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National Issues
Armchair Activist February 2005
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO STOP EPA FROM EXPANDING THE USE OF
POTENT BIRD-KILLING PESTICIDE
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again considering whether to expand the use of carbofuran -- one of the world's most potent bird-killing pesticides. Rice growers from Louisiana are seeking EPA approval to expand the use of carbofuran - a controlled, highly toxic insecticide, in order to control rice water weevils that feed on the leaves of rice plants. As there are a number of economical and effective chemical and non-chemical alternatives available to rice growers to control these pests, there is simply no need for the EPA to approve an expanded use of such a potent bird-killing pesticide.
Carbofuran has been responsible for more avian deaths than any other pesticide. That's why EPA has restricted its use for years. In 1989, the EPA estimated that more than one million birds were killed annually by carbofuran. If the EPA expands its use of this potent bird-killing toxin, hundreds of bird species will be at risk.
That's why Audubon and our partner organizations are committed to stopping any further use of the bird-killer carbofuran - but we can't do it alone. We need your help - and we need it now, as the EPA will make their decision shortly! Refer to the enclosed letter, or click on this link now to send a letter to the EPA urging them to deny any request to allow the use of carbofuran! http://www.audubon.org
SAMPLE LETTER
Your Name
Address
City, State, Zip
Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (7502C)
Office of Pesticide Programs
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20460-0001
RE: Docket ID #OPP-2005-0027, Comments on Request for Specific Exemption of Carbofuran by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Dear Sir/Madam:
I am writing today to urge you to deny any further use of carbofuran in the United States. Laboratory data verify that carbofuran is among the most highly toxic pesticides to birds. Whether in granular or flowable form, carbofuran kills birds like few other chemicals in use. In fact, no other substance listed under the EPA's Ecological Incident Investigation System has killed more birds. Expanded use of carbofuran will place hundreds of bird species at risk -- among them Bald and Golden Eagles, Eastern Bluebirds, Great Horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Pintails, and Blue-winged Teals - all of which have been documented as having been poisoned by carbofuran.
Scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have notified EPA in the past that "there are no known conditions under which carbofuran can be used without killing migratory birds. Many of these die-off incidents followed applications of carbofuran that were made with extraordinary care." Scientists from around the country concur.
Please protect the hundreds of bird species that could be killed by carbofuran. I urge you to deny any further use of the bird-killing pesticide carbofuran in any of its deadly forms. In particular, please deny the use of carbofuran which would devastate migratory birds in Louisiana and beyond.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here
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Armchair Activist January 2005
CALL TO ACTION TO PROTECT THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
A new year brings a new effort to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
from oil and gas drilling. And this year's fight - much like we pointed out in the last issue
of the Armchair Activist - is going to be the toughest challenge we've ever faced!
But with your continued support, it's one we will win!
The 109th Congress is set to convene this week.
The pro-drillers have made it no secret that their initial strategy is to convince Congress
to open the Refuge to drilling by attaching drilling revenues to the FY06 budget resolution
- the Congressional blueprint that sets funding levels for government agencies for the
upcoming fiscal year.
As you know, this is a back-door, underhanded way to avoid a fair and open debate
on an issue that is considered one of the most controversial Congress will tackle this year.
To make this happen, the pro-drillers must convince the chairmen of the House and Senate
Budget Committees to include a provision in the chamber's budget resolution that instructs
key Committees - the Energy & Natural Resources Committee in the Senate, and the Resources
Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, to come up with at least $1.1 billion
in "savings" over ten years. The Committees could accomplish this goal by reducing funding
for or eliminating on-going programs, or, more likely, by identifying new revenue sources.
And one of those potential revenue sources is revenue generated by selling oil leases in
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Ultimately, this will come down to an extremely close vote in the United States Senate.
Last year, we won by a razor-thin 52-48 margin on a vote in the Senate to strike down the
exact same budget strategy - to attach drilling to the budget resolution as a sneaky back-door
maneuver. This time, the Senate stacks up even tougher. That means we need your help, and the
help of your friends and family, to help convince your U.S. Senators to vote to protect the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge!
As we've said in previous years, the budget is the wrong place to be settling issues of such
profound national importance. It is an abuse of power to use the budget to ram through the
Congress a policy proposal as controversial as drilling in the Arctic Refuge.
And by putting it on the budget, they stifle a fair and open debate on this ecologically
and culturally important habitat.
In December, we asked you to send a letter to House and Senate Budget Committee
Chairs Representative Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) and Senator Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire.)
And you responded! This month, we need you to focus on a handful of key Senators,
as it will be these Senators who likely hold the key to victory or defeat for the
Refuge in their hands! If one of these lawmakers represents you, please make a
point to send a letter to your lawmaker urging him or her to oppose any effort
to include provisions opening the pristine refuge to destructive oil drilling
in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2006. And even if your lawmaker is not on
this list, we're counting on you to contact your lawmaker and urge them to
encourage their colleagues to oppose these efforts as well!
Below you will find a sample letter for you to review, edit to fit your personal style,
and forward to your lawmakers.
You can also do this on-line by visiting our website at:
http://www.audubon.org
Please encourage your family, friends, fellow birders and community associates to participate in this letter-writing effort. The more our lawmakers hear opposition to drilling the Arctic, the better chance there is they will vote to protect this unique and vital bird and other wildlife haven!
KEY SENATORS:
ARIZONA: Sen. Jon Kyl
ARKANSAS: Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor
DELAWARE: Sen. Thomas Carper
FLORIDA: Sen. Mel Martinez
GEORGIA: Sen. Johnny Isakson
HAWAII: Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka
INDIANA: Sens. Richard Lugar and Evan Bayh
LOUISIANA: Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter
MAINE: Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins
MINNESOTA: Sen. Norm Coleman
MISSOURI: Sen. Jim Talent
NEBRASKA: Sens. Ben Nelson and Chuck Hagel
NEVADA: Sen. John Ensign
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Sens. Judd Gregg and John Sununu
OHIO: Sen. George Voinovich
OREGON: Sen. Gordon Smith
PENNSYLANIA: Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum
TENNESSEE: Sen. Lamar Alexander
VIRGINIA: Sen. John Warner
WEST VIRGINIA: Sens. Robert Byrd and John Rockefeller
SAMPLE LETTER TO LAWMAKERS
Your Name
Address
City, State, Zip
The Honorable First, Last Name of Lawmaker
U.S. Senate (U.S. House of Representatives)
Washington, D.C. 20515 (Washington, D.C. 20510)
Dear Senator Last Name Here: (Representative Last Name Here)
As a constituent concerned with conservation, I stand with the National Audubon Society in urging you to oppose efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling. In particular, I urge you to oppose efforts to include provisions opening the pristine refuge to destructive oil drilling in the budget resolution for fiscal year 2006.
The budget is the wrong place to be settling issues of such profound national importance. It is an abuse of power to use the budget to ram through the Congress a policy proposal as controversial as drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Sneaking this kind of proposal into the budget stifles a fair and open debate.
It just does not make sense to allow drilling in a national treasure like the Arctic Refuge when government experts have found that it could only provide the country with a six-month supply of oil that would not even be available for another ten years. What a shame to drill in an internationally significant nature preserve for so little gain.
It makes much more sense to invest in America's technological know-how to make our cars, homes, and appliances more energy efficient. Please consider these more environmentally friendly alternatives, and oppose drilling in America's national treasures!
Please work to protect the Arctic Refuge, and save it for future generations of Americans.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
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NYC Audubon works with National Audubon on many issues.
To learn more about National issues please visit
http://www.audubon.org.
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