Search |
|
|
 |
 |
Campaigns      Affiliates  Partners   |
Current ActionsSears/Kmart, Blue Nile and Ultra Stores have signed the No Dirty Gold campaign's "Golden Rules" for more responsible mining. Please thank these three jewelry retailers for doing the right thing. We rake companies over the coals when they do the wrong thing -- let's show them some love when they do the right. Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) has introduced H.R. 644, The Grand Canyon Watersheds Protection Act, which would permanently withdraw a million acres of public land within the watersheds of the Grand Canyon from mineral exploration under the 1872 Mining Law. An increase in uranium claim staking, exploration and mining threatens the Grand Canyon- one of our most beautiful national treasures. Industrial activity around the park could upset the ecological balance of the area or contaminate the Grand Canyon Watershed. Please act now and urge your Representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 644 to help protect this irreplaceable landscape. Urge Secretary Salazar to withdraw 1 million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon from mining claims The Obama administration recently took emergency action to temporarily halt new mine claimstaking around Grand Canyon National Park. This stopgap measure has temporarily protected one of our most valued national treasures. However, it is still threatened by an increase in uranium mining claims, and an outdated 137-year-old Mining Law. Now the interior department wants to know whether new mining in the area should be prohibited for the next 20 years. Recently, four more jewelry retailers and designers representing $1 billion in sales announced they won't buy gold from Anglo American's proposed Pebble mine. Birks & Mayors, Herff Jones, Commemorative Brands, and Hacker Jewelers took this step at the invitation of local Alaskans by signing the Bristol Bay pledge. Tell Obama: Don't Buy What Harper is selling In February President Obama made his first international visit after taking office, to Canada. We urged President Obama to resist Prime Minister Stephen Harper's sales pitch for Big Oil -- and the President delivered. On September 16th, Prime Minister Harper is returning the visit, and he'll be pushing Canada's dirty tar sands oil when he comes. Tell Obama we still want a clean energy economy, and we are not buying what he is selling. Act Now to urge Snowbird ski resort owner to withdraw from his Chuitna coal mine proposal Snowbird ski resort owner Richard Bass's Chuitna coal mine is proposed in the Cook Inlet watershed, one of Alaska's most productive salmon fisheries. It would directly mine through 11 miles of salmon spawning habitat in tributaries of the Chuitna River. The Chuitna mine would produce more than 12 million tons of coal annually. That amount of coal would emit more than 27 million tons of carbon dioxide when burned. Snowbird, and all ski resorts, rely on cold, snowy winters. As global average temperatures rise, these are in increasingly short supply, so that many ski resorts have urged action on legislation that would address climate change. Urge the Richard Bass to act in his own interest and withdraw from the Chuitna coal mine proposal. Act Now to Urge the Obama Administration to Protect the World's Richest Salmon Fishery. Alaska's Bristol Bay Watershed is one of the most productive salmon ecosystems on Earth. It supports the world's largest remaining wild sockeye salmon fishery, with tens of millions of salmon surging upstream to spawn each and every year. Despite the importance of the fishery, and the many communities and businesses who depend upon it, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wants to open over one million acres of federal land in the Bristol Bay Watershed to mining. Put The Clean Back in the Clean Water Act. A recent Supreme Court ruling poses a severe threat to our nation's lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands, and reverses over three decades of responsible mining policy. The June ruling exempts toxic mine waste -- classified as "fill" -- from certain regulations under the Clean Water Act: legalizing its dumping in our precious waters. Keep Drilling Toxics Out of Our Drinking Water. Senators Casey (D-PA) and Schumer (D-NY), and Representatives DeGette (D-CO), Polis (D-CO) and Hinchey (D-NY) have introduced twin bills in the Senate (S 1215) and House (HR 2766) to close the so-called "Halliburton" loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act that allows oil and gas drillers to inject hazardous materials -- unchecked -- directly into or adjacent to underground drinking water supplies. Your Congressperson needs to hear that this loophole must be closed to protect the drinking water in the 34 states where oil and gas drilling takes place. Make mining reform -- and green jobs -- happen For the first time in more than 10 years a legitimate mining reform bill has been introduced into the Senate, thanks to Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman. Please email your Senator now and ask them to join Senator Bingaman as a sponsor of this legislation. Urge President Obama to invest in clean energy, not dirty tar sands oil Sign a No Dirty Energy petition to President Obama -- let him know that tar sands oil is bad for the climate, bad for Canada's Boreal Forest, and bad for communities hosting refineries that process it. President Obama advocates a new energy economy. Sign the petition and let him know that dirty tar sands oil isn't part of it! Help drag a 19th century law into the 21st century 1872 mining law reform is on the horizon. Thanks in part to your efforts we were able to pass HR 2262, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 in the House of Representatives last session. Unfortunately the measure did not make it to the Senate in time to be made into law. But Chairman Rahall is not giving up. He has reintroduced the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009 (now HR 699) and you can urge your Representative to cosponsor this legislation. With a new administration and your member working to pass this, we can finally reform this outdated law. Sign the No Dirty Energy Pledge Sign the No Dirty Energy pledge today and demand that the energy industry clean up its act! We need renewable fuel sources for the 21st century, not irresponsible energy development that would worsen our ecological problems here, and around the world! By signing the No Dirty Gold pledge you are declaring your commitment to responsible gold mining here in the United States and around the world. Gold mining uses some of the most destructive practices and produces huge amounts of waste, ruining ecosystems and communities around the world. By signing the pledge you are signaling your support to the many retailers and manufacturers who are also committed to making sure that gold is mined responsibly. Sign the No Dirty Gold pledge today! Recycle your cell phone from home Cell phones contain toxic metals that can pollute the environment and threaten human health. When recycled responsibly, the metals can be put back into circulation, decreasing the need for new metal mining. You can recycle your phone from home for free and support EARTHWORKS at the same time! |
Community Voices Sansu, Ghana"AGC has the power to destroy my livelihood and also shoot me without any provocation." |