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Stay the Course, M.A.P.S. to Truth (Check It Out!)
COUCH POTATO ACTIONS
All ya gotta do is listen (then write a letter to the editor, call a politician, or…): http://www.interworldradio.org/ http://www.appalshop.org/cmi/pages/sludgenew.html
STAY CURRENT, STAY TOGETHER, STAY THE COURSE
The phones were unusually quiet in the OVEC office yesterday, the day after the elections. Was everyone stunned and depressed at the outcome of the elections?
E-mails indicated that many folks are worried. What is next? Are war clouds even heavier than there were three days ago? What does this mean for the coalfields?
We’ll need to support each other and continue to grow our ranks. Please check in with OVEC often. We promise to find (and, with your help, make!) good news, too. So do check in. Check the news sections of the website for news like:
Republicans Win, Environment Loses in 2002 “…The loss of Senate control will also make it more difficult for Democrats to pursue investigations of Bush administration actions like the creation of the national energy plan. Critics charge that energy industry representatives provided too much input into the plan, while environmental interests were largely shut out of the planning process.
The result is a plan which critics say could prove damaging to the health of public lands, clean air and clean water. Investigations launched by the Senate have forced the disclosure of some, but not all, of the Bush administration's records of its energy planning process, and similar investigations of other controversial administration decisions are now underway.
Without control of the Senate, the Democrats will find it much harder to examine the administration's plans to overhaul some of the nation's most important environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. ..”
NOV. 18-23 MAPS "JUST GIMME SOME TRUTH" CONFERENCE
Hear Jim Hightower and a host of other exciting folks who will help keep hope alive! The Marshall Action for Peaceful Solutions conference begins on Nov. 18, the birthday of Sojourner Truth, with reflections on her unflinching commitment to justice. The conference focuses on truths that often escape public exposure and addresses war and peace, the environment, diversity, problems associated with globalization, discrimination, and recent threats to civil liberties. Plus, you can dance in the revolution at the concerts on Friday and Saturday nights. Saturday’s concert marks the anniversary of Emma Goldman's arrest at the Mother Earth Ball. All events in Marshall University's Memorial Student Center are free and open to the public. The Jim Hightower lecture on Thursday is free, but an earlier reception for him is a fundraising event for MAPS. The conference is supported in part by Multicultural and International Programs and the MU Student Government Association. This promises to be a great event! COMPLETE SCHEDULE BELOW.
WRITE FOR THE BIRDS: CERULEAN WARBLER HABITAT THREATENED BY MTR
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments on the possible Endangered Species Act listing for the beautiful Cerulean warbler, an interior forest songbird, whose population has declined by 70% in the last 35 years. Threats to this lovely bird include loss of summer forested habitat in North America (mountaintop removal, poor timbering practices, etc.) and loss of winter forested habitat in South America. In October 2000, many national and regional groups, including OVEC, petitioned the FWS to have the warbler listed as a threatened species. It's important that the FWS hears from you. Comments are due by January 21, 2003. SAMPLE LETTER BELOW. E-mail vivian@ohvec.org if you would like some facts sheets on the Cerulean warbler. Send comments to:
Field Supervisor
Ecological Services Field Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
608 East Cherry Street, Room 200
Columbia, Missouri 65201
(Or fax comment to 573-876-1914.)
DEC. 4 HEARING ON HADEN’S VALLEY FILL RULING
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. will hear arguments on the appeal of Judge Haden's ruling on mountaintop removal valley fills on Dec. 4. This hearing date is earlier than expected; the Bush administration and its coal industry buddies wanted the hearing expedited. Haden ruled that most valley fills are illegal under the Clean Water Act. In his decision, Haden noted that valley fills with legal post-mining development plans are just that--legal. Bush and Co. want no restrictions on dumping former mountains into valleys and streams, and insist that all valley fills - valley dumps, really – are legal under the Clean Water Act. Just in case their “because I said so” argument doesn’t work with the appeals court, Bush and Griles, et al, have also rewritten a rule within the Clean Water Act, attempting to “correct” the law so that mountaintop removal can continue at full throttle. We’ll keep you posted.
DEC. 10 PRAYER ON THE MOUNTAINS
Join the faith communities in a response to mountaintop removal, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Corinth Baptist Church in Neon, Kentucky, at the intersection of Hwy. 343 and Warm Springs Ave in Fleming-Neon. After a simple lunch of soup and bread, folks will travel to McRoberts, Ky. to pray for healing of the mountains and for those impacted by strip mining and mountaintop removal. For more information, contact John Rausch at (606) 663-0823 or Robbie Pentecost at (606) 297-8792.
SCHEDULE
MAPS "JUST GIMME SOME TRUTH" CONFERENCE
Monday, November 18
7:00 p.m. -- Sojourner Truth video and Opening Roundtable: "Throwback to the 60s or a movement for the 21st century?" Panel includes OVEC’s Dave Cooper. Alumni Lounge
Tuesday, November 19
2:00 p.m. – Documentary "Blue Vinyl" introduced by OVEC’s Dave Cooper. Alumni Lounge
3:45 p.m. -- Environment Workshop, Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC). Alumni Lounge
7:00 p.m. --"The Real Eco-Terrorism" with Priya "Warcry" Reddy. Alumni Lounge
Wednesday, November 20
Noon -- National Student Day of Action Speak Out on Buskirk Field.
2:00 p.m. - "Alternative and New Press" with Robert Jensen. 2W37
3:30 p.m. -"Waging Info War" with Priya "Warcry" Reddy. 2W37
7:00 p.m. - "Writing Dissent" with Robert Jensen. Smith Hall 154
Thursday, November 21
2:00 p.m. -- "Peace Possibilities" with the Rev. Jim Lewis. 2W37
3:30 p.m. -- "Loss of Civil Liberties" with Andrew Schneider, ACLU. 2W37
5:00 p.m. -- Jim Hightower reception at the Unitarian Fellowship, 619 Sixth Ave. in Huntington. $20 donation to help support MAPS
7:00 p.m. --"Deculturalization of America" with Jim Hightower in the Don Morris Room
Friday, November 22
1:30 p.m. -- Non violence training with Pete Hill in the Alumni Lounge
4:30 p.m. -- Sing Out Truth: All social justice groups. Alumni Lounge
9:00 p.m. -- Poetry readings coordinated by Eddy Pendarvis at Calamity Café
10:00 p.m. -- Mellow Benefit Concert at Calamity Café
Saturday, November 23
10:00 p.m. -- Rockin' Mother Earth Ball Benefit Concert at Calamity Café
SAMPLE LETTER FOR CERULEAN WARBLER ESA LISTING
Date
Charles M. Scott
Field Supervisor
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
608 E. Cherry St., Room 200
Columbia, MO 65201-7712
Dear Mr. Scott:
This letter is in regard to the Species Status Review for the Cerulean warbler, a neotropical migratory songbird found throughout the Eastern United States during the summer months. In October 2000, 28 national, regional and local organizations petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to have the Cerulean warbler listed as a threatened species and to afford the warbler protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The population of Cerulean warblers has declined by 70% between 1966 and 2000. This decline has prompted the need to extend the warbler ESA protection.
The decline in warbler populations can be attributed to the loss of forested habitat and the problems associated with this loss in the warblers’ summer breeding areas (the forested areas of the Eastern United States). The warbler’s forested wintering areas in the Andes Mountains of South America have also been destroyed or severely fragmented.
Breeding success is essential if the Cerulean warbler’s population is to recover. Several studies throughout the Eastern United States conducted over the last 10 years have indicated the need for large blocks of closed-canopy forests to promote neotropical migratory songbird breeding success. Much of the forested areas has been either destroyed or severely fragmented by modern forestry management techniques. Clearing of forests and roads adjacent to forested areas makes nesting songbirds susceptible to nest predators and brown-headed cowbird parasitism. Nest predators include blue jays, crows, black snakes, raccoons, and opossums. These predators destroy nests and eat the eggs. Brown-headed cowbirds lay eggs in neotropical migratory songbird nests. Cowbird fledglings are larger than songbirds, and eventually the songbirds are crowded out of the nest. Studies have indicated that songbird breeding is more successful in forested areas farther away from roads and clearings. Public lands throughout the Eastern United States should be looked at closely for potential critical habitat for nesting Cerulean warblers, since much of this land is second and third growth closed-canopy forests.
Please consider these comments when deciding to list the Cerulean warbler under the Endangered Species Act. The Cerulean warbler must be listed as threatened or endangered to ensure its survival. Please keep me informed on the progress of this listing. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important decision.
Sincerely,
Your Signature
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