[chapter-communicator] Audubon Newswire, Thursday, December 6, 2007
- From: "TENNEFOSS, Lynn" <ltennefoss@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "chapter-communicator@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <chapter-communicator@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 11:29:02 -0500
Audubon Newswire
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Circulation: 4,700
"Today's problems cannot be solved
if we still think the way we thought
when we created them."
- Albert Einstein
Please Note: Please continue to send your news and updates to Dianna Parker at
diannaparker@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:diannaparker@xxxxxxxxxxx>
In this issue:
*
Historic Energy Bill Sets Bold Course
* WatchList 2007 Inspires Editorials, Cartoons, Calls to Action
* Gear Up for the 108th Christmas Bird Count
* Audubon Activists Return from Ethiopia Study Tour
* Chapter Leader Receives First Bartlett Award
* Chapter News: Restoration Grants
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Historic Energy Bill Sets Bold Course
Washington, D.C- The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a final energy
bill by a vote of 235-181, taking a significant step forward in the fight
against global warming. With both a renewable electricity standard (RES) and an
increase in corporate average fuel economy (CAFE), this bill could save
consumers billions at the pump and on energy bills as it reduces global warming
pollution. Experts say the bill would kick-start a new clean energy economy
that will create hundreds of thousands of new, good-paying American jobs. The
Senate is expected to consider the legislation before the holiday recess.
Statement of Betsy Loyless, Donal C. O'Brien Chair for Advocacy and Public
Policy:
"Speaker Pelosi has delivered in passing a visionary energy package that sets
our nation on a new course. The House energy bill is a triumph for the
environment and delivers what polls show Americans strongly want.
"The House's early holiday present would expand cleaner fuels and energy,
improve conservation, and boost automobile gas mileage for the first time in a
generation. If this Congress wants to be serious about energy security and
global warming, then this bill should be seen as nothing less than a milestone
acheivement. We urge the Senate to adopt this package."
MORE INFORMATION
According to analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists, full implementation
of this compromise will save about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day in 2020.
That is half of what the United States currently imports from the entire
Persian Gulf. As a result, American consumers will save $22 billion dollars in
2020, even after paying for the necessary fuel economy technology. In addition,
the legislation will prevent over 190 million metric tons of global warming
pollution. That is the equivalent to taking 28 million of today's average cars
and trucks off the road in that year.
For more information, go to http://www.audubon.org/globalWarming/EnergyPlan.php
WatchList 2007 Inspires Editorials, Cartoons, Calls to Action
New York-Now one week after the release of WatchList 2007, Audubon is enjoying
widespread success in the news, estimating over 200 stories run in publications
nationwide. The New York Times weighed in Saturday, first issuing a warning in
an editorial highlighting the importance of protecting declining bird
populations with strong policies like the Endangered Species Act, and following
with a longer article about the report. Next week's issue of In the News will
showcase more of Audubon's regional efforts with stories from around the
country, but find out how WatchList 2007 inspired a bit of grim humor at
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/11/30/EDRUSSELL.DTL.
See the editorial here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/opinion/01sat4.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
See the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/01/nyregion/01birds.html
Haven't seen the results yet? Go to
http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/ for more.
Gear Up: 108th Christmas Bird Count
Tis' the season for citizen science, with this year's Christmas Bird Count fast
approaching. This annual Audubon tradition begins Friday, December 14th, 2007
and runs through Saturday, January 5th, 2008. For over a century, people from
around the country have joined CBC circles to collect data at the end of the
year, enabling scientists to track regional bird populations and issue critical
national reports like WatchList and Common Birds in Decline.
For those who are new to the Christmas Bird Count and want to get involved,
please visit
http://app.audubon.org/cbcapp/findCircles.jsp?start=&state=US-CT&Submit1=Show+Circles
to contact a local circle.
Check out pictures of bird sightings from previous counts at
http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/cbcPhotos.php
Audubon Activists Return from Ethiopia Study Tour
Washington, D.C.-Policy staff and four Audubon activists from around the
country traveled to Ethiopia mid-November as a part of a study tour organized
by Audubon's Population and Habitat Program. They participated in a Population,
Health, and Environment conference at the United Nations Conference Centre in
Addis Ababa as part of an effort to better understand the connection between
population and the environment in developing nations. They observed first-hand
the health and conservation work of the US Agency for International Development
and witnessed the ways in which voluntary family planning programs improve the
health and well-being of both people and the environment. The trip was a large
step forward in Audubon's efforts to expand its Population and Habitat program
and build strong relationships with advocates abroad and in the United States.
Now that they have returned, the study tour participants will work to share
what they have learned with their local Audubon chapters and state offices.
To learn more about Audubon's population and habitat program, please visit:
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/population_habitat/
Audubon NC Deputy Director to Serve at Leadership Institute
Raleigh, NC-Deputy Director for Audubon North Carolina, Walker Golder, has been
accepted into the 2008 class of the Natural Resources Leadership Institute, run
through the NC Cooperative Extension Service at NC State. Golder will be
joining a distinguished group of managers of natural resources from state and
federal agencies, nonprofits, and businesses to learn collaborative approaches
to problem-solving. Monthly workshops Jan-June will take the group across the
state to discuss pressing issues and past examples of conflict resolution.
To learn more about NRLI, go to
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/agecon/nrli/programdes.html
Chapter Leader Receives First Bartlett Award
Madison, WI-Deb Weitzel, vice president for the Madison Audubon Society, is the
winner of the nation's first National Environmental Education Foundations'
Bartlett Award for leadership in environmental education. Weitzel, an
environmental studies and chemistry teacher at a local high school, traveled to
Virginia Beach, VA in November to receive her award, which acknowledges
teachers who are creative, passionate and effective and who can serve as an
inspiration and model for other educators.
Find out more about the Bartlett award at
http://www.neefusa.org/resources/bartlett.htm
Chapter News: Restoration Grants
Tucson, AZ-Tucson Audubon Society, in cooperation with the City of Tucson and
the Groves-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association has received an Arizona Water
Protection Fund grant in the amount of $390,839 to restore the wildlife and
riparian habitat value of Atturbury Wash on Tucson's East Side. In total,
nearly $700,000 will be invested over 4 years for various partners to develop a
restoration plan, improve vegetation quality along the wash, mitigate erosion,
and engage residents in implementing and maintaining the restoration work.
Tucson Audubon will also use this project to promote greater awareness in
Tucson of the value of natural riparian habitat.
Oklahoma City, OK- The Audubon Society of Central Oklahoma has received another
$10,000 towards its Lake Hefner Habitat Restoration project in Oklahoma City
from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. The project, slated to begin
within the next few months, will restore native habitat to approximately 8.5
acres of barren land surrounding Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City. The group
received its first $10,000 in October from Chesapeake Energy and hopes to
continue to re-establish habitat throughout central Oklahoma.
Contact Audubon's chapter services office at
chapter_services@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:chapter_services@xxxxxxxxxxx> to find out
more details about these projects or others in your area.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS
Audubon Holiday Cards- Visit Audubon's Holiday Card Center at
http://www.holidaycardcenter.org/2007/ISG/NA/main.asp?mailcode=NA075107 and get
a head start on choosing the cheer that you'll send to friends and loved ones.
Nayarit Bird Festival-The Nayarit Bird Festival will take place this year Jan
19-26 in San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico. The migratory bird festival is "linked" to
the Great Salt Lakes IBA in Utah, and has inspired similar festivals in the
United States. The festival follows the pattern of traditional Mexican
celebrations with an emphasis on natural history, and includes field trips,
evening gatherings in the town square with dancers interpreting bird behavior,
and traditional Mexican performances.
To learn more about how you can sign up for the festival, go to
http://avessanblas.uan.mx/ingles/index.html or coordinate with Utah Linking
Chair, Don Paul through chapter services at
chapter_services@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:chapter_services@xxxxxxxxxxx>.
FUN FACT
Always social, groups of Cedar Waxwings sometimes perch on a branch, passing a
single berry back and forth, until one bird decides to swallow it! This species
is a regular representative in the Christmas Bird
Count<http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html> and can be found in a variety
of habitats including orchards, forest edges, and backyards. Find out more
here: http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html
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