_____
From: Avaaz.org [mailto:avaaz@xxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 9:50 AM
To: miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Thanks for defending the Grand Canyon
Thanks for taking action to safeguard the Grand Canyon for all to continue
enjoying.
Now help boost our call by sending the email below to friends and family,
and share this link on Facebook:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/dont_mine_the_grand_canyon_us/?tnHqnab
Thanks again for your help,
The Avaaz team
--------
Dear friends across the US,
My people have lived for centuries in the Grand Canyon, and I hope my
children's children will get to enjoy this incredible place. But crazy plans
for new radioactive uranium mines around the Grand Canyon could make that
impossible -- poisoning the land and giving people cancer -- unless we stop
them.
Four years ago we got President Obama to temporarily halt new uranium mines
above our canyon home. But now the industry is using every lever they can
pull to get permission to dig on our ancestral land.
Obama can permanently protect the Grand Canyon by creating a National
Monument around it -- he just created three Monuments last week, ahead of
the National Park Service turning 100 this year, and there's a big push here
in Arizona. But to overcome pressure from rich mining companies, we've got
to make him hear from everyone around the country!
Right now, with the President looking for ways to highlight America's
spectacular places, is our best chance to safeguard this natural wonder
forever. Join us in asking President Obama to create the Greater Grand
Canyon Heritage National Monument and stop uranium mines from destroying
this priceless gem, and I'll fly to Washington, DC to deliver all our
voices:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/dont_mine_the_grand_canyon_us/?tnHqnab
Uranium mining is nasty stuff. The open pits scar the face of the earth,
wheezing a fine powder of radioactive dust into the air, potentially
discharging toxic waste into nearby groundwater and rivers. You can't see
the dust, but that doesn't mean it isn't deadly for wildlife and people
nearby. Just weeks ago, uranium pollution from existing mines in Arizona
caused radioactivity levels to spike, sending regulators into alarm.
Its almost unimaginable that something so vast could be threatened by
something so small. But the Grand Canyon actually consists of a fragile
ecosystem that's already heavily taxed by overuse, logging, and mining,
which got it named one of the "Most Endangered Historic Places" in the US
this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
We're not just fighting for a beautiful canyon -- we're fighting for our
culture and our lives. It's not surprising that my people, who are
surrounded by thousands of uranium mine claims, also report more rare
cancers than people living in other places.
My people, the Havasupai, have come together with ten neighboring tribes and
created a proposal that would protect the Grand Canyon for good, and are
working with allies in Congress to make it happen. We know Obama is taking
his legacy on Federal land and with Indian tribes seriously, recently
restoring Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) to its original name. And on
Thursday he protected 1.8 million acres of of California desert.
The centennial for the National Park Service is the perfect opportunity to
make a bold move and protect the Grand Canyon. If you join our call, we can
help show the President that this is important to people near and far. Sign
the petition, send it widely, and we'll deliver it directly to the
President's National Parks team in DC:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/dont_mine_the_grand_canyon_us/?tnHqnab
From fighting to protect Apache Oak Flat sacred lands in Arizona, to our
ongoing work to forge an unprecedented protected Amazon corridor across
Latin America, the Avaaz community has a powerful track record of joining
forces with indigenous people and conservation champions to save sacred
places and delicate ecosystems. Let's bring the same passion to protecting
Grand Canyon, an iconic place in the heart of the American Southwest.
With hope,
Carletta Tilousi, with the support of Avaaz
SOURCES
Arizona continues to push for new uranium mines near Grand Canyon (The
Arizona Republic)
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/09/24/arizona-uranium
-mines-grand-canyon/72741520/
Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva announces bill banning Uranium mining near
Grand Canyon (Phoenix New Times)
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-congressman-ra-l-grijalva-announ
ces-bill-banning-uranium-mining-near-grand-canyon-7736355
Obama creates 3 new national monuments to protect 1.8 million acres of
California desert (LA Times)
http://www.latimes.com/science/la-me-monuments-20160212-story.html
Arizona state legislators urge President Obama to protect the Grand Canyon's
watershed as a national monument (Sierra Club)
http://www.sierraclub.org/lay-of-the-land/2015/04/arizona-state-legislators-
urge-president-obama-protect-grand-canyons
Grand Canyon named one of USA's "Most Endangered Historic Places" (USA
Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2015/06/23/most-endangered
-places-national-trust-2015/29189289/
Grand Canyon at Risk: Uranium Mining Doesnt Belong Near Our National
Treasures (Environment America)
http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/grand-canyon-risk-uranium-mini
ng-doesn%E2%80%99t-belong-near-our-national-treasures
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