House and Senate Must Ensure Budget Measure is Free of Arctic Oil Drilling
On March 17, the House and Senate passed competing versions of a FY06 budget resolution, and yes, the Senate version includes language that could pave the way for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Nevertheless, drilling is not a done deal, and conservation activists need to keep reminding Congress that we like our Arctic just the way it is - wild, unspoiled, and free of oil drilling. There remain many legislative steps between now and passage of the resolution, and we need your help to keep the pressure on Congress.
Please add your own words to our letter at the link below, then click on Send this Message.
http://ga1.org/campaign/ArctBudgetConf
Iraq Peace Petition
Please sign this petition for peace in Iraq. As part of the Wage Peace Campaign, the American Friends Service Committee will deliver the petition, with signatures, to President Bush and Congress in April and again around Memorial Day.
Join the over 34,400 people who have signed the petition. Every voice for peace counts!
http://ga3.org/campaign/iraq_peace/default.htm
Big Seal Hunt Demo in Detroit on Canadian Border
The annual seal slaughter will take place off the Atlantic coast of Canada beginning March 29. Over the next three years, more than one million seals, mostly babies, will be brutally clubbed and skinned, many while still alive, in a frenzied bloodlust that would sicken any civilized person.
To put an end to this atrocity, the international community must accomplish two goals. It must convey a message to the Canadian Government, which sanctions the slaughter, that such carnage is intolerable by applying economic pressure through a boycott of the Canadian seafood industry, which has been the primary advocate of the butchery. Secondly, we must appeal to the Canadian public, which polls indicate is overwhelmingly opposed to the slaughter, to use the democratic process to compel its political leadership to abolish the hunt.
Toward this end, a demonstration will be held in Detroit, Mich. to protest the seal slaughter. Detroit is the ideal location for a large demonstration because of its geographic distinction. It is located across the Detroit River from the bustling metropolis of Windsor, Ontario, which is near to Toronto and the Canadian capital city of Ottawa.
Detroit shares a symbiotic cultural and economic relationship with its Canadian neighbors, and the two nations are connected by a bridge and tunnel traversing the River, which qualifies Detroit as one of the busiest international border crossings in the U.S. Each day, thousands of Canadians go back and forth through the Tunnel to work, shop and enjoy entertainment in Michigan.
Hence, the demonstration will be held at the Tunnel entrance/exit where we will be in full view of thousands of Canadian commuters who pass by as they pass over the border. The proximity also makes it much more likely that we will be able to garner valuable Canadian press coverage of the event.
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: noon-2:00pm
Location: The entrance to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in front of the Old Mariner's Church adjacent to the Renaissance Center
Contact: darryl_braun@yahoo.com
Participants are encouraged to create their own signs and posters.
Support the McCain-Lieberman Climate Bill
The United States government has failed to take part in Kyoto or to develop a climate change policy of its own - despite irrefutable scientific evidence for human caused climate change; and emerging ominous ecological, social and economic impacts. The Climate Stewardship Act (S. 342/H.R. 759) currently before the U.S. Congress is a credible bipartisan first step to addressing the dangers of global warming and the Bush administration's policy of indifference. The bill was first introduced into the Senate in 2003, and though an initial vote was narrowly defeated, strong bipartisan support was demonstrated by 43 senators. The bill was reintroduced to both Houses of Congress in February 2005, though it is not clear when votes will occur.
The historic Climate Stewardship Act (CSA) promises to cut heat-trapping gases that contribute to global warming to 2000 levels by the year 2010 - appropriate given the disproportionately large amounts of carbon dioxide emitted by the U.S. The bill would create a market-based system of tradable allowances to cut greenhouse gas pollution from U.S. sources. It would set a cap on emissions of five greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide from the electric power, industrial, commercial and transportation fuel sectors - which together account for more than three-quarters of U.S. global warming pollution.
The market-based system was based on the widely successful system of sulfur dioxide emission permits, which was created under the 1990 Clean Air Act. An independent study from economists at MIT showed that the CSA would have a modest economic impact of $20 per year per household. The bill would also make the U.S. economy more energy efficient; use free-market incentives to lower costs, grow the economy and promote innovation; and break the logjam of U.S. inaction to fight global warming. And it may just begin the process of saving the Earth's climate.
The basic science behind the fact that carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere has been known for over a century, and it is known humans have markedly increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There has been a recent litany of serious developments indicating the extent of the problem - from melting glaciers, to warming oceans, to droughts and floods. The CSA is modest yet not inconsequential legislation, representing the best chance in the mid-term to create a legitimate U.S. climate policy.
Please encourage wavering United States senators to carefully consider the CSA legislation, and begin addressing climate change now.
http://forests.org/action/alert.asp?id=climate
Encourage Congress To Save Species Before it's too Late
You know that the U.S. Congress allocates funding each and every year for bird, wildlife and habitat conservation programs in this country, but do you know who is responsible for implementing many of those programs? That's right - your state!
Your state's Fish & Game Agency or Department of Natural Resource is responsible for implementing plans and management strategies for effective wildlife conservation and restoration efforts. Effective implementation depends on Congress providing consistent and adequate funding to the states, and one way Congress does so is through the State Wildlife Grant program.
State Wildlife Grant funds provide states with the critical resources they need for effective bird and wildlife conservation and restoration efforts. The grants encourage and promote healthy lifestyles, smart growth, and livable communities. State Wildlife Grants are implemented in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and the Virgin Islands. The grants fund a variety of creative and cost-effective ways to stop the decline of species, including programs that identify Important Bird Areas and fight invasive species.
The need has never been greater. For decades, federal funding has successfully focused on conservation of important game species. Unfortunately, the population of many non-game species has fallen dramatically over the past 30 years due in large part to a lack of resources to conserve these species prior to their decline. Specifically many bird species such as the Cerulean Warbler and the Grasshopper Sparrow have declined.
The amount of federal dollars now needed to protect and/or restore the populations of these birds is far greater than would have been required to prevent their decline in the first place. Furthermore, thousands of species will continue to decline in the future unless resources are provided for proactive efforts before they reach the endangered status.
The State Wildlife Grant program can help conserve and restore species throughout our country, but only if Congress funds it at a sufficient level.
We need your help to encourage the House and Senate to fully fund the Conservation Trust Fund, and specifically fund the State Wildlife Grant program at the needed level of $85 million for FY06. That's less than 1% of the nation's overall budget!
Hit the TAKE ACTION NOW key at the link below to instantly communicate with your U.S. Representative and your two U.S. Senators on this issue today!
http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/summary.asp?subject=367&flow=2
Tell Governor Granholm: No Ten Commandments on Public Property
Please urge Governor Granholm to veto any legislation allowing the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. No state should use its powers to promote the sacred texts of any religion. Furthermore, action on this bill is premature in light of the impending decision on the constitutionality of such a display by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The current bill, HB 4433, fails to recognize the vast diversity of people living in our state. By posting sacred texts of any religion in government-owned buildings, the government sends a message to followers of different religions, or those who believe in no religion at all, that they are outsiders.
Click the link below to send a message to Governor Granholm.
https://secure2.convio.net/aclumi/site/Advocacy?page=UserAction&cmd=display&id=123
World Bank Dam Threatens Lao Rainforests and Peoples
In the next month, the World Bank Board of Directors will decide whether or not to support the controversial Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos. You can influence whether the World Bank supports Nam Theun 2 by asking the United States government to oppose the project when it comes to the Bank's Board for approval. The Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project would flood the rainforest habitats of numerous endangered species, including one of the last wild herds of Asian elephants. Shockingly, it would displace several thousand indigenous people living on the Nakai Plateau and would destroy the livelihoods of another hundred thousand people living downstream.
Past experience shows the Lao government lacks the capacity and the political will to manage a large and risky hydropower project like Nam Theun 2. As a result of dams built over the past 8 years, tens of thousands of Lao citizens lack sufficient food to eat, clean water to drink and income to meet basic needs. These people have never been compensated for their losses. It is highly likely that those impacted by Nam Theun 2 would meet the same fate. Laos is a one-party state that has no independent media or civil society organizations and no right to freedom of expression. Lao citizens are unable to openly oppose Nam Theun 2 for fear of government reprisal. That's why your involvement is so important!
Apparently the World Bank is back in the business of ill-conceived and highly damaging large dam construction. With leadership of the Bank possibly passing soon to the neo-con/fascists, now is the the time to ratchet up protest against environmental crimes against humanity and corporate welfare, falsely marketed as development and poverty alleviation. The Nam Theun 2 dam must not be allowed to stand. Please send the following protest email before April 1st and forward widely.
http://forests.org/action/alert.asp?id=laos
These action alerts and over 300 others are archived at http://shetquaker.blog-city.com/