Here’s the TOC from the latest issue of The Sierra Club’s Currents. Enjoy!

Sierra Club Currents – Clean Water at Risk
Volume VI, #25
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Quote of Note:

“It seems to me there’s been enough finger-pointing for a long period of time that we need to improve the efficiency of transportation fuels.”

– James Mulva, Chairman, CEO, Conoco Phillips Corporation on MSNBC’s Meet the Press — in response to questions on how to help solve America’s energy problems

(1) Supreme Court Ruling: Clean Water at Risk

(2) Ground Zero: Suffering from September 11

(3) Take Action: Wasted Energy in Congress

Read the whole thing here.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Greenpeace – webmaster [at] greenpeaceusa.org
Date: Jun 20, 2006 3:36 PM
Subject: Breaking News: Arctic Sunrise Storms into Whaling Meetings

Dear Kelly,

I’m writing you from St. Kitts, site of the 58th meeting of the International Whaling Commission. Our ship, the Arctic Sunrise, after being refused entry for more than a week, entered the waters of St. Kitts today to stage a peaceful protest. We landed on the beach and began placing more than 866 whale tails in the sand to symbolize the number of whales slaughtered by the Japanese government this year. Ten of our activists have already been arrested.

The International Whaling Commission meetings have just ended, and they dramatically displayed how narrow a margin exists between the pro-whaling and anti-whaling nations. A mere 2 votes (remember that number!) prevented Japan from eliminating conservation efforts for dolphins, porpoises, and small whales; and implementing a secret ballot. The Japanese delegation also narrowly lost their bids to abolish the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, exempt themselves from the commercial whaling ban, and kick Greenpeace out of the IWC meetings.

And you should know that your efforts played a major role in these victories. Due to pressure from concerned people around the world, including thousands of emails and faxes from you, Guatemala and Honduras decided NOT to attend the IWC meetings. Those two votes made all the difference. THANK YOU!

But after losing several votes, Japan pulled out all the stops, and actually won a non-binding resolution pronouncing that whales are guilty of over-fishing – by 1 vote! That’s right, the Japanese succeeded in convincing more than 30 nations that whales eat too much fish! And that wasn’t the only fishy thing that happened during the meetings. One of Japan’s pro-whaling allies arrived late to the meetings with their membership fees in cash, in a brown paper bag.

TAKE ACTION

We’ve taken a stand against Japanese Whaling, now it’s your turn to send a strong message!

The stage is clearly set for next year’s meeting in Alaska, and it will take everything we have to turn the tide. Now more than ever, the fight to protect whales is at a critical phase. That’s why we’ve announced that we’ll be returning to the Southern Ocean this winter to confront the Japanese whalers again. Please, support our efforts, follow this story, and share the news with your friends and family.

Sincerely,

Buffy

Buffy Baumann
Ocean Campaigner

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Humane Society of the United States – HumaneSociety [at] hsus.org
Date: Jun 19, 2006 5:22 PM
Subject: Victories and battles for farm animals – take action!

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The Humane Society of the United States
FACTORY FARMING: A CAMPAIGN UPDATE ON OUR VICTORIES
AND CURRENT BATTLES

community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_stewardship_act/

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Dear Kelly,

Because you’re concerned about farm animals, I’d like to invite you to take action on a new bill that could help millions of animals. Then, read on for some exciting news about our work to combat some of the cruelest factory farming abuses.

:: EASY ACTION FOR FARM ANIMALS: Congressmen Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) have introduced a bill that would require producers supplying animal products to the federal government to comply with minimal animal welfare standards. Please ask your representative to co-sponsor and support H.B. 5557, the Farm Animal Stewardship Purchasing Act. It will only take a minute or two, but could make a real difference in the lives of millions of animals. Click here: community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_stewardship_act/

:: COMPANIES GO CAGE-FREE: From the campuses of Google and AOL to those of Ohio State University and Dartmouth, our No Battery Eggs campaign has saved hundreds of thousands of hens from lives of misery in battery cages. Read more about the companies and schools our Factory Farming Campaign is working with to free hens from cages. Click here: community.hsus.org/ct/UpS7Mss1hzI1/

:: MOBY MAKES MUSIC FOR ANIMALS: Internationally renowned and Grammy-nominated musician Moby has long advocated for the improved treatment of animals raised for meat, eggs, and milk. The HSUS is proud to introduce to you his powerful video on farm animals, their conditions on industrialized factory farms, and what each one of us can do to help reduce their suffering. Click here to see Moby’s video: community.hsus.org/ct/U1S7Mss1hzWZ/

Click here to find out how you can reduce farm animal suffering: community.hsus.org/ct/y1S7Mss1hzIq/

:: CHICAGO MAKES HISTORY: After months of campaigning by The HSUS and other organizations, the Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras in the city. Foie gras is cruelly produced by force-feeding ducks and geese unnatural amounts of food through a pipe thrust down their throats, which can cause severe injuries, organ rupture, and even death. We applaud the Aldermen of Chicago for seeing that this abusive product will no longer be tolerated in the Windy City. Click here to learn more: community.hsus.org/ct/ydS7Mss1hzIa/

:: FACTORY FARMING CAMPAIGN WEBSITE DEBUTS: If you’d like to stay up-to-date on what The Humane Society of the United States is doing to protect farm animals, be sure to visit the new site for our Factory Farming Campaign. The site has information about HSUS farm animal victories, media attention, videos, action alerts, photos, research, and more. Click here: community.hsus.org/ct/EpS7Mss1hzWK/

Thanks for all you do for animals every day.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle
President and CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

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Copyright (c) 2006 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
All Rights Reserved. | www.hsus.org
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037
HumaneSociety [at] hsus.org | 202-452-1100

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Powered by GetActive Software, Inc.
Member Relationship Management Solutions
That Recruit, Engage, and Retain ™

www.getactive.com

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Consumers Union – newsletter [at] cu.consumer.org
Date: Jun 23, 2006 8:57 AM
Subject: Congress blocking your email–tell them what you think!

www.ConsumersUnion.org

Not long ago, Congressional offices started to adopt new technology that blocks emails sent through organizational websites like ours. Some say your communications are spam! More than 100 nonprofit organizations responded with a resounding “No!” and now it’s your turn.

Tell Congress not to block your voice! Visit our new website, see the coalition that’s formed and send a strong message today. Then forward this to your friends!

About Consumers Union

Consumers Union, 1300 Guadalupe, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78701

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Fred O’Regan, International Fund for Animal Welfare – fred [at] ifaw1.org
Date: Jun 19, 2006 5:00 PM
Subject: Tell Congress not to leave pets behind

International Fund for Animal Welfare June 19, 2006

Tell Congress not to leave pets behind

When a natural disaster strikes, pets are often the forgotten victims. Animals are often lost or owners are forced to leave them behind during mandatory evacuations.

Throughout IFAW’s hurricane relief efforts last year to rescue the animals left behind in the wake of Katrina, we were continuously humbled by our encounters with survivors who risked everything to protect and reunite with their pets.

From tales of incredible determination and courage, to stories of hope and perseverance, our animal rescue workers have been extremely privileged to be a part of so many extraordinary examples of the bond between humans and animals that clearly illustrate the compassion people have for their pets during the most difficult of times.

And now you can help make sure no more pets needlessly suffer in the next natural emergency.

Urge Your Senator to Pass the PETS Act

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 19, 2006 4:33 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: Two terrific opinion pieces against elephants in zoos 6/18/-6/19/06

In a fun little confluence of coverage, the Monday, June 19 edition of the Australian paper, The Age (Melbourne) includes an op-ed against keeping elephants in zoos, written by David Hancocks, a former director of Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, the day after Seattle’s Post-Intelligencer (Sunday, June 18, pg D5) ran an editorial headed “Seattle’s Zoo: Free Bamboo.”

Hancocks’ piece, in The Age, is headed, “Save elephants from zoos.”

It opens:

“Thirty years ago, at my desk one dreary morning, I listened to abuse from a mother demanding to know why I would deny her children the right to see an elephant. As the new director of the zoo in Seattle, Washington, one of my first recommendations had been to send our two elephants to a place with a warmer climate and more space.

“In addition to calls from irate mothers, my proposal generated hate mail from schools. Journalists asked how we could be a zoo if we didn’t have an elephant. A politician suggested that if I raised the topic again I would be the one leaving town, not the elephants.

“The response today might be different. In recent years, zoos in Detroit, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, Chicago, London and Bristol, recognising they cannot meet the complex social, behavioural, psychological and spatial needs of elephants, have closed their exhibits or are phasing them out. Other zoos, in Tucson, Anchorage, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and, sadly, Seattle, are being dragged kicking and screaming into a rapidly growing public debate across America about zoos and elephants.”

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: In Defense of Animals – alerts [at] idausa.org
Date: Jun 19, 2006 3:22 PM
Subject: Writing Alert: Seattle’s Zoo: Free Bamboo

Congratulations to volunteer writers Darcy Silver and Chantelle Wallace, whose letters to the editor about the death of Gita, the elephant at the L.A. Zoo were printed in the Los Angeles Times.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran an editorial about the Woodland Park Zoo and Bamboo, an elephant who was shuffled to the Point Defiance Zoo last year and has now been transferred back. Please write a letter to the editor of the Post-Intelligencer on the suffering elephants endure in zoos. Send letters to the Post-Intelligencer at editpage [at] seattlepi.com.

Click here to read “Seattle’s Zoo: Free Bamboo” online.

You can use the following points to help you in your letter or visit www.savezooelephants.com for more information.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Jun 19, 2006 3:59 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: TMZ getting slammed for airing Beyoncé fur cruelty controversy footage 6/19/06

There is a controversy brewing on TMZ.com, a hot new celebrity news site, run by Harry Levin, who was the executive producer on the syndicated television show “Celebrity Justice.” That show, which looked at celebrity run-ins with the law, won repeated Genesis Awards for its recurring focus on animal issues. When a celebrity attached his or her name to animal friendly legislation, the show would often cover the issue including graphic footage of whatever abuse was being tackled.

Last week, on his new venture, TMZ.com, Harry Levin chose to air footage of a dinner meeting between Beyoncé and PETA representatives. Unable to get Beyoncé to agree to meet and discuss the use of fur in her fashion line, PETA put in the highest bid on an eBay auctioned dinner with the star. Beyoncé had no idea she was dining with PETA folks. The TMZ.com site tells us,

“As they sat at the table, Beyoncé, who has a fashion line with her mother that uses fur, had no idea what was coming. After placing their orders, the PETA members confronted the singer.”

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: ASPCA – website [at] aspca.org
Date: Jun 19, 2006 12:51 PM
Subject: Urge US Fish and Wildlife Service to Save the Sheldon Range Wild Horses!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been engineering a plan to eradicate the Sheldon Range wild horses in Nevada. USFWS claims that the Sheldon horses are non-indigenous and feral, and therefore not protected by law. The reasons given for their removal are to protect the water resources and to enhance the populations of pronghorn antelope and sage grouse, two species that bring in revenue from special hunting permits. However, a paper published by USFWS found that wild horses, in reasonable numbers, have no demonstrable adverse affect on these species.

USFWS’s plan, if implemented, would make it impossible for rescues and individuals to directly adopt small numbers of Sheldon horses, as has been done in the past. The “more efficient” plan allows for only mass adoptions of horses to three “carefully screened” agents. The agents will be paid $300 per horse to take them by the truckload. There is no doubt that many of these horses will end up at auction, and ultimately at slaughter. In fact, 40 Sheldon horses bought by one of the agents were recently “bought back” from a slaughter plant by the agent who had previously “adopted” them from USFWS.

Also disturbing, USFWS has announced that they are planning another gather of Sheldon wild horses in June–in the middle of foaling season! A gather at this time represents a cruel assault on the pregnant mares, who may abort their foals, as well as risks to the new-born foals, including foals being separated from their mothers, trampled to death, or run to exhaustion. USFWS has offered no explanation for the unusual timing for the upcoming gather.

America’s wild horses are an icon of the west. The Sheldon Range horses are the very same horses that made it possible for the US government to conquer the west.

Please contact the US Fish and Wildlife Service directly and ask them to put a halt to their plan to eradicate the SheldonRange wild horses! Go to www.aspca.org/site/R?i=Z3En07Wpq-qHjPFRxx0X-Q.. and write a letter to The Honorable H. Dale Hall, Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Click here to see a sample letter to Congress as a guide. www.aspca.org/site/R?i=cL8PKsdDl6N-Pf8LcBYD_w..

Also, please contact your senators and representatives today and ask them to urge USFWS to put a halt to the plan to eradicate the Sheldon Range wild horses until the proper environmental studies have been conducted, and until the safety of any captured horses can be ensured! www.aspca.org/site/R?i=36QX1rFRs5hU6I-WcDE9cg..

It is urgent that both Congress and the Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service hear from you immediately! Thank you for your support on this issue.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: National Environmental Trust – cdelany [at] net.org
Date: Jun 19, 2006 11:03 AM
Subject: Urge Senators to Call for Global Warming Action

National Environmental Trust

Urge Senators to Call for Global Warming Action

Environmental champions in the U.S. Senate have begun an effort to call on the Bush administration to require nationwide reductions in global warming pollution over the next decade.

Senators Collins and Durbin, along with Senators Chafee and Bill Nelson, started circulating a letter to President Bush to commemorate the one-year anniversary of passage of a “Sense of the Senate” resolution calling for a mandatory program to “slow, stop, and reverse” global warming pollution. The letter expresses the senators’ continuing concerns about global warming, states the senators’ support for a mandatory program to reduce global warming emissions from current levels within 10 years, and urges the President to provide leadership on the issue.

The senators plan to send the letter to the President on Thursday, June 22, the anniversary of the Sense of the Senate resolution.

Please take a moment now and send a letter to your senators urging them to sign on to this initiative to push the Bush administration to get serious about global warming.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Senators

Take Action!

Instructions:
Click here to take action on this issue

Tell-A-Friend:
Visit the web address below to ask your friends to help.

What’s At Stake:

For more information about climate change, please see our main global warming page.

Campaign Expiration Date:
June 22, 2006

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