---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 18:15:52 GMT From: BioGems News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Alan Sondheim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: NRDC's BioGems News, April 2007
======================================== Saving Endangered Wild Places NRDC's BIOGEMS NEWS http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/D7A5O2M1ePyh/ April 2007 ======================================== HELP SAVE YELLOWSTONE'S LAST GRIZZLIES Despite an overwhelming public outcry, the Bush administration has announced it is removing Yellowstone's 500 or so grizzly bears from the endangered species list. BioGems Defenders have sent tens of thousands of messages opposing the move, which would strip the bear of federal protections against habitat loss and hunting. As large-scale development and global warming take a mounting toll on the grizzly's habitat and food sources, NRDC is preparing to fight the administration's reckless decision in court. In the meantime, you can help advance our ongoing fight to ensure a future for Yellowstone grizzlies by speaking out against a new proposal that would open the door to destructive gas drilling in Montana's Beartooth Mountain region. PROTECT YELLOWSTONE/GREATER ROCKIES: Urge the Bush administration to protect this crucial grizzly bear habitat. http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/DdA5O2M1ePyy/ TWO VICTORIES FOR LATIN AMERICAN BIOGEMS! We've made a major leap forward in our ambitious campaign to protect one million acres surrounding the world's last unspoiled gray whale nursery at the San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico. The Mexican government has announced that 109,000 acres of federal lands surrounding this spectacular whale habitat will be donated for conservation. In 2000, NRDC activists helped defeat Mitsubishi's plans to build the world's largest industrial saltworks on these same lands. Mexico's recent donation will seriously undermine any future attempts to revive the plan. Far to the south, Chilean environmental officials have rejected a deeply flawed study of the impacts of a proposed hydroelectric dam in one of Patagonia's most pristine areas. The officials announced their decision less than a week after receiving more than 10,000 protest messages from BioGems Defenders. In March, NRDC BioGems advocates joined Ecosistemas -- one of our main partner groups there -- and the internationally renowned Chilean rock musician Beto Cuevas on an expedition to the region. They met with environmental leaders and local community activists and visited Chile's biggest river, the Baker, which has been targeted for two dams by the country's largest utility. PROTECTING AMERICA'S FRAGILE REDROCK WILDERNESS NRDC is heading to court with our partner, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, to challenge a Bush administration proposal to sacrifice tens of thousands of acres in America's redrock canyon country to "tar sands" oil development -- one of the world's most destructive mining techniques. The process of extracting oil from tar sands, which often involves strip mining large swaths of land, would irrevocably damage Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Glen Canyon wilderness. Earlier this year, the Bush administration abandoned a separate plan for oil drilling in these same wildlands. BioGems Defenders sent more than 66,000 messages in 2005 protesting the controversial scheme. NRDC DEFENDS WHALES OFF CALIFORNIA'S COAST We have filed a new lawsuit to compel the U.S. Navy to protect whales and other marine life during two years of major sonar exercises off the southern California coast. Navy officials announced in February that they would defy recommendations from the California Coastal Commission that Navy ships take common-sense safety measures while blasting thousands of square nautical miles of ocean with ear-splitting, mid-frequency sound. Earlier this year, BioGems Defenders and other NRDC activists in California sent more than 16,000 messages urging the coastal commission to reject the Navy's plan for sonar exercises unless it commits to a series of simple precautions that would help protect marine life. Check out the online edition of NRDC's "OnEarth" magazine for an in-depth feature article and podcast on the dangers of Navy sonar to whales. READ THE ONEARTH ARTICLE: http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/J1A5O2M1ePyu/ LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/JdA5O2M1ePyj/ PUT YOURSELF ON THE MAP
From the Arctic to Florida's Emerald Coast, global warming
threatens to take a serious toll on our BioGems. Visit NRDC's new Beat the Heat interactive map to find out more about the impacts of global warming and join people around the country who are speaking out about their top climate-related concerns. http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/FpA5O2M1ePy6/ KIEHL'S EARTH DAY OFFER At NRDC's recent "Forces for Nature" benefit in San Francisco, we paid special tribute to Kiehl's for its environmental leadership. The company's full line of hair, skin and body products is made from natural ingredients and recyclable materials and is never tested on animals. Kiehl's is also committed to promoting renewable energy and protecting oceans and outdoor spaces. In celebration of Earth Day this Sunday, Kiehl's will honor our own planet-friendly efforts by giving BioGems Defenders and other NRDC supporters a 20 percent discount. Click on the link below to take advantage of this special offer. http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/-dA5O2M1ePyW/ -------------- BioGems Update -------------- BioGems Defenders: 571,380 Action Messages Sent: 9,261,108 See the timeline of victories we've won at http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/K1A5O2M1ePy8/ ------------------ Do Even More . . . ------------------ You can support NRDC's BioGems campaign to save these and other threatened wild places. To donate, visit http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/KdA5O2M1ePyi/ . . . BioGems: Saving Endangered Wild Places A project of the Natural Resources Defense Council http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/J7A5O2M1ePym/ To update your information, including your email or mailing address, visit your subscription management page at http://www.nrdconline.org/biogemscenter/smp.tcl?nkey=wgx7d6i4vteebk5&;. If you would prefer not to receive this newsletter, you can reply to this email message with "remove" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line. ** You are receiving a text-only version of NRDC's BioGems News because you have asked to receive text rather than html messages or because NRDC's email system is not able to deliver html email to your system. You can also read the newsletter online at http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/D7A5O2M1ePyh/
