Activism for June/2002: *Four threatened springsnails in NM and TX * We signed and circulated the petition to keep nuclear waste off of America's Highways. As the announcement of the terrorist plot to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" on U.S. soil demonstrates, we must be vigilant to keep our country safe from such dangers. Visit this site to sign the partition if you did not have a chance before, nuclearneighborhoods.org. * The residents of Tambogrande, Peru were helped by a petition circulated earlier this month. Just received was a message that the voting populace of that small town turned out in record numbers and voted overwhelmingly once more to stop Manhattan Minerals, a Canadian mining company, from strip mining the rich fields the people of Tambogrande are struggling to preserve. In this verdant place, farmers grow lemons, papayas and mangoes in soil that covers vast deposits of precious metal. The petition was circulated widely and gleaned more than 500 signatures in a very short time, showing these hardworking people there are others- far away-who know about their fight and support them in it. Local farmers have been struggling for over 3 years to stop Manhattan Minerals from digging a giant open-pit mine in the center of their community. Potential destruction of prime agricultural land and pollution created by the mine could destroy the local agricultural economy. Please take 30 seconds and send a free email to Manhattan Minerals to let them know we are still watching their actions. Stay vigilant! http://ga0.org/campaign/tambogrande?source=ftof * We brought to the attention of our contacts the issue regarding the Department of Defense ignoring environmental laws. Congress is considering a proposal by the Bush administration that would exempt the Department of Defense from any obligation to follow cornerstone environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Superfund, and Endangered Species Act. This would have dire implications for rivers and the fish and wildlife they sustain. Tell your Senator that no government agency should be above the law. To take action, visit the National Wildlife Federation's site: http://ga1.org/campaign/bushadministration05152002?source=action_index *Decisions affecting the imperiled San Pedro River in Arizona-the last free flowing, natural river in that state, were brought to the public consciousness. Plans to dam, re-route and drain this precious desert resource was made known by petitions and letters spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, DENS, and other environmental groups. We circulated and signed all of these. *An important petition to save the wolves was sent out. We want a million signatures on this one to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. The URL is: http://www.savewolves.org/ *Another petition/request for action sent to Gale Norton inre the Manatees. These gentle creatures MUST have a haven where they can live, mate and raise their young. http://www.helpmanatees.org Friends of the Earth! As an integral part of the Environmentalist Movement in the world today~~ We do help make a difference! Below is a quick look at your achievements, which highlights some of the many species you helped protect. (From the Conservation Action Network) * Jaguars and giant river otters: With only a day's notice, activists from around the world sent tens of thousands of messages opposing an attempt by several members of Peru's congress to undermine a sustainable forestry law in that country. The motion was defeated and efforts to safeguard millions of hectares of the richest and largest tracts of intact tropical rain forest on Earth are back on track. * Polar bears and caribou: In a crucial vote, the U.S. Senate defeated a proposal to open the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Conservation Action Network activists played a key role in the victory, by sending more than 50,000 messages to the Senate before the vote. * Blind cave fish and other rare cave species: Tennessee activists helped defeat a plan that would have allowed up to 250,000 gallons per day of sewage effluent to contaminate one of the most biologically significant caves in eastern North America. * Northern spotted owls and bald eagles: A developer withdrew plans for a huge ski resort in Oregon in one of the most important surviving wilderness areas in the United States. This laid to rest a project that had been in the works for years; Conservation Action Network activists opposed it during a public comment period in 1998. * The pudu, the world's smallest deer: Conservation Action Network activists world wide sent nearly 30,000 messages objecting to large-scale clear cutting of native forests in Chile, within a globally outstanding ecoregion that includes some of the world's oldest trees. The government recently sued the logging company for environmental damages and a local judge has enjoined the company from any further logging on its properties. Of course, we haven't won every battle. Here are some recent decisions that didn't go our way: * Dumping of mining wastes in rivers and streams: The Bush administration approved a change in Clean Water Act regulations to allow the dumping of mining wastes into streams and rivers. Conservation Action Network activists spoke out three times in opposition to this change, which will allow devastating mountaintopstrip mining practices to continue. Hundreds of miles of Appalachian streams have already been buried by the dumping of mountain top mining wastes in an ecoregion that WWF has identified as being globally outstanding. Fortunately, a federal court in West Virginia has ruled that the new regulations violate the Clean Water Act. WWF will continue to oppose this senseless destruction of Appalachian rivers and streams. * National energy policy--running on empty: The U.S. House and Senate passed comprehensive energy bills with major flaws, ignoringthe calls of Conservation Action Network activists and the majority of Americans for an energy policy that would move the United States to a sustainable energy future and reduce the carbon dioxide pollution that causes global warming. Although the Senate bill, as introduced,contained a number of progressive initiatives, powerful special interests such as the automobile manufacturers and extractive industries joined forces with the administration to derail them. WWFwill join other conservation groups to ask Congress to go back to the drawing board and develop a more environmentally sound approach. * Mining on public forestland in Oregon: The Bush administration is opening nearly 1 million acres of national forestland in Oregon to prospecting and new mining claims. Conservation Action Network activists have pushed hard for safeguards for this area, which includes some of the most biologically diverse terrain in the U.S.West, some of the best salmon streams in the lower 48 states, and the greatest concentration of rare plants of any U.S. national forest. We will continue to push for permanent protection of the region's incredible resources. Please don't let these temporary setbacks dishearten you. Your efforts have made an important difference. With more activists and your continued commitment, we can overcome future threats to our wildlife and wild spaces. We currently have more than 36,000 activists. Please encourage your friends to visit the Conservation Action Network Web site at http://takeaction.worldwildlife.org/ and to enroll today. Please also visit the site and take any pending actions you haven't already taken. Thanks again for your help! |
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| Who will mourn the last tree on Earth? And who will assess its incomparable worth? |
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