BIOGEMS 2.0 ~ WE CAN SAVE THE PLANET -- Over the years, NRDC's BioGems have ranged in size from a small desert lagoon to vast expanses of forests, mountains, and wilderness - Each of these places is a true natural treasure worth saving on its own merit; raising awareness and driving policy on the overarching environmental challenges we now face, including climate change and unsustainable energy development - However remote, the BioGems are on the frontline of our defense of the Earth > read more

CLIMATE 411 @
http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ENERGY EFFICIENCY ANNOUNCEMENT -- President Obama announced the signing of a presidential memorandum requesting the Department of Energy set new efficiency standards for common household appliances - The president explained that through this action the Department of Energy will save in 30 years the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America over a two-year period -- go to: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2009/090205.asp > CONTACT PRESIDENT OBAMA - President Obama is committed to creating the most open and accessible administration in American history - To send questions, comments, concerns, or well-wishes to the President or his staff -- go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

NON-VIOLENT COMMUNICATION - The process of non-violent communication was developed by Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., and provides four simple steps for honestly expressing yourself without blame or criticism - The site lists the steps (below), which are centered around the concepts of expressing observations, feelings, needs, and requests: 1) What you observe - Differentiating observation from evaluation, being able to carefully observe what is happening free of evaluation, and to specify behaviors and conditions that are affecting us -- 2) How it makes you feel - Differentiating feeling from thinking, being able to identify and express internal feeling states in a way that does not imply judgment, criticism, or blame/punishment -- 3) What you need - Connecting with the universal human needs/values (e.g. sustenance, trust, understanding) in us that are being met or not met in relation to what is happening and how we are feeling -- 4) What you request - Requesting what we would like in a way that clearly and specifically states what we do want (rather than what we don’t want), and that is truly a request and not a demand (i.e. attempting to motivate, however subtly, out of fear, guilt, shame, obligation, etc., rather than out of willingness and compassionate giving) -- These are just the basics of the process: For more information, you should really go to the site (above) or get the book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. -- Wish me luck, I’m going to try out these steps for a calm and rational confrontation with my friends! Note to self: Don’t blame, simply express > Lily Berthold-Bond grew up in a chemical-free zone and has struggled her whole life to understand and accept this non-commercial lifestyle. Now a sophomore at Tufts University, she has embraced her green life and hopes to share its possibilities with the rest of her generation > read more

INTERNATIONAL RIVERS GETS GORE'S ATTENTION - Former Vice President Al Gore told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at their hearing on climate change on January 28 that the Kyoto Protocol's carbon offsetting scheme, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), required "significant reforms." Gore was head of the US delegation that pushed for the creation of the CDM at the Kyoto talks in 1997. The CDM is by far world's biggest source of carbon offset certificates - Gore made his comment in response to a statement from Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) highlighting the concern that most CDM projects may not actually reduce emissions - The CDM allows countries or industries in industrialized countries to purchase carbon credits from projects in developing countries, instead of reducing emissions domestically. Climate change legislation previously introduced into Congress would have allowed US polluters to buy CDM offsets to help meet their pollution-reduction obligations. International Rivers and others, including Senators Corker and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), believe that CDM offsets should not be eligible to be used in a US cap-and-trade scheme > check out: http://internationalrivers.org/

GRANHOLM'S GRAND CLEAN ENERGY VISION + NRDC RESPONSE TO MICHIGAN'S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS -- Governor Granholm spent nearly one-third of his State of the State address outlining a new energy vision for the state of Michigan > Following are comments from Becky Stanfield, Senior Energy Advocate for Natural Resources Defense Council’s Midwest Program and a representative to the Midwest Governor’s Association Greenhouse Gas Accord Advisory Group: “The policies that Governor Granholm announced today demonstrate that she is serious about rebuilding Michigan’s energy economy to succeed in the 21st Century - She is not only articulating a broad vision for deployment of clean energy technologies, but she is directing her agencies to take concrete steps so that this vision will be a quick reality - This overhaul of the broader utilities sector while broadly deploying wind and solar could vault Michigan into a leadership role for the Midwest and the rest of the nation - Tonight, the Governor staked out a clean energy future for her state---the rest of the Midwest needs to follow her away from the headlong rush to coal that has been so dangerous for the region.” -- The Governor’s address can be viewed @ http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/SOS2009_265915_7.pdf & see also: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2009/090203b.asp

NRDC JOINS LABOR & BUSINESS LEADERS TO PROMOTE GREEN JOBS - More than 2,000 labor, business, government, and environmental leaders will come together at the 2009 Good Jobs Green Jobs National Conference in Washington, D.C., this week. The event will help shape the national debate around the economic potential of investments in clean energy and green technologies. The Natural Resources Defense Council is one of the sponsors of the conference which will help to mobilize support about the importance of investment in clean energy and green jobs to spur America’s economic recovery -- go to: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2009/090204.asp

CONNECTED STREETS SAVE LIVES -- A couple of months ago, Rachel Sohmer authored a very good blog post that illustrated the practical convenience that comes with well-connected neighborhood streets - Researchers have found that neighborhoods with more connections (and thus smaller blocks) reduce automobile use, too, by making walking easier and shortening driving distances - Now there's even more good news: older neighborhoods with well-connected, grid-like street patterns are safer, too. This contradicts a widely held belief that cul-de-sac patterns are safer because they reduce traffic - To visualize the difference, compare the two different patterns below. The older community of Ocean Park, California, is shown first, on top, and a newer subdivision in Irvine, California, is shown below it. Ocean Park has a traditional, highly connected street grid. The subdivision in Irvine is based on cul-de-sacs that connect to collector streets but not to each other -- go to: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/connected_streets_save_lives_s.html

BOLD ACTION BY DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR HALTS LEASING OF UTAH WILDERNESS
ROBERT REDFORD AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS SUPPORT CRITICAL STEP IN LAND PROTECTION

More than 100,000 acres of Utah wilderness will be protected from oil and gas drilling after the Department of Interior announced it will cancel 77 leases issued under the Bush administration - This is among the first actions taken by the Obama administration to protect America’s wild lands - Since December 2008, a coalition of environmental groups – led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Earthjustice, and the Wilderness Society – have been working to protect these public lands - In December 2008, the coalition filed suit to stop the leasing, and, in January 2009, Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of the U.S. District Court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from moving forward with these leases -- go to: http://www.nrdc.org/media/2009/090204a.asp

CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY CONTINUES TO PROTECT
CACTUS FERRUGINOUS PYGMY OWL

Despite an adverse ruling today from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 decision to remove protection for the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife continue to advocate for the small, desert-dwelling owl through a petition to have the species protected again under the Endangered Species Act - In response to this petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined on May 30, 2007 that protection for the pygmy owl may be warranted again and initiated a one-year status review > read more