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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Nellz: Memorial

Many of you had noticed that sometime last year I added a Puppy avatar to my signature named Nellz. No one knew her name, the church people called her Ghost Dog, but in my dreams she'd answer to Nellz.

Nellz lived down the street @ a church and had been abandoned by her owner (or had run away). She was abused and wouldn't let anyone touch her nor would she eat out of anyone's hand.... She would take treats from the preacher if he held them in his mouth with his hands behind his back.

Anyways...I've been stopping and feeding her few times a week; steak, lamb leg bones, treats, etc. When I'd call her by Nellz, she'd come running, unless she saw my truck first...then she'd be there before I got out! And, yes she would eat out of my hands.

The last few weeks I kept worrying about her, I saw flowers on the lawn & wondered if she was gone & under the flowers because she had been hit by a car.

This morning...my intuition was played out... I was driving south and I saw an inanimate white bundle on the driveway of the church w/ blood on it....so I make a quick turn into the driveway, and...I could see Nellz's tail from under the towel... I couldn't bring myself to uncover her...

So it's like that....and I'm gonna miss her so much...

I wanted to bring her home, but I had no place to keep her here & in my heart I knew that she wouldn't want to be fenced in.

She's happier now and not living in fear or pain, and I got to have time with her.......

But...It's My Parking Space!

Ok, I have lived in the same place for the past 17.5 years....and needless to say I have had the same parking space since the day I moved in.

My space is the only one that is up the driveway and alongside the duplex I live in. Every one else has a gated carport to park in.

So last night I come home, after working late due to customer problem (with a happy ending), to find a message on my answering machine...it was from the hired help of my downstairs neighbor. The message told me: that I need to park on the street not in her parking space (she doesn't own a vehicle), that I wake her up in the morning when I go to work 1 day a week before 8:00 am (she's a recluse & mental invalid who doesn't work), that she can't sleep and has to wear earplugs because I come home late (last week I went to Disneyland and got home @ 3:00 am) and make noise.

Needless to say, this is not the first time she has complained, but it was the first time it was about my lovely self, and it did not sit well with me.

Last month some guy was installing a car stereo at the far end of the building and the noise was bothering her...It was about 2:00 pm, so I told her as it wasn't after 10:00 pm, that she needed to get a grip...and if she was so unhappy to call LAPD, because I wasn't!

Now we also have Armenian (I am Hye as well) neighbors living with extended family on three sides of us....all have young children, all yell & scream all hours of the day & night, continually....Hmmmmm, no complaints about them?

So, I called my landlord (Bless his rotten little heart, he backed me up) and he came out today and in front of him I told her in no uncertain (but sickeningly sweet) terms that I've parked in the same space for 17 years and I will continue to do so, nor will I be changing my work schedule anytime soon to accommodate her whims.

Guess what? She tried to ignore me & wave me away...didn't work, so, I said it again (loudly) and asked her if she understood me...she nodded affirmative.... Meanwhile I wrote her a letter about the difference between living in an Adult complex (all 4 units) on a city street and a private sequestered residential home for the handicapped....which will be delivered in the next day....

What the hell is wrong with people? If she is so "ill" due to her neurosis then what is she doing in the "normal" live-a-day outside world? There are homes for people like her.....

I have little empathy with people who pretend to be debilitated and unable to live a healthy life, yet can be meaner than a mamma coon protecting her young while telling everyone else what they have to do to accommodate their whims. This is soooooooooooo NOT my reality....

So that's the story of My Parking Space!

The northern leopard frog may be smaller than a cup of tea, but this tiny amphibian is in big trouble. Once prevalent throughout North America, threatened northern leopard frogs are put at an even greater risk by endosulfan -- a deadly pesticide that’s been banned in at least sixty countries, but not in the U.S. Help protect northern leopard frogs and human health. Urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take endosulfan off the market. The EPA is only accepting comments on a proposed endosulfan ban until this Monday (June 29th), so please take action today. Endosulfan is a neurotoxic organochlorine pesticide -- similar to DDT and other insecticides that have been banned in the U.S. for decades. It has a wide range of environmental and health risks to birds and other wildlife, but threatened northern leopard frogs are especially vulnerable to its effects. In one recent scientific study, a low dose of endosulfan was enough to kill 84% of leopard frog tadpoles that came in contact with it. According to the study’s lead author, Rick Relyea, “Endosulfan appears to be about 1,000-times more lethal to amphibians than other pesticides that we have examined.” [1] Endosulfan is banned across the European Union and in many other countries. However, the companies that make this deadly poison have managed to keep their dangerous product on American shelves. It is time for U.S. authorities to put human health and the safety of our environment ahead of profits for the chemical companies! Please take action now. Frogs aren’t the only ones threatened by endosulfan’s continued use. This deadly poison also poses human health risks -- particularly for the farm workers who apply the poison to tomatoes, tobacco, apples and other crops. Endosulfan can cause many adverse health effects. At low doses, endosulfan exposure has been linked to hormone system disruption, autism, Parkinson’s disease and other birth defects. At higher levels, endosulfan can cause headaches, vomiting, convulsions and -- in extreme cases -- unconsciousness and even death. Endosulfan's risks to our health and our wildlife are unacceptable. Please urge the EPA to get endosulfan off our shelves today. Thanks in advance for making a difference on this vital issue. With your help, we can send a loud, strong message to the EPA that our frogs, our health and our environment are worth protecting. Sincerely, Caroline Kennedy Senior Director of Field Conservation Defenders of Wildlife P.S. We only have a few days to make our voices heard on this issue. Please take action right now to protect our frogs and our health by getting this deadly poison off the shelves. Note [1] http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/pesticides-frogs-47111403