized
Earthhope...."Home of the wildlife conservation and social justice activist"....
world site, and lots going on here....
Ag-Mart Produce, the giant Florida tomato grower at the center of an investigation involving three deformed babies born to fieldworkers, announced Friday it will no longer use pesticides that have been linked to birth defects. In a few days, agricultural investigators in Florida and North Carolina are expected to issue pesticide-related notices of violation against the company. Officials would not elaborate on their findings.
It's nice to see that there is occasionally progress. Due to public pressure. That's you. And me.
One of my favorites, Rainforest Action Network. These guys are so effective on a world basis that they are now under consideration for the Administration's Terrast Club! Gotta luv'em.
Ecomall a partial list of their alerts.....
PROPOSAL TO SOLARIZE THE WHITE HOUSE
TELL CONGRESS TO BRING BACK THE 40% SOLAR TAX CREDITS
PROTECT THE WORLD'S RAREST MARINE DOLPHIN
PROTECT THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
TELL KRAFT TO KEEP DRUGS AND CHEMICALS OUT OF OUR FOOD
TELL CONGRESS TO FUND OUR NATIONAL PARKS
CLEAN UP THE FILTHY FOUR POWER PLANTS
HELP SAVE THE WOLVES
PROTECT THE GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST
ACT NOW TO PROTECT BELIZE'S WILDLIFE HABITAT
CAMPAIGN TO BAN OIL AND GAS DRILLING IN LAKE ERIE
CLEAN WATER NOW
URGE CONGRESS TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH BY ENDING MISUSE OF VITAL ANTIBIOTICS IN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELLFARE
URGE YOUR SENATORS TO SUPPORT A STRONG RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD
THE GREEN RIBBON PLEDGE Send an email urging your Representatives and Senators to conserve energy for a secure future
LET KRAFT KNOW YOU'RE CONCERNED ABOUT GENETICALLY ENGINNEERED FOOD
WE DON'T NEED TO DRILL FOR OIL IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
TEST COWS NOW FOR MAD COW
TELL THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING NOW!
GREENPEACE USA ACTION CENTER
SAVE THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
SEND AN EMAIL TO SKI RESORTS ENCOURAGING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
SAVE OUR ENVIRONMENT ACTION CENTER A National Partnership for the Environment
GREENPEACE CYBER ACTIVIST COMMUNITY
SIERRA CLUB - TAKE ACTION
APPLIANCE STANDARDS AWARENESS PROJECT
FEED HUNGRY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger. 3/4 of the deaths are children under 5.
EARTH ISLAND TAKE ACTION ...and make a difference for the Earth
TELL THE FDA WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS >
SAFER FOOD - SAFER FARMS CAMPAIGN
COKE'S BROKEN PROMISE Warning: this bottle contains no recycled plastic!
EARTH ACTION The Bulletin for Environmental Activists
WORLD POP-CLOCK PROJECTION
SENATE GREEN ENERGY CAUCUS This E-Mail encourages your U.S. Senator to join the Bi-Partisan Senate Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency Caucus.
SUPPORT THE AMERICAN HEMP INDUSTRY
NRDC LEGISLATIVE WATCH
IRRADIATION FOOD ALERTS
EXPAND OUR RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT TOXICS! CONGRESSIONAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Geesh, what a list! Fighting the urge to run screaming to the woods, and bury self in piles of mast. Lots of mast this year. Fat deer....
Natural Resources Defense Council good'un.
Envirolink. another good'un.... F'rinstance....
Gasping for air - Nearly 870 000 people in Michigan have asthma -- about 9 percent of the state's ... (posted 09/18/2005 from Detroit News)
Declaring area safe is a risky proposition - While environmental workers risk disease and injury sampling the toxic waters covering much of New ... (posted 09/10/2005 from Dallas Morning Sun)
Flooded Toxic Waste Sites Are Potential Health Threat - Three Superfund toxic waste sites in and around New Orleans were flooded by Hurricane Katrina ... (posted 09/10/2005 from Washington Post )
And a "by topic" menu too!
Like to work on a more local level?
North Carolina Conservation Council
The Environmental Action Comittee of West Marin...
Virginia Forest Watch
You get the idea. You know where you live....here's the second google page, where a lot of the more local groups start.... Results 11 - 20 of about 2,700,000 for environmental action alerts
"As the communities that our parents gave us, we've got to start by protecting our environmental infrastructure, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the public lands, the fisheries, the wildlife, the public areas that connect us to our past, that connect us to our history, that provide context to our communities that are the source ultimately of our values and virtues and character as a people."
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speech at the Sierra Club's National Convention and Expo September 10, 2005
And thanks to emdash, who remembered pitchforks to me. Such a useful tool.
So pick up your torches, so you can see what yer jabbin,
an'yer pitchforks, fer jabbin.