 In the afterglow of an election that resulted in 20 greener seats in the House and five in the Senate (not to mention six greener Governors), it's tempting to think that the environment will have clear sailing on Capital Hill for the next couple of years. Not so fast. As the Sierra Club's Melinda Pierce said in a New York Times story last week, "The environmental community has to recognize how difficult it's going to be to advance an environmental agenda with such narrowly held majorities." So, there's plenty of work still to do, and we're rolling up our sleeves. As Carl Pope writes: "What we have won is an opportunity."
One place in Washington, DC that shows no sign of getting any greener is the White House. Although President Bush acknowledged our oil addiction in his last State of the Union Address, so far he's done nothing about it. Now that Americans have elected a greener Congress, the President has a golden opportunity.
Help us send a message to the White House. Between now and the next State of the Union Address in January, we want to send half a million messages to the White House: President Bush, it's time to get serious about global warming.
And after you've told the President, ask a couple of friends to do the same.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the latest issue of Sierra magazine celebrates "green cuisine," which editor Paul Rauber defines as "local, organic and delicious." One article you might want to read before you load up your Thanksgiving dinner shopping cart is "Cheap Food Nation," by Eric Schlosser, author of the bestselling Fast Food Nation. Eric explains why some foods are too cheap.
Want to celebrate this with food you can truly be thankful for? We show you how to make your Thanksgiving dinner greener in just five easy steps.
 Today marks the release of two must-see feature documentaries, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth (maybe you've heard of it?) is available in retail outlets. Visit the website at www.climatecrisis.net.
Turk Pipkin's Nobelity is a stunning look at insights into the world's most pressing problems as seen through the eyes of nine Nobel laureates, filmed across the U.S., and in France, England, India, and Kenya. It's available on DVD at www.nobelitythemovie.com or by calling 1-800-424-2593.
The third film is actually seven short films -- the Sierra Club Chronicles series. If you haven't yet seen all of these dramatic episodes of everyday heroes fighting for the health of their communities, you can now get them all on one DVD at a low introductory price of $10.
 A breathtakingly beautiful landscape in New Mexico, where herds of elk roam mountains, valleys, and thick forests, will soon be protected from oil and gas drilling. On November 16, the Senate approved the Valle Vidal Protection Act of 2005. The bill was authored by Rep. Tom Udall, (D-N.M.), and backed by both New Mexican senators, one a Democratic and one a Republican. Final approval is up to President Bush. The struggle to protect Valle Vidal has been a long-running effort for Sierra Club activists in the state and was the subject of a feature story in Sierra magazine last year.
It's not updated as often as most of the busier blogs out there, but when it comes to substance, the Hybridblog from the Union of Concerned Scientists is absolutely top-drawer stuff. The Hybridblog often adopts a Q and A format, answering common questions directly from readers. Recent entries address inquiries about "clean diesels," the fate of old hybrid batteries, and whether it's better for the environment to hang on to an old gas guzzler or trade it in for a newer more fuel-efficient hybrid. For anyone considering a possible hybrid purchase, it's hard to think of a more relevant resource.
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November 21, 2006
