Broadsides Volume 27 | No
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BROADSIDES VOLUME 27 | NO. 3 | FALL 2017 Fighting the Siege on Climate by Lionel Di Giacomo IT’S ALMOST AUCTION he country has been oil and gas infrastructure for means to reduce monuments caught in a deluge of years to come. such as Bears Ears and Grand TIME! bad news for climate The Obama administration Staircase-Escalante to free up T activists. Rollbacks gave us many rules and bargain-basement public lands and attacks on policies or decisions to moderate for coal, oil and gas, and other tools that could help combat industry’s contribution to development. climate change seem to come climate disruption, such In August, the Department of at such a staggering pace that as new climate guidelines the Interior set into motion sometimes it feels as if we are for public land agencies drastic cuts to National on a sinking ship, taking on and a new rule that would Environmental Policy water faster than we can plug require oil, gas, and mining Act (NEPA) reviews of the leaks. companies to disclose what infrastructure projects. In this While these attacks are severe, they pay foreign governments case “infrastructure” includes OCT. 28–NOV. 12 they are not unprecedented: for drilling rights across the energy production and Ronald Reagan pandered to globe. As promised on the generation from fossil fuels, oilmen and sagebrush as well as Do your “bid” for rebels; George W. railways, ports, wilderness Bush gave billions and pipelines. in tax breaks to dirty NEPA reviews energy companies; can take years BIDDERS and yet today, more to properly acres of federal land complete and WANTED! are protected than hundreds ever before. of pages to Gear But there’s no doubt document, but Goodies our public lands are many will be in peril. Fossil fuel constrained to Getaways and other extractive just 150 pages, industries are being with only Register NOW at invited to dig, drill, one year to auction.greatoldbroads.org and frack more complete them. Important help support aggressively with Cartoon by Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune far less oversight. analyses will our work It is an old story of selling out campaign trail, President certainly be left out of the the long-term health of public Trump and the new Congress decision-making process, for the wild. lands and America’s citizens wasted no time reversing greatly weakening the effect for short-term private profits. those policies, protecting the of NEPA. Of course, NEPA industry from scrutiny and is not the only bedrock Doubling Down on making domestic energy environmental law under Dirty Fuels production on public lands attack. more appealing. The drive behind Endangered Species Broads Receives Trump’s energy policy is Next, the administration Act under Fire Global focused on making more “energy dominance”. The Environmental administration wants to “cheap” federal land available Despite year after year of extract and export large to fossil fuel companies. The staggering profits for oil and Challenge gas, the Endangered Species amounts of fossil fuels around sham “National Monument Award the world and invest in new Review” was no more than a Act (ESA) and the swaths ~ See Page 8 ~ (Continued page 14) A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHELLEY SILBERT In a Great Old Broads BROAD for Wilderness PO Box 2924 • Durango, CO 81302 Sense 970-385-9577 [email protected] We are ALL www.greatoldbroads.org STAFF Wonder Woman Andy Gulliford Shelley Silbert, Executive Director Carrie King, Associate Director Susan Kearns, am not a big fan of superheroes. I've ranks are filled with women of wonder who Communications Director always been fascinated with spiderwebs, are stepping it up and finding their voices. Lauren Berutich, Grassroots and have imagined having Spiderman Broads are facing fears, donning veritable Leadership Director powers, throwing silk at the flick of shields and capes, and pressing onward to Peggy Malloy, Ia wrist and flying though the air on a ten- deflect the attacks on our democratic system Operations Manager second tapestry. Beyond that, spare me the and on our public Joyce Thomsen, “Pow” and “Kaboom”, or the heroic rescue of We cannot trade lands like sparks Membership Maven the damsel in distress. off wristbands (if Lionel Di Giacomo, our children's Research & Advocacy Associate But lo and behold, I've recently fallen under you haven't seen the spell of Wonder Woman. She's grabbed health and the the movie, BOARD OF DIRECTORS this image might Caroline Munger, CO - Chair my attention like no other scantily-clad, health of our ostentatiously-muscled, save-the-world not make much Rynda Clark, OR - Vice Chair figure has before. planet to meet sense!) Antonia Daly, NY - Secretary Cristina Harmon, CO - Treasurer Who could not La Plata feel smitten by this today's budget Diana Allison, UT Broadband Carl Rountree, TN morally-driven shortfalls. member Lauri heroine who, from Julie Weikel, OR Costello traveled Mary O’Brien, UT girlhood, dreams of to DC, with support from Sierra Club, to training to fight for testify against a delay in the EPA's methane ADVISORY BOARD Steve Allen, Joe Breddan, truth, beauty, and pollution standards. A retired family justice? Dave Foreman, Maggie Fox, physician, she became increasingly aware of Fred Goodsell, Ginger Harmon, We need Wonder methane's impacts after moving to the Four Vicky Hoover, Fran Hunt, Libby Ingalls, Frandee Johnson, Woman right Corners, a region rampant with oil and gas Matt Kenna, Linda Liscom, now. In this dark drilling. “They're ignoring us, but we won't Chuck McAfee, MB McAfee, night in America, go away,” she commented. “Out of 118 who Saralaine Millet, Erin Moore, we watch with testified, only two people opposed the rule. Marcey Olajos, Tim Peterson, Lynn Prebble, Liz Thomas, horror as the EPA And yet the Trump administration still wants Marilyn Price-Reinbolt, (Environmental Protection Agency) is the delay.” The federal appeals court ruled Cindy Shogan, Lois Snedden unraveled from within, national monuments this summer against a 90-day delay, but the Great Old Broads for Wilderness is a headed towards chopping and parks administration still plans to reconsider the national grassroots organization, led by elders, that engages and inspires towards drilling; white supremacists and rule. activism to preserve and protect neo-Nazis march in the streets, and our Broads’ board member Rynda Clark wilderness and wild lands. beloved democracy is threatened with Conceived by older women who love lobbied Oregon State Treasurer Tobias wilderness, Broads gives voice to the “deconstruction.” Is it any wonder that so Read, while other Broads lobbied their state millions of Americans who want their many flocked to witness the total eclipse of representatives. They aimed to save the 82,500 public lands protected as Wilderness the sun, traveling long miles to witness the for this and future generations. acre Elliot State Forest from sale to a private With more than 8,500 members and world go dark, then re-emerge again to light timber company—a move Read himself friends, we bring voice, knowledge, and normalcy? commitment, and humor to the recommended to the Oregon State Land movement to protect our last wild Wonder-full Broads Board to bring money to state coffers. places on earth. “As with any family budget, we cannot trade Please credit Broads for any Got Wonder Woman? Yes, indeed. Broads' reprinted articles. Internet Services Donated by Xmission (Continued page 12) 2 greatoldbroads.org “It is not yours alone to complete the work (of Advocacy corner justice), but neither are you free to desist from it.” Writing with a Purpose - Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers by Lauren Berutich ver hear the expression, “a picture is worth a thousand 1. Write to the words?” Well, what if a letter is worth a million acres? right person American citizens, nature lovers, and business owners Be sure you send your message across the country have been called to action to speak E to right elected official, public for the health of our planet on a variety of issues in recent leader, or decision maker. Is this months —and they have responded in droves. a local issue instituted through This was especially apparent after President Trump issued your city council or Mayor’s an executive order to review national monuments designated office, a county or state matter, since 1996 and greater than 100,000 acres—ironically, just or a federal campaign? Still unsure? Seek support from our four days after the celebration of Earth Day. American’s were office or ask a partner organization connected to the same given only 60 days to defend 27 national monuments and issue. Find your congressional representatives at: the country stepped up with pens in hand! The Wilderness https://whoismyrepresentative.com/. Society reports more than 2.8 million comments were submitted to Secretary of Interior Zinke. Of these comments, 2. Use your resources 99.2% were loud and clear, expressing that the American Support is out there. Check the Broads’ website for people love their public lands, support the monument campaign information, watch for action alerts, or contact designations in question, and want them to remain protected. your local partner organizations for the most updated and This overwhelming support is undeniable. comprehensive talking points. You don’t have to reinvent I have a feeling we will need to continue this pattern of the wheel or be the expert on the matter, but you do have pen and ink advocacy (or keyboard and modem) for years to have clear and accurate information. to come. So, how do we keep this momentum of political pressure and collective action? Keep those letters coming and 3. Tell your story make them good! Make sure you get personal and use examples from your travels, experiences, and memories from the landscapes you are writing about.