National Resources Defense Council - Action Center

National Resources Defense Council 

The Earth's Best Defense 

NRDC's mission is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.

Click on any link below to send a pre-written message (you can edit it any way you like).

Tell President Obama to increase fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.

In April the Environmental Protection Agency finalized vehicle emissions standards that will make millions of new cars, SUVs, minivans and pick-up trucks use fuel more efficiently, but President Obama has instructed the EPA to take these standards to the next level. Urge President Obama, before the September 30th proposal deadline, to make sure his administration sets the bar high for both cars and trucks in order to reduce our dependence on oil and cut global warming pollution. 

Urge your senators to eliminate toxic BPA in baby products 

Bisphenol A (BPA), a widely used toxic chemical, has been linked to a range of health problems by hundreds of independent studies, but it remains unregulated. Urge your senators to support and vote Yes for Senator Feinstein's amendment to the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) to eliminate the use of BPA in infant formula, baby food packaging, baby bottles and sippy cups.

Tell Congress not to weaken Clean Air Act protections

As the EPA prepares to set standards for global warming pollution from power plants, refineries and other major polluters, some members of Congress want to weaken the Clean Air Act and give industries free rein to dump harmful pollution into our air. Urge your senators and representative to hold polluters accountable for their emmissions and oppose any legislation that would undermine the Clean Air Act.

Californians: Urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign important environmental bills

The California legislature finished its work on August 31st and sent hundreds of bills to Governor Schwarzenegger, including several that would benefit the environment and public health. Urge Governor Schwarzenegger to sign AB 1405, SB 346 and AB 737 to increase investments in low-income communities most harmed by air pollution, reduce copper in waterways and increase recycling.

Tell your senators not to abandon comprehensive climate and energy legislation

Thanks to a handful of Republican and Democratic obstructionist senators, the Senate failed to act on legislation that would have strengthened our economy, increased our national security and reduced the dangerous pollution causing global warming. Tell your senators that you will not accept failure in the face of one of the biggest crises of the 21st century.

Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act

The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act would strengthen the current law regulating the use of industrial chemicals, which was enacted in 1976 and is in serious need of overhaul. Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Toxic Chemical Safety Act (H.R. 5820).

Tell the EPA to strictly regulate dangerous coal ash disposal

The EPA is considering two options to regulate coal ash waste, which contains toxics such as arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury. Urge the EPA before the September 20th comment deadline to choose the stronger option that would set protective and federally enforceable regulations for coal ash disposal.

Tell President Obama to stop letting industry dump mining waste in our waters

Across the Appalachians, coal mining companies are destroying entire mountains in a practice known as mountaintop removal mining and are polluting thousands of miles of streams and rivers as they dump the waste into our waters. Urge President Obama to reinstate the previous longstanding prohibition on dumping mining waste into streams and lakes.

Tell Congress to help end mountaintop removal mining and protect the Appalachian Mountains

Because of weakened provisions in the Clean Water Act, waste from mountaintop removal mining may be dumped into nearby valleys and streams, but now the House of Representatives has the opportunity to restrict this dangerous process. Tell your representative to support and co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 1310).

Tell Congress to increase funding for global clean water

Safe drinking water is essential for human health and economic development, but dirty water causes disease and death around the world, especially in children. Tell your senators and representative to increase funding for global clean water projects.

Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act

Polluted stormwater runoff threatens water quality across the nation, but we can put rain water back into the ground where it falls by increasing natural systems like trees, green roofs and rain gardens. Urge your representative to co-sponsor the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act (H.R. 4202).

Tell Congress to close the "Halliburton Loophole" to protect drinking water from contamination

The "Halliburton Loophole" exempts hydraulic fracturing, an oil and gas production method that has been linked to water contamination, from Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. Urge your senators and representative to co-sponsor legislation to repeal the Halliburton Loophole.

Tell your senators to save our waterways from uncontrolled pollution

The Clean Water Restoration Act would restore Clean Water Act protections to vital water bodies declared unprotected because of Supreme Court decisions. Tell your senators to co-sponsor the Clean Water Restoration Act.

BP Says Limits on Drilling Imperil Spill Payouts

Published New York Times: September 2, 2010
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and JOHN M. BRODER

BP is warning Congress that if lawmakers pass legislation that bars the company from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may not have the money to pay for all the damages caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company says a ban would also imperil the ambitious Gulf Coast restoration efforts that officials want the company to voluntarily support. 

BP executives insist that they have not backed away from their commitment to the White House to set aside $20 billion in an escrow fund over the next four years to pay damage claims and government penalties stemming from the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The explosion killed 11 workers and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the gulf.

The company has also agreed to contribute $100 million to a foundation to support rig workers who have lost their jobs because of the administration’s deepwater drilling moratorium. And it pledged $500 million for a 10-year research program to study the impact of the spill.

But as state and federal officials, individuals and businesses continue to seek additional funds beyond the minimum fines and compensation that BP must pay under the law, the company has signaled its reluctance to cooperate unless it can continue to operate in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf accounts for 11 percent of its global production.

“If we are unable to keep those fields going, that is going to have a substantial impact on our cash flow,” said David Nagel, BP’s executive vice president for BP America, in an interview. That, he added, “makes it harder for us to fund things, fund these programs.”

The requests keep coming for BP to provide additional money to the Gulf Coast to help mitigate the effects of the spill. This week, Bobby Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, reiterated his request that BP finance a five-year, $173 million program to test, certify and promote gulf seafood.

BP has already agreed to pay for some measures that exceed its legal obligations. For instance, to help promote tourism in affected regions, it donated $32 million to Florida’s marketing efforts and $15 million each to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

But the company, which is based in London, now appears to be using such voluntary payments as a bargaining chip with American lawmakers.

The full report:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/03/business/03bp.html?emc=na

Department of Justice Sues Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for Refusing to Cooperate With Investigation

Friday 03 September 2010

by: Nadia Prupis, t r u t h o u t | Report

The US Justice Department (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday for alleged civil rights violations and refusal to cooperate with a federal probe.

Arpaio, who leads the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and calls himself "America's toughest sheriff," has drawn both criticism and support as one of the country's most outspoken opponents of illegal immigration. Arpaio is also an active participant in 287(g) - a program funded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that trains and authorizes state police departments in enforcing federal immigration laws. The MCSO has deported more than 26,000 immigrants in the past three years, one-quarter of the national total of 115,841.

Since March 2009, the DOJ has attempted to investigate Arpaio for a litany of alleged civil rights abuses, including racial profiling, unconstitutional searches and seizures and enforcement of English-only policies in his jails, but Arpaio's office has refused to produce all the requested documents. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits federally funded programs such as 287(g) from discriminating on the basis of race, color and national origin, and grant recipients are required to provide the DOJ full access to documents, facilities and staff during investigations. To receive federal funds for its participation in 278(g), the MCSO signed contractual agreements that assured its compliance with Title VI and promised its full cooperation with discrimination probes.

More of the story: http://www.truth-out.org/department-justice-sues-maricopa-county-sheriffs-office-refusing-cooperate-with-investigation62930

Energy Efficiency - How to Save $200 Billion a Year

From SustainableBusiness.com

Greater energy efficiency is the way to meet growing energy needs worldwide, according to a special report in the New York Times.

Energy efficiency should not be confused with energy conservation. Conservation is turning of the light when you leave the room. Energy efficiency is swapping a 40-watt incandescent light bulb for a compact fluorescent that uses 9 watts, or an LED that uses even less.

Unfortunately, energy efficiency--which has the potential to halt the growth of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions--has taken a back seat to the issue of fossil fuels and dependency on foreign oil. 

Cathy Zoi, the Obama administration's so-called energy czar says part of the problem is that energy efficiency is difficult to discuss, because it is not a concrete thing that can be produced.

“We spend about $1.1 trillion each year on our utility bills in this country,” said Ms. Zoi, of the Energy Department. “And let’s just say we could really easily reduce this by 20%. That’s an extra $200 billion you could put into productivity of other things like health care, schools, businesses that grow.”


Read the full story on the NY Times website:
www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/business/global/02iht-rensave.html?_r=1