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Well, you did it. Your relentless organizing, mobilizing,
door-hanging, birddogging, whistle-blowing and all-around
championing of the environment stopped the 104th Congress in
its tracks. Not only have the leaders of the War on the
Environment dropped many of their most destructive ideas
from the current bevy of budget bills, they're even pushing
a Safe Drinking Water Act reauthorization the Sierra Club
can support.
So what now? Time to declare victory, grab your surfboard
and start enjoying some hot summer fun? Abandon the
beachhead and head for the beach? Not quite.
Needless to say, the Gingrich-Lott 104th Congress is not a
whit greener than the Gingrich-Dole 104th was - just a whole
lot closer to Election Day. Having had the War on the
Environment blow up in their faces, new Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and House Speaker Newt Gingrich
are doing whatever it takes to hang on to Congress for an
other two years. That includes running away from their
shameful "War" records, and planting something green in the
remaining days of this Republican-controlled Congress.
Of course, we won't stand in the way of any decent measures
the GOP leadership might deign to bring up, whatever their
reasons. But we do need to be on the alert for (more
characteristic of this Congress) bad ones. We also need to
remain on guard against the leadership's tendency to load up
popular measures with anti-environmental provisions that
couldn't pass on their own. It's up to us to make sure that
on Nov. 5 the voters know the difference between their
friends and their foes when it comes to the environment.
And that means it's going to be a long, active summer. "Our
main task ahead is to tell compelling stories about all the
ways Congress and the state legislatures would endanger our
families and our future," said Bruce Hamilton, the Club's
national conservation director. Throughout the country, in
key media markets and targeted legislative districts, Club
volunteers will be focusing attention on a place or resource
put at risk by the reckless behavior of elected officials.
For example, in South Dakota -- where 85,000 residents drink
water that fails to meet federal health standards -
activists will be reminding voters that Sen. Larry Pressler
(R) voted not only to further weaken those standards, but
also to limit the Environmental Protection Agency's ability
to enforce existing drinking-water protection programs.
No matter where you live, you'll undoubtedly have your own
stories to tell. To get involved in this summer's
activities, call your regional field office. For more
information, contact the Office of Volunteer Services at
(415) 977- 5747 or e-mail:
activist.desk@sierraclub.org
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