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Announcements:
NEEDED: Rincon Group Program Coordinator
NEPA Concepts Online Course
New Mapping Tool Shows Mining's Effects On Arizona Wilderness
Great News for Arizona and Renewable Energy!!
Global Warming and Your Mutual Funds
A Special Sierra Club Request
Water-use officials discuss the future of Colorado River
Public Transit - An Opinion
My Opinion: Jim Kiser. National Parks in FEDS' Cross Hairs
New Rules Issued for National Forests - Article
Mystery novel about ANWR
Sample artwork from "Cities of the Future " web site (click to enlarge view)
- Visit the "Cities of the Future " web site to see more artwork
Forest Service Comment and Appeals Workshop: Presentation from the November, 2004, Evening Program
Arctic Quest - Borrow the Video Documentary on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Guide to Bush Administration Environmental Doublespeak
Preserve 'Gateway to the Tucson Mountains' - Article
Visit the Home of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan
The Sierra Club and Your Drinking Water
NEPA Concepts Online Course
Another (more user friendly) thing to help new and non-gov't folks understand the NEPA process, is the NEPA Concepts online course (Course # 1620-17), available anytime at no cost.
Description: The NEPA Concepts course includes an overview of the National Environmental Policy Act (Module 1) and an introduction to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations to implement NEPA (Module 2). Module 1 includes the background of NEPA, vision and intent of NEPA, and NEPA's marching orders. Module 2 includes the background of the CEQ regulations, public involvement, producing better decisions, and tools and documents.
Target Audience: This entry level course is for anyone who wants to become more familiar with the Act and the regulations. It is also for anyone working with proposals requiring NEPA analysis and documentation. The NEPA Concepts course is available to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service employees, as well as to the general public, community members, tribes, local/state/federal agencies -- anyone interested in learning more about NEPA.
Length: This self-paced course should take approximately 90 minutes to complete.
Registration: This class is available through the DOI Learn website.
NOTE: You must have Flash installed on your computer for this class to work.
- Go to the DOI Learn website (https://doilearn.doi.gov/).
- BLM employees: enter your username and password. Non-BLMers: select the Public Catalog Login, go to step 5.
- Select Course Catalog.
- Select Catalog.
- Enter 1620-17 (this is the course #) in the search box.
- Select the course name.
- BLM employees: estimate your travel, per diem, and materials costs; select who's funding.
- Select Apply. Non-BLMers: Input the info requested. Under Payment Type, select the drop-down menu then choose "Not Required".
- Select Submit Order.
CATHY HUMPHREY
NEPA/Planning/ADR Training Coordinator
BLM - National Training Center
9828 N. 31st Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85051-2517
602-906-5536 (M-Th after 10am; F)
602-906-5619 (fax)
623-330-6116 (cell)
cathy_humphrey@blm.govTop of Page
Environmental Working Group has developed a unique website using Google
mapping technology which will allow outdoor enthusiasts to see what mining
is doing to the places they love. The site pinpoints mines, both existing,
and proposed, all over the West in great detail. It also includes graphic
projections of what some areas will look like if the pending claims are not
defeated.
Our site, which will be publicly available Tuesday (12/5), will be of
interest to your members who value their wild lands. I hope that our visual
mining database will be able to serve as a wake up call and
catalyst--reeinforcing to outdoor enthusiast the effect mining is having on
the natural places they cherish. In Arizona in particular, there are a large
concentration of existing and proposed mines.
Go to: http://www.ewg.org/sites/mining_google/AZ/index.php
Matthew Fried
Assistant Web Producer
Environmental Working Group
1436 U. St. NW, Ste. 100
Washington, DC 20009
P: 202/939-9146
F: 202/232-2592
www.ewg.org
After two more days of public hearings and nearly three years, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), on November 1st, passed the final rule, establishing a new Renewable Energy Standard and Tariff (REST) that sets the goal and sets up a funding mechanism for 15 % of a utility's power resources to come from renewable sources by the year 2025. The current goal was just over 1 % by 2007.
Some members tried to pass amendments that would have weakened the rule and/or sent it back to the Attorney General's office for yet another review. In the end, the proponents of reason and "light" prevailed and the measure passed by a vote of four in favor and one against.
Let's celebrate this accomplishment.
Also, please email a quick thank you to the following commissioners for their support of renewable energy. They include:
Dear Sierra Club Activist,
As a participant in one (or more) Sierra Club e-mail
Listserv lists, we want to thank you for your involvement
with the Club and to ask you to help us expand our
communications capacity.
We would like to be able to share valuable Club information,
alerts, and publications with you via e-mail. That's why we
are writing to you this one time through your listserv to
ask for your permission to contact you occasionally and
directly through e-mail. The more people we have on our
e-mail lists, the more efficiently we can communicate
throughout the Sierra Club.
We often find that Club leaders who need, and would like,
to participate in the Club's deliberations and campaigns
are left out because we do not have permission to reach out
to them through e-mail. So we hope you will feel
comfortable allowing us to communicate with you in this way.
In addition, we thought you might want to know about some
of the e-mail publications you can subscribe to that will
help you keep up with the latest news, action alerts, and
other information from the Sierra Club:
* THE INSIDER is a bi-weekly update that covers a broad
range of Club topics, including our latest successes and
challenges, new books and films, online tools, and stories
to inspire you.
* CURRENTS provides a weekly highlight of what's happening
at the federal and state levels, makes it easy for you to
take action, and keeps you up to date on our results.
* RAW gives you a once-a-week inside story on the political
scene.
SUBSCRIBE: To get any or all of these newsletters, please
click on the following link and select which ones you'd like to
receive: http://www.sierraclub.org/email
As a special thank you for your involvement as a Sierra
Club activist, we would also like to extend to you a
special discount on any purchases you make on Sierra Club
Books via our Web site. When you make your purchase, just
enter the promotional code "HOLIDAY15" and you'll receive a
15% discount (this is in addition to the 10% discount that
all Members always receive -- just check the box on the
order form indicating that you're a Member). This discount
applies to all Sierra Club Books (although we're unable to
apply it to calendars, notecards, and other non-book
merchandise): http://www.sierraclub.org/books/holiday15
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Sierra Club,
Lisa Renstrom
Carl Pope
November 2005
I get many interesting and sometimes obscure topic suggestions from readers, but it was the obvious one I received recently that gave me pause. As it showed, while I'd been chasing down exotic ways for people to make a difference, I'd ignored one of the best of all -- and for no better reason than it's such a hard sell.
The proposed topic, from a commuter rail conductor in the Boston area, is using public transit. With gas prices what they are today, I'm thinking the sell might just have gotten easier.
I know that many people turn their noses up at the idea of using public transit. While yes, it's true, some places have inadequate (or non-existent) service, many metropolitan regions have rather fine systems these days, particularly since federal policy changed to make financing easier. The fact that they're still not all they could be doesn't mean they aren't a very good option, especially for the daily commute. After all, driving to work on congested roads is no picnic. Nor is it particularly economical.
Many people complain that public transit is inconvenient. This makes sense when service is infrequent, vehicles are overcrowded or multiple transfers are necessary. However, the complaint is raised even when these conditions don't apply, which leads me to suspect that the real impediment is often the reluctance to do something new.
I have this reluctance myself. When I had to visit a hospital in an unfamiliar part of town recently, my first thought was to take the car, despite the fact that I rely almost exclusively on the subway for daily travel. Even after learning that the subway would let me off close by, I hesitated, still concerned about chimerical problems -- that I wouldn't know which way to walk when I got out or that the neighborhood would be dangerous. In the end, my better sense prevailed, and I had a quick and pleasant trip without incident. The only real hurdle turned out to be mental.
Public transit accounts for just over 1 percent of miles traveled in the United States, compared to 10 percent in Europe. The benefits of following in Europe's footsteps include:
On May 5, the Bush administration repealed the widely supported Roadless Area Conservation Rule, opening nearly sixty-million acres of America's last wild National Forests to logging, road construction, mining, oil exploration, and other forms of development.
Nationwide, these roadless areas provide habitat for, or affect, more than 220 threatened, endangered, and proposed species, and 1,930 sensitive species.
Within Arizona alone, there are currently 71 species of plants and animals that are listed as threatened, endangered, or proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.
Roadless areas also protect more than 2,000 major watersheds, contributing to clean public water sources for more than 60 million people in the United States.
In Arizona, where hot forest fires have endangered many communities, roadless areas actually serve as forest fire deterrents. According to the Forest Service, approximately 12 million acres of National Forests are at risk of fire nationally, while about 300,000 acres-less than three percent-of roadless forests are at risk.
Under the new policy, if governors wish to have roadless areas within their state protected, they must complete a burdensome petition process and file their recommendations with political appointees at the Department of Agriculture. The federal government is free to accept, modify or reject these petitions, while elected officials and citizens outside those states will have no say at all about the fate of these shared national treasures.
Conservationists throughout the country are joining together to file an official petition with the Bush Administration to demand the reinstatement of the 2001 rule. We believe that America's last roadless National Forests belong to each and every American and all our remaining roadless areas should be protected, completely and permanently through reinstatement of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001.
Join the Petition!
If you agree with the statement above, please to join your fellow Americans and sign the petition TODAY at:
http://www.net.org/petition.php?partner=AWC
It's quick, easy, and can help ensure our pristine National Forests remain wild for future generations.
If the link does not work, copy and paste your web browser.
A petition with all of the signatures will be presented to President Bush and the Department of Agriculture. Additionally, a copy of the petition will be delivered to Governor Napolitano.
Sincerely,
Don Hoffman
Arizona Wilderness Coalition
For the past 90 years, America's national parks have been operated with the
goal of preserving them for future generations. It is a far-reaching idea
that prompted writer Wallace Stegner to declare the parks "the best idea we
ever had."
Last week, however, a group of retired Park Service employees revealed a
draft revision of the park system's management policy that so far the Bush
administration had kept secret.
The draft was written by Paul Hoffman, a deputy assistant Interior
Secretary. His major qualifications include having run the Chamber of
Commerce in Cody, Wyo., and having been an aide to Dick Cheney when Cheney
was a congressman.
Though Hoffman now oversees the Park Service, he has no Park Service
experience, and he did not consult with Park Service officials.
The draft starkly reveals the Bush administration's intent to abandon the
principle of leaving the parks unimpaired for future generations and
instead to replace it with policies promoting current use, especially
motorized or commercial uses.
You may read the complete article at:
www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/printDS/91433.php.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
My name is Sylvester Allred. I'm a Biology Professor at Northern Arizona
University. I just had a mystery novel published about ANWR - Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge. (It's 257 pages). I'm sending below a
description of the book plus two reviews. My co-author and I feel that this
book could allow more people to know more about ANWR and its fragile
ecosystem. The ISBN is 1413728464. My email is syl.allred@nau.edu.
Book Description:
The St. Petersburg Addendum,
Sylvester Allred and Dennis Burns
Alaskan State Representative and King crabber Clint Hammond has witnessed
first hand the unimpeded exploitation of Alaska's resources by greedy men,
and he desperately wants to prevent this tragedy from happening in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). But backroom deals by oil lobbyists
and politicians are proving difficult to defeat. A mysterious Russian
document-The St. Petersburg Addendum-discovered inside a WWII Japanese Zero
off Kodiak Island changes everything. Drawn further into the mystery of the
Addendum, he comes to realize after the brutal murders of his friends just
how ruthless men can be in order to control the oil that lies beneath the
fragile tundra of ANWR.
Review One:
Enviro-thriller engages with suspense not preaching
Reviewed by TOM CARPENTER
Special to the Arizona Daily Sun
Flagstaff, Arizona
10/10/2004
Word of mouth has put another good book in my hands. When a colleague
mentioned in passing that a mutual friend had recently published a novel,
the news piqued my interest.I went to Amazon.com and, sure enough,
Sylvester Allred and Dennis Burns have co-authored a novel, "The St.
Petersburg Addendum." Allred is a biology professor at Northern Arizona
University and Burns is a school psychologist working in the Kyrene School
District in the Valley. I ordered a copy.
Books written by friends sometimes prove problematic, especially if the
subject matter doesn't engage me, or if infelicities of style or usage
betray a clumsy editorial hand. Hoping for the best, I retired to my
reading chair, toddy within reach, opened the novel, and began to read.A
hundred pages later I forced myself to put down the book. I couldn't
indulge my preference and stay up all night reading the book. Work was just
a few short hours away.
If you like suspense novels, "The St. Petersburg Addendum" is an engrossing
story. It is a story of deliverance, as Georges Polti would categorize
it.The Unfortunate is not a person, it's a place: The Arctic Natural
Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) in northern Alaska.
The Threatener is Volker International, a multinational corporation
determined to drill for oil in ANWR. The Rescuer is Clint Hammond, an
Alaska state representative and owner of a crab fishing vessel, the Sierra
Seas.
The plot revolves around the possession of cylindrical brass map case found
at the bottom of Kodiak harbor in the wreckage of a WWII Japanese fighter
plane that crashed there in 1944.
In the spirit of Eric Ambler and Robert Ludlum, Allred and Burns take their
readers into unique and intriguing places. The oil industry, commercial
crabbing in the northern Pacific Ocean, the halls of power in Alaska and in
corporate America, all play a part in the story. The beauty of ANWR and our
own Antelope Canyon near Page also play a part.
Thankfully, the authors manage to avoid the shortcomings common to most
environmental suspense -- they don't proselytize at the expense of the
tale. Instead, with wonderful invention and obvious enthusiasm, they tell a
story that is a page-turning blend of sabotage, murder, loss, tragedy, and
redemption; all of it is leavened with humor and insight.
Allred and Burns sketched the idea for this novel on a napkin at Macy's
European Coffee House and Bakery. They have three other novels in the
works. If every idea sketched on a napkin at Macy's was as successful as
"The St. Petersburg Addendum," we'd all be wearing my invention to replace
shoes: leather socks.
The St. Petersburg Addendum
By Sylvester Allred and Dennis Burns
PublishAmerica. 2004. 257 pp.
$21.95
Review Two:
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/nov_04.htm
The St. Petersburg Addendum
Sylvester Allred and Dennis Burns
Publish America
PO Box 151, Frederick, MD 21705-0151
1413728464
$21.95
www.publishamerica.com
November 2004
The St. Petersburg Addendum is a gripping original novel pitting a catcher
of king crabs and an Alaskan state representative against the unmitigated
greed of corporate interests seeking to strip Alaska's natural resources
and despoil the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. When a mysterious Russian
document surfaces, it escalates the struggle to an even higher level -
innocent people are targeted and murdered in the frantic struggle to seize
ownership of coveted oil. A sometimes chilling, always exciting saga of
human dynamics and destructive power.
From Roy Emrick:
Many of you heard Jeff Barrie give his presentation about the Arctic NWR. He showed a brief clip from his documentary, "Arctic Quest". The Rincon Group purchased a copy of the video and it just arrived.
Please contact me if you would like to view it and particularly if you would be able to show it to a group of friends or some group of which you are a member. There is not much time to generate letters and calls to prevent drilling.
Thanks,
Roy
520-326-7883 or 
News Contact: Rob Smith
For immediate release 602-254-8362
8/11/2004 c: 602-432-2995
Many citizens may be confused about what the Bush Administration has been doing to our environment and public health. That’s understandable when one considers that our water is now getting dirtier for the first time in 30 years, that America has stopped funding toxic waste cleanup, and that the Bush Administration has removed protections for more land than Teddy Roosevelt managed to protect during his entire Presidency.
To clarify what the Bush Administration means when they seem to say one thing but do another, we’ve developed a quick reference guide to explain their policies:
Healthy Forests – leave no tree behind. The result is a Forest Service starved for funding to thin brush at Summerhaven prior to the Aspen fire two years ago, but with plenty of dollars to plan the East Rim Timber Sale and log old growth ponderosa 48 miles from the nearest town near the rim of the Grand Canyon.
A better solution is to target Forest Service projects around communities at greatest risk from wildfire, and thin the fire-prone small trees and brush while protecting old growth and leaving the fire-resistant big trees standing.
Clear Skies – life support for dirty old power plants. The Bush Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency has proposed weakening programs to require power plants built last century meet modern pollution control standards when they expand.
A better solution would be to simply enforce the existing Clean Air Act to clean up dirty coal plants and keep making progress on cleaner air.
Clean water – a truly mercurial policy. On the one hand, the Bush Administration’s Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings to pregnant women to avoid eating tuna fish because of accumulated mercury from the water, but on the other hand their EPA is proposing to delay mercury cleanup at coal-fired power plants, the major source of air borne mercury contamination which falls in the water.
A more consistent solution is to simply enforce previous programs to clean up mercury from industrial sources so fish are safe for mothers and children to eat.
Energy Policy – drill America first. Although the United States has only 3% of the world’s oil, and imports nearly two-thirds of what we use, the Bush Administration has made using up our supply of non-renewable fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, the top priority for our national public lands, from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to ranchland and forests across the Rocky Mountain West.
A better solution is to develop renewable solar and wind energy, and increasing energy efficiency, including miles per gallon standards for trucks and cars.
Forest roadless area protection – to bulldoze roads to nowhere where clean water, trails and wildlife now exist on our national forests. The Bush Administration is still looking for ways to remove protections against unneeded new roads into the last remaining wild places on our national forests, such as areas approaching the Grand Canyon and within the Salt River watershed.
A better answer would be to acknowledge the record-breaking support for saving our undeveloped forest to provide open space, protected watersheds and wildlife habitat for future generations.
Bald eagles off the Endangered Species list – a bird off the list is worth two in the Bush Administration. However, the unique, desert-nesting Bald eagle living in central Arizona still needs the protections provided by the world’s strongest wildlife conservation law since there are still only 41 nesting pairs in our state.
A better choice is to maintain the protections now existing which brought back our nation’s symbol from the edge of extinction.
Climate change (global warming) – a means to import melting ice from the Arctic Sea to new beachfront property in Arizona. The Bush Administration has ignored world-wide concern and general scientific agreement that global climate change is real, happening and could be human-caused by industrial pollution. Global climate change could aggravate Arizona’s current drought conditions.
A more responsible policy is to support the Kyoto agreement on limiting air pollution from coal-fired power plants, among other sources of carbon dioxide, and lead the world to a cleaner and safer energy future.
Guest Opinion: Preserve 'Gateway to the Tucson Mountains'
State Sen. JORGE GARCIA and
State Reps. OLIVIA CAJERO BEDFORD and PHIL LOPES
In 1997, and again this May, the voters of Pima County approved bond measures to buy open space. Both times, the list of recommended purchases included the Painted Hills.
This series of saguaro-studded ridges rise west of Tucson between Speedway and Anklam Road.
These parcels' beauty long has been admired. Unfortunately, the land was not acquired with the 1997 bond money because increasing costs limited how much land the money could buy.
Now, though this property again has been approved for purchase, it may be lost to development.
A subdivision plan has been submitted to Pima County for the eastern two-thirds of this land, and another proposal is being submitted for the western third.
Because the property is zoned one house per acre, houses will be densely lined up on the Anklam and Speedway sides.
The land is steep and rocky, so much blasting and grading will have to occur, destroying forever the property's scenic and habitat values.
With development happening furiously all over the Tucson basin, why should we care about these properties in particular?
This site is part of the principal gateway into the Tucson Mountains. Their fate is not a local or neighborhood issue. The two roads that edge this land the two most popular routes to take visitors to Tucson Mountain Park, Saguaro National Park West and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Today these routes pass through relatively pristine desert - hills rich with imposing desert vegetation and washes that provide corridors for wildlife.
In winter, it is common to see out-of-state visitors stopping to take their first pictures of saguaros, even before reaching Tucson Mountain Park.
Retaining these hills in their natural condition is important to all of us whose reasons for living here include our love for the desert.
If the county fails to acquire this land, the consequences will be serious. Not only will homes and driveways crowd the slopes where saguaros once stood, but also nearby roads will be crowded.
An additional 1,400 daily vehicle trips would commence on these narrow, two-lane roads. Their capacity is no greater now than in the mid-1950s when they first were paved.
The result will be a textbook example of poor planning - multi-vehicle homes, built beyond public transportation, destroying an unspoiled portion of the desert enjoyed by residents and tourists alike.
As happened in 1997, the cost of all approved open space properties now exceeds the bond funds available, and decisions must be made.
County supervisors and the Conservation Acquisition Commission must choose between two starkly different fates for the Gateway to the Tucson Mountains.
We urge both groups to preserve a scenic resource valuable to us all and protect against yet another example of insensitive sprawl.
Money is available, and this purchase will not reduce the funds approved for species protection. The correct decision will be to keep these highly visible, steep, imposing ridges in their natural state as a close-to-town example of the Sonoran Desert for all to enjoy.
Then the public, which twice approved protection of this land, will get what it voted for.
State Sen. Jorge Garcia and Reps. Olivia Cajero Bedford and Phil Lopes are all Democrats who represent Tucson's District 27 in the Arizona Legislature.
THE SIERRA CLUB AND YOUR DRINKING WATER
To learn more about Sierra Club's work on water privatization, go to www.sierraclub.org/cac/water. You can also download the Sierra Club's bottled water brochure from this site.
WHY THE SIERRA CLUB IS CONCERNED ABOUT BOTTLED WATER
Hopefully the water delivered to your home is pure and of high quality. Here is some information to help you take action if you are concerned about the safety of your drinking water or the growing consumer use of bottled water. Bottled water may be needed in emergency situations where local drinking water is contaminated, but it is expensive, a special burden on the poor, and its production can harm the environment.
It is Sierra Club policy that "National and local laws, regulations and pricing should be put in place and enforced to ensure sufficient quantities of safe and affordable drinking water for all inhabitants and to ensure the health of the planet's ecological systems."
To assist chapters and groups in making sure that public water supplies are safe and affordable, the Sierra Club is part of the "Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water ". http://www.safe-drinking-water.org/rtk.html
HOW SAFE IS YOUR LOCAL DRINKING WATER?
July is the month when most citizens receive their Annual "Right to Know Reports", also commonly referred to as “Consumer Confidence” or “Water Quality” reports. This report provides you with information about the source of your drinking water, contaminants that were detected in the water during the 2003 calendar year, the likely source of the contamination, important health information--especially for people who are more likely to be harmed by common drinking water contaminants, and information on how you can get involved in protecting your drinking water. Under the 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act all water suppliers are required to produce an annual report informing their customers about the source and quality of their drinking water.
Water Suppliers are required to mail this information to all bill paying customers by July 1st. If you have not received a copy of this report or you live in an apartment and do not pay for your water, contact your local water utility to request a copy. To find out more information about how to contact your water supplier or to access the report on line see: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm.
"Consumer Reports" magazine (January 2003) features an excellent article about these reports and how to read them. It points out where the reports can fall short of adequate disclosure. It also compares and discusses the effectiveness of water filters people can use in their homes.
The Campaign for Safe and Affordable Drinking Water and Consumers Reports have both identified why citizens need to read their reports carefully and do more to protect their drinking water. "If your report says on the cover that your water is safe, probably 9 out of 10 people toss it," says Eric Olsen, a senior staff attorney at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council. "It concerns us that people who are vulnerable may never see the information they need to see."
While water systems are free to enhance their reports in any useful way, each report must provide consumers with the following fundamental information about their drinking water:
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