Action Alert Time

The following items are taken from a Sierra Club Action Alert forwarded on WISe by Jim Sconyers

Auto Industry Scam. There they go again. The Big 3 U.S. automakers are yet again attacking miles per gallon (also known as corporate average fuel efficiency, or CAFE) standards. Once again they are pushing a bill to repeal the president's authority to set CAFE standards, and in the meantime asking their friends on the House and Senate transportation committees to craft a budget rider blocking any increase in standards. Their argument: They just can't make their products any cleaner or more fuel efficient.

Their argument has always been a lie, but now they have admitted it. The European operations of Ford and General Motors have announced that they are supporting a plan to raise the average fuel economy of new cars sold in Europe to 39 mpg within 10 years. That's dramatically higher than the current U.S. standard of 27.5 mpg for cars, and nearly double the 20.7 standard for light trucks, mini vans, and sport utility vehicles.

Expose Ford's and GM's hypocrisy! Write a letter to the editor of your local paper highlighting their anti-environmental efforts. When you draft your own message, be sure to mention:

* Here in the United States, the Big 3 deny they can improve efficiency and cut pollution, but in Europe they are doing it voluntarily.

* More efficient cars mean less pollution, more money in consumers' pockets, less dependence on foreign oil and less pressure to drill in sensitive wilderness areas.

* Why do automakers feel Europeans should get the benefit of these technologies, but not Americans? Use the sample letter to the editor below as your guide.

"To the Editor:

For years the Big 3 U.S. automakers have said they just can't reduce pollution from their cars and trucks. Less smog? Costs too much. More fuel efficiency? Can't be done. Cleaner technology? Doesn't exist. What's worse, they have now launched a massive lobbying effort to eliminate the president's authority to set miles per gallon standards, arguing that more efficiency is bad for business.

But wait, what's this? Even as they argue that here in the United States we should freeze mpg standards at current levels (a modest 27.5 mpg for cars and 20.7 for light trucks), the European operations of Ford and General Motors are supporting a plan to raise the average fuel economy of new cars sold in Europe to 39 mpg within 10 years.

This is great news for drivers in Europe, but what about American consumers?

What do we face from Ford and GM's domestic product line? More air pollution, more reliance on foreign oil, more money wasted at the gas pump, and a greater threat of global warming.

Ford and GM have now admitted that technology exists to vastly reduce the amount of pollution coming out of the tailpipes of our cars and trucks. Why should they offer its benefits to Europeans and not Americans? They should drop the lobbying campaign and spend that money on cleaning up their acts.

Sincerely, "

Responsibility for Actions. A United Nations human rights report critical of the Nigerian government's failure to address the plight of the minority Ogoni people has for the first time also called for an investigation into the activities of the multinational oil-giant Shell. The report runs counter to oil company claims of a new socially responsible ethic. Shell officials will gather in London on Friday for the company's annual meeting.

"The Special Rapporteur's mandate only covers the conduct of U.N. member states, not private companies," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "It is remarkable, then, that the U.N. has seen fit to reference reports of an armed Shell security force which Nigerians claim has been employed against environmental protesters."

"Issues relating to environmental degradation in the River Delta region alleged to be caused by the operations of the Shell Petroleum Development Company have received insufficient attention," said Soli Sorabjee, the Special Rapporteur on Nigeria to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, in his report to the UN which met in Geneva on April 15. Shell continues to deny allegations of environmental damage in the Ogoni region of the Nigerian delta.

"Shell has become quite proud of their new-found social conscience, so they issue reports each year at this time patting themselves on the back," said Pope. "This year we would like to see the company accept responsibility for their pollution of Ogoniland and for their collusion with the Nigerian military, by accepting the U.N. call for an independent environmental assessment."

On Nov. 10, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni minority-rights advocates were hanged by the Nigerian military following a trial that lacked any independence or impartiality. The Ogoni had been protesting Shell's environmental devastation of their land and water. Key witnesses for the prosecution subsequently recanted their testimony and have signed sworn statements indicating that they were bribed by the Nigerian military and Shell to testify against Saro-Wiwa. Another 20 Ogoni, arrested with Saro-Wiwa, languish in jail under gruesome conditions. The Ogoni region of Nigeria is now a closed military zone where Saro-Wiwa's supporters are routinely jailed and tortured.

For more information, please visit the Sierra Club website at: http://www.sierraclub.org/human-rights/nigeria.html

Copies of the U.N. Special Rapporteur's report can be found on the Internet at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu4/chrrep/98chr62.htm.

Sierra Club Calls For Stronger Endangered Species Protections. Sierra Club Conservation Director Bruce Hamilton is defending the rights of all creatures great and small in response to what is considered a premature decision by Interior Secretary Babbitt to remove the bald eagle and two dozen other species from the endangered species list.

According to the Club's Endangered Species Act expert, Melinda Pierce, "The ESA can and does work. The comeback of the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon and the gray wolf demonstrates that we are making progress. But we are not there yet. It is absurd that Congress -- which is now poised to vote on the reauthorization of the ESA -- would consider weakening this extremely effective law." Congress is considering a bill that would eliminate wildlife protections and weaken the federal government's role as "watchdog" and ESA enforcer.

There has been significant debate over whether the science supports official delisting of the eagle. "We are concerned that the science may not support this move," said Pierce.

Though the numbers of bald eagles is rebounding in some areas of the country, questions remain about the eagle's distribution throughout its historic range and the health of its prey species.

Earth Month, Hawaiian Style. A 11-member coalition of environmental and community groups in Maui hosted 14 events with environmental themes in April. A mass publicity campaign under the theme, "Ke Aloha 'Aina Month -- Earth Month, Maui Style," was launched April 3 with a resolution from the Maui County Council. There were historical hikes, shoreline cleanups and alien plant removal outings, environmental films, a benefit whale watch, and four Earth Week fairs. The intention of the month-long effort was to create a public view of environmental-advocacy groups as providing sensible and useful information and solutions for environmental issues. In other words, they wanted to project a proactive, rather than reactive public image. The events also gave citizens a chance to send a strong message to local leaders (petitions and postcards) that protecting natural resources is a priority. The high profile, high energy approach generated great publicity in all local media as well as good public participation (estimated at about 2,000 people for all events). ?

Sierra Club Legislative Hotline - 202-675-2394
Sierra Club National Headquarters - 415-977-5500
Sierra Club World Wide Web -http://www.sierraclub.org
White House Comment Line - 202-456-1111
White House Fax Line - 202-456-2461
Clinton's e-mail - president@whitehouse.gov
Gore's e-mail - vice-president@whitehouse.gov
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
To contact your senators - http://www.senate.gov/senator/index.html
To contact your representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep/ _