Action Center: See Action Results

Throughout 2005 NRDC activists sent Congress hundreds of thousands of messages opposing attempts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. For most of the year, drilling proponents sought to include a drilling provision in filibuster-proof budget legislation. Although the strategy worked in the Senate, moderate Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to go along, and House leaders were forced to remove the drilling provision from the final bill. Following this defeat, Senator Stevens (R-AK), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, added drilling language to the must-pass Defense Department appropriations bill. Thanks to your thousands of emails, faxes and phone calls, Senator Stevens failed to attract the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, and on December 21, 2005, the drilling provision was removed so that the Defense funding bill could be approved. Senator Stevens and his allies will undoubtedly renew their efforts to drill in the refuge in 2006, but for now, thanks to everyone who helped achieve this remarkable victory for America's premier wildlife refuge.

In December 2005 we asked you to urge your senators and representatives to oppose a provision in the House version of the budget reconciliation bill that would have allowed the federal government to sell off up to 350 million acres of public lands -- including national treasures like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park -- for private development. You sent more than 26,000 messages to Congress (thank you!), and we're happy to report that, after hearing from you and many others around the country, Congress dropped this misguided provision from the final budget bill.

In August 2005 we asked those of you living in New York City to urge city council members to pass a "green buildings" bill that would require most new and substantially renovated city buildings (including $5 billion in new schools) to be built in the healthiest and most environmentally sound manner possible. You sent more than 1,100 messages on this important issue, and we're glad to report that the city council passed the bill, which Mayor Bloomberg signed into law on October 3, 2005. The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2007, and will improve indoor air quality and health conditions in schools and other city buildings, reduce energy costs and prices in New York City and lessen air pollution from power plants. It also will improve energy security by reducing the city's use of foreign oil. Thank you (and congratulations!) to all of you who contacted the city council to support energy efficient and high performance buildings for New York City.

In August 2005 we asked those of you who live in California to urge your state senator not to confirm Cindy Tuck, Governor Schwarzenegger's pick for chair of the California Air Resources Board. After a lengthy committee hearing, the Senate rejected Ms. Tuck's nomination on a party line vote of 14-24 on September 1, 2005. NRDC was part of a broad coalition of environmental, public health and social justice organizations -- including the American Lung Association, the California Nurses Association, community groups and others -- who opposed confirming Ms. Tuck due to her years of advocacy on behalf of industry. You sent more than 3,700 messages to your senators, and your messages clearly made a difference: NRDC staff working on this issue in the state Capitol were repeatedly told how much senators were hearing from their constituents about this vote. Thanks to all of you who contacted your senators to insist on a clean air champion for this important position.

In August 2005 we asked you to urge your senators and representatives to vote No on the final energy bill. Even though you sent more than 44,000 messages in the final hours leading up to the votes, we're sorry to report that the bill passed, 275-156 in the House and 74-26 in the Senate. The final bill includes more than $8.5 billion in tax breaks plus billions more in loan guarantees and other subsidies for the electricity, coal, nuclear, natural gas and oil industries. By contrast, the bill includes only about $1.3 billion for energy efficiency and conservation programs, and just $3 billion for renewable energy sources, primarily wind power. The bill also weakens Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act rules for oil and gas exploration, loosens restrictions on drilling on public lands and requires an inventory of offshore oil and gas resources, including in areas long protected by a federal moratorium. On the positive side, the final bill does not include a liability waiver for manufacturers of the toxic gasoline additive MTBE, which has polluted drinking water in at least 29 states. Thanks to all of you who took the time to contact your legislators during the multi-year battle over this particularly contentious piece of legislation.

On numerous occasions during 2004 and 2005, we asked you to speak out on various provisions in the massive transportation bill. In August 2005, right before breaking for its summer recess, Congress finally ended the series of delays and overwhelmingly passed a $286.5 billion bill that contains a handful of important measures to ease sprawl and congestion amidst thousands of harmful "pork" projects across the country. One of the most harmful provisions in the bill limits the timeframe in which citizens can challenge new highway projects. And a provision that would have provided hundreds of millions of dollars for communities struggling with lakes, rivers and streams polluted by highway runoff was eliminated from the final version of the bill. On the positive side, the bill maintains funding for light rail and buses, increases funds for bike and hiking trails and requires planners to consider habitat locations when building roads and highways. Your more than 100,000 messages during the bill's development helped improve it in many ways, so thanks to all of you who spoke out on behalf of safer, cleaner, more community-friendly transportation solutions.

In April 2005 we asked you to urge your senators to oppose John Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. You sent a whopping 53,000 messages to your senators (thank you!), and your outcry clearly made an impact. In the months following the nomination, senators from both parties raised questions and voiced serious misgivings about Mr. Bolton's qualifications, and the nomination never garnered the support of enough senators to overcome the threat of a filibuster. Instead of naming a different nominee, however, President Bush circumvented the Senate by exercising his "recess appointment" authority to install Mr. Bolton as soon as Congress began its summer break in August 2005. Recess appointees may serve only through the end of the current Congress, so Mr. Bolton's term will expire when the 109th Congress officially adjourns in the fall of 2006.

In May 2005 we asked you to urge your representatives to approve an amendment to the FY06 Environmental Protection Agency funding bill that would prevent the EPA from allowing sewage treatment plants to dump inadequately treated sewage into our waterways. You sent almost 8,000 messages (thank you!), and your reps heard you loud and clear: on May 19, 2005 they approved the amendment by voice vote. In anticipation of such a broad bipartisan rebuke, the EPA withdrew the sewage dumping policy just hours before the House voted.

During the early months of 2005, those of you living in Washington state sent more than 1,800 messages urging your state legislators to pass a bill requiring all new cars sold in Washington, beginning with the 2009 model year, to reduce the amount of toxic and global warming pollutants they emit. We are thrilled to report that in April 2005 the Washington state Senate voted to pass this legislation (which had cleared the state House earlier in the year), making Washington the second state in the country (after California) to approve such a groundbreaking law. And your messages clearly made a huge difference in the outcome: although a victory in the Senate seemed questionable on the morning of the vote, several suburban Republican senators ultimately joined most Democrats in supporting the bill. One of them, Senator Schmidt, told the media that strong constituent support swayed his vote. "The email and letters coming in were overwhelmingly supporting it," he said. Congratulations to all our Washington state activists for your part in helping achieve this outstanding victory!

In March 2005 we asked those of you living in Virginia to urge Governor Warner to veto a bill that would have directed the state to actively pursue an exemption from the federal moratorium on offshore drilling. You sent hundreds of messages to the governor, and we're thrilled to report that Governor Warner vetoed the bill. The governor's veto will avert what could have been disastrous ecological and economic consequences, both directly for Virginia and the east coast and as precedent for further offshore drilling throughout the country. Thanks to everyone in Virginia who helped achieve this important victory!

In the spring of 2004 you sent thousands of messages urging the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a rule that would significantly reduce mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. But in March 2005 the EPA issued a rule that allows power plants to continue spewing harmful amounts of mercury for more than a decade to come. Recognizing mercury's health risks, the EPA in 2000 decided to require maximum achievable controls that could reduce mercury pollution by 90 percent by 2008. The EPA's new rule overturns that determination, and instead allows power plants to emit more than seven times as much mercury, for a decade longer, than current law allows. NRDC is evaluating the best ways to battle this terrible new rule in Congress, in the states and in the courts, and we'll be sure to let you know the next time we need you to weigh in on this important issue. In the meantime, thanks to all of you who contacted the EPA.

In January 2005 California activists sent more than 5,200 messages urging the state Senate to reject Marilyn Hendrickson's nomination to the California Fish and Game Commission, due to her extremely poor voting record on conservation and wildlife protection issues. After hearing from so many concerned Californians, Senate leaders opposed Ms. Hendrickson's appointment, forcing Governor Schwarzenegger to formally withdraw her nomination. Thanks to all of you who helped achieve this significant victory for California's fish and wildlife!

In June 2004 we asked you to urge the Bush administration not to open the fragile desert and grasslands of New Mexico's Otero Mesa to devastating oil and gas drilling. Although you sent almost 7,000 messages during the official comment period (thank you!), and New Mexico's Governor Richardson also strongly objected to the proposal, in January 2005 the Bush administration announced it nevertheless was opening 95 percent of the area to oil and gas leasing. Under the administration's plan, only about 120,000 of the mesa's roughly two million acres will be closed to drilling. Governor Richardson has vowed to fight the decision, and NRDC will join several other environmental groups in challenging the plan in court. We'll keep you posted on developments, so stay tuned.

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