From jac07 at dcn.org  Thu Dec 11 17:36:31 2008
From: jac07 at dcn.org (John Chendo)
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:36:31 -0800
Subject: [Davis Democrats] FW: action opportunity- from Robert Redford--to
 stop Bush auctioning Redrock wilderness to fossil-fuel speculators
In-Reply-To: <003801c95bc9$7378cae0$02235142@PAMRICK>
Message-ID: <C567001F.22212%jac07@dcn.org>


------ Forwarded Message
From: Pam Nieberg <pnieberg at dcn.org>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:47:24 -0800
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: Fw: An important message from Robert Redford

 
 

  
  <http://www.nrdconline.org/ct/b7SvbOn1wPDa/>

 
  
     
       
    
  
      
     Help Stop the Giveaway of America?s  Redrock Wilderness to the Oil and
Gas Industry!  
  
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  
  
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  
 Join Robert Redford in  blocking the Bush Administration?s midnight raid on
a  crown jewel of our natural heritage.

Send  your message of protest now
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  to call off the December  19 auction.
 
    
   
Dear Pamela, 

No one voted on Election Day to hand over  Utah's Redrock wilderness to oil
companies. 

But the Bush  Administration cynically chose that very day to advance an
outrageous plan  that will sell off leases for some 300,000 acres of
spectacular Utah  canyonlands to oil and gas speculators.

While America was  voting for Barack Obama and his vision of a clean energy
future, Bush and  Cheney's underlings were conspiring to plunder one of the
crown jewels of  our natural heritage for their fossil fuel cronies.

Please  register your own opposition right now.
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  

The auction of  Redrock country will take place on December 19. At stake are
world-renowned vistas near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, as well
as near Dinosaur National Monument. The highest bidders will earn the  right
to turn vast tracts of pristine wilderness into industrial  wastelands.

It's bad enough that Bush officials went behind the  backs of the American
people with this disastrous scheme. But  what's worse, they didn't even tell
their own National Park Service until  after the fact.

In my mind, this theft of our heritage  goes beyond the cynical -- it's
criminal. What will be left to give to our  children and their children if
we allow this administration, in a parting  shot, to destroy our legacy of
public lands for short-term gain?

I hope you're as angry as I am about this blatant land  grab, because we've
got to stop it -- and we have to act fast.  The NRDC Action Fund is
mobilizing more than one million Americans in an  outpouring of protest over
the coming days. 

Send  your own message of opposition immediately.
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  Tell the Bush  Administration that you will not allow it to destroy one
of the most  beautiful places on Earth.

We'll automatically send copies of your  message to your two senators, your
representative and to  the Obama transition team, which has signaled their
opposition to this  disastrous attack on our Redrock heritage.

The Bush  Administration is racing to complete the auction of our lands
before  Inauguration Day, which will make sales difficult to reverse.

We must fend off this land grab now -- before the  oil and gas companies can
lay claim to the spoils.

Those  spoils include stretches of Desolation Canyon, which has been
proposed for  national park status. Bush's own Interior Department describes
the canyon as "a place where a visitor can experience true solitude --
where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged
landscape."

The very idea of oil and gas operations invading these  remote sanctuaries
-- which have remained untouched for millennia -- is  deeply upsetting. Once
the dirty deed is done, our wilderness can never be  restored. That's why
I'm asking you to help us sound the alarm and  organize now.

Tell  the Bush Administration to cancel the Redrock auction.
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  Remind them  that we the people are the rightful owners of this
majestic wilderness and  that we won't stand for its destruction.

And thank you for joining  with me and the NRDC Action Fund to save these
beautiful wildlands for all  future generations.

Sincerely,

Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund  

P.S. After you send  your own message of protest,
<http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway/we7wg76rv7tm3dm
x?>  I'll let you know of an easy way to  spread the word to your friends
and family. With only 10 days to mobilize  one million Americans, I'm
counting on you to rally everyone you  know to speak out and save this
precious wilderness from  destruction.
   
   
   
 



If you would prefer not to receive action alerts and updates, you can click
here to remove yourself from this list:
http://www.nrdconline.org/actionfund/remove-domain-direct.tcl?ctx=subscripti
on&nkey=we7wg76rv7tm3dmx&
<http://www.nrdconline.org/actionfund/remove-domain-direct.tcl?ctx=subscript
ion&amp;nkey=we7wg76rv7tm3dmx&amp;> .
(or you can reply to this email with the word "remove" in the subject line.)

To update your email or mailing address, or to view all your subscriptions,
click here:
http://www.nrdconline.org/actionfund/smp.tcl?nkey=we7wg76rv7tm3dmx&
<http://www.nrdconline.org/actionfund/smp.tcl?nkey=we7wg76rv7tm3dmx&amp;> .

The NRDC Action Fund is the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC).




 <http://>   

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From jac07 at dcn.org  Sun Dec 14 17:13:48 2008
From: jac07 at dcn.org (John Chendo)
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:13:48 -0800
Subject: [Davis Democrats] FW:voluntary action opportunity: support our
 Congressman Mike Thompson for Secretary of Interior
In-Reply-To: <008b01c95e2e$fccc6510$73215142@PAMRICK>
Message-ID: <C56AEF4C.222C6%jac07@dcn.org>

Pam Nieberg, on the executive board of Sierra Club and DDC, believes we
should try to stop John Berry?s appointment to Interior for the reasons
below.  

We know that our congressman Mike Thompson?s credentials as an
environmentalist, a responsible sportsman, and a competent manager  have
made him a leading contender  for   this position of national stewardship.
This is the optimal time to convey your opinion to the Obama Transition Team
regarding Interior Secretary: contact info for John Podesta, team head, and
Greg Nelson, liaison, are at the bottom. If you do not want to give up our
Congressman, then, in the light of the information below,  you should opt
for Raul Grijalva, Dem-Arizona (Tucson area congressional district). Time is
of the essence. The redrock lands on the edges of our most inspiring public
lands are in jeopardy of auction  this week.
------ Forwarded Message
From: Pam Nieberg <pnieberg at dcn.org>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:58:56 -0800
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>

Please act now, Sunday. Don't wait until it is too late. Obama will be
appointing the Secretary of the Interior very soon.
 
On Dec 13, 2008, at 9:16 PM, Calvin French wrote:

>  
> This message is from Scott Silver on the  Club's recreation committee. Please
> send a message supporting either Raul  Grijalva or Mike Thompson as secretary
> of the interior and opposing John  Berry.
> --Cal French
> 
> THIS IS IMPORTANT AND URGENT
>  
>  
>  
> Appended is a brief  message received from a trusted associate. It deals with
> the  appointment of John Berry to the position of Interior Secretary.  It
> further confirms what other sources have been suggesting, that  being:
>  
>>  
>>  John Berry appears  to be incoming President's top pick for the Interior
>> Secretary  position
>>  
>>  
>>  
>>  and 
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> The Obama  Transition Team could give Berry the nod as soon as  Monday...
>  
> .... and what a disaster that would be!!! Let me  explain.
>  
>  
>  
> John Berry has, my sources say, blown past the  environmental community's
> favored candidate, Raul Grijalva.
>  
> See http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1137
>  
>  
>  
> John Berry is almost certainly the candidate  favored by the
> ANTI-environmental American Recreation Coalition --  the lobby group that
> worked with Interior's Paul Hoffman in an  effort  to weaken National Park
> policies and to open the parks to  increased motorized recreation.
>  
> See http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/opinion/10mon2.html
>  
>  
>  
> John Berry was recently appointed to the  ARC's Outdoor Resources Review
> Group. Having Berry appointed Interior  Secretary would be a phenomenal coup
> for the ARC. 
>  
> See http://www.funoutdoors.com/node/view/2166
>  
>  
>  
> John Berry was the Department of Interior's  Recreation Fee Demonstration
> point-person. In that capacity  Berry worked closely with the ARC's President,
> Derrick Crandall.  Crandall was a chief proponent of this immensely unpopular
> and  contentions program.  See Congressional testimony by both Berry  and
> Crandall http://www.wildwilderness.org/docs/hearing.htm
>  
>  
>  
> John Berry is the ONLY candidate now in the  running who would be receptive to
> the pressures exerted by the American  Recreation Coalition -- and those
> pressures promote the privatization,  commercialization and motorization of
> recreational opportunities in the  National Parks and other public lands.
>  
>  
>  
> ARC, I might add, was a highly visible and  staunch supporter of the
> nominations of Interior Secretaries  James  Watt, Donald Hodel and Gale
> Norton. No one who loves the great  outdoors should accept as Interior
> Secretary any  nominee favored by the ARC.
>  
>  
>  
> Barack Obama was elected because he promised  to bring change.  John Berry's
> appointment would ensure  continuity of the ARC's dominance over recreation
> policies. Is this the  "change" Mr. Obama promised us?  I hope not!!!
>  
>  
>  
> Pasted immediately below is the most current  information I have in my
> possession.  Below that you is contact  information for the Obama Transition
> team, should you wish to weight in. Time  is of the essence so please do not
> delay.
>  
>  
>  
> Scott Silver, Recreation Committee, Sierra Club
>  
>  
>  
>  
>  
> ----my sources say ----
>  
>  
>  
>     This is  bad news indeed - I would still encourage you
>     to  think about getting feedback directly into  the
>     Obama team about your concerns with Berry -  they don't
>     want controversial people - or get those  concerns to
>     some of the congressional delegates who  have
>     championed against fee demo and ask them to  spread the
>     word about these  concerns.
>  
>  
>  
>     Word I  heard at my meeting was that Grijalva and
>     Thompson  were fading and that Berry was rising.    I
>     don't have any sense of where the big nationals  stand,
>     but I would encourage you to try to get this  out
>     beyond the usual crowd and make the transition  team
>     uncomfortable with the idea. I don't think you  have
>     much time - he'll have to be announcing  Interior and
>     Ag soon.
>  
>  
>  
> ---- contact information for the Obama  Transition Team ---
>  
>>  
>> John Podesta, Obama Transition Team  Head
>> e-mail John.Podesta at ptt.gov, Fax  202-682-1867
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Greg Nelson - liaison to Mr. Podesta
>> e-mail  Greg.Nelson at ptt.gov, Fax  202-443-4724
>>  
>> 
>> Webforms:
>> http://change.gov/page/content/contact/
>> http://change.gov/page/s/energyenviro
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> Voice:  202-540-3000, then  dial 2
> 


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From jac07 at dcn.org  Sun Dec 14 17:20:38 2008
From: jac07 at dcn.org (John Chendo)
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:20:38 -0800
Subject: [Davis Democrats] FW: parting plunder --the redrock lands being
 auctioned to fossil-fuel speculators by Friday, Dec.19
In-Reply-To: <3998D8975573AA4DAAC73EA59D0BBB3A01B95279@Postamt.des.ucdavis.edu>
Message-ID: <C56AF0E6.222C7%jac07@dcn.org>


------ Forwarded Message

Subject: parting gifts from George Bush



December 14, 2008 NY Times
OP-ED GUEST COLUMNIST
Final Days Fire Sale

By TIMOTHY EGAN
Imagine if President Bush, on his last day in office, invited his friends to
lift the Lincoln portrait from the White House Dining Room, take the 18th-
century furniture from the Map Room and ? for good measure ? poison the Rose
Garden on the way out.

In essence, he is doing the same thing this month with land that belongs to
every American ? the magical redrock country of the Southwest.

Well before it was a bumper sticker and a chant at Sarah Palin rallies,
?drill, baby, drill? became the overriding mission of the political hacks
who oversee more than 200 million acres of public land for Bush. At a
frantic pace, they have opened up to oil and gas leasing canyons of golden
slickrock, mesas once known only to hunters and pronghorn antelope, and
little hideaways near the open-aired art galleries of the Anasazi.

Take what you want, they said ? and get while the getting is good. It was a
plunderfest that produced a gangster culture, with dozens of high-level
Interior Department employees exchanging sex, cocaine and gifts with the
industry they were supposed to be doing arms-length business with, according
to a scathing and quickly forgotten report this year by the agency?s
inspector general.

At the time of the report, with gas reaching $4 a gallon, many people
shrugged and said we need the oil ? drill, baby, drill. Now gas is selling
for a pittance, but that hasn?t stopped the fire sale. Everything must go!

On Election Day, the Bush administration announced it would open 360,000
acres of public land in Utah to oil and gas leasing, including about 100,000
acres near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and Dinosaur National
Monument.

As with the $700 billion bailout that Bush insisted had to be given to the
very bankers, insurance companies and other tassel-loafed failures who got
us into the economic meltdown, the president now wants every dead-ender in
the energy business to have one last treat.

Solitude and ageless stone may not be commodities as easily quantified as a
couple of thousand barrels of oil. But to the American inheritance, they are
the equivalent of those first-edition Audubon books and presidential
portraits in the White House.

The administration never even consulted with the parks before announcing
they would have oil and gas rigs on their borders.

The giveaways went far beyond public land. For the coal industry, the
parting gift was a federal rule that makes it easier to dump mining waste
into streams. Anyone who has spent time in Appalachia of late has seen the
handiwork ? entire mountaintops lopped off in an end-of-days rush for a
dirty fossil fuel.

On Thursday, Bush handed out another goodie: a rule that largely frees
federal agencies from having to consult independent biologists before
constructing something that could lead to the extinction of birds, fish or
other endangered species.

Following a storm of outrage by park officials and the incoming Obama team,
the government has now backed off from some of the more egregious sales in
the Southwest. But on the upcoming Friday before Christmas, it will still
auction off more than 150,000 acres near some of the most stunning scenery
in the world.

In a concession, officials promised that oil and gas operations would be
camouflaged ? the rigs and drills painted a desert red so that visitors to
the wildlands of Utah would not have industrial clutter marring their sunset
picture.

It would be one thing if we needed the fuel. Of nearly 9,000 oil and gas
permits approved on public land in Utah, barely a third of them have been
drilled. The way this game works is that oil companies buy the leasing
rights ? in some case for as little as $2.50 an acre ? then wait for Saudi
Arabia to force another oil price spike. Then they drill.

And the impact on price or domestic supply? Nothing. Even if all the
accessible oil and gas were taken from federal land in Utah, it would have
zero impact on prices, according to several studies.

But the loss is incalculable ? ?geologic architecture that has inspired our
American character,? and places where ?the curvature of the earth is not
only seen but felt,? as the ever-lyrical Terry Tempest Williams wrote in a
recent essay in The Los Angeles Times.

So why do it? Because they still can. The only urgency is Jan. 20.



?


Maureen Dowd is off today.


Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

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