DISPATCHES
Caution: Birds in Flight
 The Pentagon keeps pushing for exemptions from environmental laws. In North Carolina, NRDC challenged the Navy for failing to disclose information on the impact of a proposed fighter-jet training facility on migratory birds. Construction plans put the facility less than five miles from the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge -- the winter home of more than 100,000 tundra swans, snow geese, and other migratory waterfowl -- making collisions between birds and jets likely. Jet fuel spills and air pollution would also harm the refuge and surrounding waters, endangering human health. NRDC is supporting efforts by the Southern Environmental Law Center, as well as local officials, in a battle with the Navy over its refusal to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act, which mandates a full evaluation of the project's impact. Last fall, an appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, sided with NRDC, ordering the Navy to assess the impact of the facility on the region and reaffirming the need to protect public health and the environment, even in times of war.
Energy SOS
Energy prices reached all-time highs last fall, and American consumers have truly been feeling the pinch. So it would be great if energy-efficiency standards for large appliances were as stringent and current as possible. The Department of Energy is, in fact, required by law to maintain and update standards for 22 major types of commercial and residential appliances, from air conditioners and furnaces to water heaters, dishwashers, and clothes dryers. But in some instances, the department is as many as 13 years past the legal deadline. NRDC and two consumer organizations filed suit against the government last September, charging that the delay is in violation of federal law. The holdup, the groups charge, wastes enough energy to power 12 million households for a year. "Performance standards are the most successful tool we have to ease the burden on consumers and boost our increasingly fragile energy supply system, but the feds are asleep at the switch," says NRDC attorney Katherine Kennedy. On September 7, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and 14 other attorneys general, along with the City of New York, filed a parallel suit.
Working Assets
 Each year, customers of the socially responsible telephone provider Working Assets vote on how to distribute the money they've helped raise for progressive causes. NRDC is proud to be one of the choices this year. If you're a Working Assets member, fill out the ballot that comes with your bill or vote online voting by December 31, 2005. If you're not a member, you can join today and still vote for NRDC! Call 800-788-8588 to sign up.
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