Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet
Sierra Club Currents - Doctors Prescribe Cleaner Air Quote of Note: "The president still doesn't get it." - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)in response to President Bush's "additions" to the Supreme Court ruling that the EPA must regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles as pollution. (1) Victory: Protecting Our Forests (2) Utah: Doctors Prescribe Cleaner Air (3) Take Action: Wilderness Revival (4) Take Action: Step It Up! (1) Victory: Protecting Our Forests In a huge win for people who hunt, fish and enjoy our national forests, the U.S. Forest Service agreed to abandon nine large timber sales in wild areas of Alaska's Tongass National Forest and not to offer any new timber sales in Tongass roadless areas. The Tongass, which spans 17 million acres in Southeast Alaska, is the world's largest temperate rainforest. The forest is home to old growth trees, wolves, bears, salmon, moose and bald eagles, and provides some of the few remaining wild places after 50 years of industrial logging. Learn more about the fight to protect the Tongass. (2) Utah: Doctors Prescribe Cleaner Air Increased risk of heart attacks, lung and heart disease and possibly even death- what is causing these serious health threats? Air- toxic air to be precise and doctors in Utah are raising the alarm after the state experienced severe episodes of soot pollution this winter. The doctors' philosophy is simple. Clean air is an inherent right for all citizens. Dangerously contaminated food is not acceptable and neither is dangerously contaminated water, so why should we continue to accept dangerously contaminated air? Read more about the doctors' recommendations and find out how to get cleaner air in your area. (3) Take Action:Wilderness Revival In the coming days, your Senators and Representatives will be voting on the first wilderness bills of the 110th Congress-- the Wild Sky Wilderness Act and America's Red Rock Wilderness Act. Together these bills will protect over nine million acres of forests and canyons, saving our wilderness heritage for our children and grandchildren. Tell Congress to permanently protect wilderness areas in Washington's Wild Sky region and the Red Rock canyons of Utah! Photo courtesy National Park Service (4) Take Action: Step It Up! Hundreds of rallies and other exciting events will be taking place this Saturday as part of Step It Up, the National Day of Climate Action. Sierra Club groups from St. Paul to Albuquerque will help spread the message with concerts, light bulb exchanges, church gatherings, you name it-all to raise awareness of and promote action to meet the challenge of global warming. Find and attend an event near you! Then take a photo of what you are doing to fight global warming. Send us the photo and we'll post it on our Every Day Solutions website. |
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Currents is the Sierra Club's weekly e-mail update providing you with facts, stories, quotes, and "take action" features. |