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ESA UPDATE!

This is a press alert from the CA Attorney General's office. Please read the current administration's (Bush) outrageous efforts and join your local wildlife chapter to counter these efforts.


"Attorney General Brown Sues to Overturn Bush Administration Rules Undermining Endangered Species Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 29, 2008
Contact: Christine Gasparac (916) 324-5500

Attorney General Brown Sues to Overturn Bush Administration Rules Undermining Endangered Species Act

SAN FRANCISCO– California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has filed suit in federal court to block an “audacious attempt” by the Bush Administration to gut provisions in the Endangered Species Act mandating scientific review of federal agency decisions that may threaten endangered species and their habitat.

“The Bush Administration is seeking to gut the Endangered Species Act on its way out the door,” Attorney General Brown said. “This is an audacious attempt to circumvent a time-tested statute that for 35 years has required scientific review of proposed federal agency decisions that affect wildlife.”

The new regulations, initially proposed by the Departments of the Interior and Commerce in August 2008 and made final on December 16, largely eliminate a requirement in the Endangered Species Act that mandates scientific review of federal agency decisions that might affect endangered and threatened species and their habitats.

The changes allow federal agencies to undertake or permit mining, logging, and other commercial activities on federal land and other areas without obtaining review or comment from federal wildlife biologists on the environmental effects of such activities.

The new regulations are the most significant changes to the Endangered Species Act and its implementing regulations in 20 years. Now that these regulations have been adopted, many decisions on whether to permit commercial activities on protected land will be made at the discretion of federal agency project proponents. These agencies generally lack adequate biological expertise and have incentives to conclude that their projects will not have adverse affects on endangered and threatened species and their habitat.

The changes also eliminate the requirement to consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on species and ecosystems from proposed federal projects. Federal agencies now no longer need to consider the possible adverse impacts on species like the polar bear from commercial projects that require federal approval or funding such as highway construction and coal-fired power plants.

The lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the Bush Administration:

• Violated the Endangered Species Act by adopting regulations that are inconsistent with that statute;
• Violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider the environmental ramifications of the proposed new regulations; and
• Violated the Administrative Procedures Act by not adequately considering public comments submitted by the Attorney General and numerous other organizations and concerned citizens.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit follows three similar lawsuits challenging the regulations filed earlier by environmental groups.

Attorney General Brown’s complaint challenging the regulations and comments on the proposed regulations are attached.


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"The inspector general of the Interior Department has found that agency officials often interfered with scientific work in order to limit protections for species at risk of becoming extinct, reviving attention to years of disputes over the Bush administration’s science policies...“MacDonald’s zeal to advance her agenda has caused considerable harm to the integrity” of the Endangered Species Act programs “and to the morale and the reputation” of the Fish and Wildlife Service, “as well as potential harm to individual species,” Mr. Devaney said in a cover letter to his report."

Read the full article here

Consider this article when wrapping your gifts this season.

Not sure what to do with your holiday cards? Have a few that are just too cute to toss? Recycle them! The St. Jude's Children's Ranch has long been (more than 30 years) eco-friendly during the holiday season. Through the end of February 2009, St. Jude's is accepting your greeting cards, which children will cut up and use to make new cards. Children remove the back portion of the card, attach a new portion and then cards are sold to the public and regular St. Jude's donors. The $8.00 per pack proceeds benefit various Ranch programs. Visit http://www.stjudesranch.org/help_card.php, or see the information abstracted from St. Jude's Web site below:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children
Card Recycling Program
100 St. Jude's Street
Boulder City, NV 89005


Be super eco-friendly this season and purchase your recycled greeting cards for friends and family from St. Jude's Children's Ranch.

Cards are sold in packets of 10 for $8.00 and are available in the following categories:

General Christmas Cards
Religious Christmas Cards
Easter Cards
Birthday Cards
Thank You Cards
All Occasion General Greeting Cards
Orders may be placed by any of the methods below:

Email cards@stjudesranch.org
Phone 1-800-492-3562 or
Send your request and donation to:
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
ATTN: Donor Office
P.O. Box 60100
Boulder City, NV 89006-0100

With the closing of the first annual Green Wine Summit in California’s wine country, wine growers and others in the vino business recommitted to a greener industry. The Green Wine Summit held Monday and Tuesday was well attended by growers and wine professionals eager to enhance their already sustainable growing protocols with best practices and new technologies.

Topics ranged covering better energy technologies like solar power, reduced waste streams through recycling and better packaging, and more efficient transportation of wine products. Wineries, similar to farms and ranches, have been growing sustainably in an effort to maintain a harmonious balance with nature. For example, wineries have installed wind or solar power systems, raised the bar in Integrated Pest Management practices while eliminating the use of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals to treat and fertilize crops, converted to recycled materials for their bottling and packaging, and tapped into recycled water supplies.

As the green bandwagon continues to roll, wineries are looking for more advanced practices to continue growing sustainably, but to also better communicate their history of sustainable agriculture to consumers. The Green Wine Summit supplied just that. Conference speakers like Seth Bauer, Vice President and Editorial Director for National Geographic’s Green Guide, and Joseph Dillon of the National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as others, presented updates on the state’s Association of Winegrape Growers and the Wine Institute’s certification program where wineries can showcase their sustainability efforts. The voluntary pilot certification program grew out of the 2002 Code of Sustainable Winegrowing effort that more than 63 percent of the state’s growers have participated in and followed. Just like the Green Guide, the hope is that consumers will look to the Association for a long list of sustainable wineries and make their purchasing habitats based on that list. Speakers also encouraged wineries to apply for and showcase their local green business certifications as part of additional consumer outreach efforts.

Fueling Biofuels

America is working to limit the country’s dependence on foreign oil supplies. To do so, a portfolio of renewable energy supplies are needed and part of that portfolio will be biofuels. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in research and development have been spent experimenting with various crops like soybeans, corn, and plants like various palm trees, algae and even animal fat to generate oil. But, years of research throughout Europe, America and one of the leading countries in biofuels, Brazil, have found that biofuels are not really ready for the masses. Improvements in production efficiency as well as more cost-effective production is necessary before biofuels can be commercialized for fuel in our vehicles.
But, given the current financial crisis, additional money for research and development of biofuels is limited. But, that may be just what the country needs to offset costs of fuel for millions of families. Fueling more research and development could also mean more jobs to jump start spending in the market. So, to keep the biofuels industry alive, President Bush authorized the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act that provides $700 billion to financial lenders. A condition of this Act directly benefits the pocket books of biofuel production companies. The condition allows companies to write off some of the money spent on developing biofuels, effectively removing them from the red. What does this mean for the industry? Well, while it doesn’t pump more money into research and development directly, it potentially frees up money that would have gone to paying taxes on the portions of money spent early on in the development process. By writing off that money spent, less tax is paid, and there exists a potential for companies to re-appropriate dollars for further research and development to improve biofuels, which can then be sold to begin to eliminate fossil fuel consumption, generate revenue for the biofuels industry, and reduce environmental degradation.
An additional problem is also emerging: cheaper gasoline prices. As the economy halts and demand for gas has decreased, gas prices have dropped allowing more people to afford gas once again. This creates some competition with biofuels. If we can get gas cheap again, why invest in biofuels at all? It is critical that we, as a country, do not take this approach. We must continue to develop efficient and affordable biofuels supplies to reduce dependence on foreign oils, a market that can fluctuate at any time, reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the use of biofuels, and reduce air pollution in our major cities.