———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Stop Mountaintop Removal - info [at] stopmountaintopremoval.org
Date: Nov 21, 2008 11:02 AM
Subject: Time to Thank our Supporters

Already more than 2,000 miles of streams in Appalachia have been buried by mountaintop removal mining, yet as one of its last assaults on environmental protections, the Bush Administration is poised to finalize a rule that would allow thousands more streams and valleys to be buried by waste.

Instead of standing by and allowing the stream buffer zone to be taken away, Kentucky Governor Steven Beshear, along with Representatives Ben Chandler and John Yarmuth, and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen stepped in and have sent letters to the EPA objecting to this rule change.

Please call and thank Governor Beshear and Governor Bredesen for voicing their concerns about this rule, which would allow coal companies to dump their massive piles of waste directly into streams.

For years, federal agencies have looked the other way as the coal industry has been allowed to blast away the tops of mountains to reach thin seams of coal. Already, mountaintop removal mining has flattened more than 500,000 acres and permanently buried 2,000 miles of streams, destroying sources that feed drinking water. These actions were taken in defiance of the existing Stream Buffer Zone Rule. Now, the Federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) wants to legalize this destruction. But the U.S.EPA must give its approval for the change in rules to become law.

(more…)

Action Alerts

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Tell Petland to Stop Selling Puppies — Watch This Video, Then Take Action
America’s largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores, Petland Inc., is also the nation’s largest retail supporter of puppy mills. An eight-month investigation by The HSUS reveals that many Petland stores across the country are marketing puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers. Watch our video; then tell Petland to get out of the puppy-selling business.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Urge the EPA to Take Action on Global Warming!
For years, the EPA has refused to crack down on global warming pollution. Due to a Supreme Court ruling the EPA is now asking for public comment on a simple question: Do greenhouse gases that cause global warming endanger public health and welfare? NWF believes there is no greater threat to wildlife and people than global warming. Let the EPA know you agree! Don’t let corporate polluters have the only voice.

Pathfinder International: Sign Petition to Support International Reproductive Health
In January, the United States will have a new Administration and Congress, which means you have a new opportunity to make your voice heard. Join the more than 700 who have already signed! Show your support for international family planning and reproductive health by telling President-elect Obama and the 111th Congress that you want these programs to be a critical component of US foreign assistance. Sign the petition below and share with friends! Help us reach 2,000 names by January!

The Wilderness Society: Applaud Congress for Holding the Line on Arctic Refuge Drilling
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge survived many attacks during the 110th Congress. No fewer than 24 drilling proposals were put forward, and each time, supporters like you urged Congress to continue to protect the Refuge. Thanks to you, Congress refused to capitulate to the demands of Big Oil. Now it’s very important for the Refuge that Congress knows how important their actions were to Americans and how thankful we are that they kept this national treasure safe from drilling.

(more…)

Update, 12/3/08: Kinship Circle: Free Billy: 12/3 Council Meeting + Comments Needed

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Nov 20, 2008 4:14 PM
Subject: [KC Member Alert] Billy’s Fate: Close L.A. Zoo Exhibit

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY - PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

The following information is brought to you courtesy of Kinship Circle.
Please DO NOT hit reply! Respond directly to alert sources below.

ALERT FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE SUPPORTER:
11/20/08: Billy’s Fate - Close L.A. Zoo Elephant Exhibit For Good

SOURCES / REPLY TO:
Bettina, brosie96 [at] yahoo.com
LA animalrights, laanimalrights [at] yahoogroups.com

BACKGROUND:

UPDATE ON MOTION TO CLOSE L.A. ZOO ELEPHANT EXHIBIT AND SEND BILLY TO A SANCTUARY — The City Council heard Councilmember Cardenas’ motions on November 19, 2008 at 10am. After 4 hours of deliberation, the council voted to send both issues — stopping construction of the elephant exhibit and sending Billy to a sanctuary — to the Finance Committee.

This is Billy’s last chance at a taste of freedom! The Cardenas motion represents Billy’s only chance to get out of his miserable, barren pen at the L.A. Zoo. And it’s a chance to save future elephants from suffering and dying prematurely in a $42 million exhibit that still doesn’t provide the space elephants need. This $42 million is being spent at a time when the city is looking at a budget overage of $10 million. Encourage the members to spend the city’s money in a more responsible way. Send Billy to a sanctuary and halt construction of an elephant exhibit.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Nov 18, 2008 3:23 PM
Subject: Update/Act: Doomed Wild Horses Have A Hero?

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY, PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

11/18/08: UPDATE + ACTION
Doomed Wild Horses Have A Hero?
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

Wild horses gathered from the Fox & Lake Herd Management Area in near Empire, Nev., wait in a pen. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27738672/

=========================

UPDATE: PICKENS TO THE RESCUE? NEW HOPE FOR BLM HORSES

=========================

EDITED FOR LENGTH, READ FULL STORY HERE:
A Dramatic Rescue for Doomed Wild Horses of the West
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703680.html?hpid=topnews

The unwanted horses seemed destined for death… The Bureau of Land Management knew that euthanasia was a legal alternative, but officials were proceeding slowly, afraid of an intense public outcry. The wild horses had become too expensive to maintain, and cattlemen argued that turning them loose would be a drain on the already scarce grazing lands of the West.

Then (11/17/08), at a public hearing in Reno, Nevada…Madeleine Pickens, wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, made known her intentions to adopt not just the doomed wild horses but most or all of the 30,000 horses and burros kept in federal holding pens… Madeleine Pickens is looking for land in the West that would be an appropriate home for the horses.

She is working with the BLM staff to adopt the horses, said Henri Bisson, the bureau’s deputy director, while the agency persuades Congress to shift $20 million in funding to feed and protect the horses now in captivity for another year. As backup to Pickens’s offer, he said, two other groups, both animal rescue organizations, have expressed similar interest in adoption. “We are very hopeful that euthanasia won’t be necessary this year,” he said.

News that Pickens and others intend to adopt wild horses and burros was celebrated by animal rights groups; several were preparing legal challenges to prevent the government from putting the horses to death… MORE: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/17/AR2008111703680.html?hpid=topnews

(more…)

Action Alerts

Alaska Wilderness League: Time for change. Act now!
Our shared lands in Alaska are priceless American treasures infinitely more valuable than their potential for industrial exploitation. We all have a duty as stewards of our shared lands to protect the Alaskan wilderness. Many in Washington think this basic tenet of American civic life, so obvious to us, has been eliminated if it ever existed at all. We will prove them wrong.

Animal Person: A Message from Dennis Kucinich
Kucinich Asks LA City Council to Close Pachyderm Enclosure; If you think this was a good move, contact Congressman Kucinich and thank him!

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Six-Month Old Puppy Killed By Assistant Fire Chief In Riverside, California
Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Glynn Johnson has been placed on administrative leave following his fatal beating of a neighbor’s 6-month old dog. Listed below are the addresses and telephone numbers of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Headquarters, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, and Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Please call or write to these officials to demand accountability and justice for this felony to the fullest extent allowed by law.

National Horse Protection Action Fund: Tell the American Quarter Horse Association to oppose horse slaughter!
This week in Oklahoma City, the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) wraps up its three-week World Show. The National Horse Protection League (NHPL), which is dedicated to eliminating horse slaughter, is using this occasion to highlight an unseemly side of AQHA. For too long, AQHA has encouraged the over-breeding of horses, which has, in turn, contributed to the market for horse slaughter. Worse, they have lobbied against legislation that would ban slaughter and the export of horses for eventual human consumption. AQHA leadership needs to search its soul to determine whether it sees horses as noble living creatures deserving of love and respect or simply as profit generators that can be sold for human consumption once they serve no profitable purpose.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Help keep toxic air pollution out of northwest Colorado
The Bush administration wants to sacrifice more than one million acres in northwest Colorado to destructive oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicle use, but the proposal does not adequately address local air pollution concerns. Comments are due November 24th, so send yours today.

(more…)

Action Alerts

Consumer Watchdog: Stop Google From Reading Your Email (And Congress’s Too!)
Use the form below to ask Google’s board of directors to add important security measures to GMail and agree to basic privacy rights for all Web users. Read our recent letter to Google’s founders, and an earlier letter to the Justice Department.

DawnWatch: NY Times, LA Times and others speak up for whales against sonar 11/15/08
In October I shared news from the New York Times, in which we learned that the Supreme Court had “indicated an inclination to overturn a decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, imposing limits on the exercises, saying either that national security concerns trumped environmental ones or that judges are not competent to weigh the competing interests.” The New York Times followed the news with an editorial that argued strongly for the whales who are killed by the sonar.

Ecological Internet / Forests.org: Stop Bush’s Midnight Raid Upon Oregon’s Wild Forests and Rivers
Like his Presidency, it is time for President Bush’s looting, plundering, and pillaging of America’s natural beauty, ecological treasures and vital ecosystems to end.

Greenpeace: Join us in Poland!
In just a few weeks, leaders from all over the world will be gathering in Poznań, Poland to determine the next steps to address global warming. It’s time for the U.S. to show the rest of the world that we’re back on track and serious about tackling the most urgent environmental crisis of our time – and YOU can help! We’ve already asked President-elect Obama to go to Poland himself, and while it appears that he won’t be able to attend, it doesn’t mean you have to stay home, too. No, I’m not actually asking you to go to Poland, but if you send us your picture, we’ll take it to Poznań with us.

Human Rights First: We CAN win back the world’s trust and admiration.
Help us prove it by signing our open letter to the world. Right now, the world is watching to see whether the U.S. will make good on the promise of President-Elect Obama’s words… and I am hoping you’ll join me in sending them our answer. Make sure the world knows that Americans are serious about repairing our record on human rights and restoring our global leadership.

(more…)

Action Alerts

Best Friends Animal Society: Locked Out - Help stop Los Angeles County officials from eliminating long-term managed feral colonies
After eleven years of helping the cats of Rancho Los Amigos in Downey, California, feral caretakers have been locked out and instructed to stop feeding their colonies. To further complicate matters, animal control has begun trapping the cats, which are then brought to the shelter. Not surprisingly, the devoted caregivers are distraught and desperately searching for solutions to save the cats.

Center for Biological Diversity: Keep Refuge Safe for Condors, not Cattle
The Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge, located on 14,097 acres in southwestern Kern County, California, is a crucial wildlife linkage in the southern San Joaquin Valley. While cattle have had unrestricted grazing on the refuge in the past, the Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized that an alteration in the grazing regime would benefit the 9,400 acres of grassland habitat and provide healthier habitat for the recovering condor population. The agency recently proposed a restoration program to enhance the ecological values of the site and includes a modified grazing schedule based on ecological principles to limit grazing during critical times for native plant establishment, especially native grasses. This important step forward in refuge management is key to maintaining ecologically diverse and functioning habitats for condors. But the current grazing lessee opposes the change in grazing management, and significant efforts have been made to oppose these changes by cattle operators and local elected officials. Your help is needed. Please send a letter of support for the grassland restoration project and limiting grazing. The Bitter Creek Wildlife Refuge was expressly created for condors, not for cows.

DawnWatch: Dog news on Obama and on dog fighting. Week ending 11/15/08
There have been two big dog stories in the news over the past week. The first, we have all heard about: the Obama family’s search for a dog. The second story, brought to us from Brad Woodard at KHOU, is about the bust of one of the biggest dog fighting rings in America.

Oceana: Tell supermarkets to post FDA info on mercury in fish, not fishing industry talking points
We need your help again to get more grocery stores to post signs with the government advice on mercury in fish at their seafood counters. The Food Marketing Institute has released a new flyer on seafood that only includes parts of the Food and Drug Administration mercury advice and could easily mislead consumers into thinking that it’s all there.

Pacific Environment: Take action to finalize a victory for Lake Baikal
The Russian environmental movement has achieved a momentous victory with an announcement by Continental Management that it is closing the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill. The mill had been dumping over 100,000 cubic meters of polluted wastewater into Lake Baikal each day. The closure is only temporary and we need send a letter to Prime Minister Putin today to protect this victory!

(more…)

Action Alerts

Audubon: Sign the Petition to Help Protect America’s Wetlands!
Our nation’s wetlands, streams and other waters have a tremendous impact on everyone’s lives. But development and draining of these areas result in the loss of an average of 80,000 acres of wetlands each year. Wetlands provide all these things and more. Tell the new President we need to protect these areas for our future. Sign the petition today!

Center for Biological Diversity: Save the Wolves of the Rockies From Slaughter
After losing twice in court, the lame-duck Bush administration is taking a last shot at endangered wolves — moving, in the waning hours of its power, to strip them of protection all across Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and parts of Oregon, Washington, and Utah. If finalized, the removal of endangered species protection could result in the killing of 1,000 wolves in 2009 alone.

DawnWatch: Wall Street Journal and Fox TV on fake turkeys and vegan diets 11/13/08
How wonderful to open up today’s Wall Street Journal, one of the world’s biggest papers, and to see an article on turkey substitutes for Thanksgiving. (Thanks to Sean McVity for pointing us to it.) It came out the same morning that an extraordinary piece about diet aired on Houston’s Fox TV. I will start with the Fox piece, just in case anybody thinks they like turkey meat more than turkeys, and is wondering why they would look at the Wall Street Journal piece about fake Thanksgiving birds.

Farm Sanctuary: Ask McDonald’s to take a Stand Against Cloning Cruelty
Two out of three Americans are uncomfortable with the concept of cloned animals, and major stores such as Kroger, Safeway and Whole Foods have already come out against it, stating that they will not sell cloned animal products in their stores. And while fast food giant McDonald’s has reported that it wants to take the lead in advancing animal welfare practices—they have not yet taken a stand against cloning. This is the very least this company can do. Please encourage them to take a strong stand against the cruelty of cloning and to reject any type of cloned animal products.

Farm Sanctuary: Speak out Against the Genetic Engineering of Farm Animals
Please submit comments to the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is also soliciting public input on GE animals, before November 18, 2008. Ask them to takes steps to keep GE animals out of the food supply, and tell them that there should be a public discussion on animal welfare and the ethics of genetic engineering. You can submit the same comments to both agencies.

(more…)

Update, 12/03/08: Kinship Circle: Demo For Karley 12/03 + Comments Still Needed

Update, 11/20/08: See also: Six-Month Old Puppy Killed By Assistant Fire Chief In Riverside, California, an action alert from In Defense of Animals (IDA).

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Subject: Demo for Karley 11/15 - Puppy Fatally Beaten By L.A. Firefighter

Kinship Circle is forwarding the announcement below about a demo TODAY for Karley, the brutally killed puppy we issued an alert about on 11/14/08.

If you live in this California area, or know others who do, please cross-post the message below (quickly).

DO NOT RESPOND TO KINSHIP CIRCLE.
Contact: Lindy Greene
lindygreene [at] roadrunner.com
818-445-6711

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lindy Greene - lindygreene [at] roadrunner.com
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:33:20 -0800
Subject: RE: Demonstration for Karley

Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Glynn Johnson sits comfortably in his Riverside County home on paid administrative leave while the brutal beating of his neighbor’s 6-month-old puppy, Karley - which resulted in a crushed skull, dislocated eye, broken jaw, and broken nose - is being investigated.

The puppy had to be put down because of the degree of her suffering and the fact that she sustained permanent brain damage. The perp is claiming “self-defense” for his actions.

We are meeting at 2:00 P.M. on the corner of Washington St. and Van Buren Blvd. in Riverside County, CA 92504 on Saturday, November 15, 2008.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 4:07 PM
Subject: ACT NOW/ Bulls-On-Fire, Fiesta In Spain

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

KINSHIP CIRCLE NEEDS FUNDING TO CONTINUE:
www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/
We are extremely grateful for any tax-deductible donations.

11/12/08: Stop Bulls-On-Fire Fiesta In Spain
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

11/15/08 weekend: A sadistic festival, Toro Jubilo, occurs in Soria, Spain.
Send letters now AND after Nov. 15, since this blood fiesta occurs annually.

LT IMAGE: getactive.peta.org/campaign/toro_de_fuego?rk=W7_l-X5qACggW
RT IMAGE: www.banbloodsports.com/ln-0611a.htm

(more…)