Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club
Outings Newsletter Local Action Resources Membership
Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club
Outings Newsletter Local Action Resources Membership
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National |
 | Clean Air |
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Signs will direct you to the collection site on Rt. 3. Please do not park on the southwest side of Route 3. Collection times are Sat. from 8 am to 4:30 pm and Sun. from 8 am to 3 pm. Come anytime but you should work for minimum of 3 hrs.
A program covering the Boy Scouts, participation in the project will be presented on Friday night at 8 at the campground. Saturday night at 7:30 at the campground a program will cover our restoration work over the last ten years. If you plan to camp, please contact The Nature Conservancy by October 21 so proper arrangements can be made. Seed Collection and Storage Tips: Rubber boots recommended. Leaf blowers make collection faster and easier. Plastic bags will be provided at the collection site. If you need more information or have suggestions on how to improve the event, please call The Nature Conservancy at 618-634-2524.
Anti-environmental senators and representatives in Washington are again trying to sneak anti-environmental legislation into law by means of riders and amendments on must-pass legislation, such as appropriations bills. The leadership in the U.S. Senate has temporarily tabled S. 2237, the Interior Appropriations Bill, because of controversy over environmental riders and other political issues.
The Senate Republican leadership is now trying to attach S.1180, Senator Kempthorne's Endangered Species Act Reauthorization Bill that greatly weakens endangered species protection. to the must-pass Interior Appropriations Bill in its entirety as a rider. This way, it would get a free ride without public debate and without the Senators being held accountable for a direct vote on the issue.
The Interior Appropriations Bill will probably be brought to the Senate floor SOON for votes on MORE amendments. We must let them know NOW that we care about clean air, clean water, public lands and wildlife. The riders would stall environmental regulations, allow roads through wilderness areas, delay clean-up of air in national parks, allow trucks and jeeps in the wilderness of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, stall higher grazing fees on public lands, etc.,
WE MUST: First: Call, fax or e-mail Senators Durbin and Moseley -Braun IMMEDIATELY and make sure they oppose Kempthorne's ESA rider, and urge them to SUPPORT any amendments that strip anti-environmental riders from the Interior Appropriations Bill. Second: Write, fax or e-mail Senators Durbin and Moseley-Braun to vote against the Interior Appropriations Bill (or Omnibus Bill or Continuing Resolution) unless all anti-environmental riders are first removed. Third: Contact the White House and make sure President Clinton sends Congress a message that he will veto any bill with anti-environmental riders. Tell Bill Clinton to veto every appropriations bill containing anti- environmental riders. Make sure the White House opposes the Kempthorne anti-ESA rider. Remind the President of his many promises to veto the Interior Appropriations Bill. Fourth: spread this message far and wide.
The Shawnee Group and the Illinois Chapter have voted to endorse Barb Brown, candidate for state senate, Dist. 58, and Jim Fowler, candidate for state representative, Dist. 118. Both candidates answered questionnaires that covered many state environmental issues, and agreed with most of our positions on issues such as air quality, mega-hog farms, funding conservation land acquisition, water quality, toxic pollution, funding for renewable energy and energy conservation, recycling, incinerators, public transportation, toll roads, sprawl, and the proposed Peotone airport.
The Illinois Chapter also voted to not endorse any candidate for governor. Both George Ryan and Glenn Poshard have mediocre environmental voting records, both are promising to support increased enforcement for better water quality, and $40 million (Ryan) to $50 million (Poshard) for public land acquisition of natural areas. Instead of making an endorsement, the Chapter ExCom decided to publish a side-by-side comparison of the two candidates on the environmental issues. Look for this in the next "Lake and Prairie", due to come out in October. Also, you can check out the environmental position papers for both candidates on their web pages. George Ryan's web page is georgeryan.org, and Glenn Poshard's is poshard.com.
The Illinois Chapter, after much heated debate, decided to not endorse any candidate for U.S. Senate. Six years ago, we did endorse Carol Moseley-Braun. In fact, the national Sierra Club office sent a $5,000 donation and a full time staff person for three months to help with her campaign. The main stumbling block to endorsing Moseley-Braun this time was her blockage of sanctions against Nigeria after the execution of environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa and seven other activists of the Ogoni tribe. People who voted to endorse Moseley-Braun pointed out her 85% six year average voting record from League of Conservation Voters. Fitzgerald has a good environmental voting record as a member of the Illinois legislature (83% from Illinois Environmental Council), but his campaign is being funded by very conservative interests. Stay tuned on this one, because some people on the ExCom think that Sierra Club national office may override the Illinois Chapter on this.
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