|
|
|
Voice Your Opinion! You cannot make a change unless you let your public officials know how you feel about issues that effect your community.
Local San Antonio Newspapers San Antonio Express-News E-mail a letter to
the editor
San Antonio Current E-mail a letter to
the editor San Antonio, Texas 78215 Editorial (210) 227-0044 Fax (210) 227-6611
Email/Write to Congress, the President and State Legislators Identify and contact your elected officials by entering you zip code
Email/Write to the Federal Legislative Branch: FirstGov.gov Links to the Legislative Branch and agencies.
Email/Write to your mayor and city council members Link to sanantonio.gov departments
On Kuiu and Admiralty Islands in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, there is a kind of animal that exists nowhere else in the world. And these bushy-tailed forest dwellers -- a unique type of coastal marten -- need plenty of undisturbed habitat to survive.
Unfortunately, the Bush/Cheney Administration is working to lock in place a plan that would allow timber companies to destroy important parts of the old-growth forest habitat for these coastal martens with clearcuts and new logging roads.
The Bush plan sets the stage for logging 5 times the timber currently cut on the Tongass -- including habitat for martens and many of the undisturbed old-growth stands that form the heart of the Tongass’s still trackless expanses.
Logging deals a severe blow to martens, which cannot live in fragmented forests or cleared areas. Marten experts believe that these special forest mammals cannot live in areas without at least 50-60% canopy cover -- a far cry from what would be left after a clearcut.
But these unique coastal martens aren’t the only species threatened by the Bush plan for the Tongass. Giant grizzly bears, thriving salmon runs, bald eagles, Queen Charlotte goshawks, and the elusive Alexander Archipelago wolf would all lose important habitat under the plan.
Speak out for wildlife in the Tongass. Send your message to the Forest Service now.
Defenders and its environmental partners have filed appeals asking the Forest Service to reconsider the Tongass plan, include protections for old-growth forests and roadless areas and acknowledge the impacts of climate change. The public comment period for demanding these protections ends on Tuesday, July 15th. That means we have just four days to oppose the Bush/Cheney Administration’s awful logging plans for the Tongass National Forest and protect the forest home of martens and other wildlife, so please take action today!
Thanks for taking the time to help martens and other forest wildlife…
I'd like to welcome you to the "We Campaign", which is an extension of
the work we've been doing together at AlGore.com. You will receive emails, like
the one below, with important actions, which I encourage you to participate in.
I hope you will continue to add your energy and your voice to this vital
movement.
With the price of oil at an all time high, we're sure that you – and all Americans – are feeling increasingly frustrated by high gas prices. Now oil companies are taking advantage of the situation to push for the same solution they always do: more drilling. More drilling will not bring down the price of gas, it will simply increase profits for Big Oil while it puts fragile ecosystems in danger. Whether it's in the wilderness of Alaska or off the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Big Oil's answer doesn't change. Every Monday morning in Washington, friends of Big Oil have been adding new drilling amendments to every bill they can get their hands on. As the summer heats up and American families hit the sand to enjoy a weekend in the sun, Big Oil and some members of Congress have a different idea for how to use the coastal beaches that drive local economies in every state on our eastern and western seaboards. Their plan is to risk our summer vacation spots for a few drops of oil. What they don't say is that more drilling won't save you money at the pump. The Department of Energy estimates that opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would lower the cost of gas by 4 cents per gallon – twenty years from now. Even worse, oil companies already have permission to drill on 68 million acres of land with known oil reserves and they're only using 18 percent of that land. Yet they want Congress to open up even more? Save Our Environment has a different idea: give consumers a choice. Congress should concentrate on developing renewable alternatives, not simply increasing our dependence on oil. Investing in clean, renewable energy will actually reduce our dependence on big oil companies and create clean, good-paying jobs for Americans. Gas prices keep going up because the world supply of oil is shrinking, and that isn't going to change. Supporting clean, renewable energy is the only effective way to combat high energy costs. More drilling won't lower our prices, but it will damage the environment. Save Our Environment is pushing for cleaner, better alternatives. Help us make sure Congress is on our side. Michael Town
This Fourth of July, there are many things to celebrate about America the beautiful, but our energy situation isn't one of them. Recent calls from the White House to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in other environmentally sensitive areas to reduce gas prices could needlessly sacrifice areas beloved by generations of Americans - without significantly reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Opening more lands to drilling won't lower prices at the pump. Learn more about the real causes of high gas prices in our Inside Story. Too many Americans are buying this latest Industry public relations ploy, and that has Congress beginning to waver. Your action today is urgently needed. The Arctic Refuge and other places cherished by Americans must not be sacrificed to a profit-bloated oil and gas industry. That would be the act of a desperate and profligate nation. America is neither. To paraphrase Mardy Murie, the grandmother of the modern conservation movement, [T]he United States of America is not so rich that she can afford to let these wildernesses pass by, or so poor she cannot afford to keep them. Best regards, Kathy Kilmer
President Bush and his friends in the oil and gas industry have stepped up their campaign to get their hands on America's last pristine natural areas.
Preying on mounting consumer fears about rising gas prices, they are implying that, if only Congress would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, oil prices would decrease and the nation would achieve energy independence.
The oil industry's well funded campaign is putting tremendous pressure on Congress to remove protections that have been in place for decades, and to open the Refuge to drilling. Tell Congress to protect the Arctic Refuge.
Today's high gasoline prices are the result of a host of economic conditions that have little to do with how much drilling is or is not taking place on federal lands.
Please take action today! Tell Congress not to sacrifice "America's Serengeti" to a future as an industrial wasteland. Drilling would cause permanent harm to an incomparable Arctic ecosystem, the 250 species that call it home, and the native communities that rely on these resources. Click here to take immediate action.
Best
Wishes,
We’ve already gathered more than 40,000 signatures of bird lovers who oppose harmful development in this special wild place. Together, we’ll send a powerful message about the importance of protecting migratory birds.
Here’s another easy way you can help save birds…
The Act provides millions of dollars for vital conservation efforts, including monitoring efforts, habitat restoration, education, and other projects in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since its inception in 2002, the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act has supported vital conservation projects in 44 U.S. states and territories, 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries, and 12 Canadian provinces, benefitting roughly 3 million acres of migratory bird habitat.
If not for projects like these, neotropical migratory birds like the cerulean warbler might be even more imperiled. Yet many essential conservation projects remain unfunded.
Congressmen Ron Kind (D-WI) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) have introduced this vital legislation that will reauthorize the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act at increased funding levels. It’s one of the most important bird conservation bills that Congress will consider this session, and we need your help to ensure its passage.
Respectfully,
We need your help to clean up large ocean ships.
Send an email to your Senators today.
Large ocean-going ships—like cruise and cargo ships—are a major source of soot, sulfur dioxide and smog-forming pollution in port and coastal communities across America. These contaminants are associated with premature deaths, hospital visits and asthma attacks that exact a heavy toll on human health.
The U.S. Government has proposed protective measures for international adoption that would achieve vital progress in reducing the harmful pollution from these ships.
This clean air blueprint will be considered at a key international meeting in October.
But the United States has lagged behind in ratifying the treaty that is the overall framework for these international discussions despite broad bipartisan support for action.
We urgently need your help in asking the United States Senate to adopt this legislation.
The House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 802, a bill to carry out the international treaty requirements. Now the Senate must act.
Thank you for all you do,
According to the Houston Chronicle, Gov. Perry said on Monday that he would like to add green features in the rebuilding of the Governor's Mansion.
Please encourage Gov. Perry to move forward with this plan, including adding solar panels to the mansion. This would set an incredible example for the state and showcase Texas' leadership in clean energy.
http://www.environmenttexas.org/action/clean-energy/governors-mansion?id4=ES
Anti-Environmentalists Push Drilling - Act Today! In a misguided attempt to address rising gas prices, some Members of Congress beholden to Big Oil are adding amendments to bills that call for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, off our coasts, and other pristine areas. Instead of drilling for dirty energy we should be promoting efficiency and clean, renewable energy to address our nation's growing energy crisis.
Please sign a petition to protect our national parks!
This urgent petition asks Congress to take immediate action to prevent private development within our national parks.
For the past few years Congress and the Administration have steadily reduced the amount of money available for national parks from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is one key way the National Park Service acts to protect our national parks from private development—by acquiring land within park boundaries from willing private sellers. Did you know more than 50 of our national parks are incomplete and have private land within park boundaries?
If we don't acquire these lands soon, there is very little we citizens will be able to do to prevent homes or commercial development from being built—right in the middle of our national parks!
National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) is America's foremost advocate for national parks. And our parks are one of our most important national commitments to the preservation of the environment.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established in 1965 with its own dedicated funding source. But over the years Congress and the Administration have diverted more and more of those funds to other uses. As a result, funding for Park Service land acquisition has been cut 70% just since 1999!
Earlier this month the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee doubled the Administration's request for LCWF funding to $48 million. And the ten national park examples highlighted on NPCA's map can be purchased for less than $50 million. Congress could allocate the funds and time they want to, and we could act to protect and preserve many of our most at-risk national parks.
They just need to know that Americans care!
Do we want schoolchildren to experience wildlife and national treasures in our parks—or McMansions and other private developments?
Protecting our national parks is up to all of us!
Please sign the petition to Congress today. See the map for yourself. Share the map and petition with your friends, and ask them to take action!
Sincerely,
P.S. NPCA has just prepared a report called "America's Heritage: For Sale," and distributed it to Members of Congress. Now they need to hear from voters like you!
Americans are fed up with runaway gas prices and bloated oil-company profits, but Senator John McCain and President Bush's proposal1 to drill for oil along our coastline will only increase Big Oil's bottom line. Their move to open up our coasts for Big Oil is making headlines all across the country today -- I woke up to commentators on NPR talking about coastal oil drilling.
The truth is that offshore oil drilling won't help with high oil prices2 or ease the pain at the gas pump for American families. We're launching a petition with our friends at MoveOn.org urging Congress to
reject the plan to help Big Oil drill along our coastline. Will
you add your name to our petition telling Congress to stop Big Oil's drilling
plan? Click here: Any oil found along our coasts wouldn't be available until 2030.2 By then it would only add to the oil industry's tens of billions of dollars in record profits -- at the cost of our nation's pristine beaches and wild places. As my grandfather would say, "Their proposal to drill our coasts makes about as much sense as throwing buckets of gasoline on a burning building." The call for oil drilling from Senator McCain and President Bush this week is another Washington gimmick -- and this time at our expense. Please add your name to the petition that we'll deliver to Congress next week as they consider the FY2009 Interior and the Environment Appropriations bill to protect our coastline. Thank you for protecting the planet,
Polar Bears Need Your Support Today
Last month the Bush administration was forced to recognize the serious threats to polar bear survival, listing the bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
But just as it made one step forward to protect the bear, the administration took two steps back -- refusing to address the effects of global warming on the rapidly melting sea ice and allowing environmentally damaging oil and gas development to continue in the Arctic.
To counter this massive loophole, representatives Jay Inslee and Maurice Hinchey have introduced a bill to halt oil and gas leases in the bears' Arctic habitat until scientists can fully assess the environmental impacts and designate protected critical habitat.
We can't afford to leave polar bears unprotected against the ongoing threats of global warming and continued development in the Arctic. The Arctic sea ice is rapidly diminishing and scientists predict that the habitat crucial to the bears' survival may be gone by mid-century. We must act now.
Tell Congress that you support real protection for polar bears.
The Polar Bear Seas Protection Act will help ensure that the bears get the immediate protection they need. Urge Congress to protect polar bears today. Sincerely,
You are here: Home-Take Action Alerts Next Topic: Local Metro News
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upcoming Important Events
