July 14, 2009: Volume VII, #27
"Westerners literally sit on mountains of oil and gas, and every state can consider the possibility of nuclear energy." |
In this issue
1) Take Action: Tell Your Senators No More Border Wall |
1) Take Action: Tell Your Senators No More Border Wall
Built by ignoring America's legal framework, the nearly 700-mile-long border wall between the U.S. and Mexico has fractured communities and threatened wildlife. See for yourself the kinds of senseless destruction that are caused by the border wall.
The Senate just voted to build over 300 more miles of border walls. To date, border wall construction has cost at least $2.4 billion, and the Senate mandate for additional construction could cost American taxpayers up to another billion dollars. Thankfully, there is still time to remove this harmful provision.
2) Take Action: Take a Hike
Love to hike, paddle or bird watch? If so, check out our new hiking wiki website to get tips, find new trails, and share your favorite trails with others.
We've got trails from all over the country, as well as discussion forums covering everything from the best trail mix recipes to whether guns should be allowed in national parks. But what we still need is you!
Visit Sierra Club Trails today then get out there and start exploring!
3) Victory: Cleaner Air Coming
For four years power industry groups and other polluters have postponed progress to clean up the air in more than 200 counties that violated health standards for soot pollution. But now thanks to a federal court ruling, these areas, which include some of the nation's biggest urban areas, will get protection under the Clean Air Act.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, cleaning up the air in these counties will prevent 15,000 premature deaths, 10,000 hospital admissions, and millions of missed work days every year.
Learn more about power plants and other major causes of soot pollution.
4) Superfund: Companies to Pay for Pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it would close a loophole that allows companies to shift pollution clean-up costs to taxpayers. Coming as a result of action by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, the rule will begin by requiring hard rock mining companies to provide financial assurances to cover any clean-up costs. Such a measure would ensure that highly contaminated sites could be cleaned up by the company, instead of adding to the burden of the already bankrupt, taxpayer supported Superfund Trust Fund.
The EPA will decide by the end of year which other industries will also be required to provide financial assurances.