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Interior West A Tale of Two Drying Rivers Two critical Southwest rivers, the Colorado and the San Pedro, are being drained dry by excessive demand, and one of them—the Colorado—was just named America's most endangered river. Only strong legal and regulatory action will keep them flowing. Read about The Colorado and The San Pedro.    Continue Reading »    Trip's Column Nature Pays Off For Costa Rica Costa Rica teems with ecological wonders and tourism dollars—proof that that environmental protection can be a wise investment. It's a good example for Mexico to follow before it destroys the natural wonders of Baja California with traditional tourism mega-developments, says Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen.     Continue Reading »    Take Action: Defend The Gulf Of California's Coastline   In The News Montana Fifty-Year Logging Plan Fails Montana Wildlife A plan to govern logging operations on more than a half-million acres of state land in western Montana has drawn a federal lawsuit for its failure to protect threatened grizzlies and bull trout. A shoddy environmental impact statement and an inadequate habitat conservation plan (required by the federal Endangered Species Act) are being challenged by Earthjustice on behalf of several groups.    Continue Reading »      In The Win Column Nationwide Final Challenge to National Roadless Rule Rejected A challenge by the state of Alaska to the Roadless Rule—that protects nearly 50 million acres of national forest lands from logging and road-building—was denied by a federal court in March. The rule, issued in 2001, was challenged in nine separate lawsuits. The Bush administration tried to repeal the rule, so it fell to Earthjustice to save the rule, which was adopted after the most extensive series of public hearings and comments in U.S. history.    Continue Reading »    Feature: Major Milestones Towards Roadless Protection Southwest Uranium Mining Ban Upheld A federal judge has rejected a uranium industry motion to overturn a ban on new uranium mining on one million acres near the Grand Canyon. "It's a great day for rivers, wildlife and communities across the West," said Earthjustice attorney Holly Harris, who represented conservation groups and the Havasupai tribe.    Continue Reading »    Pacific Northwest Murrelets Safe At Home in Ancient Trees The timber industry just won't give up. Twenty years ago the marbled murrelet, a seagoing bird that roosts and lays its eggs on the branches of ancient forest trees along the Pacific coast, was protected under the Endangered Species Act. Three times the timber industry went to court to strip protection from the species; three times it lost, most recently this past March. Earthjustice has defended the murrelet throughout its long litigation ordeal.    Continue Reading »    California Judge Orders Protection of Rare Fisher The Pacific fisher, a rare mammal related to the wolverine, exists in two isolated populations in California, having lost much of its habitat to logging and other pressures. The California Fish and Game Commission denied a petition to protect the fisher under California law—and Earthjustice sued. A judge recently ordered the commission to protect the species.    Continue Reading »    Blog: Why Does The Fisher Eat Socks?   unEARTHED David Guest Managing Attorney, Fla. Manatees are dying in algae-choked waters.     Read Blog Post »    The Zuke Attorney, Rocky Mountain Here's a cure for avian flu: kill the birds.     Read Blog Post »    Terry Winckler Managing Editor There's one great reason to celebrate Earth Day.     Read Blog Post »      Down to Earth: An Earthjustice Podcast Photographer David Doubilet on Ocean Stressors David Doubilet, the acclaimed photographer for National Geographic, has spent decades photographing underwater images and has seen firsthand how ocean stressors have negatively impacted the aquatic environment he loves. In this conversation, Doubilet discusses the changes to the ocean that he's witnessed, particularly the effects that climate change is having on coral reefs.     Listen to Interview »    You can find more great interviews with Earthjustice attorneys, clients and friends on our new Down to Earth podcast page. Or, subscribe on iTunes or Soundcloud.     See All Interviews »    You've been reading e.Brief, Earthjustice's monthly e-newsletter. Having trouble viewing this email? Read it online: earthjustice.org/newsletter Earthjustice. Because the earth needs a good lawyer. Earthjustice is the legal backbone for the environment. Founded in 1971, we annually represent nearly 400 non-profit organizations—without charge—in over 250 cases. Learn about our work: earthjustice.org Photo Credits:   · A Tale of Two Drying Rivers:  The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Arizona. (BLM)   · Save America's Most Endangered River:  Aerial view of Glen Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Powell out of the Colorado River. (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)   · Nature Pays Off For Costa Rica:  Fishermen on a boat near the Gulf of Mexico. (Gustavo Danemann)   · Fifty-Year Logging Plan Fails Montana Wildlife:  A grizzly bear tips up a dead tree in Yellowstone National Park. (Jim Peaco / NPS)   · Final Challenge to Roadless Rule Rejected:  Fireweed covers this open expanse at the foot of a mountain peak, Tongass National Forest, Alaska. (U.S. Forest Service)   · Uranium Mining Ban Upheld:  The Kanab North Mine lies near the Grand Canyon. (Ecoflight)   · Murrelets Safe At Home in Ancient Trees:  Marbled murrelets are seabirds that only nest in old-growth trees. (Rich MacIntosh / USFWS)   · Judge Orders Protection of Rare Fisher:  A Pacific fisher looks out of a tree. (Zane Miller / U.S. Forest Service)   · Photographer David Doubilet on Ocean Stressors:  David Doubilet on assignment in the Okavango Delta. (© Jennifer Hayes) A baby green sea turtle in French Polynesia. (© David Doubilet / daviddoubilet.com) ©2013 Earthjustice | 50 California Street, Suite 500, San Francisco, CA  94111 | 1-800-584-6460 enews@earthjustice.org

Tell President Obama to Stop Keystone!

Tell President Obama: "Put farmers, our land and
future generations before profits for dirty oil!"

URGENT: Farmers tell President Obama: Stop Keystone to save the Planet!

This Earth Day the stakes couldn't be higher, Obama has a choice: climate redemption or permanent climate chaos.

Tomorrow is Earth Day, the day that millions of Americans pause to celebrate the wonders and natural beauty of our planet and the movement that has grown in the past 40 plus years to protect it.

Ironically, April 22, 2013, is also the final day of a final public comment period on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the proposed massive 1,700 mile long experiment in pumping dirty oil from the Tar Sands in Canada to the Gulf Coast in Texas.

Along the way, the proposed Keystone pipeline will crisscross some of the most productive farmland and on the planet, putting the livelihoods of America's farmers and ranchers and our food supply at risk.

James Hansen, America's leading climate scientist has already called Keystone "game over for the climate" if approved.

Don't let President Obama make this tragic mistake of bowing to corporate special interests once again. Stand with America's family farmers in protecting our farmland and the environment. Every voice counts.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/828?
t=7&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

According to the Sierra Club, the Keystone XL pipeline "would be a disaster, from start to finish. Tar sands oil is toxic for our climate, and mining the tar sands destroys pristine forests and threatens First Nation peoples."

But despite all common sense assessments by America's leading environmental and climate scientists, the U.S. government has continued to try to find ways to promote building the pipeline over realistic concerns that this pipeline will be a pending disaster for farmers, their farmland and our climate.

A recent State Department review of the Keystone XL pipeline was found to have been written by firms with deep ties to the oil industry and goes out of its way to ignore the catastrophic impacts to our climate, ignoring the clear consensus among financial analysts and oil executives who agree that the approval of Keystone will be the determining factor over the continued development of the toxic Canadian tar sands. Once again, corporate America is attempting to right the rules and regulations behind the scenes that put their profits over the health and safety of the public.

Tell President Obama it's time to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline and put America's farmers, their land and our children's future above short-term profits for dirty oil. Remember, comments are due at COB tomorrow - Earth Day 41! Every voice counts!

This past week, more than 1,000 citizens travelled to Grand Island, Nebraska to tell the U.S. State Department to stop the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to keep the oil industry from ruining their land and destroying the environment.

More than a hundred farmers from across the Midwest traveled to express their concerns about how Keystone XL would negatively impact their family's farms and livelihoods.

According to the New York Times, one young rancher, Ben Gotschall made the case pretty clear for stopping the Keystone XL pipeline.

"The Keystone 'Export' pipeline is not in the national interest, and it is most certainly not in Nebraska's interest," said Gotschall. "Our landowners have been left to fend for themselves against an onslaught of dishonest land agents and corporate bullies."

This Earth Day stand with America's family farmers in telling President Obama to stop the Keystone XL pipeline.  It's time to put farmers and the environment over profits for dirty oil.

Click on the link below to tell President Obama to Stop the Keystone XL pipeline on Twitter.

Thank on Twitter

Click on the link below to to tell President Obama to Stop the Keystone XL pipelines on Facebook.

Thank on Facebook

 Spread the word and share this with your friends!

If you don't think there's a potential problem with the impending pipeline, consider the recent oil pipeline spill in Mayflower, Arkansas that dumped thousands of barrels of Canadian crude oil in a residential neighborhood, forcing neighbors to evacuate their homes. Already, critics of the Keystone XL pipeline have found glaring holes in the pipes already laid for the proposed pipeline, which is 9 times larger than that pipeline that leaked in Arkansas.

This Earth Day, stand with America's family farmers and the environment! Stope the Keystone XL pipeline! Every voice counts!

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/828?t=14&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

Thanks for participating in food democracy,

Dave, Lisa and the Food Democracy Now! team

Background:

1. "Game Over for the Climate" James Hansen, The New York Times, May 9, 2012

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/
823?t=16&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

2. "Keystone Pipeline Foes Vent in Nebraska", The New York Times, April 18, 2013

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/
824?t=18&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

3. "Critical Part of Keystone Report Done by Firms with Deep Oil Industry Ties", Inside Climate, March, 6, 2013

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/
825?t=20&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

4. "Keystone XL opponents dominate raucous Nebraska hearing" Grist, April 19, 2013,

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/
826?t=22&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

5. "Hundreds of Mayflower residents demanding answers after major oil spill", KATV.com, March 29, 2013

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/
827?t=24&akid=829.534109.hxBpSC

Dear Avaazers,

One mega-company is gradually taking over our food supply -- putting the planet’s food future in serious danger. But we can turn the tide on Monsanto and other companies that push through policies that prioritise their profits over the public good. Pledge now to help stop this dangerous domination of our politics and our food:

One mega-company is gradually taking over our global food supply, poisoning our politics and putting the planet’s food future in serious danger. To stop it we need to expose and break up Monsanto’s worldwide grip.

Monsanto, the chemical giant that gave us poisons like Agent Orange and DDT, has a super-profitable racket. Step 1: Develop pesticides and genetically modified (GM) seeds designed to resist them, patent the seeds, prohibit farmers from replanting their seeds year to year, then send undercover agents out to investigate and sue farmers who don’t comply. Step 2: Spend millions lobbying government officials and contributing to political campaigns, get former Monsanto bigwigs into top government jobs, and then work with them to weaken regulations and push Monsanto goods into markets across the world.

As long as US law allows corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence policy, they can often buy the laws they want. Last year, Monsanto and biotech giants spent a whopping $45m to kill a ballot initiative that would have labelled GMO products just in California, despite 82 percent of Americans wanting to know if they are buying GM. And just this month, the company helped ram through the "Monsanto Protection Act,” that blocks courts from stopping the sale of a product even if they’ve been wrongly approved by the government.

Monsanto’s power in the US gives them a launch pad to dominate across the world. But brave farmers and activists from the EU, to Brazil, to India and Canada are resisting and starting to win.

We’re at a global tipping point. Pledge now to join forces to break Monsanto’s grip on our politics and our food and help stop the corporate capture of our governments. Avaaz will only process the pledges if we get enough to make a real difference:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto
_dloc/?bcFIYab&v=24352&a=14&c=USD&p=1

Monsanto is driving an industrial farming takeover -- trampling small farmers and small businesses as vast ‘monoculture’ farms of single crops leech the land of nutrients, diminish genetic diversity, and create dependency on fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals. The irony is, it’s not clear that the decimation of natural, sustainable farming has brought any boom in crop yields. Just more profit for the corporations. Our governments should step in, but Monsanto’s lobbying obstructs them.

Monsanto’s near monopoly is breath-taking, with patent rights over 96% of the GM seeds planted in the US. And despite concerns about health and safety, the same patents allow Monsanto to prevent any farmer or scientist from testing their seeds! Still, a few countries have banned or restricted Monsanto products.

They claim their products cost less, but often farmers are lured into multi-year contracts, then seed prices rise, and they have buy new seed each season and use more herbicides to keep out ‘superweeds’. In India, the situation is so dire that one cotton area has been called ‘the suicide belt’, as tens of thousands of the poorest farmers have taken their lives to escape crippling debt.

But farmers and scientists are also fighting back -- and winning. One group in India has helped win three patent battles against the corporations, and in Brazil five million farmers sued Monsanto for unfair collection of royalties, and won a $2 billion payout! Scientists are campaigning for sustainable agriculture models, and just last week 1.5 million of us joined the fight against non-GM patents in the EU.

Only a massive, global, united force can stand up to Monsanto and the corporate capture of our governments. Let’s expose this dominance of our democracies, help farmers speak out, challenge unjust laws and patents, and go head to head with the corporate lobbies. Pledge to support action now:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_
dloc/?bcFIYab&v=24352&a=14&c=USD&p=1

We are running out of time. As we confront massive environmental, climate and food crises, we need sustainable agriculture and innovation, but that is best done by multiple farmers and scientists who know what works best in different ecosystems, rather than one monolith driven by their own profit, taking control our food future.

This corporate Goliath is increasing in power across our world. But if our 21 million strong community stands together, we have a chance. Avaaz members have repeatedly stood up against the world's biggest bullies, and won. Now it is time for us to go big to save our policies from special interests, protect our food supply, and get justice for poor farmers.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Oli, Joseph, Ricken, Pascal, Chris, Michelle, Emily, and the whole Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

Seeds of discontent (Texas Observer):
http://www.texasobserver.org/seeds-of-discontent/

Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents, report says (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/
12/monsanto-sues-farmers-seed-patents

Political contribution discloslures (Monsanto):
http://www.monsanto.com/whoweare/Pages/
political-disclosures.aspx

The Real Monsanto Protection Act: How The GMO Giant Corrupts Regulators And Consolidates Its Power (ThinkProgress):
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/10/1832621/
monsanto-protection-act-power/

Monsanto Protection Act put GM companies above the federal courts (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013
/apr/04/monsanto-protection-act-gm

Biodiversity for food and agriculture (UN Food and Agriculture Organization):
http://www.fao.org/sd/EPdirect/EPre0040.htm

Monsanto’s harvest of fear (Vanity Fair):
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05
/monsanto200805

Wikileaks shows US pushes GM on EU (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/
wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops

USDA Greenlights Monsanto's Utterly Useless New GMO Corn (Mother Jones):
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/01
/monsanto-gmo-drought-tolerant-corn

Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research (New York Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/business/
20crop.html?_r=0

Additional sources (Avaaz):
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_sources/