ORWARD THIS ALERT TO ALL APPROPRIATE LISTS AND PEOPLE
UPDATE
Arctic Vote this week
DC Rally for the Refuge
Religious Leaders Meet with Specter
Arctic Vote Friday, 4/12. Call Senator Specter TODAY
Please ask your family, your friends and everyone you know to also
call (numbers below).
The time has come. The Senate vote on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is firmly expected on Thursday. We need to flood the phonelines from now until the vote with calls to Senator Specter urging him to support the Kerry-McCain filibuster opposing Arctic Refuge drilling. This vote is it! If we lose, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America's last great wilderness, will be destroyed for a 6-month supply of oil.
We must win Specter's vote! Please join in this last big push to give the campaign everything we've got. Forward this alert to all your friends and family. Ask everyone you know to put in a call. On Wednesday, there will be a rally in D.C. for the Refuge. Information is below. Please attend this if you can. Thank you for your help.
Senator Specter's phone numbers:
D.C. 202-224-4254
fax 202-228-1229
Philly 215-597-7200
Erie 814-453-3010
Allentown 610-434-1444
Harrisburg 717-782-3951
Pittsburgh 412-644-3400
Scranton 570-346-2006
* * * * * RALLY for the REFUGE in DC * * *
* * *
The Senate is getting ready to vote on the fate of the Arctic NationalWildlife Refuge. We're helping organize a Washington D.C. rally tobring national attention to the threat to the Arctic Refuge. Please join us in a real-life, honest-to-goodness rally to hammer home the message that Americans from all walks of life want to keep the Arctic Refuge free of oil and gas development. The rally is next Wednesday,
April 10th, at 10 a.m. in Washington.
Invited speakers include:
-Senators who have led the fight against oil drilling in the Arctic Refuge;
-Native American leaders (including Robby Romero of the native rock group Red Thunder);
-Military veterans; and
-Leaders from organized labor, the religious community and the conservation movement.
Hundreds of conservation-minded Americans from across the region are expected to participate. Be part of history! Join us for the Arctic Rally!
*************************************************************
RALLY FOR THE ARCTIC REFUGE (RAIN OR SHINE)
Wednesday April 10
Beginning at 10 a.m.
Upper Senate Park, Washington D.C.
(Corner of Constitution Ave. and Delaware Ave. NE)
Washington, DC
Use mapquest for directions to this location:
Type in: Delaware Ave, NE and Constitution Ave.
Washington, DC 20001
***************************************************************
SPEAKERS AT THE RALLY:
Robbie Romero, Red Thunder
Robert Kennedy, Jr., NRDC (tentative)
Senator Joe Lieberman (D, CT)
Senator Ron Wyden (D, OR)
Senator Paul Wellstone (D, MN)
(Other Senators are expected)
Faith Gemmill, Gwich'in Steering Committee, NWF Board of Directors
Bill Meadows, President, The Wilderness Society
Rabbi Warren Stone, Central Conference of American Rabbis
We would love to see you, too at the Arctic Rally. And thanks for all you have done to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America's Serengeti.
___________________________________________________________________
SENATOR SPECTER MEETS WITH LEADERS FROM THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
Senator Arlen Specter (R) PA met with several religious leaders over the issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, April 05, 2002. Rev. K. Joy Kaufmann, Director for Public Advocacy for the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, Kathleen M. Coll, ssj, the Social Justice Coordinator for the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Rabbi Lina Grazier-Zerbarini, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and Margaret Presley, Director for Informal and Family Education at Main Line Reform Temple accompanied by Emily Ferry of the Alaska Coalition and Shana Starobin of PennPIRG all met with Specter to discuss their concerns about drilling in the Arctic. The range of topics discussed was as vast as the religious diversity and provided an interesting new viewpoint for Senator Specter to see representation of his constituents.
Kathleen M. Coll, ssj, spoke on behalf of the Gwich'in people. The Sisters of Saint Joseph are committed to the earth and human rights and have grave concerns that drilling in the refuge would harm the caribou, the main food source of the Gwich'in people. The Gwich'in (tribe) is one of the last Native American peoples that still live off the land.
Rabbi Lina Grazier'Zerbanini said that despite the conflict going on in Israel involving the ramifications of possible oil embargos, the majority of Jewish organizations still want to protect the Arctic. 11 of the 13 major jewish organizations are against drilling as are the mass majority of the local JCRCs nationally. Grazier'Zerbanini also stressed conservation as the solution to the US's energy problem.
Margaret Presley, talked about two properties of both Christian and Jewish theology - Shomrei Adamah and L'dor v'dor. Shomrei Adamah, means stewards of the earth and is a value that means that each person is responsible as a "caretaker of the earth". L'dor v'dor,
means from Generation to Generation, and in an eco-value context it means that the actions we take today affect tomorrow's generation.
Rev. K. Joy Kaufmann brought to the table the issue of renewable energy resources stating that "renewable energy is the wave of the future". Specter's eyes brightened at her statement, the first reaction seen from him during the entire meeting. Kaufmann also
reiterated Presley's remarks. Again conservation was brought up by Kaufmann as the major solution to the oil problems faced by this country.
Senator Specter responded rather ambiguously when approached with the question of how he intended to vote on this matter. He first thanked the leaders for coming and then said that he has been studying this issue very intently. He hasn't seen an issue as hotly debated since the Robert Bork debates. He understands both viewpoints and that this
is a complicated matter. Specter went on to mention his environmental voting record, which he seemed quite proud of, and said, "We must protect the environment". Specter voted for the 20% renewable energy bill even though he knew it wouldn't pass. He said that the Senate should have a benchmark for renewable energy. Specter was still reading into the debate about how much oil was actually in the refuge and said that there was probably not much oil. He then went on to discuss Filibuster and, by big surprise, cloture. His remarks about cloture were rather interesting, saying that cloture was usually reserved for issues involving constitutional laws.
This meeting was focused on morals and standards, not on numbers and statistics, which seemed to be a positive message for the movement against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Specter still remains undecided on the issue.
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: Click Here
---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see
