Help Make a Sustainable USDA

Sent to me by J. Rigot

Also look at:
The Food Declaration

Introducing the Sustainable Dozen!

We want to thank everybody for their generous response and would like to acknowledge your growing concerns on these vital issues going forward to the new Administration.

In just ten days over 57,000 Americans have joined with Food Democracy Now! to advocate for a Sustainable USDA!

It is important now that we focus our attention on Under Secretary positions at the USDA. We have added six individuals, who have been champions on issues of sustainability and standing up for independent family farmers as indicated by their life’s work, to our original list and want to put them forward as candidates for these positions.

These are not the only choices for consideration, but their backgrounds represent the type of candidates that we expect to be appointed to these positions in the very near future.
As you may already know, while the Secretary of Agriculture is an important position, it is our understanding that Under Secretaries may actually have “more influence on the day to day workings of the agency than the Secretary.”

Time is of the essence. It is vital that you express your voice for Sustainable Change by signing on to support these candidates and those who have worked alongside this community for decades.

NOW is the time to become the Sustainable Voice for change that our nation so desperately needs.

Many of us are Iowans who acknowledge Obama’s selection of our former Governor as the next Secretary of Agriculture and hope to deliver this petition with your comments to him once he is confirmed and President-Elect Obama to encourage them to take these issues to heart as they lead the USDA and 21st century U.S. agricultural policy into the future.

Thank you for registering your vote. The conversation has just begun…

Here are the Sustainable Dozen!

Gus Schumacher: Former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Former Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture. Boston, Massachusetts

Chuck Hassebrook: Executive Director, Center for Rural Affairs, Lyons, Nebraska.

Sarah Vogel: attorney; former two-term Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of North Dakota, Bismarck, North Dakota.

Fred Kirschenmann: organic farmer; Distinguished Fellow, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames, IA; President, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Pocantico Hills, New York.

Mark Ritchie: current Minnesota Secretary of State; former policy analyst in Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture under Governor Rudy Perpich; co-founder of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Neil Hamilton: attorney; Dwight D. Opperman Chair of Law and Professor of Law and Director, Agricultural Law Center, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.

Doug O’Brien: current Assistant Director at Ohio Department of Agriculture; worked for the U.S. House and the Senate Ag Committee; former staff attorney and co-director for the National Agriculture Law Center in Arkansas, Reynoldsburg, Ohio.

(My First Choice) James Riddle: organic farmer; founding chair of the International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA); has served on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Organic Advisory Task Force since 1991; appointed to the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board, serving on the Executive Committee for 5 years and was chair in 2005, Board of Directors. Winona, Minnesota.

Kathleen Merrigan: Director, Agriculture, Food and Environment M.S./Ph.D. Program, Assistant Professor and Director of the Center on Agriculture; Food and the Environment, Tufts University; former Federal Agency Administrator U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service; creator of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, mandating national organic standards and a program of federal accreditation. Boston Massachusetts.

Denise O’Brien: organic farmer, founder of Women, Food, and Agriculture Network (WFAN); represented the interests of women in agriculture at the World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995; organized a rural women’s workshop for the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome, Italy; received nearly a half million votes in her 2006 bid to become Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture. Atlantic, Iowa.

Ralph Paige: Executive Director, Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund; served as presidential appointment to the 21st Century Production Agriculture Commission; participates on the Agriculture Policy Advisory Committee for Trade; the Cooperative Development Foundation; and the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education & Economics Advisory Board. East Point, Georgia.

Karen Ross: President of the California Winegrape Growers Association and Executive Director of the Winegrape Growers of America; awarded the Wine Integrity Award by the Lodi Winegrape Commission for her contributions to the wine industry. Sacramento, California.

Energy Bill 2007

http://ga3.org/campaign/blog_energy_alert
12/20 - from The Grist

Pass/Fail Senate OKs fuel-economy increase, but drops more ambitious parts of energy bill
The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an energy bill that would raise auto fuel-economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 -- but only after a more ambitious version of the bill ran into a roadblock. The more ambitious version, which the House passed last week, got a thumbs-up from 59 senators -- a handful of Republicans as well as all of the Democrats except Mary Landrieu from oil-friendly Louisiana -- but that was still one vote shy of the 60 needed to get it past a threatened filibuster. To push the bill through, Democratic leaders in the Senate dropped provisions that would have required utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewables by 2020 and would have cut tax breaks and subsidies for oil companies. The revised bill now goes back to the House for approval; the White House says President Bush will sign it.

11/28/07
Last week, the price of oil hit a near record high $99 per barrel, and with it, gasoline rose to an average of $3.09 per gallon. With winter coming, heating prices could rise too. This is a real threat to us all.
Congress needs to act now to pass a comprehensive energy bill to reduce these threats.
Senate and House leaders are now debating how to increase fuel economy and reduce oil use. If Congress crafts a final energy bill with the best provisions from earlier measures, it would reduce U.S. oil use by at least 2.5 million barrels per day by 2016. That's a good thing.
But big oil and other special interests are conniving to block these measures. That's a bad thing.
So write Congress today and tell them to pass a good energy bill that:
Includes more efficient motor vehicle fuel economy (CAFE) standards to reduce oil use by 1.2 million barrels per day by 2020, which is slightly less than the amount of oil the U.S. currently imports from Venezuela
Includes the House renewable fuels provision, which would stop oil companies from making it difficult it sell cleaner flex fuels such as E-85 and create incentives for service stations to add flex fuels to their other gasoline offerings
Includes the House renewable electricity provision, which would save consumers more than $200 billion in reduced energy costs
Includes energy efficiency provisions from both bills that could reduce electricity used for lighting by 65 percent and energy used for buildings by 50 percent by 2020
Congress needs to hear from you, loud and clear. You can send the email we have written for you or, better still, personalize it for more impact.
Thanks for you help,
Alan and the CAPAF advocacy team

The Center for American Progress Action Fund is the sister advocacy organization of the Center for American Progress. The Action Fund transforms progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. The Action Fund is also the home of the Progress Report and Think Progress, the blog that pushes back daily.

Urge Congress to Pass a Strong Clean Energy Bill!

This summer we achieved two major victories. In June the Senate passed an Energy Bill requiring automobiles go farther on a tank of gas and in August the House passed an Energy Bill requiring electric utilities to obtain more power from clean, renewable sources-such as the wind and sun. This is truly an exciting time. This fall we have the opportunity to help pass the strongest energy bill to date.

However, while Congress was on August recess, the auto industry was working hard to undermine these important victories. Now we need to counter their voice in Congress with our own!

Fill out the form on the site to remind your members of Congress that you support a Clean Energy Bill with strong standards for fuel economy and renewable energy!

Tell me more

Help this organization fight for safe energy:
https://secure.ga3.org/03/soe_donate

http://www.saveourenvironment.org/

10/30 More Information on Energy Bills

From Chris of EnergyBill2007.org
I wanted to give you a heads-up on what we're doing to reach out to members of Congress. So far, we have placed full-page print ads in papers in Pennsylvania for Representative Platts, http://smnr.us/platts/; Illinois for Representative Kirk, http://smnr.us/kirk/; New Mexico for Representative Udall, http://smnr.us/udallnm/; and Colorado for Representative Udall, http://smnr.us/udallco/.

Alliance For Climate Protection News

12/11 Dear Friend,

In less than forty-eight hours, I will step on stage at the UN Climate Conference in Bali. With me I will bring hundreds of thousands of messages demanding a visionary global treaty be completed and brought into effect by 2010.

If we want to solve the climate crisis, we need to demonstrate the broad public support for action together. That's why it is vital you sign our petition right now by visiting:
http://www.climateprotect.org/standwithal

Over the past few months we've taken many positive steps towards uniting governments worldwide around the goal of solving the climate crisis. Just over a week ago on December 3rd, Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was sworn in. His first formal act in office was to ratify the Kyoto Treaty. This was a clear demonstration of Australia’s priorities.

Yet this progress has not swayed the Bush Administration. With thousands of delegates gathered in Bali for the UN Climate Conference, this is our last chance in 2007 to show the world how serious the American people are about ending the climate crisis. That's why it is so vital all of us join together and demonstrate the political will of our country.

Only two days remain before I deliver your messages to the delegates meeting in Bali. Over the past few days more than 174,612 people have added their voices. Don't miss this incredible opportunity to demonstrate your support for a visionary global treaty to end the climate crisis.
Sign our petition, then reach out to everyone you know and ask them to sign today by visiting:
http://www.climateprotect.org/standwithal

Your activism and enthusiasm for this cause inspires me every day.
Thank you,
Al Gore

10/07
Last week, our founder and chairman Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless efforts to help solve the global climate crisis. But he's not working alone -- millions of people across the country and around the world know that climate change is a critical issue that we need to act on, and now.

You can do your part today by urging your friends and family to join the movement. By joining with the Alliance for Climate Protection and its founder Al Gore, we strengthen the global commitment to harnessing solutions to the climate crisis. Our increasing numbers will demonstrate to leaders in every time zone and on every continent that halting climate change is a top priority.

Mr Gore said it best: "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level."

Please help today by clicking here to tell your friends to get involved and join the campaign to solve the climate crisis..

The solutions are within reach. Together, we can solve this.

Sincerely,

Cathy Zoi
CEO

P.S. Please donate to the Alliance for Climate Protection . We will be launching an international campaign to engage people from all walks of life on the urgency of the climate crisis and the solutions available. By donating to the Alliance, you are helping us reach more people and alert leaders across the world that action on climate change is a top priority. Please donate today.

Save Our Environment Action Alerts

11/20/07
Stop Overfishing
Last year Congress passed a new version of the nation's fishery management law to put an end to decades of overfishing in our oceans. The new law requires fishery managers to follow the recommendations of scientists on how much fish can be caught on a sustainable basis.
Click here to act today and help make sure the Bush administration follows the requirements of the new law!
Right now, under pressure from a few members of Congress and small numbers of fishermen, the National Marine Fisheries Service is about to approve a fishing plan for summer flounder (also known as fluke) that would let fishermen catch 25% more fish than the scientists say is sustainable.
This would violate the new law. But that's not surprising, since the fishery managers have allowed overfishing on summer flounder for 20 years.
This is one of the first rules of the new law that are being reviewed and the administration needs to know that YOU are paying attention.
Please urge the Bush administration to follow the requirements of the new law and stop overfishing summer flounder.
If this plan moves forward, a terrible precedent will be set. From here it is a slippery slope that could result in overfishing many other fish populations, hurting marine mammals, and causing habitat destruction.
Please make your voice heard on this important issue.
Click here now to the tell the Administration to stop destructive overfishing of summer flounder and obey the new ocean fishing law!
Thank you for all your hard work.
Sincerely,
Julie WatermanCampaign Director, SaveOurEnvironment.orginfo@saveourenvironment.org