"It is a shame that we will let yet another July Fourth pass us by without ending our unnecessary dependence on oil -- a dependence that is funding the bullets that our enemies fire at our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan."
--Jonathan Powers, Iraq War Veteran and COO of the Truman Security Project, at a Sierra Club press conference on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
In this issue:
1) Take Action: End Our Oil Dependence and Make Our Communities Livable
2) Take Action: Make a Call to Protect Alaskan Forests
3) Beyond Oil: 10,000 Flags Planted in Washington, D.C.
4) Coal: EPA Approves Another Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Application
1) Take Action: End Our Oil Dependence and Make Our Communities Livable
The BP oil disaster in the Gulf is a tragic reminder that we must end our oil addiction. Every day our sprawling communities lead us to burn millions of barrels of oil in our cars and trucks. By creating transportation choices besides driving, we can end our dependence on oil and create more convenient, livable communities.
The Livable Communities Act would work to lower housing and transportation costs by promoting people-friendly development, including affordable living, public transit, and walkable and bikeable "complete streets."
Ask your Representative to end our dependence on oil by cosponsoring the Livable Communities Act!
2) Take Action: Make a Call to Protect Alaskan Forests
Last week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) officially unveiled revisions to S. 881, her highly controversial bill that would transfer approximately 70,000 high-value acres of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to the Sealaska Native Corporation. Unfortunately her changes failed to address the bill's fundamental problems, as this latest version would still significantly threaten the region's recreational and wildlife values.
Ask Please call your senators and urge them to oppose S. 881 and help defeat any effort to privatize the crown jewel of our national forest system!
3) Beyond Oil: 10,000 Flags Planted in Washington, D.C.
Last week Sierra Club volunteers planted more than 10,000 American flags on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The flags spelled out "Freedom from Oil" and represented the more than 50,000 people who signed up online asking President Obama for a plan to move the U.S. beyond oil in the next two decades.
See photos and read more about the event in this Climate Crossroads blog post, and check out the video right here.
Photo Credit: Heather Moyer
4) Coal: EPA Approves Another Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Application
Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave tentative approval to Arch Coal Inc.'s Coal-Mac Pine Creek Surface Mine in Logan County, West Virginia. This large mine would be one of the most significant mountaintop removal coal mines to receive permit approval since the EPA announced more stringent permit review guidance in April.
"We had high hopes that EPA's more stringent guidance for mountaintop removal coal mining would mean protection for our communities, but apparently we were mistaken," said Bill Price, Sierra Club Environmental Justice organizer in West Virginia. "It’s time to turn words into action and end this destructive practice."