"I blocked it. I kept it from even having a hearing on it. It would have passed Congress overwhelmingly. It was a freebie. Republicans would have voted to end mountaintop removal."
-- Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) on his work to halt legislative efforts to stop mountaintop removal coal mining.
In this issue:
1) Take Action: Push for a Strong Clean Energy Jobs Bill
2) Take Action: Support the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Expansion!
3) Turtles: Nesting Grounds Under Threat
4) EPA Timetable for Global Warming Regulations
1) Take Action: Push for a Strong Clean Energy Jobs Bill
Independent estimates now indicate that the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act created up to 2.1 million jobs in the 4th Quarter of 2009. The House passed a sweeping jobs bill in December and the Senate is due to consider several key clean energy jobs packages in the months ahead.
The first package considered by the Senate left out key clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives, but the Senate is expected to consider several additional jobs bills in the months ahead.
Urge your Senators to push for the inclusion of these measures in subsequent jobs bills considered by the Senate.
2) Take Action: Support the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Expansion!
Designated in 1976 the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in Washington state has become the most visited Wilderness in the country. Now, thirty years later, there is an opportunity to permanently protect key additions to the Alpine Lakes that will preserve important wildlife habitat, existing recreational opportunities and local economies that rely on both.
Tell your representatives to support The Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act.
This week the Sierra Club petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to restore these critical protections. Learn more about efforts to protect this valuable nesting ground and prime eco-tourism destination.
4) EPA: Timetable for Global Warming Regulations
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson sent a letter yesterday to Senator Jay Rockefeller in response to a letter he and seven other senators sent to EPA on Friday, February 19. Jackson's letter outlines EPA's plan for moving forward with new regulations for the largest carbon polluters beginning in 2011, while smaller facilities will have until 2016.
The letter also responds to several concerns raised by the senators, including the economic costs of regulation and raises red flags about the ongoing campaign to gut the Clean Air Act.