I’ve been on a well-deserved blogging break for the past week or so, hence the total lack of posts. Instead of posting a few medium-sized link roundups, I decided to compile one huge link sanctuary. I know it’s a lot to take in, but please take a moment to go through the links and take action as needed. Everything is new (I think) since I last posted on 8/20.

Thanks!

Action Alerts

Alaska Wilderness League: Contact Congress today to oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge!
Big Oil wants to open the Arctic Refuge for business. They continue to preach the laws of corporate supply and demand: The corporations hoard the supply and continue to make demands. They line their pockets at the expense of the American people and the heritage of our public lands. As the rhetoric rages on, it is up to concerned citizens to keep Big Oil’s drill bits out of America’s Arctic. Congress reconvenes shortly, and Big Oil will undoubtedly mount their strongest push yet for the permanent destruction of our special places across the country.

Alaska Wilderness League: Save our seas: Drilling won’t mean a drop at the pump!
In its effort to expand offshore development around the country, including Alaska, and put pressure on Congress to lift a 26-year-old moratorium on leasing off the US Pacific and Atlantic coasts, the Bush administration has prematurely launched the development of another offshore leasing plan – and is currently taking comments from oil companies, state governments and the public on the new plan.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Tell Congress to Rein in DHS Travel Abuses
Traveling shouldn’t mean checking your rights when you’re checking your luggage. Tell Congress: it’s time to rein in travel abuses by the Department of Homeland Security.

Amnesty International: Uphold Human Rights in the Gulf Coast
Survivors should be able to genuinely and effectively participate in their return, resettlement and reintegration into their communities. The U.S. government must ensure that the principles of equality and non-discrimination are applied to the return or resettlement of all internally displaced persons.

Audubon: Endangered Species Act Under Attack
In its final few months, the Bush Administration is attempting to gut the Endangered Species Act. This time, it’s a proposal to allow federal agencies to decide unilaterally that a proposed project is not likely to adversely affect listed species — no consultation with wildlife experts required.

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Action Alerts

Animal Person: Voice Your Opposition to AETA
Please send letters for Abolish AETA as a presidential proposal.

Color Of Change.org: Support the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act
It’s been 3 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but the region still hasn’t received the help it needs to recover. The Gulf Coast Civic Works Act would hire 100,000 Gulf Coast residents and evacuees, providing them with training and jobs to rebuild their homes and communities. It’s a solution that would give all Katrina survivors a fair chance to rebuild their lives, while revitalizing the Gulf Coast’s economy and rebuilding its infrastructure.

Earthjustice: Save the Endangered Species Act!
The Bush administration wants to severely weaken the Endangered Species Act — we need your help to make sure this doesn’t happen.

Oxfam America: FEMA’s Latest Excuse
Recently, CNN did a report on how millions of dollars’ worth of supplies were given away, rather than sent to help people in need. The reason? FEMA said no one asked for them. Can you believe that? Help Oxfam America do something to change the situation. Please tell FEMA today that you want the supplies delivered to people who need them most—those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Public Citizen: Help Hold Congress Accountable at the Conventions
Efforts are already underway to ensure that big money doesn’t win undo influence over Congress. The Fair Elections Now Act would create a voluntary public financing system for Congressional races so candidates don’t have to rely on big donors. Candidates are signing the Voters First Pledge.

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Action Alerts

Independent Movement.org: Petition to the 2008 Presidential Candidates
We the undersigned independent-minded voters, want to change our political process so that our elected officials act in the interests of the American people, not the political parties nor the special interests that control them. We recognize that despite the vast increase in voter participation this year, and the enormous momentum for profound political change, business as usual will continue in Washington unless we have a clear plan to reform our electoral process.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Urge the Department of Agriculture to act now to save bees
Although honey bees are crucial to producing about one-third of all the food we eat, the Department of Agriculture has failed to meet crucial research needs to determine the cause of colony collapse disorder, which is devastating hives across the country. Urge the Department of Agriculture to act now to save bees.

The Sierra Club: Take Action: Leave No Child Inside
At a time when children are not getting outside on their own, it is more critical than ever to provide them with new and safe opportunities to learn about the natural world. The No Child Left Inside Act will help build our capacity to help teach children about the great outdoors by supporting environmental education, both inside and outside of the classroom.

The Sierra Club: Take Action: Hold Polluters Accountable
A recently released internal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memo shows that hundreds of Clean Water Act violations, including oil spills, filling of wetlands and illegal dumping, have either been dropped completely or made lower priorities due to uncertainty about whether those waters are protected by the Clean Water Act. Unless Congress acts, the uncertainty caused by court decisions and agency actions will continue to make it difficult to protect our waters from pollution.

The Sierra Club: Make Clean Energy Choices
Please take a moment to write to your local paper about why clean energy choices are important — and how drilling only helps Big Oil’s bottomline.

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Action Alerts

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Exotic Animals in Missouri Need Your Help
Two tiger attacks in Missouri last week graphically illustrate the need for new laws. On August 4, 2008, a 16-year-old worker at Predator World — an unaccredited zoo in Branson, MO — was attacked by three tigers, and the victim is currently in the hospital in critical condition. On August 3, a tiger was shot and killed after the animal attacked a worker at Wesa-A-Geh-Ya, a private menagerie in Warren County, MO. The victim’s leg had to be amputated.

Center for Biological Diversity: Endangered Species Act Under Assault
On August 11th, Dirk Kempthorne, secretary of the Interior, announced devastating changes to the Endangered Species Act, signaling the end of protection for thousands of imperiled species. In addition, last week Kempthorne and Bush tried to slip another proposed rule change under the radar that would limit protection of a species only to where it is currently found.

Defenders of Wildlife: Stop the Bush/Cheney Assault on Endangered Species
For more than 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has protected wildlife at risk of extinction. Now the Bush/Cheney Administration wants to make some serious changes to this landmark law — changes that would eliminate vital checks and balances that are crucial to protect our wolves, polar bears and other imperiled wildlife.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Louisiana Officials Refuse to Investigate Animal Torturer
PETA caseworkers recently urged Louisiana officials to investigate a Natchitoches resident who posted to an online forum a lengthy description of his exploits in cruelly “hunting” wild pigs. In his own words, this man—apparently named Cy Brown—describes the carnage with glee…Please contact officials and urge them to initiate an immediate investigation and file appropriate criminal charges against all parties responsible for cruelty-to-animals and hunting violations.

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS): “Drill” in Detroit to Bring Down Gas Prices!
In response to high gas prices, the Bush administration and its allies are calling for new oil drilling that would take decades and eventually save only pennies-per-gallon. Meanwhile, Bush’s Department of Transportation is undermining historic new fuel economy standards. They unrealistically assume gas will cost around $2.50 through 2020 and that hybrid vehicles won’t even exist until 2014. Because the agency balances the cost of new fuel economy technology against the gas savings the new technology provides, these outrageous assumptions are being used by the administration to reduce the automakers’ requirement to bring more fuel-efficient options to consumers.

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Action Alerts

End Oil.org: Pledge to Reduce Fuel Consumption
Studies show that drilling in these protected sites would do little to relieve our pain at the pump. The good news is that according to the U.S. Department of Energy fuel efficiency habits like driving more safely and sanely, and keeping a well maintained vehicle would save more oil than would be captured in ANWR and in offshore drilling combined! Take a personal pledge to reduce the amount of oil you use for transportation by 20% this year.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Tell Alaska Governor To Stop Wolf Slaughter
As many Alaskans already learned via media reports, 14 one-month old wolf pups recently were killed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in a practice known as “denning”. Denning is the practice of killing wolves in or around their den, in this case by shooting them in the head. 14 adults were also killed. Please, as soon as possible, contact Alaska Governor Sarah Palin expressing your objections to this unethical and illegal decimation of Alaska’s wolf population. Tell her you will take your tourist dollars elsewhere.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Ask Rochester Hills to Not Allow Deer Bow-hunts
Rochester Hills, Michigan has proposed a three-year moratorium on the city’s bow-hunting ban, due to increasing collisions with vehicles. Killing deer is not an effective population reduction method. In fact, deer hunting actually increases deer population size. If the city is truly concerned with deer/vehicle collisions (DVC), let’s help them come up with some humane solutions.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): We need your Help to Stop Circus Vazquez from Endangering More Animals!
Circus Vasquez along with Will Davenport and his three elephants, Tina, Queenie and Jewel, will be performing at Bicentennial Park in Miami, Florida from August 8 through August 18, 2008. This circus has a terrible record of animal handling and care.

The National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS): Federal: Farm Animals Anti-Cruelty Act
The Farm Animals Anti-Cruelty Act, HR6202, would make it a federal crime to abuse animals used for commercial purposes, primarily for agricultural purposes. According to the language of the bill, “It is the policy of the United States that the raising, handling, transport, and slaughter of animals held for commercial use shall be carried out only by humane methods.”

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Action Alerts

American Rights at Work: Take Action: Tell the FEC to investigate Wal-Mart
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Wal-Mart has been threatening employees that if they vote for pro-worker candidates like Barack Obama in November, the Employee Free Choice Act will pass, making it easier to form unions in Wal-Mart stores. Telling employees how to vote in a U.S. election is not only morally reprehensible, it’s potentially illegal. We’re delivering our petition to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. Sign to join us in asking for an investigation into Wal-Mart’s potential electioneering.

Animal Welfare Institute (AWI): eAlert: Please Contact Your Legislators This Month to Enlist Their Support for Animal Welfare Bills!
Because Members of Congress are in their home districts until after Labor Day, this is the perfect time for you to lobby them directly on behalf of the animals! Visiting with your Senators and Representative as a constituent in their home offices can have a significant impact. If you are able, please call their local headquarters today to set up a time to meet in person, asking them to support the following important pieces of animal protective legislation.

CREDO Action: Tell McCain: No Offshore Drilling
Senator McCain was against oil drilling before he was running for President, but times have changed. Now, McCain has the gall to run political spots featuring himself as an advocate for renewable energy. The oil executives might be buying these lines, but we aren’t. This rhetoric is dangerous, and the American people deserve better.

DawnWatch: NBC4 covers animal sanctuary and Thanking the Monkey 8/12/08
Yesterday, Tuesday August 12, the Going Green segment on Washington DC’s NBC affiliate covered my visit to Poplar Springs animal sanctuary, which was a precursor to the Thanking the Monkey event there this coming Monday evening.

Environmental Defense Fund: Take Action to Protect America’s Endangered Species
Your landmark Endangered Species Act is under attack. The Bush administration is proposing new rules that would weaken species protections and eliminate independent scientific review of development projects that could threaten species habit. We need your help to fight back.

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Action Alerts

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Stop Capture of Wild Macaques in Japan for Use in Laboratory Research
Tragically, the Ministry of Environment in Japan currently allows thousands of snow monkeys to be killed each year. Now they are considering allowing the live capture of snow monkeys for laboratory research. We cannot let this happen. Please send letters to the Ministry today to prevent this atrocity.

Center for Biological Diversity: One More Chance for Higher Gas-mileage Standards
Despite an existing law that requires the Department of Transportation to set gas-mileage standards at the “maximum feasible level,” the administration is likely to push through a new set of inadequate standards for model years 2011-2015 before leaving office. Please sign our petition to Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters demanding fuel-economy standards that spur automakers away from “business as usual” and toward deployment of new technologies, increased fuel economy, and decreased greenhouse gas emissions, as required by law.

DawnWatch: Men’s Journal on “Dog Torturers” crackdown — August 2008 edition.
The August Edition of Men’s Journal includes a fantastic article about the efforts of HSUS’s John Goodwin, headed “Crackdown on the Dog Torturers.” (p 130.) The article, by Mary Fischer, has the subheading, “Michael Vick was just the beginning. The dog fighting world is bigger and sicker than you can imagine. Meet the man who wants to wipe it out for good.”

DawnWatch: Vegan living, gorillas, and kosher laws in the New York Times this week 8/4 — 8/8/08
As I catch up today on animal news this week I am focusing on the New York Times, not just because of its world wide reputation and distribution, but because there is so much animal news in it this week.

Earthjustice: Tell Congress: You Won’t Stand for Polluted Water
It’s time for Congress to stand up for what’s right and put a stop to the devastation of our rivers, streams and headwaters. Sign this petition to support the Clean Water Protection Act, which would protect our waters from being filled with millions of tons of waste from mountaintop removal mining. Help us get the message to Congress that we will not stand for coal companies polluting our water.

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Action Alerts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Tell Congress: Rein in DHS Travel Abuses
Planning a vacation? Thinking about traveling outside the country? If you travel outside the United States, you can kiss your right to privacy, and perhaps your laptop, digital camera and cell phone, goodbye. With no suspicion and no explanation, the U.S. government can seize your laptop, cell phone, or PDA as you enter the United States and download all your private information — including your personal and business documents, emails, phone calls, and web history.

American Freedom Campaign: Tell President Bush that he must allow executive branch officials to testify or he will face impeachment
On September 26, congressional oversight may be dead. The Constitution that has served our nation so well since 1789 may be hopelessly and forever diminished. Our federal government and, in turn, our nation may never be the same. It is time to put an end to this defiling of our Constitution. The U.S. House of Representatives has set September 26 as a target date for adjournment. By that time, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and Josh Bolten must comply with the congressional subpoenas they have been issued – and which a federal judge has ordered them to follow.

American Rivers: River Alert: The Endangered Catawba-Wateree River Needs Your Help
The Catawba-Wateree River has served communities in the Southeast for thousands of years. This regional treasure was home to some of the first Native American tribes encountered by Europeans in the United States. The river now provides drinking water to millions, supports a myriad of local industries, and sustains the high quality of life residents enjoy. However, under this rich exterior, the Catawba-Wateree River is being drained away by water mismanagement and explosive population growth. These threats, combined with predictions of more frequent droughts due to global warming, impair the river’s health and its ability to provide for residents in the future is at risk.

American Rivers: RiverAlert: The Endangered Rogue River Needs Your Help
The Rogue River is one of the most renowned rivers in the country, famous for its exceptional scenery, biodiversity, world-class fishing, and thrilling whitewater boating. One of the eight original rivers protected in the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1968, the Rogue supports a thriving recreation economy and draws thousands of anglers, boaters and hikers each year. But proposals to clearcut oldgrowth forest along key streams that feed the Rogue threaten to choke the river with sediment and destroy the river’s wild character. Unless Congress kills these destructive logging plans and permanently protects Rogue River tributaries, the amazing and unique wonders of the wild Rogue will be lost to future generations.

Environmental Defense Fund: Take Action to Protect Ocelot Habitat
Fewer than 100 endangered ocelots still roam the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Now the Department of Homeland Security wants to build a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border that would cut through much of the ocelot’s remaining habitat and prevent the little cats from swimming across the Rio Grande to mate.

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Action Alerts

American Rivers: RiverAlert: The Endangered Minnesota River Needs Your Help
The Minnesota River is treasured by thousands of residents and visitors who swim, boat, fish and hunt in and along the river. But a proposed coal-fired power plant threatens the health of the river and nearby communities. In addition to spewing greenhouse gases and other toxins, cooling and scrubbing mechanisms within the plant would require billions of gallons of water every year.

American Rivers: RiverAlert: The Endangered Cache la Poudre River Needs Your Help
Colorado’s only Wild and Scenic River, the Cache la Poudre River, or “Poudre,” is the lifeblood of the cities and farms it serves. But its future is threatened by a water diversion scheme that would stretch the river beyond its limits in order to quench future development elsewhere. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) must deny this flawed proposal, and ask involved Colorado cities and water districts to implement simple water conservation and efficiency measures instead. If they do not, communities, agricultural operations, and other businesses may no longer be able to enjoy the myriad benefits the Poudre River now offers.

Audubon: Save Seabirds from Bad Fishing Practices
Our oceans—and many of the seabirds that depend on them—are in trouble. Fisheries are being overfished to the point of collapse, and seabirds like albatross and petrels are being killed in the tens of thousands through unsound fishing practices. The tiny Red Knot is on the brink of extinction because of overfishing in the Delaware Bay.

Consumers Union: Thank You - And Thank Them!
You did it! Congress overwhelmingly passed the product safety bill last week, and President Bush said he will sign the bill into law. Your hard work will turn 2007’s “Year of the Recall” into 2008’s Year of the Consumer Victory. Take a moment below to send an email to your lawmakers thanking them for supporting the bill. A pat on the back will let them know you appreciate them putting consumers first, not industry.

Greenpeace: Leave an Impression: A Week of Global Warming Action
Activists like you from around the country will visit their Representative’s local offices to deliver a personal message about global warming. You’ll choose a picture of something dear to you that’s being threatened by global warming, and write a personal message on the back of the picture. It could be a picture of your family, your home, or your favorite vacation destination — whatever you choose. Deliver your picture and message with flowers, and you’ll really get your Representative’s attention. That’s it. A simple message with a simple reminder.

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Action Alerts

American Rivers: RiverAlert: The Endangered St. Johns River Needs Your Help
The St. Johns River provides scenic beauty, recreational opportunities, and important fish and wildlife habitat. But the river is threatened by a water withdrawal proposal that would cost taxpayers billions, fuel more runaway sprawl, and damage the river’s ecology. Instead of taking precious freshwater from the fragile St. Johns, water managers should implement proven conservation and efficiency measures that will not only save the river’s health, but protect the long-term sustainability of community water supplies.

American Rivers: RiverAlert: The Endangered Allagash Wilderness Waterway Needs Your Help
Once a crown jewel of the nation’s Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the unique character of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in northern Maine is in jeopardy. State river managers are being pressured to dilute or strip protections that safeguard the river’s recreational, economic and ecological values. In 2008, the 40th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the state must strengthen, not weaken, protections for the Allagash and, by example, help uphold the integrity of rivers protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act nationwide.

Environmental Defense: Take Action for Better Transit Alternatives!
With gas prices at over $4 a gallon, more and more Americans are turning to public transportation for their transit needs. However, public transit agencies all over the country are being forced to cut back services due to state and local budget constraints. Take action today!

Farm Sanctuary: Stop Cruel Pig Lab
On August 7, Covidien Electrosurgery is hosting a lab in coordination with a conference held by the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists in which pigs will be killed and sacrificed in a “Hands-On Pig Lab” to demonstrate electrosurgical tools.

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Pledge to Help Farm Animals
When you sign, you’ll join tens of thousands of others who support better living conditions for farm animals. You’ll also receive email alerts on the vitally important Yes on Prop 2 campaign.

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