home of the wildlife conservation environmental
and freedom activist

Environment Action
Alerts for July 16 - July 24, 2000



Senate Approves Mifepristone                   NRDC Action Alert                                    Sierra Club Action #235

Sierra Club Action #233                             Nature Conservancy News                       Urgent Alert! to help
                                                                                                                                  Indigenous Pakistanis

LCV Update July 18                                   ENS News July 19                                     News from RAFI

Coke Spotlight Campaign                         NRDC Legislative Watch                           Global Warming
                                                                                                                                   Threatens Wildlife

ENS News July 17                                      Urgent Alert! concerning                          Save Our Environment
                                                                  Pak Mun Dam in Thailand                         Action Center Update

ENS News July 18                                      LCV Update July 20                                  ENS News July 21

Sierra Club Endorses Gore                        California's Zero                                       Help Protect Bears from
                                                                  Emission Program                                    Illegal Trade and Poaching

Sierra Club Action #236                             ENS News July 24

 

                                 


from Zero Population Growth July 17, 2000


On Monday, July 10th the House voted by a slim margin to
reject (187-182) an amendment offered by Rep. Tom Coburn.  
The amendment would have prohibited the FDA from approving
any drug that induces medical abortion and was specifically
intended to block approval of Mifepristone or RU-486.

The House voted in favor of this amendment in both 1998
(223-202) and 1999 (217-214).  Because the Senate never
agreed to it, though, it never became law.

Thank you for faxing your Representative and asking her/him
to oppose this amendment.  Your efforts payed off and we
won!

Find out how your Representative voted:
http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/issue.pl?dir=zpg

If you have any questions, please contact Scott McNiven
(scott@zpg.org) or call 1-800-POP-1956.


from Sierra Club July 17, 2000


SC-ACTION Vol. II, #233
     DEFENDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA
     July 14, 2000

     ------------------------QUOTE OF THE DAY-----------------------------

     "My sense is there are few issues that are less partisan or less
     geographic, because the National Forests belong to all Americans."

     - Representative Jim Leach, a Republican from Iowa and a lead sponsor
     of legislation to end the commercial logging program on federal public
     lands.
     (See item #4)
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

     TABLE OF CONTENTS

     FEATURED ACTION ITEM: INTERIOR FUNDING BILL COMING UP EARLY NEXT WEEK!

     1) URGENT ACTION:
     TIME RUNNING OUT TO PROTECT WILD FORESTS: SEND A FAX TODAY!

     2) URGENT ACTION:
     WEIGH IN ON SPRAWL IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

     3) URGENT ACTION:
     MEXICO'S ATTORNEY GENERAL USES BACKHANDED COURT TACTIC TO SEEK THE
     CONVICTION OF MEXICAN EARTH DEFENDERS

     4) TAKE ACTION:
     PROTECT OUR WILD HERITAGE - STOP LOGGING OUR NATIONAL FORESTS

     5) TAKE ACTION:
     SENATE VICTORY ON CAFE

     6) TAKE ACTION:
     PROTECT OUR WATER FROM ANIMAL FACTORIES

     ______________________________________________________________________


     FEATURED ACTION:

     ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL RIDERS POLLUTE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT FUNDING BILL


     TAKE ACTION:  Please call your senators and urge them to oppose
     anti-environmental riders to the Interior Appropriations bill.

     Debate on the bill to fund the Interior Department and other related
     programs will resume on Monday, July 17, with votes occurring on
     Tuesday.  We expect a number of important votes on amendments that
     would undermine protections for endangered species, new National
     Monuments, and our National Parks.

     Please urge your senators to oppose anti-environmental riders.
     Specifically urge you senators to vote against:


     A rider to be offered by Senator NICKLES ON NATIONAL MONUMENTS.  We
     believe his amendment may be similar to the rider that was stricken on
     the House floor.  It would block any funding for the study, planning
     or implementation of new National Monuments designated by the
     President after 1999.

     SENATOR DOMENICI EXTINCTION RIDER to ban the implementation of
     emergency conservation measures to prevent extinction of an endangered
     species, the silvery minnow.  The amendment would block actions by the
     Bureau of Reclamation designed to maintain water in a certain stretch
     of the Rio Grande.

     SENATOR THOMAS SNOWMOBILE RIDER- We think this rider would block funds
     for the implementation of the new regulations aimed at reducing
     snowmobile activity in our National Parks.  However, the latest rumor
     is Senator Thomas will offer his amendment, have a colloquy on the
     floor, and then withdraw it.

     Two other pro-environment amendments--a Senator Boxer amendment
     dealing with pesticides and a Senator Feingold amendment regarding a
     wilderness study area--are expected to be debated on Tuesday. We also
     support an amendment by Senators Bryan and Fitzgerald to shift money
     from the Forest Service timber budget and place it into fire
     reduction.

     Please urge your Senators to oppose anti-environmental riders and
     support amendments to improve environmental protection.  Thanks for
     your work.
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

     1) TAKE ACTION:
     ONLY 72 HOURS LEFT TO COMMENT. SEND A FAX WITH YOUR COMMENTS TODAY

     Please take the time to write a hand written, personal letter to the
     Forest Service calling for the protection of all of our last wild
     forest roadless areas from all damaging activities.  If you have
     already written a letter - encourage your family, friends, children,
     neighbors and colleagues to write a letter too!  The comment period
     ends this Monday, July 17th!

     Here are some points to address in your letter: Over half of our
     National Forests have already been hammered by road building, logging
     and other damaging activities - we should protect the still-wild areas
     that remain.  Put these roadless areas of our National Forests
     off-limits to roadbuilding, logging and other destructive activities.
     Please protect our nation's last temperate rainforest -- the Tongass
     National Forest in Alaska, from logging and road building.  Letters
     should also address why wild forests are important to you.

     Since time is running out, sending a fax is your best bet. E-mails are
     still good, however the Forest Service has been overwhelmed with
     e-mails lately so your message might get returned. If it does please
     keep trying. The fax number and e-mail address are below.

     By e-mail to: roadlessdeis@fs.fed.us
     By fax to: 877-703-2494


     For more information, visit our website
     http://www.sierraclub.org/wilderness/WildForest/Index.asp

     ___________________________________________

     2) URGENT ACTION:
     WEIGH IN ON SPRAWL IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

     What does sprawl mean to you? What about smart growth?

     As part of our Challenge to Sprawl Campaign, we are asking you to
     nominate projects and developments that exemplify sprawl or smart
     growth to you for inclusion in an upcoming sprawl report. Sprawl and
     smart growth are relatively new additions to the environmental
     community's vocabulary.

     Please visit the sprawl section of the Sierra Club website at
     www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/ and click 'Nominate a development'.  Please
     fill answer as many questions in the survey as you can.  It should
     take you no more than 20 minutes to fill out. Please read all
     directions and provide as much detail as possible.  If you don't have
     all the information requested below please submit what you do have and
     we'll contact you if we need more.  ***We have extended the deadline
     for submissions to FRIDAY, 7/14*** Please send us your nominations as
     soon as possible.

     If you have any questions, or want to find out more about our
     Challenge to Sprawl Campaign, please call Deron Lovaas at 202-547-1141
     or by e-mail at deron.lovaas@sierraclub.org; or George Sorvalis at
     202-547-1141 or by e-mail at george.sorvalis@sierraclub.org
     -----------------------------------

     3) URGENT ACTION:
     MEXICAN ANTI-LOGGING ACTIVISTS NEED YOUR SUPPORT: WRITE TO YOUR LOCAL
     NEWSPAPERS AND URGE THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TO RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF
     ENVIRONMENTALISTS

     On June 20, the Mexican Attorney General's office filed its final
     conclusions, urging the Judge to convict Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro
     Cabrera on charges concocted by local landowners and soldiers.  To
     date, the only evidence that the prosecution has been able to produce
     are "signed confessions", which the two environmentalists signed after
     two days of continued torture by the military.

     Montiel and Cabrera have spent the last 14 months in prison since
     their arrest May 2, 1999. After their detention, they were beaten and
     tortured until they confessed to concocted charges of drug-trafficking
     and illegal possession of weapons. In reality, their only "crime" was
     organizing their community to protest excessive and possibly illegal
     logging of old growth forests in the Southern Sierra Madre.

     Learn more about this case: Read John Ross' article on the July/August
     2000 issue of Sierra!

     TAKE ACTION: Since the Mexican Attorney General has responded to our
     well-reasoned arguments for the immediate and unconditional release of
     Montiel and Cabrera with detestable court trickery, we are asking
     concerned activists write or call your local papers urging them to
     cover this story. Environmental activism is not a crime and
     environmentalists are not criminals.

     For a copy of talking points and a letter to the editor, please call
     or e-mail Sam Parry at (202) 547-1141 or sam.parry@sierraclub.org. You
     can refer to our Web site at www.sierraclub.org/human-rights

     ------------------------------------------------------------------

     4) TAKE ACTION:
     PROTECT OUR WILD HERITAGE - STOP LOGGING OUR NATIONAL FORESTS

     Protecting forests make environmental and economic sense.  The Forest
     Service predicts that in the year 2000, recreation, hunting and
     fishing in National Forests will contribute 38 times more income to
     the nation's economy than logging, and will create 31 times more jobs.
     More than 3,000 species of fish and wildlife and 10,000 plant species
     -- including 230 endangered plant and animal species -- rely on
     National Forests for habitat.

     The National Forest Protection and Restoration Act would eliminate the
     commercial logging program on federal public lands, promote
     restoration, and help communities that receive logging revenue develop
     a more diverse and stable economy.

     **  Call your Member of Congress through the Capitol switchboard at
     (202) 224-3121 and urge them to cosponsor HR 1396, the National Forest
     Protection and Restoration Act. **
     ___________________________________________

     5) TAKE ACTION:
     SENATE VICTORY ON CAFE

     A victory in the Senate has resulted in a proposal to kick-start a
     study of CAFE standards.  Congress has directed the Department of
     Transportation (DOT) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) do a
     joint study on miles per gallon standards and make a recommendation to
     Congress by July 1, 2001.  DOT can recommend a CAFE increase in FY
     '01, and barring further barriers, DOT can promulgate new standards in
     FY '02.

     This is a huge victory for the environment and consumers, and is a
     direct result of your relentless phone calls and letters to your
     senators.  The study would not have happened without the outstanding
     efforts of all of you telling the Senate to get moving on cleaner
     cars.  The auto industry knew that we were going to get more votes
     than last year-- and now we've got the ball rolling on better CAFE
     standards.  WE WON, THEY LOST!

     TAKE ACTION: Call and write the White House and urge them to take
     advantage of the opportunity that Congress has given them to improve
     miles per gallon standards.  State that you're counting on them to
     make sure that this study leads to tougher miles per gallon standards
     and you hope they will take the lead on the biggest single step we can
     take to curb global warming, raising CAFE standards.  Raising CAFE
     standards will reduce our dependence upon foreign oil, slash pollution
     and will save us money at the gas pump.
     ___________________________________________


     6) TAKE ACTION: PROTECT OUR WATER FROM ANIMAL FACTORIES

     The EPA is in the process of developing a "Guidance Document" for a
     permitting system for large concentrated animal feeding operations
     (CAFOs). These massive animal factories have fouled America's water
     and air from coast to coast, and have run family farmers off the land.
     Several court cases have clearly found that these facilities,
     including land application of wastes, are to be regulated under the
     federal Clean Water Act.

     But the US EPA seems not to understand the import of the court
     decisions or the impact of the CAFOs on water quality.  There are
     three major positions that the Sierra Club (and allied groups) have
     been asserting:

     1) Every CAFO with more than 1000 "animal units" (2500 hogs, 30,000
     chickens, and 750 dairy cows) must OBTAIN a federal wastewater
     discharge permit.

     2) The permits must contain binding, enforceable and water-quality
     protective conditions.

     3) CAFOs must land apply wastes at agronomic rates, as determined by a
     soil test and the optimal rate of growth (or production) of the
     specific crop. (EPA is proposing to allow rates of application based
     on "soil assimilation" which essentially means wastes can be applied
     right up to the point where runoff occurs).

     Please call EPA Administrator Carol Browner at 202-564-4700  (FAX -
     202-501-1450) and urge her to issue a Guidance Document incorporating
     the above points.
     ------------------------------------------------------------

     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
     Clinton's e-mail - president@whitehouse.gov
     Gore's e-mail - vice-president@whitehouse.gov
     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/


from League of Conservation Voters July 18, 2000


===================================
LCV. s Weekly Congressional Update
Week of July 17th, 2000
===================================

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) continues to monitor Congressional
activity and hold members of Congress accountable for their actions on
important environmental issues. See the information below for a concise
look at what happened in Congress last week and what we anticipate for the
coming week.

===================================
SUMMARY
===================================

Last week the Senate killed Sen. Craig's anti-environment rider to stop the
administration's roadless policy.  This week the Senate will continue
voting on amendments to the fiscal year 2001 Interior Department funding
bill.  They will also markup land conservation legislation similar to House
bill H.R. 701, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999, in the Senate
Energy and Environment committee.  A Senate Energy subcommittee will hold a
hearing on Clinton's roadless policy initiative.  The House is not
scheduled to take up any major environment actions or votes this week.


===================================
ACTIONS AND VOTES LAST WEEK
===================================

**SENATE**

SENATORS REACH COMPROMISE ON LANDS FUNDING BILL
Senator Murkowski (R-AK), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, and Senator Bingaman (D-NM) ranking minority member of
that committee, last week reached a compromise on legislation that would
provide hundreds of millions of dollars for land acquisition and wildlife
conservation.  The House passed a similar bill, H.R. 701, in May; since
that time, Murkowski and Bingaman have been working to find a compromise
between their respective bills. S. 25 and S. 2181.  Their compromise will go
to markup before the Senate Energy committee on Tuesday and Wednesday of
this week.

SENATE UPHOLDS GRAZING RIDER; CRAIG ROADLESS RIDER FAILS
Last Thursday the Senate rejected a Durbin (D-IL) amendment to strike a
provision that would allow BLM to renew grazing permits without new
environmental review by a vote of 38-62.  There is no need for this
automatic renewal of grazing permits, as the Bureau of Land Management will
complete the processing of all permits set to expire in 2001 by the end of
that year.  Further, this provision could actually encourage permit holders
with poor environmental records to delay compliance with permit
requirements in order to take advantage of this automatic renewal.

Also last Thursday, Sen. Larry Craig (D-ID) offered an amendment that would
have interfered with the administration. s proposed policy to protect
roadless areas.  However, Senators Pete Domenici (R-NM), Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered a substitute amendment dealing
with fire prevention which passed by voice vote.  The Domenici substitute
earned some criticism from environmental groups who fear that the timber
industry could use the guise of fire prevention to justify increased
commercial logging on federal lands; however, the Senate. s failure to pass
the Craig roadless policy rider should be considered an environmental
victory.  Craig said that he may still offer his rider later this year.

**HOUSE**

HOUSE PASSES FOREIGN OPERATIONS BILL
On Thursday July 13 the House passed its bill to fund U.S. foreign aid
programs for fiscal year 2000.  During debate of the bill, Rep. Greenwood
(R-PA) offered an amendment to strike so-called . gag rule. language that
would preclude U.S. family planning aid going to organizations that use
their own funds to provide legal abortion services or participate in public
debates over abortion laws or policies.  Long-standing restrictions already
prevent the use of U.S. foreign assistance funds to fund abortion-related
activities.

LCV regards global population stabilization as crucial for environmental
sustainability.  Rapid population growth exacerbates pollution and
accelerates the depletion of natural resources.  The global gag rule
restriction would interfere with the ability of private organizations to
participate in the political process in their own country using their own
funds.  LCV believes that using the leverage of U.S. assistance to silence
discussion of any issue that is a legitimate subject of public debate is
inconsistent with American values.  Greenwood. s amendment to strike this
language failed to pass by a vote of 221-206.

During consideration of the foreign operations bill the House agreed to a
Waters (D-CA) amendment to increase funds for debt relief to developing
nations by $156 million.  Severe debt burdens can lead poor countries to
slash environmental protection budgets and liquidate natural resources.  
The Waters amendment passed by a vote of 216-211.

HOUSE PASSES AGRICULTURE FUNDING BILL
On Tuesday, July 11, the House passed its bill to fund Department of
Agriculture programs by a vote of 339-82.  The House rejected a DeFazio
(D-OR) amendment to cut funding for the Wildlife Services livestock
protection program, under which more than 100,000 coyotes, black bears,
mountain lions, and other predators are killed each year.  The amendment
failed to pass by a vote of 190-228.

===================================
ON THE FLOOR THIS WEEK
===================================

**SENATE**

The Senate has set an ambitious schedule for itself this week. hoping to
clear a number of funding bills for fiscal year 2001 as they move towards
the August recess, set to begin on July 31.

SENATE TO FINISH CONSIDERATION OF THE INTERIOR BILL
The Senate last week began consideration of the bill to fund Department of
Interior and U.S. Forest Service programs for fiscal year 2001.  Several
amendments have not yet been considered.  These include a Bryan
(D-NV)/Fitzgerald (R-IL) amendment to reduce funding for the wasteful and
damaging timber program and use the funds for fire planning and
preparedness in our national forests.  Proposed anti-environment amendments
include a Nickles (R-OK) amendment to restrict funding to manage new
national monuments such as the new Sequoia National Monument and a Domenici
(R-NM) rider to prevent the Bureau of Reclamation from going forward with
plans to increase water flows in the Rio Grande River to help the
endangered silvery minnow.

SENATE AGRICULTURE FUNDING BILL MAY FINALLY REACH THE FLOOR
The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on its version of a bill to fund
the Department of Agriculture for 2001 (although this bill has been on the
Senate calendar for a number of weeks, consideration has been postponed
several times).  The bill includes three anti-environment . riders..   One
rider will prevent any efforts to reform the Army Corps of Engineers, which
has been the topic of investigative articles in The Washington Post in
recent months for alleged financial and regulatory mismanagement.  Another
rider will prevent the administration from putting new regulations on the
environmental impact of hardrock mining into effect. these regulations would
protect groundwater from contamination, ensure that mining companies have
the money to pay for toxic cleanup when mining is completed, and allow BLM
to refuse mining permits when it would harm the wildlife and resource
values of the land. A third rider would remove land from Pea Island
National Wildlife Refuge and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North
Carolina for the building of two massive, environmentally unsound jetties.

**HOUSE**

No major environmental legislation is scheduled for consideration in the
House this week.

===================================
IN COMMITTEE THIS WEEK
===================================

**SENATE**

CONSERVATION BILL GOES TO MARK-UP
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will mark-up legislation
to provide for a permanent source of conservation funding derived from
off-shore oil drilling receipts.  The legislation under consideration is a
compromise reached between Senators Murkowski (R-AL) and Bingaman (D-NM)
and is similar to legislation (H.R.701) that passed the House earlier this
summer.  (See the description above for more information)

FUNDING FOR NOAA, ENERGY AND WATER PROGRAMS UNDER REVIEW
The Senate Appropriations Committee will consider legislation to provide
funds for the Department of Commerce, including the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  A variety of environmental initiatives
are included in this annual appropriation bill.  The Committee will also
consider legislation to fund Energy and Water programs for next year.

HEARING ON CLINTON. S ROADLESS POLICY
The Senate Energy forests and public land management subcommittee will hold
a hearing on the administration's proposal to ban road construction in 43
million acres of inventoried roadless areas on federal lands.

**HOUSE**

RESOURCES COMMITTEE TO HOLD HEARING ON SNOWMOBILE USE
The House Resources parks and public lands subcommittee will hold a hearing
on the administration's proposal to ban snowmobile use in most national
parks.

===================================================================
LCV's Weekly Congressional Update is compiled using various sources,
including Congressional Quarterly and Congressional GreenSheets.
LCV-Update is brought to you by the League of Conservation Voters, the
nonprofit political voice for the national environmental and conservation
community. LCV is the only national organization dedicated full-time to
informing the public about the environmental records of federally elected
officials and candidates.

LCV publishes annually the National Environmental Scorecard, which rates
members of Congress on the most critical environmental votes cast during
that year.

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Washington, DC 20036
(202)785-8683
fax: (202)835-0491
email: lcv@lcv.org


from Greenpeace July 18, 2000


Thank you for supporting the CokeSpotlight campaign. You and
thousands of others worldwide have helped achieve a tremendous
victory for the planet.

Yesterday Coca-Cola announced that it would meet Greenpeace demands
by adopting a new refrigeration policy to reduce its impact on global
climate change before the world's first Green Games.

Coca-Cola's new policy is to phase out potent greenhouse gas
hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) in refrigeration by the Athens Olympic Games
in 2004. It will expand its research into refrigeration alternatives
and insist that suppliers announce specific time schedules to use
only HFC-free refrigeration in all new cold drink equipment by 2004.

This result couldn't have happened without your support of our global campaign.

Coca-Cola's policy change shows that big industry can be made to
abandon dirty practices when people raise the alarm.

The announcement by Coca-Cola fulfils most of the demands we set and
sets a strong environmental benchmark for other industries.
Greenpeace will work to ensure that Coca-Cola delivers on its new
policy and provides adequate verification and independent monitoring
of action. While it does not address our concerns relating to
refrigeration equipment at the Olympic site and shift in global
policy, it will have a huge effect and substantial longterm benefits
for the planet.

Check out Coca-Cola's new policy at  http://www.thecocacolacompany.com

We will update the CokeSpotlight very soon.

Once again many thanks,

Rupert Posner
Greenpeace Olympics campaigner


from Environment News Service July 17, 2000


ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)
http://ens-news.com

                                         "We Cover the Earth For You"
******************************************************************

HOSPITAL PLASTICS MAY PUT SICK INFANTS AT RISK

ARLINGTON, Virginia, July 17, 2000 (ENS) - A government panel has expressed
"serious concern" that chemicals used in vinyl medical products may harm the
reproductive organs of critically ill male infants exposed during medical
treatments.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-07.html

******************************************************************

QUEBEC CHEMICAL FIRE FORCES THOUSANDS FROM THEIR HOMES

By Neville Judd

MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, July 17, 2000 (ENS) - Thousands of people were
evacuated Sunday night after noxious fumes were released by a chemical
plant blaze in Vaudreuil-Dorion, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of
Montreal. The fire continues to blaze today as firefighters work to contain
it.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-10.html

******************************************************************

BIPARTISAN SENATE COMPROMISE PLEDGES $3 BILLION FOR CONSERVATION

WASHINGTON, DC, July 17, 2000 (ENS) - Royalties generated by underwater oil
and gas development on the outer continental shelf around the United States
may soon be flowing into coastal and inland conservation programs now that a
breakthough has occurred in a formidable political logjam.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-06.html

******************************************************************

PROTECT MEDITERRANEAN BEFORE SPECIES ARE LOST, WARNS WWF

ROME, Italy, July 17, 2000 (ENS) - The cradle of European civilization, the
Mediterranean Sea, needs protection from over fishing, pollution and coastal
construction if its unique environmental heritage is to survive, says a new
report from the international conservation organization Worldwide Fund for
Nature (WWF).
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-11.html

******************************************************************

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JULY 17, 2000

Chemical Company Will Pay $250,000 for Fatal Hazwaste Shipment

Sheep Found With Disease Similar to Mad Cow

40 New Superfund Redevelopment Projects Chosen

GAO Report Criticizes EPA. s Radiation Standards

Fisheries Council Votes For Tortugas Ecological Reserve

Michigan to Preserve 80,000 Acres of Farmland

Electric Postal Vehicle Debuts in Los Angeles

New Hunting, Fishing Programs Proposed for Wildlife Refuges

Marine Conservationist Named Environmental Hero

Student Mural Depicts Recovering Anacostia River

For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-09.html

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2000 All Rights Reserved.

***************************************************************************
                          SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GlobeEx 2000 Conference and Tradeshow   Returns to Las Vegas in July

     LAS VEGAS, NV July 18, -/E-Wire/--  NTS Development Corporation has
announced the return of GlobeEx 2000 Conference and Tradeshow, the first
truly integrated conference on energy in the Americas, being held July 23
through 28 at the Riveria Hotel and Convention Center.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Trosper of MassMedia (702) 433-4331, email:
Elizabeth@massmedialv.com
     /Web site: www.GlobeEx.com
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/17July0002.html

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TO BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:

Pratt & Whitney Joins Blue292's Early Adopter Program With The IT Group

Environmental Business-to-Business e-Marketplace to Help Streamline   Pratt
& Whitney's Environmental, Health & Safety Procurement and Processes

      DURHAM, N.C., July 17 -/E-Wire/-- Blue292, the world's leading
business-to-business e-marketplace for environmental, health and safety
(EHS) products and services, today announced that Pratt & Whitney, a
division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), has joined its
Early-Adopter Pilot Program.  Pratt & Whitney is a leader in the design,
manufacture and support of aircraft engines, industrial engines, and space
propulsion systems.  Pratt & Whitney will participate in the program in
conjunction with The IT Group (NYSE: ITX), a leading environmental
consulting and engineering firm, with whom Pratt & Whitney has an existing
e-Business agreement.
     /CONTACT:  Anita Bose, 212-484-7699, or abose@rlmnet.com, for Blue292/
(UTX ITX)
     /Web site:  http://www.blue292.com
     /Web site:  http://www.theitgroup.com/
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/17July0001.html

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from Environment News Service July 18, 2000


ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)
http://ens-news.com

                                         "We Cover the Earth For You"
******************************************************************

BRAZILIAN OIL GIANT APOLOGIZES FOR 2ND SPILL IN SIX MONTHS

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 18, 2000 (ENS) - Workers in the southern
Brazilian state of Parana are trying to contain the country's worst oil
spill in 25 years.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-18-12.html

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THOUSANDS OF PORPOISES LOST IN UK's "HAUL OF SHAME"

LONDON, United Kingdom, July 18, 2000 (ENS) - Europe's harbour porpoises
are dying by the thousand and may not live to see another century if fishing
practices are not changed, says a report released by the world's largest
animal welfare agency.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-18-11.html

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DEATH DUMP POLLUTING MANILA'S DRINKING WATER

By Michael Bengwayan

MANILA, Philippines, July 18, 2000 (ENS) - The garbage slide and fire July
11 at the Payatas garbage dump in the northern Manila suburb of Quezon City
has now claimed 193 lives. At least 760 other people are still missing and
presumed dead.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-18-02.html

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EUROPE TO BAN POWERFUL INSECTICIDE ON CROPS BUT NOT IN HOMES

BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 18, 2000 (ENS) - The controversial insecticide
lindane could be subject to a partial ban by the Europe Union's 15 member
countries within 18 months.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-18-10.html

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RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE LAS VEGAS SPOTLIGHT

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, July 18, 2000 (ENS) - A five day international conference
on renewable energy that starts this Sunday in Las Vegas is expected to draw
700 delegates from more than 70 countries.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-18-03.html

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ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JULY 18, 2000

Motor Vehicle Emissions Tests to be Performed from Space

Attack on Free Speech Hidden in Fish & Wildlife Service Bill

Congress Considers Oversight Review for Army Corps of Engineers

Bluewater Network Tries Legal Maneuver to Limit Ship Emissions

Climate Change Puts Health of Washington State Residents at Risk

New York City Gets Cleaner Buses in 2001

Real Time Smog Movies for California

Internet Index to Minimize Impact of Animal Waste

For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-17-09.html

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2000 All Rights Reserved.

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                          SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

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       E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE
***************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Griffin Supplies Biodiesel for Bus Fleets

      CINCINNATI, OH. July 18, -/E-Wire/--  Griffin Industries has been
selected to supply TANK and Metro buses with biodiesel, an environmentally
friendly fuel throughout the summer.  500,000 gallons of B20, a blend of 20%
biodiesel mixed with 80% petroleum diesel will power over 280 buses through
July and August.  The buses are expected to run 2,500,000 miles on tri-state
roadways using the alternative fuel.
CONTACT: Rick Geise, Director of Marketing, Griffin Industries, (859)
572-2558
     /Web site:  http://www.griffinind.com
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/18July0004.html

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       E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE
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TO BUSINESS, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENCE EDITORSS:

Apyron Hires Another Leading Scientist to Boost Product Development,
Commercialization

A Holder of Three Patents, Dr. Wei-Chih W. Chen Joins Science Technologies
Company

      ATLANTA, July 18 -/E-Wire/--  Apyron Technologies, Inc., the developer
of next-generation science technologies, has hired Dr. Wei-Chih W. Chen as
director of product development.  Dr. Chen holds three U.S. patents and
brings more than 13 years in product development for the water industry to
Apyron.
CONTACT:  Sherry Odom of Apyron, 678-405-2707, or slodom@apyron.com /
     /Web site:  http://www.apyron.com /
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/18July0001.html

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       E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE
***************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Texaco's Chief Technology Officer, Jim Metzger, To Address Delegation At
GlobeEx 2000, Conference and Tradeshow

      LAS VEGAS, NV, July 18, -/E-Wire/-- Jim Metzger, Vice President and
Chief Technology Officer of Texaco Inc., will be addressing a delegation
comprised of dignitaries and celebrities at the GlobeEx Conference and
Tradeshow, being held July 23 through 28 at the Riveria Hotel and Convention
Center in Las Vegas, NV. The dinner banquet will be held during the course
of the conference. Invited guests include Vice President Al Gore, Secretary
of Energy Bill Richardson and President Jimmy Carter as well as various
International Ministers of Energy.
CONTACT:  Elizabeth Trosper, MassMedia (702) 433-4331, Email:
Elizabeth@massmedialv.com
     /Web site:  http://www.GlobEx.com
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/18July0002.html

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       E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE E-WIRE PRESS RELEASE
***************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Free Online Resource Helps Companies Merge Environmental and Economic
Success

     OAKLAND, CA, July 18 -/E-Wire/--  A new online resource center is
offering  a wealth of free information to help companies "align
environmental  responsibility with business success," say its creators.
     CONTACT: Joel Makower, President, Green Business Network:
510-451-1300, or makower@greenbiz.com
     /Web site: http://www.GreenBiz.com
For Full Text Visit: http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/July00/18July0003.html

******************************************************************
    TRANSMIT YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS
******************************************************************


from Natural Resources Defense Council


Natural Resources Defense Council's

CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT

NRDC's California Activist Network was formed to mobilize and provide action tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the state's extraordinary wealth of natural treasures and the health of its citizens.

July 19, 2000

******************************************
Contents

1) alerts

a) Join the "Don't Mess with ZEV" campaign to fight air pollution and global warming
b) Tell the Department of Pesticide Regulation to refuse test results obtained from human experimentation
c) Urge your state representatives to vote for clean, affordable, reliable energy
d) Tell Los Angeles Mayor Riordan to turn a rail yard into an urban park instead of industrial warehouses
e) Urge the Forest Service to protect the Sierra Nevada's national forests
f) Help create ocean wilderness reserves around the Channel Islands

2) STATUS OF PREVIOUS alerts

3) ABOUT OUR BULLETINS

4) ABOUT NRDC

You will also find these alerts in NRDC'S Earth Action Center (http://www.nrdc.org/action), which includes tools for taking action easily online.

******************************************

1) alerts

Join the "Don't Mess with ZEV" campaign to fight air pollution and global warming

As we all know, traditional fuel-powered automobiles contribute to air pollution, global warming and our dependence on foreign oil. In 1990, the California Air Resources Board first instituted the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation, requiring major automakers to offer for sale vehicles that produce no exhaust emissions. The board reviews this regulation every other year, and in each of the past two reviews the big oil and auto companies successfully pressured the board to delay and weaken the ZEV program. Nonetheless, 20,000 new electric vehicles and 30,000 gasoline-electric hybrids would be produced by 2003 under existing law.

In September, the Air Resources Board again will review the ZEV mandate and the car and oil companies are once again teaming up to further weaken or even to kill the ZEV program. If Governor Davis and the board stand firm against industry pressure, however, automakers would have little choice but to begin serious production of the 2003 models in order to meet the ZEV mandate. That means the September board meeting is the last chance for the auto and oil industries to try to bury the clean car requirement.

The "Don't Mess with ZEV" campaign is staffing public information tables throughout the state, asking concerned members of the public to sign a short letter to Governor Davis in support of the ZEV mandate. So far the response has been very encouraging, but the campaign needs your help.

== What to do ==
Please volunteer a few hours of your time and help staff one of the "Don't Mess with ZEV" public information tables. Contact Ken Masterton to sign up today. Even if you aren't able to volunteer, please send a message to Governor Davis.

== Contact information ==
To volunteer:
Ken Masterton
Phone: (415) 868-1431
Email: campmw@well.com

To send a message to Governor Davis:
You can email Governor Davis directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol Bldg.
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 445-4633
Email: graydavis@governor.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

[Date]

Dear Governor Davis:

I am writing to urge your support for California's Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) program, which is critical to reducing California's air pollution, global warming emissions and costly dependence on foreign oil.

Motor vehicles cause the majority of California's air pollution and global warming emissions. Gasoline contaminates our water supplies and puts the state's coastline at risk of oil spills. In addition, gas-guzzling motor vehicles cost consumers billions of dollars a year at the gas pump and make the state vulnerable to oil price increases.

California needs a strong ZEV program to move the state away from its costly and harmful dependence on oil. As the number of vehicles and vehicle miles double in the next few decades, the costs will only increase. California can avoid those costs by encouraging the development and sale of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The ZEV program can take credit for bringing battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles to market and is helping spur the development of fuel cell vehicles. Continuing a strong ZEV program will encourage automakers to improve existing technologies, develop new technologies and put more of these clean, advanced vehicles on the road.

For all these reasons, I strongly urge you to support a strong ZEV program.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

..

Tell the Department of Pesticide Regulation to refuse test results obtained from human experimentation

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is about to endorse unethical and unscientific human testing of hazardous pesticides. The proposed decision concerns a toxic organophosphate pesticide known as Guthion, a close relative of Dursban, which was banned last month by the U.S. EPA due to unacceptable toxicity to children.

Although not allowed for home use, Guthion is among the most toxic of chemicals to farmworkers. One way to protect farmworkers and consumers from excessive exposures to this chemical is the 'reentry interval,' or the amount of time that must pass after the pesticide is applied to a crop before anyone can enter the field to pick the fruit or vegetables. The longer the reentry interval, the lower the residues of the chemical on the plants the workers handle and the food we buy. Of course, growers and chemical corporations oppose long reentry intervals as they usually mean less use of the pesticide.

The California DPR had planned to extend the allowable reentry interval for Guthion from 14 to 45-50 days. This month, however, DPR reversed its decision based on a test, submitted by Bayer Corporation, Guthion's manufacturer, on young adult human subjects purporting to show no effects from the chemical. NRDC medical doctors reviewed reports from this test and find it both scientifically and ethically bankrupt. The tests were performed in Scotland, most likely because no ethics committee in the United States would approve such a study. Ten young adults were paid to swallow pills containing various doses of Guthion, and their blood was tested for indications of acute organophosphate poisoning. Neither neurological testing nor long-term medical follow-up was done. Scientifically the study was too small and too poorly designed to draw any meaningful conclusions. Ethically the study was abhorrent.

== What to do ==
Contact DPR Deputy Director Paul Gosselin telling him that for both scientific and ethical reasons DPR should refuse to consider any human testing of pesticides for the purpose of setting regulatory levels.

== Contact information ==
You can email Deputy Director Gosselin directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Paul Gosselin, Deputy Director
Department of Pesticide Regulation
830 K St.
Sacramento, CA 95814-3510
Phone: 916-445-4000
Fax: 916-324-1452
Email: dpr99003@cdpr.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Dear Mr. Gosselin,

I am very concerned about the Department of Pesticide Regulation's proposed reentry intervals for azinphos-methyl (Guthion). The current proposal rests completely on human testing that is questionable both scientifically and ethically. From a scientific point of view, no guidelines exist for studies that purposely dose humans with pesticides. Such studies have not been validated or standardized and do not follow any established government guidelines. The Bayer study on Guthion is bad science - it used tiny sample sizes and failed to adequately assess for neurological effects.

From an ethical viewpoint, studies purposely dosing humans with toxic chemicals are abhorrent. These studies offer no conceivable benefit to anyone other than the company that manufactures the chemical. The people who agree to participate in these studies are in an economic situation where the money they are paid renders them unable to give true informed consent. These people should not be the guinea pigs of multinational chemical companies.

Use of the Bayer study will open the floodgates for other pesticide manufacturers to feed their products to other unwitting 'volunteers' around the world. We must stop this trend before it becomes established.

I urge you to refuse to accept studies that purposely expose humans to pesticides. At a minimum, this issue should be reviewed by the State Science Review Panel before any such studies are used in rulemaking.

Sincerely,

[your name and address]

..

Urge your state representatives to vote for clean, affordable, reliable energy

The restructuring of California's utility industry in 1996 jeopardized investments in new clean energy research and technology. In response, the Public Benefits Charge (PBC) was established to ensure investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy, low income energy services, and research and development of clean energy technologies. Since 1996, the PBC (usually less than three percent of consumers electric bills) has generated about $645 million per year which has enhanced electricity reliability and substantially benefited the state's environment and economy.

Senator Sher (D-Palo Alto) and Assemblyman Wright (D-South-central Los Angeles) have introduced legislation to continue California's leadership in affordable, safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable electricity service by extending the PBC for the next ten years. The bill, however, scheduled for a vote in July or August, requires a two-thirds majority in both houses to pass.

== What to do ==
Contact your state senator and assemblyperson and urge them to vote "Yes" on SB 1194/AB 995.

== Contact information ==
You can send an email directly to your state legislators from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/alertpr.pl?dir=nrdc&alert=26&_state=ca

..

Tell Los Angeles Mayor Riordan to turn a rail yard into an urban park instead of industrial warehouses

Los Angeles is park poor, with fewer acres per thousand residents than any other major city in the country. Now an extraordinary multicultural coalition of community, environmental, civil rights, historic preservation and business interests has offered a proposal to turn the so-called "Chinatown Cornfield" -- a former rail yard located between Chinatown and the Los Angeles River and the last vast open tract of land in downtown Los Angeles -- into a 48-acre urban parkland of open space, playgrounds, a school, a bikeway, and, at the same time, restore a critical section of the Los Angeles River.

Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Planning Department recently gave the green light to a proposal, supported by Mayor Richard Riordan, for industrial and warehouse development of the Cornfield. Without requiring an environmental impact report, and without even considering the community coalition's alternative proposal, Los Angeles city planners illegally approved a site plan submitted by Majestic Realty Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad for 32 acres of industrial development.

Instead of warehouses and industry, the community coalition's alternative would create a badly needed park in a city in desperate need of more parkland. It would also provide land for a middle school or high school and recreational facilities for the neighboring communities, protect historic resources like the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, recently recognized as a National Millennium Trail, and be a major building block in a long-term plan to reclaim and restore the Los Angeles River. Plus, thanks to the voters' approval last March of Propositions 12 and 13 -- the parks and water bonds -- funding is available to purchase the land.

== What to do ==
Contact Mayor Riordan and urge him to reverse the city planners' decision and to instead support the community coalition's proposal to convert the Cornfield into an urban park.

== Contact information ==
You can email Mayor Riordan directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message, and feel free to add your own reasons for wanting a park instead of warehouses in downtown LA.

Mayor Richard Riordan
200 N. Main Street
City Hall East, Room 800
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 847-2489
Fax: (213) 485-1286
Email: rriordan@mayor.ci.la.ca.us

== Sample letter ==

Dear Mayor Riordan:

I urge you to oppose the proposal by Majestic Realty Corporation for 32 acres of warehouses and industrial facilities at the Chinatown Cornfield. I also urge you to support creative alternatives, such as that proposed by the Chinatown Yard Alliance to convert the Cornfield into a 48-acre urban parkland of open space, playgrounds, a school, a bikeway, and, at the same time, restore a critical section of the Los Angeles River.

Los Angeles is park poor, with fewer acres per thousand residents than any other major city in the country. The Chinatown area suffers not only from a lack of parks, but also from a lack of schools, and the William Mead housing project is desperately in need of recreational facilities. And the Cornfield is an essential building block in plans to reclaim and restore the Los Angeles River and adjacent properties.

Please do all you can to take advantage of available federal, state, and local funding to convert the Cornfield from urban blight to an urban parkland that can serve the needs of the surrounding communities and the residents of all of Los Angeles.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

..

Urge the Forest Service to protect the Sierra Nevada's national forests

Decades of logging, livestock grazing, and development have taken a heavy toll on the national forests in California's Sierra Nevada. Old growth forests, which once blanketed the Sierra's western slopes, now cover only 13 percent of the Sierra's national forests. As a result, wildlife that live in these forests, such as the California spotted owl and the Pacific fisher (a secretive forest carnivore that dwells in deep woods), are threatened with extinction. The Sierra's rivers and streams are also at risk.

After years of delay, the U.S. Forest Service has released a proposal for managing national forests throughout the Sierra Nevada, from the Sequoia National Forest in the southern Sierra to the Modoc National Forest in northeastern California. When finalized, the plan will dictate the fate of the Sierra's old growth forests and wildlife and will have a major impact on tourism and recreation throughout the range. NRDC and other environmental groups have developed an alternative proposal for managing the Sierra's national forests that would preserve all remaining old growth forests and roadless areas, provide strong protection for aquatic ecosystems, and restrict logging to thinning of small trees in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire while protecting and restoring wildlife habitat. Public support for this proposal, described by the Forest Service as Alternative 5, is essential to convince the Forest Service to adopt an environmentally protective plan, rather than !
one favoring logging and other destructive activities.

== What to do == The Forest Service is accepting public comments on its proposed management plan through August 11, 2000. Write and urge the agency to adopt a plan that will protect all remaining old growth forests and roadless areas and provide the strongest possible protection for streams and rivers. Use the sample letter we've provided, edit it, or write your own.

== Contact information ==
You can email the Park Service directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://congress.nw.dc.us/cgi-bin/alertpr.pl?dir=nrdc&alert=28. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

USDA Forest Service - CAET
Sierra Nevada Framework Project
Att'n: Brad Powell, Regional Forester
P.O. Box 7669
200 E. Broadway, Room 301
Missoula, MT 59807
Fax: 406-329-3021
Email: mailroom_wo_caet@fs.fed.us [if you send your comments via email, be sure to include "SNFP Comments" in the subject line]

== Sample letter ==

Re: Sierra Nevada Management Plan

Dear Mr. Powell,

I am writing to urge you to strengthen the existing proposals for protecting the Sierra Nevada's national forests. Any plan for the Sierra Nevada should protect all remaining old growth forests and roadless areas, and protect rivers, streams, and aquatic ecosystems from logging and road building. Of the alternatives under consideration, Alternative 5 should be adopted because it provides the greatest protection for environmental values.

The Forest Service's two "preferred alternatives" are both flawed. Alternative 6 would weaken existing protection for the California spotted owl, increasing the risk of extinction. Alternative 8 is preferable to Alternative 6 but would still allow logging of old growth forests, while failing to include the strongest possible protection for rivers and streams.

The time has come for the Forest Service to manage the national forests primarily for their environmental values, not for the purpose of commodity production. Alternative 5 would best achieve that goal and should be the basis for the Forest Service's final plan for managing the Sierra's national forests.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

== Background ==
For information on Alternative 5 and the Sierra Nevada national forests:
Sierra Nevada Forest Protection Campaign at www.sierraforests.org
For information on the Forest Service's proposal:
Forest Service web site at www.r5.fs.fed.us/sncf/

..

Help create ocean wilderness reserves around the Channel Islands

Currently, less than one-hundredth of one percent of U.S. waters are closed to mining, drilling, and commercial and recreational fishing. Environmentalists and concerned scientists and citizens have long pressed for laws that would protect ocean areas from further devastation in much the same way that our wildlands are protected in national parks, monuments, and wilderness areas. In 1999, California passed such a law. The Marine Life Protection Act establishes a system for creating marine reserves in California waters, which extend three miles from the state coastline. Within these reserves, pollution would be tightly controlled, and taking marine life -- from fish to clams to coral -- would be prohibited. To date, however, no reserves have been established.

Just off the coast of southern California, the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a veritable eden of marine life. Its kelp forests are home to sea bass and garibaldi (the state fish), sea stars and sea urchins, octopus and squid. Visitors come year-round to see dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions, and in July, they witness migrating humpback whales, one of the dozens of marine mammals which either live in or migrate through the islands' waters. But although it is called a sanctuary, fishing is allowed almost everywhere, and pollution levels are increasing while fish stocks are going down. To reduce pollution and restrict destructive activities, NRDC and other groups are calling for a network of reserves to be created around the Channel Islands before the end of this year.

== What to do ==
Contact the Marine Reserves Working Group and urge the agency to create a network of marine reserves in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary that will protect and preserve California's ocean waters and marine life.

== Contact information ==
You can email the Marine Reserves Working Group directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Matt Pickett, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Patricia Wolf, California Department of Fish and Game
Co-Chairs, Marine Reserves Working Group
113 Harbor Way, Suite 150
Santa Barbara, CA 93109
Fax: 805-568-1582 (Matt Pickett)
562-590-5192 (Patricia Wolf)
Email: Matt.Pickett@noaa.gov
pwolf@hq.dfg.ca.gov

== Sample letter ==

Dear Mr. Pickett and Ms. Wolf:

I support establishing marine reserves to help protect the full range of ocean life around the Channel Islands. The islands' unique ocean ecosystem is one of California's greatest natural treasures. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary supports a rich diversity of life, including productive kelp forests and reefs, over two dozen kinds of whales and dolphins, and vibrant fish such as the garibaldi, our state fish. But fishing is allowed virtually everywhere in the sanctuary, and heavy fishing pressure and other activities have depleted fish species and put the unusual diversity of this area at risk.

Like wilderness areas on land, marine reserves protect natural resources from harmful human activities by excluding destructive practices. Once habitats and fish are fully protected, they recover and thrive. All around the world marine reserves have been shown to contain more and larger fish and greater diversity than unprotected areas. I urge you to create sizable ocean wilderness areas inside the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary before the end of this year.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

..........

2) STATUS OF PREVIOUS alerts

DIESEL POLLUTION
In the past couple of months, we've asked you to take a number of actions to help reduce toxic diesel pollution in southern California. We're thrilled to report the following two important victories:

On May 25 the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority voted unanimously to buy 370 compressed natural gas transit buses, rejecting a staff recommendation to switch to diesel buses. This great victory was made possible by your many hundreds of e-mails, letters and calls to MTA board members urging that they only purchase clean alternative fuel buses. Your voices were heard, as evidenced by both Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke's leadership in moving to buy the clean fuel buses contrary to the staff recommendation, and by Mayor Richard Riordan's switch of his previous vote for diesel to a clean fuel vote, which ultimately helped sway the board to support the purchase of clean fuel buses. These purchases will bring the MTA's fleet of clean natural gas buses to over 1,000, making it the largest clean fuel transit fleet in the country.

And on June 16th the South Coast Air Quality Management District adopted three new rules governing public vehicle fleets in the South Coast Air Basin that will help rid the region (including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties) of toxic diesel pollution. The first rule requires public fleets to buy only "low emitting" (i.e., gasoline or alternative fuel) cars and light and medium duty trucks. The second requires all cities and transit agencies to buy only alternative fuel buses, and the third requires all public entities and their contractors to buy only alternative fuel garbage trucks. The alternative fuel provisions alone will impact over 10,000 heavy duty vehicles.

These are major victories for clean fuels and public health. Once again, your actions made a huge difference. Thank you!

..........

3) ABOUT OUR BULLETINS

This bulletin is distributed to members of NRDC's California Activist Network. If this message was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the bulletin directly, visit NRDC's Save Wild California website at http://www.nrdc.org/wildcalifornia or see the subscription instructions at the end of this bulletin.

In addition to our California Activist Network Action Alert, the Natural Resources Defense Council distributes EARTH ACTION, a biweekly bulletin calling out urgent environmental issues at the national level and from around the country. To subscribe to EARTH ACTION, send a blank email message from the email address at which you wish to receive the bulletin to nrdc-action-subscribe@igc.topica.com.

NRDC also publishes another biweekly bulletin, LEGISLATIVE WATCH, which tracks environmental bills moving through Congress. To subscribe to LEGISLATIVE WATCH, send a blank email message from the email address at which you wish to receive the bulletin to nrdc-news-subscribe@igc.topica.com.

..........

4) ABOUT NRDC

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental organization with 400,000 members nationwide and a staff of scientists, attorneys and environmental experts. Our mission is to protect the world's natural resources and improve the quality of the human environment.

For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC, please contact us at:

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
212-727-2700
General email: nrdcinfo@nrdc.org
Save Wild California email: wildcalifornia@nrdc.org


from the Nature Conservancy July 20, 2000


NATURE CONSERVANCY Nature News for July 2000

Welcome to Nature News - our once a month peek into the
state of the planet. Learn what lands, waters, plants
and animals The Nature Conservancy is working to save
and where to find more information. For general information
about The Nature Conservancy, please visit our Web site:
http://www.tnc.org.

************************************************************

CONTENTS

1. Good Cow, Bad Cow
2. Komodo Dragons Disappearing Lair
3. Old Growth, New Insights
4. Visit the Waters and the Wild
5. Fast Fact - Coral Reefs

************************************************************

1. Good Cow, Bad Cow

Are cows bovine bullies or catalysts for grassland ecosystems?
The answer may be both. No longer is the blame for the beaten
range to be pinned solely on the four-legged beast of burden.  
Rather the solution ultimately lies with the two-legged keeper
walking behind it.

To read more, visit: http://www.tnc.org/magazine/story1p_nav.html

************************************************************

2. Komodo Dragons Disappearing Lair

Indonesia's Komodo National Park is home to a living dinosaur:
the Komodo Dragon. The park also includes islands, coral reefs,
and mangroves. The cool Indian Ocean also meets warmer seas here,
creating a rich mix of marine life. However, pollution and
destructive fishing practices threaten these beautiful waters.
Thanks to the Conservancy's partnership with the park authority,
however, solutions are being developed to help preserve this
pristine place.  

To learn more, click:
http://www.tnc.org/infield/intprograms/asiapacific/facts/komodo_nav.htm

************************************************************

3. Old Growth, New Insights

The Conservancy recently protected 2,000 acres of hardwood forest
in northern Minnesota. Sugar maples, lakes, and uncommon plants
are all found in this old growth forest.  Some trees here are
200 years old and require the arm length of two people to encircle
their trunks. Such old growth forests are increasingly rare and
provide important laboratories for research on how forests function.

Find out more by going to: http://www.tnc.org/success/index_nav.html

************************************************************

4.  Visit the Waters and the Wild

Jabiru stork, capuchins monkeys, and pink and gray dolphins are
your likely neighbors on The Nature Conservancy's Peruvian Amazon
voyage. This is just one of several international trips sponsored
by the Conservancy that allow members to experience firsthand,
the Last Great Places they help to protect.

To view upcoming international trips, click:
http://www.tnc.org/infield/intprograms/intrips/00trips_nav.htm

************************************************************

5. Fast Fact - Coral Reefs

Komodo National Park's coral reefs are being destroyed by dynamite
fishing and cyanide used to stun and capture fish for aquariums.
Globally, 10 percent of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed
and another 20 percent are in grave peril.

************************************************************ 

 


from Environment News Service July 19, 2000


ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE (ENS)
http://ens-news.com

     "We Cover the Earth For You"
******************************************************************

INTERIOR BUDGET PASSES SENATE, MINUS RIDER BLOCKING MONUMENTS

WASHINGTON, DC, July 19, 2000 (ENS) - By a narrow margin, the U.S. Senate
has voted against blocking presidents from using their executive authority
to set aside lands as national monuments. The measure, a proposed rider on
the fiscal year 2001 budget bill for the Department of Interior, was narowly
defeated 50 to 49.

http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-19-07.html

******************************************************************

COLOMBIAN COCA CROP TARGETED FOR FUNGAL CONTROL

NEW YORK, New York, July 19, 2000 (ENS) -Cocaine, an addictive drug linked
to crime and human tragedy, is also bad for the environment. The United
Nations is considering developing a natural herbicide that could destroy
coca crops and prevent the release of tons of toxic substances into the
environment of Columbia, the largest coca producer in the world.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-19-06.html

******************************************************************

PENGUINS RETURN TO SOUTH AFRICAN ISLANDS AFTER OIL SPILL

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 19, 2000 (ENS) - </b>African penguins that
were  evacuated and treated after the world's worst oil spill to affect
coastal  birds, are returning to clean nesting grounds off the southern
coast of  South Africa.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-19-10.html

******************************************************************

AUSTRIAN TRANSIT FIGHT CENTERS ON ECOPOINTS

BRUSSELS, Belgium, July 19, 2000 (ENS) - The European Commission has
threatened chaos for haulage firms crossing Austria by refusing to hand out
new transit permits until EU transport ministers agree to a general
reduction in the number of "ecopoints."
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-19-03.html

******************************************************************

ENVIRONMENT NEWS SERVICE AMERISCAN: JULY 19, 2000

Energy, Water Budget Bill Passes Senate Committee

Pennsylvania Mandates Big Cut in Smog-Causing Emissions

Washington Scientists Study Ecosystem Changes in Africa

Patented Process Packs Depleted Uranium in Plastic Nutrient

Pollution in Lakes Creates Complex Problem

Minnesota Battles Rising Tide of Waste, Runoff

Public Private Partnership Keeps Pesticides Off Wisconsin Potatoes

Lake Sturgeon Reintroduced to French Broad River

For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2000/2000L-07-19-09.html
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2000 All Rights Reserved.

***************************************************************************
                          SEND NEWS STORY TIPS TO news@ens-news.com

******************************************************************
    TRANSMIT YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON E-WIRE -- 1-888-764-NEWS
******************************************************************


from Natural Resources Defense Council July 20, 2000


Natural Resources Defense Council's

LEGISLATIVE WATCH

July 20, 2000

******************************
Contents:

1) LEGISLATIVE WATCH
2) ABOUT OUR BULLETINS
3) ABOUT NRDC

The information in this bulletin -- and more -- is also available at our website -- http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/legwatch.asp. The web version links to the text of bills and Congressional web pages. If you'd like to take action on legislative and other environmental issues, see below for instructions on subscribing to EARTH ACTION, our biweekly activist bulletin, or visit NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action, where you can contact legislators and other decisionmakers directly from our website.


1) LEGISLATIVE WATCH

This is a status report on Congressional action on the environment. To make the changes from week to week easy to find, we've highlighted them with:
= N O T E ! =

7/20/00

During the past couple of weeks, a number of anti-environment provisions made their way through the Congressional appropriations process. Legislative riders attached to recently advanced funding bills would block EPA enforcement of new water protection rules, allow environmental damage from grazing on public lands to continue, and potentially impede international efforts to address global warming. Also worth noting, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is currently considering a major land and water conservation bill that would authorize substantial funds for federal and state land acquisition and coastal and marine protection.

..

Budget

= N O T E ! =
This week, the Senate is expected to vote on its version of the Agriculture spending bill. The bill contains provisions that would block new hardrock mining regulations and transfer land from a coastal wildlife refuge and a national seashore to allow the construction of environmentally damaging jetties.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/18, the Senate passed the Interior spending bill, which fails to adequately fund conservation programs. Moreover, it contains provisions that would allow grazing to continue on public lands without environmental review and could interfere with efforts to combat global warming. The bill would also allow mining in a national forest in the Ozarks and impede the creation of a wildlife refuge on the border of Indiana and Illinois. On a positive note, an amendment offered by Sen. Nickles (R-OK) to prohibit funding for national monuments designated by President Clinton was rejected by the Senate on 7/18. A similar provision was removed from the House bill on 6/16. An amendment to block the President. s roadless forest protection plan was also withdrawn, representing an additional victory for environmentalists.

= N O T E ! =
Also on 7/18, the Senate Appropriations Committee considered the Energy and Water spending bill. The bill includes a rider that would block implementation of emergency conservation measures aimed at preventing the extinction of the silvery minnow in the Rio Grande, one of the river. s last remaining endemic species. Both House and Senate bills also eliminate all funding for the California Bay-Delta Restoration program. The House passed its version of the bill on 6/28.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/13, President Clinton signed the Military Construction spending bill into law. After the bill had passed both the House and the Senate, and while it was being considered in conference committee, several members of Congress managed to slip a provision into the bill that blocks implementation of the EPA. s new clean water rules meant to reduce levels of polluted runoff in rivers and streams.

= N O T E ! =
Also on 7/13, the House passed the Foreign Operations spending bill, which includes provisions that could burden international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the federal government. s participation in international efforts to curb global warming. The Senate will begin consideration of its version of the bill sometime this week and is expected to pass the bill before the August recess.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/11, the House passed the Department of Agriculture funding bill. The full House approved an amendment offered by Rep. Kelly (R-NY) and Rep. Kanjorski (D-PA) to remove a rider that would have prohibited funding for the American Heritage Rivers Initiative, a Clinton administration initiative to coordinate local, state, and federal river management. Rep. Knollenberg (R-MI) was forced to substitute more narrow language in place of broad restrictions on domestic and international climate change activities funded by the Department of Agriculture that he and Rep. Emerson (R-MO) had tried to attach this year to the House Agriculture bill.

On 6/21, the House passed the VA/HUD spending bill, which inadequately funds the EPA. In particular, funding for enforcement action has been cut. Efforts to remove provisions in the bill that could block new protections against arsenic in drinking water and prevent the cleanup of contaminated sediments in rivers across the country were unsuccessful. The bill also contains a provision that would impede stronger clean water protections. In addition, the House added a provision offered on the floor by Rep. Linder (R-GA) and Rep. Collins (R-GA) that would delay the EPA's implementation of the Clean Air Act.

On 6/15, the Senate passed the Transportation spending bill, which includes language encouraging Congress to authorize a study on the impacts of raising fuel efficiency standards for cars. This language is a response to a rider included in the House Transportation funding bill, passed on 5/19, which would prohibit the federal government from considering the possibility of raising these important standards. The bill awaits consideration by the House-Senate conference committee.

..

Clean Air and Energy

= N O T E ! =
In a move applauded by environmentalists, Reps. Lazio (R-NY) and Boehlert (R-NY) introduced a bill (H.R. 4861) designed to reduce mercury, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide emissions from old coal-fired power plants. Rep. Lazio. s bill joins several other bills that would reduce these four pollutants.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/18, Sen. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Gramm (R-TX) introduced a comprehensive electricity restructuring bill. Environmentalists have criticized this bill for its failure to address the environmental impacts of electricity generation, the largest industrial source of air pollution in the country. Although electric power plants create over two-thirds of sulfur dioxide pollution and about one-third of the pollution from carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury, the bill lacks national emissions standards for these pollutants. It also lacks provisions for energy efficiency and fails to promote the use of renewable resources. In the House, Rep. Bliley (R-VA) recently postponed consideration of a similar bill to deregulate the electric power industry (H.R. 2944). This bill also lacks environmental protections.

On 6/30, the Senate unanimously passed S. 2071, a bill that seeks to improve the reliability of the national electric grid to avoid brownouts and power failures. The bill contains no environmental safeguards or energy-efficiency provisions. Environmentalists are pressing for provisions to protect air quality and encourage the use of renewable energy sources in any electricity legislation that advances this year.

On 6/13, Sen. Smith (R-NH), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced a bipartisan bill to provide tax incentives for energy-efficient schools and commercial and residential buildings (S. 2718). The Smith bill is supported by environmental groups because it could dramatically reduce energy use in buildings, saving consumers and building owners money. It would also cut emissions of air pollutants in the United States by 6 percent by the year 2010, which is the equivalent of removing 40 percent of the cars from the nation's roads.

..

Coast and Ocean Protection

On 6/15, the Senate Commerce Committee approved S. 1534, which reauthorizes a popular program that provides federal grants to states for coastal management. Environmentalists support the Senate bill because it provides dedicated funding to reduce coastal nonpoint pollution -- pollution not from a single industrial source but from diffuse sources such as agricultural runoff and city sewer overflows. The House companion bill, H.R. 2669, which passed the House Resources Committee in November, does not include a nonpoint pollution provision. Further, it contains a provision that would severely undermine the coastal zone program by altering the legal standards that apply to the taking of private property in coastal areas.

..

Environmental Enforcement

= N O T E ! =
On 7/13, the Senate passed the Department of Defense authorization bill after reaching a compromise on a contentious provision that would have impeded the ability of federal and state governments to assess fines and penalties for environmental violations at military facilities. At the urging of Sen. Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Stevens (R-AK), who authored the original provision, agreed to compromise language that ensures that military facilities will pay fines for violations of state environmental laws. Congress would nonetheless have the right to a three-year review period for federal fines over $1.5 million. While this is an improvement over the original provision, the environmental community opposes language that undermines the ability of the EPA to enforce large environmental fines at military facilities.

..

Everglades

On 6/28, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved legislation (S. 2797) authorizing a massive public works project led by the Army Corps of Engineers that includes water projects that may help restore the Everglades. The Clinton administration's Everglades plan, if properly implemented, could restore waterflows and bolster declining wildlife populations in south Florida and represent a significant step toward reversing severe ecological damage that has been caused by water diversion. To be effective, however, Everglades legislation must ensure adequate water flow for the restoration and authorize the Department of Interior to play a central role in overseeing the project, which S. 2797 does not yet do.

..

Forests

= N O T E ! =
On 7/12, the House passed a Senate bill to authorize the purchase of the 95,000-acre Baca Ranch in New Mexico. The bill (S. 1892), introduced by Sen. Domenici (R-NM) and Sen. Bingaman (D-NM) and passed in the Senate on 4/13, would authorize the Forest Service to purchase the ranch as a national preserve. Environmentalists are concerned about provisions in the bill that would create a multi-member "trust" to manage the ranch and impose a requirement of financial self-sufficiency, which could lead to increased economic exploitation of the ranch. The bill would also establish a new program for disposal of federal lands.

On 5/9, the Department of Agriculture released its plan to protect up to 60 million acres of national forests from roadbuilding. This plan has two huge loopholes that could leave millions of wild forest acres open to development. First, the plan does not prohibit logging in these "protected" areas. Second, it exempts the crown jewel of the national forest system and the forest most in need of protection, the Tongass rainforest in southeast Alaska.

..

Hazardous Waste

On 6/29, a Senate subcommittee held a hearing on S. 2700, a bipartisan bill introduced on 6/8 by Sens. Smith (R-NH), Baucus (D-MT), Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Chafee (R-RI) that would fund cleanup of brownfields, which are former industrial sites contaminated with toxic waste. Environmentalists generally support brownfields cleanup when it encourages revitalization and redevelopment in urban areas without creating risks to public health and the environment.

..

Public Health

On 6/15, the Senate Commerce Committee passed Sen. McCain. s (R-AZ) pipeline safety bill, S. 2438. Although modest improvements were made to the bill, environmentalists remain concerned that the bill does not go far enough to provide strict liability and strong penalties for pipeline ruptures, allow citizen suits for pipeline accidents, develop federal guidelines for hazardous liquid pipelines, enhance community right-to-know laws, and add enforcement and whistleblower protections.

..

Public Lands

= N O T E ! =
On 7/19, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee began consideration of S. 2567, a compromise bill that would provide funding for state and federal land and water conservation programs. Although provisions on federal land acquisitions have been improved, environmentalists are still concerned about negative impacts on coastal areas including incentives for increased oil and gas drilling off the coast of Alaska, and the potential for funding environmentally destructive activities such as beach nourishment projects and the construction of bulkheads and coastal roads.

= N O T E ! =
On 7/13, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed S. 2048 to establish the San Rafael Western Legacy District and Conservation Area in a unique and starkly beautiful area in southern Utah known as the San Rafael Swell. The legislation omits numerous spectacular parts of the Swell and does not adequately curb the extensive off-road vehicle activity that is damaging the area's fragile resources. Further, as introduced, the bill would not designate a single acre of wilderness. On 6/17, the House began consideration of the companion bill, H.R. 3605, introduced by Rep. Cannon (R-UT). But because the House could not agree on amendments to the bill, it was withdrawn from consideration.

On 6/7, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved S. 729, introduced by Sen. Craig (R-ID), which seeks to impede the President from designating new national monuments. The momentum for this legislation was undercut by a recent Senate vote defeating a similar proposal to limit funding for national monuments designated by President Clinton.

On 5/11, the House passed the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 2000 by a vote of 315-102. Developed as a compromise between Rep. Young (R-AK) and Rep. Miller (D-CA), the bill would provide landmark levels of critically needed funding for land, wildlife, marine coastal, historic and cultural conservation needs. The bill was amended to eliminate the provision that would create significant incentives for increased oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast and to establish a framework for acquisition of non-federal lands of regional or national interest. However, a number of problems remain in the bill that need to be fixed before it is signed into law, including removing remaining incentives for offshore drilling and ensuring that the millions of federal dollars that will flow to coastal states are spent in ways that help, not harm the environment; ensuring that non-game and vulnerable wildlife species receive funding; and guaranteeing that all eligible federal land and water!
conservation funds will be spent and that new procedures established for land acquisition will not hamper agency efforts to protect important areas. The Senate version of this bill is discussed above.

..

Regulatory Reform

On 6/29, the House Government Reform Committee approved by a party-line vote a bill (H.R. 4744) to add an additional review by the General Accounting Office of major rules proposed by federal agencies. H.R. 4744 is opposed by environmentalists because it could create significant obstacles to the rulemaking process that could be used to delay important new public health and environmental protections. It calls on the GAO to conduct its own analysis of the costs and benefits of an agency's rules rather than evaluating the agency's analysis. On 5/9, the Senate unanimously passed a less damaging version of this bill (S. 1198).

..........

2) About Our Bulletins

The Natural Resources Defense Council distributes four bulletins by mailing list:

EARTH ACTION is sent biweekly and calls out urgent environmental issues requiring individual action. To subscribe, visit the Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action or send a message to nrdcaction@nrdc.org with SUBSCRIBE EARTH ACTION BULLETIN in the subject line. To unsubscribe from the EARTH ACTION BULLETIN, send an email message to nrdcaction@nrdc.org with UNSUBSCRIBE EARTH ACTION BULLETIN in the subject line.

LEGISLATIVE WATCH is sent biweekly when Congress is in session and tracks environmental bills moving through the federal legislature. To subscribe to Legislative Watch, send an email message to nrdcaction@nrdc.org with SUBSCRIBE LEGISLATIVE WATCH in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send an email message to nrdcaction@nrdc.org with UNSUBSCRIBE LEGISLATIVE WATCH in the subject line.

The CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK ACTION ALERT is distributed bimonthly to members of NRDC's California Activist Network and provides action tools to Californians and others concerned with protecting the state's natural resources and the health of its citizens. To join the network, visit NRDC's Save Wild California website at http://www.nrdc.org/wildcalifornia or send an email message to wildcalifornia@nrdc.org with SUBSCRIBE CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send an email message to wildcalifornia@nrdc.org with UNSUBSCRIBE CALIFORNIA ACTIVIST NETWORK in the subject line.

The EARTHSMARTCARS BULLETIN is distributed bimonthly by request to people who have joined NRDC's earthsmartcars campaign by signing our petition urging automakers to manufacture hybrid gasoline-electric cars. To sign the petition and receive the bulletin, visit our website at http://www.nrdc.org/earthsmartcars. To unsubscribe from the EARTHSMARTCARS BULLETIN, send a blank email message to leave-earthsmartcars@earth.lyris.net.

..........

3) About NRDC

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a nonprofit environmental organization with 400,000 members nationwide and a staff of scientists, lawyers and environmental experts. Our mission is to protect the world's natural resources and improve the quality of the human environment.

For more information about NRDC or how to become a member of NRDC, please contact us at:

Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
NY, NY 10011
212-727-4511 (voice) / 212-727-1773 (fax)
nrdcinfo@nrdc.org


from Global Response July 20, 2000


Dear Members of Global Response's "Quick Response Network:"

In early June we issued a first call for letters in support of thousands of
non-violent protesters in Thailand who oppose construction of World
Bank-financed Pak Mun dam.  Police attacks and arrests continue.  Please
join this letter campaign requested by Southeast Asia Rivers Network.


URGENT ACTION ALERT! ELDERLY WOMEN AND OTHERS BEATEN, TEAR-GASSED, AND
ARRESTED IN THAILAND FOR BRINGING GRIEVANCES TO THE GOVERNMENT!


Please fax and email Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and the Thai Ambassador
to the U.S., Nitya Pibulsonggram, Fax: 202 944-3611.

Let them know that the Assembly of the Poor and other villagers from Pak
Mun are not alone in their fight for survival and dignity! Let them know
that we are watching as Thai police arrest children and tear-gas eldery
women...but  we are not going to just stand-by! Demand an immediate
solution to the problem by implementing the recommendations of the plenary,
and open the gates of the Pak Mun dam!

For more information about the Pak Mun dam, see
www.irn.org/programs/mekong.

Email addresses for the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C.:
thai.wsn@thaiembdc.org, consular@thaiembdc.org,
officedma@dma.thaiembdc.org,
officedma@dma.thaiembdc.org, inquiries@oca.thaiembdc.org

SAMPLE LETTER TO MR. CHUAN LEEKPAI:

INSERT DATE

The Honorable Mr. Chuan Leekpai
Prime Minister of Thailand
Fax: 662-2475417 or 662-2801443

Dear Mr. Chuan,

I am writing to express my outrage at the treatment of members of the
Assembly of the Poor and other villagers at the Government House on July
17, in which hundreds were arrested, beaten, and tear-gassed, including
children and many elderly women.

This conduct is unacceptable and deserves international condemnation. The
mere fact that a two-year-old-child was among those arrested, and that
elderly women were gassed with chemical agents should be a source of
immense shame.

The Assembly of the Poor and the other protestors are acting out of
desperation because your government has still failed to implement the
recommendations of the panel which met on June 14. This panel recommended
that the sluice gates of the Pak Mun dam be opened for at least four months
to allow fish migrations in the river to occur. The panel also deliberated
on 15 other grievances of the Assembly of the Poor.

Were the panel's recommendations heeded, the Pak Mun villagers and the
Assembly of the Poor would be able to concentrate their activities on
making a living, rather than having to struggle for their survival and
their future.

I urge you to open the gates of the Pak Mun dam immediately, and to comply
fully with the recommendations of the of the committee set up to address
the 16 conflicts under the banner of the Assembly of the Poor. I also urge
you to immediately release all those arrested in connection with this
incident.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXX

***************************************

Thai Government Denying Human Rights!
Arrest of 200 Villagers at Government House
July 17, 2000

At 14:45 (2:45 p.m.) today (Monday, 17 July 2000), the Chuan government
ordered more than 1,000 policemen to forcibly remove protesters of the
Assembly of the Poor from the area around the Government House. One group
of 200 protesters inside the grounds of the Government House were arrested
and
removed by about 600 policemen and women from the area in more than ten
vehicles.

Somparn Kuendee, advisor to the Assembly and a staff member of the
Southeast Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN), reported by cell phone just prior
to herself being arrested, that a representative of the police announced to
the protesters that they had tresspassed onto government property and would
be arrested. While making the arrests, Somparn said that some police
harranged the protesters. At this moment, the police took the arrested
protesters to the Police Officer Academy located at Klong Hok in Pathum
Thainai and the Police Officer Academy located at the Region One Border
Patrol Police Headquarters in Salaya in Nakorn Pathom.

Most of those arrested were senior citizens, women, and children, one of
them being only two years old.

The other group of 500 protesters were pushed and beaten back across the
Prempracha canal by about 500-600 police armed with batons and shields and
their the vehicle with their loudspeaker was confiscated. About 30
villagers were injured. Two of them were so seriously injured that they
were sent to Wachirat Hospital for treatment.

At 3:15 p.m., a press conference was held at the SEARIN office by the
Academics for the Poor led by Professor Nidhi Iaosriwong from Chiang Mai
University and Mr. Somchai Sirichai of the Northern Farmer's Network.
Professor Nidhi argued that we need to understand the historical context of
the protest staged by the Assembly of the Poor, particularly the Pak Moon
villagers who have been waiting for an acceptable resolution by the
government for 16 months. But the government has shown its indifference to
the suffering of the people despite the recommendations made by the
committee set up by the government itself to investigate the issue.

The actions taken by the government indicate the govenrment's apathy and
the
consistent preference for violence in resolving conflicts with the poor.
Professor Nidhi urged that the people in Bangkok and in Thai society in
general recognize the government's illegitimate use of violence and the
narrow-minded and undemocratic attitude prevalent in the Democrat-led
government. This can be used against other powerless segments of Thai
society any time. The fact that the affected people occupied the premises
of the Government House should be seen as their attempt to negotiate with a
government that refuses to listen to their long-standing problems. Denied
any other avenues to have their grievances heard, they are given only this
limited choice. The middle class should understand that the protesters are
not initiating any violence or merely agitating. They have, on the
contrary, been ignored and deprived of their right to register their
grievance.

Mr. Somchai condemned the government and demanded the immediate release of
the detained villagers.

We call upon our international network of friends and those concerned to
take action. First, please stage a protest at any Royal Thai Embassies,
especially in Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Sydney and any country of the
European Union. Second, please send a fax to Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai
or to any Royal Thai Embassy abroad.

The message of any protest or fax should speak against the use of violence,
demand the immediate release of the arrested protesters, and call for the
government to comply fully with the recommednations of the committee set up
to address the 16 conflicts under the banner of the Aseembly of the Poor.
Most immediate is the opening of the gates at Pak Mun Dam. However, the
government must also immediately address the remaining 15 unresolved
issues, seven covering dams, another seven concerning land rights, and a
final one concerning the negative effects of the Chong Mek Development
Project.

South-East Asia Rivers Network (SEARIN)



--------------------------------------
GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of environmental
activists.  In partnership with indigenous, environmentalist and peace and
justice organizations around the world, GLOBAL RESPONSE develops "Actions"
that describe specific, urgent threats to the environment; each "Action"
asks members to write personal letters to individuals in the corporations,
governments or international organizations that have the power and
responsibility to take corrective action.  GR also issues "Young
Environmentalists' Actions" and "Eco-Club Actions" designed to educate and
motivate elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.

P.O. Box 7490 Phone: 303/444-0306
Boulder CO, USA 80306-7490 Fax:   303/449-9794

To receive Global Response "Actions" and "Emergency Actions" by email:
Send a blank message to: globresmembers-subscribe@igc.topica.com

Visit our website at: http://www.globalresponse.org

ATT00002.html (Text attachment)


 from League of Conservation Voters July 20, 2000


================
LCV-Update 7/20
================

Senate Interior Appropriations Update: "Monuments" rider defeated

On Tuesday, July 18, during consideration of the Senate Interior
Appropriations bill, Senator Don Nickles (R-OK) introduced a damaging
amendment to strip the President's authority to designate national
monuments.

Under the Antiquities Act of 1906, the President has the ability to create
protected areas on lands owned by the federal government. For example, the
current administration has designated the 328,000-acre Giant Sequoia
National Monument in northern California to safeguard century-old trees
from development.

Sen. Nickles's proposed rider would have curtailed the President's powers
to protect open spaces, exercised by nearly every President since Teddy
Roosevelt's designation of the Grand Canyon National Monument in 1908. The
environmental community was strongly opposed to the Nickles amendment,
which was defeated by a vote of 49-50 (see vote below; "+" is the
pro-environment vote).

LCV encourages you to write or call your Senators about their vote on this
issue, thanking them for supporting the environment or objecting to their
anti-environment position. Check the list below to see how your Senators
voted.

Capitol Switchboard number: 202-224-3121
Address: Your Senator, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20515

Don't know who your U.S. Senators are or how to contact them?