2 Birds, 1 Stone

Want to help the environment AND the economy? Well, here's your chance...on top of spending your economic stimulus check on new solar panels, which I know you're all doing, you can sign a petition and help the Clean Energy movement maintain it's momentum, instead of stalling out while congress hems and haws.
Clean Energy has the potential to become one of the largest industries in the future, supporting jobs for everyone from computer programmers and engineers, to welders and farmers. Save the planet, and save cash by using renewable energy in your home and automobiles. Sounds like a dream, huh? Let's see if we can make it a reality.
Go to WeCanSolveIt.org and sign the petition!

Your personal field guide

Ever wonder what sort of interesting wildlife is lurking right in your own back yard? Well now its as easy as typing your zip code to find out! Just go to eNature.com and see for yourself. I discovered 85 species of butterflies and 65 species of amphibians right here in my own area. Of course, take the zoning with a grain of salt, as it goes more by region than actual zip code...I'm actually somewhat south of the region highlighted on the map for my area code. If you know other local zip codes you might try checking them too, or use eNature's advanced search if you are looking for something specific and not finding it. You can even find bugs, seashells, and animal tracks in their database! All in all, a very nifty tool for you nature lovers out there.

California, the conservation state!

From the Associated Press:

LONG BEACH, Calif.—The $7 million, 50-acre Dominguez Gap Wetlands project in Long Beach is already becoming a wildlife haven.

Mayor Bob Foster and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe cut the ribbon on the flood channel wetlands Thursday.

The project along the east of west sides of the Los Angeles River near the San Diego Freeway is designed to provide flood protection, clean water and an urban nature preserve.

It also improves groundwater quality and offers trails for walkers and horseback riders.

The red-shouldered hawk, great blue heron and tri-colored blackbird are already returning to the area.

And:

Historic SoCal land conservation deal hammered out

Thursday, May 8, 2008

A group of environmentalists and the owners of a large expanse of wilderness have hammered out a deal that would result in the largest parcel of land designated for conservation in California history that could rival Yosemite National Park in its diversity of wildlife.

Republican TV?

Welcome to my rant!

So, we've been noticing a trend in tv recently, a Green trend. New shows from how to build or remodel your home to be more 'green', to a show about turning a classic chevy into an electric car. From 'The Human Footprint' to 'Aftermath: Population Zero'. Shows that highlight the impact we have on our world, and give us ideas about how do it better.

So what is up with the new shows on the History Channel and TruTv? I'm talking about 'Ax men' and TruTv's new 'not reality, actuality' show about oil drilling. Haven't we just taken a HUGE step backwards here? What is this, television for eco-exploitationists? Did someone make a poll of tv viewers that suggested that middle-aged white republican men who made their money from the oil and logging industries were feeling left out? What comes next, CourtTv comes up with a show following young, successful Washington lobbyists trying to buy support for bills to open up our national parks and forests to timber and oil speculation? RFDTV tries to make a hero out of wild horse wranglers, chasing day old foals with helicopters? It just doesn't fly.

I have officially boycotted 'Ax Men' and TruTv in general (because really, it might as well be the 'Britney Spears photo voyeurism channel' for all its relevancy.)

A Letter on Bison Management

Governor Brian Schweitzer
Office of the Governor
Montana State Capitol Bldg.
Helena MT 59620-0801

Thank you for your message regarding Yellowstone National Park bison management.

I would like to direct your attention to the recent Government Accounting Office (GAO) report on the Interagency Bison Management Plan, its shortcomings, and the inability to move to Step 2 of the Plan (expected to occur during the winter of '02-'03).

The GAO conclusions track very closely changes that I have been advocating, including consummation of a grazing agreement with the Royal Teton Ranch, allowing for removal of that cattle herd, and passage through the ranch for hungry bison.

The State of Montana will continue to work with the land owners, livestock interests, wildlife and conservation groups, and the federal agencies that bear responsibility for bison management. At this point, negotiations have been completed with the Royal Teton Ranch, site of the largest cattle herd near the park. As directed by the Interagency Bison Management Plan, this agreement will better secure Montana's disease-free status while providing more tolerance for bison. Half of the funding for this agreement has been committed by the National Park Service. Montana will now be working to secure the remainder of the funding with the National Wildlife Foundation, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the National Parks Conservation Association, and others.

As is urged by the GAO report ( http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08291.pdf), we will continue to seek and support vaccine research that provides protections against brucellosis, work with other willing landowners on creative grazing and management agreements, and utilize fair-chase hunting to manage bison in a manner similar to other large game species.

I appreciate hearing from you. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Sincerely,

BRIAN SCHWEITZER
Governor of Montana

Yellowstone under attack

Two alerts from Defenders of Wildlife this week:

The Yellowstone Bison slaughter, and the killing of wolves in the Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain regions.
According to wikipedia.com the American Bison is listed as "Lower Risk" in conservation status...but that lower risk comes with the title "Conservation Dependant." So, if these animals depend on our conservation efforts in order to thrive, why do park officials chase wandering buffalo back into the park where they can't find food in winter, or ship them off to be slaughtered? Because of unfounded fears that Buffalo (or Bison if you prefer), which belong to the same family as domestic cattle will pass along diseases to domestic cattle. The disease Brucellosis can be passed from animals to animals and animals to humans by intact skin contact...that means it's highly contagious, kids. But that doesn't seem like a good enough reason to me. The thing that strikes me most about the issue is that as near as I can tell, while Canada has completely eradicated the disease in their country, the United States doesn't seem to even require ranchers to vaccinate their animals against it! And we're going to kill the BUFFALO? Cause yeah, its their fault!
Now, I'm not a big fan of vaccinating wild animals against diseases (other than rabies, perhaps) but to me this seems like a case where vaccination of wild elk (which can also harbor the disease) and bison herds might be the lesser of two evils.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program: Rocky Mountain Wolves.
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone and parts of Idaho and Montana has been one of the greatest endangered species recovery success stories of all time. So great, in fact, that the Bush Administration has been fighting to de-list them (prematurely, in the eyes of many conservationists) and last week Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming took over 'management' of the 1200 some wolves living in their states. To people like Idaho Governor Butch Otter (You can email his office here) this de-listing reads like an invitation to slaughter, and officials in Wyoming are planning to kill wolves on sight in as much as 88% of the state, including zeroing out (that means eradicating) entire wolf packs.
By comparison, Minnesota, which shares its 3500 wolves with Michigan and Wisconsin, manages its own wolf population and has set a minimum population limit of 1600...that's more wolves than live in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to begin with.

The border wall: the truth about what we're keeping out

Someone please enlighten me if I'm missing something, but I'm really not getting how the proposed Border Wall is supposed to keep illegal immigrants out. Read some of the completely off-topic comments about the wall on the Sierra Club's blog.
How many times have we seen news clips showing illegals simply climbing over such obstacles before? Now show me a news clip of an endangered ocelot climbing over the wall, and I'll think about giving you my blessing to build it. The plain truth is, the wall isn't going to keep them out. In fact, its quite likely that the added obstacle will only create MORE environmental damage as they try to find other ways around/under/over. Historically, walls have been a grand gesture with often enough little actual effect. But that's just talking about humans.
I hate to break it to all of you, but humans aren't really my issue. In fact, I don't even really LIKE us.
Unlike a lot of people who are reading the Sierra Club blog, I'm not focusing my concern on my job (and I happen to work in an industry fairly well inundated with illegals) , or our country's economy (that's a whole other issue!) but on what the Sierra Club is SUPPOSED to be about: The land and the animals. Conservation. As they say "Explore, enjoy, and PROTECT the planet."
It is true that illegal aliens crossing the desert often leave trash behind. Big problem, right? So lets build a big stupid ugly wall around our entire country to keep them out, that'll solve it! Not. If you Arizonans are so concerned about this trash HERE is an idea for you: Why don't you and your local Sierra Club Chapter organize a clean up day? Now I'm not saying that solves the problem, but it certainly does help, instead of sitting there at your computer bitching about garbage and the economy. When is the last time you picked up an empty soda can you found on the side of the road, honestly?