Help BCAN take action in these global and local efforts:
- Stop Mountaintop Removal!
- Support Public Transportation
- Federal Green Jobs Act
- Global climate treaty
- Conservation Law Foundation’s 5 year-plan for climate action
- Opt out of unsolicited phone directories delivery
Demand a permanent moratorium on mountaintop removal coal mining!
In late March, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that they’d be delaying and reviewing two permits for mountaintop removal mining operations and calling into question more that 100 pending permits that threaten mountains, waterways and communities across Appalachia.
But one day after the big announcement, the EPA released a clarification saying that although the permits were under review, they expected that “the bulk of these pending permit applications will not raise environmental concerns.”
Why?
Because Big Coal has some deep pockets.
Please send a letter to Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking her to stand up to industry pressure and support a permanent moratorium on mountaintop removal coal mining. Click HERE to be re-directed to the Rainforest Action Network letter template where you can sign your name and make your voice heard!
Support public transportation and improve conditions for MBTA riders!
Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) has organized a campaign to support new legislation for MBTA Debt Relief and accountability on the MBTA Board of Directors. Your help is crucial to reach legislators and create momentum for this legislative effort!
1. Identify your legislators and their contact information. For online help, enter your address at wheredoivotema.com and look for Senate in General Court and Rep in General Court. Click on their name for a link their contact information.
2. Call your legislators and ask them to co-sponsor both An Act to Improve the MBTA’s Finances and An Act Regarding the MBTA Board of Directors.
3. If your legislator(s) or a legislator you know wants to sign on as a co-sponsor, thank them and have them contact the office of the lead sponsors:
For the MBTA Debt Relief Bill, An Act to Improve the MBTA’s Finances, contact Daniel Glasser in Representative Carl Sciortino’s office at (617) 722-2018 or at Daniel.Glasser@state.ma.us. Representative Alice Wolf is also a lead sponsor.
For the Accountability on the T Board, An Act Regarding the MBTA Board of Directors, contact Rosie Hunter in Representative Liz Malia’s office at (617) 722-2060 or at Rosie.Hunter@state.ma.us.
4. Finally, please email ACE to let them know which legislators you’ve asked to be co-sponsors. To reach ACE by phone, call Lee at (617) 442-3343 x229.
Demand implementation of Federal Green Jobs Act
We succeeded in winning passage of the federal Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorized $22.5 million to create a pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of green industries – including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating “green pathways out of poverty.” Unfortunately its been over six months since this Act was passed and the Labor Department has not yet made plans for this program. Please call the Department of Labor at 202-693-6000. Tell them you expect full enactment of the Green Jobs Act of 2007. You can also email the Dept of Labor.
Demand a global climate treaty pegged to 350 parts per million
Climatologist James Hansen, head of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, recently told the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Climate Change that the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies should be put on trial for crimes against humanity and nature. He also asserted that because we haven’t done anything yet to curb our emissions, he is certain that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is already beyond the safe level – we’re already at 385 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and it’s increasing at a rate of 2ppm a year. The “safe” level, according to Hansen, is between 300 and 350. (Read excerpts from his testimony at http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/23/164650/123?source=daily) Join BostonCAN’s 350 campaign committee to help spread the word about the urgency and magnitude of the changes we need to protect ourselves from climate instability. Call 617-278-1885 for the next meeting date. To understand why this urgent political campaign is so important, check out the great new animated videos on our Resources page.
Support Conservation Law Foundation’s 5 year-plan for climate action
CLF lays out a blueprint for five concrete steps the New England states can take in the next five years that will deliver the greatest near-term protection against climate change. 1. Boost investment in public transit and compact, transit-oriented development. 2. Invest $1 billion in new energy efficiency resources. 3. Build 2,000 megawatts of new wind power. 4. Shut down at least two regional coal-fired power plants or convert them to cleaner fuels. 5. Pass legislation mandating meaningful emissions reductions in every New England state. Pledge your support at http://www.newenglandclimatesolutions.org/
Join the campaign to stop delivery of unsolicited phone directories
www.YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is helping municipalities and local governments around the country establish ordinances to mandate Yellow Pages and White Pages only be delivered to home and offices that ask for them. Over 500 million of these directories are printed every year. 7.2 million barrels of oil are misspent in their processing (not including the wasted gas used for their delivery to your doorstep)
