An Evironmental Win

Last Friday, against steep odds, the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454, the Waxman-Markey bill). It was a historic moment, and you were among the tens of thousands of Wilderness Society members and supporters who helped make history.

Thanks to you, Representatives got e-mails, letters, faxes, and phone calls urging them to support the bill. Thanks to you, letters to the editor appeared in newspapers around the country, letting members of the House know that their constituents supported this important legislation.

Thanks to you, the bill passed by a vote of 219 to 212.

Considering the millions of dollars spent to defeat the bill by polluters with a vested interest in keeping us dependent on the fossil fuels that cause global warming, it was an extraordinary achievement.

Passage of the Waxman-Markey bill means there will be significant new investment in clean, sustainable energy — and in the jobs a clean energy economy will create right here in America. It means there will be funding to safeguard our treasured natural resources and wild landscapes on which wildlife and human communities depend. It means that for the first time in history, we will be putting limits on the greenhouse gases that cause global warming and put us and future generations at risk.

House passage of this act is a monumental achievement. We needed every single call and letter — and with your help we generated more than 32,000 messages to House members. And we won!

In the words of the late anthropologist Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

The Senate fight looms like Everest later this summer, but with your help we will climb it.

With gratitude from all of us at The Wilderness Society,

David Moulton
Director of Climate Policy

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More Environmental Good News: May 16, 2009

Regarding Mountaintop Removal Mining

Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Appalachia Restoration Act" (S. 696). I share your concerns about the environmental impacts of mountaintop removal mining, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

As you know, the practice of mountaintop removal mining - which involves removing mountaintops to mine coal seams within the mountain - has been found to have damaging effects on nearby streams as large quantities of excess rock and dirt may cause the deterioration of the watershed and the filling of streams.

On March 25, 2009, Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) introduced the "Appalachia Restoration Act" (S. 696), which would amend the Clean Water Act to prevent the disposal of mountaintop mining waste into streams and rivers. This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Although I am not a member of this Committee, I will keep your support in mind should S. 696, or similar legislation, come before the full Senate.

You may also be interested to know that on April 27, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is taking action to rescind a Bush Administration rule that eased restrictions on mountaintop removal mining to allow discharges of coal mining waste within the 100-foot buffer zone surrounding streams. Secretary Salazar has asked the Department of Justice to file a motion in U.S. District Court requesting that the rule be set aside and sent back to DOI for further review. DOI will draft a new rule and seek public comment.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also taken action to address concerns about mountaintop removal mining by suspending permitting for mountaintop mining projects until the EPA can assess the impact of this practice on water quality and aquatic life.

Again, thank you for writing. If you have additional questions or comments, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Regarding Health Care Reform

Thank you for writing to me about the need for health care reform. I am committed to enacting comprehensive health reform that controls rising health care costs and ensures high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

Congress recently passed a budget that lays out some basic principles for health care reform: making health care coverage affordable, guaranteeing Americans a choice of health plans and physicians, investing in prevention and wellness, improving patient safety and quality care, and making health care reform fiscally sustainable.

As the number of uninsured Americans grows rapidly, more people are suffering and forgoing needed care. It is estimated that more than 45 million Americans are without health insurance, including 6.7 million people in California.

Escalating health care costs are hurting our families and our economy. In order to put our economy on a sound path to recovery, we must address the costs and inefficiencies of our health care system. As we move forward in the debate on health care reform, I will continue to fight for common goals of constraining costs, expanding access, and improving quality.

I look forward to working with the Obama Administration and my colleagues to enact legislation that will put these principles for health care reform.

Again, thank you for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me again about this or other issues of concern to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator


Win for the Polar Bears

Please take a few seconds out of your day to thank the 38 members of the California legislature who stood up for polar bears.

Last year, both houses of the California legislature adopted a joint resolution, authored by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (Torrance), calling on the Bush administration to stop stalling protections for polar bears and penguins threatened by global warming. This year, 38 state senators and assemblymembers joined Assemblymember Pedro Nava (Santa Barbara) in a joint letter urging Secretary Salazar to restore these essential protections to the polar bear.

The joint letter from the legislature states: "The people and the state of California cherish our wildlife and natural habitats, and we are committed to protecting our natural heritage and imperiled species from the impacts of climate change."

By last Friday, Salazar had restored some protections, but unfortunately announced that he would continue the Bush-era policy of denying full protections to polar bears.

California's legislators deserve our praise and support for standing up for polar bear protections. So often we ask you to call or write to urge your elected representatives to do more to protect the environment, and they need to know we appreciate it when they do.

Click here to find out more and thank California's legislators.

Wilderness Legislation Win: March 27, 2009

Tremendous news! Congress has finally passed the monumental piece of wilderness legislation that you've been helping to push forward.

Thank you for making this dream a reality! I cannot tell you how huge today is for wilderness history. The passage of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act provides the largest expansion of our wilderness system in some 15 years. It means protection for more than 2 million acres of special wild lands, rivers and cultural sites throughout the nation, and it makes the National Landscape Conservation System official.

Our staff members have sunk their hearts into working on various components of the legislation for years, and we could not have been successful without your support!

In recent months alone your many phone calls and letters to decision makers have been critical to pushing the bill forward. Thanks to your help, special lands throughout the nation are sure to remain spectacular.

This tremendous victory truly demonstrates what we can achieve when we bring all of The Wilderness Society's resources to bear. It's also a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish in our campaign to stop new oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Ocean.

I'd ask that you take a moment to enjoy this win for wilderness today and let it give you energy for the work ahead, especially in these final days before the Mineral Management Services' March 30 deadline for public comments on their plan to open 73 million acres to new oil and gas leasing.

Thank you for all you do for wild lands. Together, there's nothing we can't accomplish.

Best wishes,

Bill Meadows, President
The Wilderness Society