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Don't
Gut The Clean Air Act
Under
severe pressure from major campaign contributors and the utility industry,
the Bush Administration is on the verge of administratively neutering
a decades-old provision of the Clean Air Act that protects us from the
pollution created by the dirtiest power plants.
Twenty-five
years ago, the Clean Air Act was updated by Congress to include stricter
rules controlling pollution from power plants. However, plants in operation
before 1977 were granted an exemption from the stricter controls unless
they renovated their operations. But, dozens of utilities have invested
billions of dollars in expanding the capacity of their plants without
installing up-to-date pollution control devices. And if President Bush
has his way, they won't have to. That's because his administration is
about to roll back this provision, with the result that old power plants
will continue to belch harmful toxics into the air we breathe.
Twenty-five years is long enough for the dirtiest power plants to get
a free ride from the Clean Air Act. Tell President Bush not to reward
his campaign contributors by rolling back the Clean Air Act and to aggressively
enforce the law as it was intended by vigorously prosecuting power plants
that upgrade without cleaning up.
To
take action on this issue, click here
Release
Dioxin Report and Protect Public Health
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delaying the completion and
release of a long-anticipated report on dioxin - with potentially disastrous
effects for public health. The term ''dioxin'' refers to a group of
highly toxic chemicals that are persistent in the body and the environment.
According to the EPA's report, dioxin is linked to cancer as well as
other serious health problems, including learning disabilities, immune
system suppression, diabetes, endometriosis and infertility.
The
EPA has been studying the sources and health effects of dioxin for the
last twenty years and is in the final stages of completing the most
comprehensive health assessment ever prepared in the agency's history.
However, the chemical industry has been working behind the scenes to
stall the release of this report. Just like the tobacco industry, the
chemical industry does not want the American people to know about the
public health risks associated with their product.
Indeed,
the chemical industry doesn't want this report released for fear it
will implicate the sector in a major public health crisis. Some of the
stall tactics used by industry officials include; trying to influence
scientific peer review processes, pushing through last minute Congressional
riders to appropriations bills to limit EPA funding, filing lawsuits
based on procedural grounds in order to tie the report up in long legislative
battles, and attacking local and state policies aimed at reducing and
eliminating dioxin sources.
It
is important to get the results of the study released and begin to set
regulations on dioxin because of the scale of the health risk. Indeed,
every person's body contains dioxin and the amount of the chemicals
in the average American is approaching levels that are known to damage
our health.
The
vast majority of the American public's exposure to dioxin comes from
the food we eat. Dioxin gets into our food supply from the incineration
of garbage, medical and hazardous waste, the bleaching of paper, the
production and disposal of chlorinated pesticides and plastic (such
as PVC polyvinyl chlorine) and other processes that involve chlorine.
When dioxin is released from a smokestack it attaches to dust particles
and travels thousands of miles on wind currents. It lands on grasses
and agricultural crops which are fed to cows, hogs and chickens. As
the animal feeds it also consumes the dioxin, which it then stores in
its body. When people drink the cow's milk or eat the chicken, beef
or pork, the dioxin stored in the animal's body is transferred to our
bodies.
Alternative
methods for managing wastes, producing plastics and bleaching paper
without chlorine do exist and can be used today without huge economic
hardship.
But the majority of dioxin producing companies will not switch to non-dioxin
creating processes without being forced to by law. We need for the EPA
to finalize and release the Dioxin Reassessment so we can begin the
process of setting strong health based regulations on dioxin.
Public
health should not be compromised for corporate profit.
To
take action on this issue, click here
Thanks!
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Protect
the Arctic Refuge from Oil Drilling
The tragic events of September 11th have cast all discussions of America's
energy policy in a new light. Many of our elected leaders (including
President Bush) have said that our country must be less reliant on the
flow of oil from unstable areas of the world, and we agree. That's just
common sense, but we respectfully -- and strongly -- disagree that the
alternative is to exploit our nation's precious wild areas for oil.
As you may know, some in Congress are trying to exploit the public's
concern about energy security to push for more oil production on the
home front. War profiteering may not be too strong a phrase to apply
to these efforts.
This short-sighted opportunism would open several of America's special
places - including the pristine wilderness of the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge - for oil drilling. This would do nothing to decrease our nation's
dependence on oil. In short, it would take us in precisely the
wrong energy direction. The most effective way to achieve greater security
is to use less oil, period. That's common sense, too.
Now consider this example: if the government set a 40-mpg standard we
would save as much oil as we now import from ALL Persian Gulf states.
If we required SUV's, minivans and pickup trucks to achieve the same
fuel efficiency standard as cars, we would save 1 million
barrels of oil a day. Such gains could not be achieved overnight, of
course, but once achieved, they would continue to produce savings into
the future.
Right now, large vested interests are making theirvoices heard in Washington
in support of more oil drilling. They are making their case for more
taxpayer subsidies for old ways of thinking, and they are fighting against
any real gains in fuel efficiency.
We are writing to you today because our voices must be heard, too. Efforts
to promote destruction of the Arctic must be stopped. Real energy security
must be promoted. Please take a moment to join us in sending a message
to Washington. And please, forward this message to your friends and
family.
Thank you.
Paul Newman
To
take action on this issue, click here
"Bowling for Columbine"
Kerry's latest cause is actually a personal recommendation. Recently, she screened the movie "Bowling for Columbine" and was very moved by it. She encourages everyone to check it out. The following is a synopsis of the movie from their website:
"Bowling for Columbine" is an alternately humourous and horrifying film about the Untied States. It is a film about the state of the Union, about the violent soul of America. Why do 11,000 people die in America each year at the hands of gun violence? The talking heads yelling from every TV camera blame everything from Satan to video games. But are we that much different from many other countries? What sets us apart? How have we become both the master and victim of such enormous amounts of violence? This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected Uzi.
"Bowling for Columbine" was the first documentary film accepted into competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 46 years. The Cannes jury unanimously awarded it the 55th Anniversary Prize. From a look at the Columbine High School security camera tapes to the home of Oscar-winning NRA President Charlton Heston, from a young man who makes homemade napalm with The Anarchist's Cookbook to the murder of a six-year-old girl by another six-year-old, "Bowling for Columbine" is a journey through America, and through our past, hoping to discover why our pursuit of happiness is so riddled with violence.
Click to visit the Bowling for Columbine website
Click to visit the "How to Get Involved" section of the website
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