"We will pay for this one way or another. We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today, and we'll have to take an economic hit of some kind. Or we will pay the price later in military terms, and that will involve human lives."
-- Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, a retired Marine and the former head of the Central Command, a warning in a recent report he prepared as a member of a military advisory board on energy and climate at CNA, a private group that does research for the Navy.
In this issue:
1) Take Action: 45 Years of Wilderness Protection
2) Take Action: Help Now is the Time to Support Clean Water
3) Victory: Roadless Areas Protected!
4) Success: Cash for Clunkers
1) Take Action: Celebrate 45 Years of Wilderness Protection
Today there are more than 750 wilderness areas in 44 states, thanks to the Wilderness Act. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, the wilderness areas created are more essential than ever as plants and wildlife are forced to adapt to a changing climate and other impacts from global warming.
2) Take Action: Now is the Time to Support Clean Water
Developers and polluters are trying to reverse long-standing protections for our streams and wetlands, endangering all of our communities. Congress must act now to end the confusion over which waterways are protected and reaffirm the broad scope of the Clean Water Act that existed for more than three decades.
Tell your Representative to pass a strong bill quickly to prevent the pollution of more water bodies.
3) Victory: Roadless Areas Protected
In a victory for campers, hikers, hunters and anglers the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed protection for over 40 million acres of wild national forests. The decision, which protects the majority of national forest roadless areas in the country, puts an end to the Bush administrations' efforts to open these last great natural areas to new road building, logging and development. It also opens the way for the Obama administration to support and defend the Roadless Rule, including taking action to end the roadless protection exemption for the Tongass National Forest.
Learn more about our work to protect our wild places.
4) Success: Cash for Clunkers
With an overall 61 percent increase in fuel efficiency, the first round of the Cash for Clunkers program worked better than expected and showed that consumers get it. Trucks topped the list of trade-ins, accounting for 83 percent of all trade-ins, while 60 percent of the new vehicles purchased were cars. Didn’t cash in on round one? With a recently approved Senate extension of the program, there’s still time.
Check out our Cash for Clunkers online guide to figure out what your fuel savings and emissions reductions could be