The time that threatened or endangered plants or species have left in this world is limited, but there are steps you can take to help them continue. It is important to teach children about endangered animals, so they can learn how their actions effect wildlife, as well as how to protect these animals from extinction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has several publications that explain how a plant or animal becomes endangered, and what is being done to protect them. Publications include the Endangered Species Bulletin, Why Save Endangered Species? and What You Can Do to Help Wildlife and Plants. Contact Publications Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Conservation Training Center, Conservation Library, Rt.1, Box 166, Shepherdstown, WV 25443; 304-876-7319; Fax: 304-876-7231; Website: www.fws.gov/endangered/index.html
Income Eligibility: None
Friday, February 29, 2008
Free Endangered Species Information
Grants to Bioenergy Producers
This program provides financial assistance to producers of Bioenergy. The money is to be used to increase purchases of eligible commodities for the purpose of expanding production of Bioenergy, such as ethanol and bio-diesel,and to support new production capacity for Bioenergy.For more information on the program (10.078 Bioenergy Program) contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Kansas City Commodity Office, Contract Reconciliation Division, P.O. Box 419205, Stop 8758, Kansas City, MO 64141-6205; 816-926-6525; www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/bio_daco.htm
Income Eligibility: None
50% Discount on a New Heating System
The California Energy Commission offers residences and small businesses up to 50% of the cost of a new heating or air conditioning system if it meets their standards for “emerging renewable technologies,” like solar heating, and more. Their program is called Emerging Renewables Buy-Down Program. To learn more, contact California Energy Commission, Media and Public Communications Office, 1516 Ninth St., MS-29, Sacramento, CA 95814; 800-555-7794; outside CA; 916-654-4058; www.consumerenergycenter.org Check with your state utility commission to see if your state offers similar programs.
Income Eligibility: None
$50,000 to Preserve Ecosystems
Grants are awarded with a primary focus on ecological issues. Agriculture, economic globalization, land resources, and international affairs are some of the topics of interest. This foundation is both national and international in giving. Contact Foundation for Deep Ecology, 1062 Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito, CA 94965; 415-229-9339; Fax: 415-229-9340; http://www.deepecology.org; Email: info@deepecology.org
Income Eligibility: Determined on a case-by-case basis.
Grants to Develop Energy Saving Products
This program offers grants to conduct research in the areas of buildings, industry and transportation. Grants are also offered to develop and transfer conservation technology to the non-federal sector. For more information on this program (81.086 Conservation Research and Development) contact the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Mail Stop EE-1, Department of Energy, Washington, DC 28585; 800-DOE-3732; 202-586-9220; www.eere.energy.gov
Income Eligibility: None
Money for Environmentalists
Entrepreneurs with a focus on environmental and energy conservation have a source of business funding in the Strategic Environmental Project Pipeline (StEPP) foundation. They specialize in finding loans and grants for renewable energy, energy efficiency or pollution prevention projects to be undertaken by emerging businesses. The program is primarily designed for businesses that have passed the start-up stage and are looking to expand. Contact The StEPP Foundation, P.O. Box 468, Golden, CO 80402; 303-277-0932; Fax: 303-384-3636; www.steppfoundation.org
Income Eligibility: None
Free Weatherization, Fuel Bills, and Rent for Incomes up to $50,000
If you are within a certain income and need help paying your heating bills, need money to make your house more energy efficient, or need funds for urgent repairs, call your local Community Action Agency. There are about 1,000 of them around the country to help neighborhoods. They will also come out and check if your home or apartment needs to be more energy efficient. To find an agency near you, contact Community Action Partnership, 1100 17th St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; 202-265-7546; Fax: 202-265-8850; www.communityactionpartnership.com
Also, your local utility can provide you with or refer you to other programs in your area to analyze your energy usage,recommend energy saving measures,provide fuel and utility assistance to retain or restore service, establish payment discounts based on income and usage, or establish affordable payment plans if you are in arrears. Contact your local utility company to take advantage of these services.
Income Eligibility: Family of 4 - $50,000. This varies from county to county so you must check with your local office to determine eligibility.
| This Program is available for: | ||
| Income | : | 50000 |
| State | : | all |
| Age | : | All |
| Subject Category | : | Living Expenses |
| Money Type | : | Free Money |
| Contact Information | : | To find an agency near you, contact Community Action Partnership, 1100 17th St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; 202-265-7546; Fax: 202-265-8850; www.communityactionpartnership.com |
$7,000 to Protect Wildlife and the Environment
The National Wildlife Federation provides grants for conservation education and action opportunities, leadership training and development, educational curriculum, information outreach and networking opportunities. Its giving includes $12,388 for 6 grants to individuals ranging from $7,000 to $290. Contact National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston, VA 20190-5362; 800-822-9919; http://www.nwf.org
Income Eligibility: None
New Energy Tax Bill Heading to Senate
The U.S. House for the third time in more than a year has approved new taxes on the oil industry to pay for incentives for renewable energy and efficiency. The $18 billion tax package that would rescind a tax break for the five biggest oil companies and use the revenue to boost incentives for wind and solar energy and energy efficiency.
Called the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Act of 2008, the new bill includes many energy incentives for doing energy-saving things like energy tax credits for plug-in hybrid cars and for solar and fuel cell property.
Other incentives would include:
- Extension and modification of renewable energy credit
- Production credit for electricity produced from marine renewables
- Extension and modification of energy credit
- New clean renewable energy bonds
The White House has threatened to veto this bill, and it is now being sent to the Senate to be approved or denied.
To learn more about the incentives being proposed by the 2008 Energy Tax Bill, you can go here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.5351:
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Breaking News: Bush Administration to Announce Wolf Delisting Tomorrow
Wolves At Risk
The Bush/Cheney Administration may be just hours away from eliminating vital protections for endangered wolves!
Please call the Department of Interior before 8 PM Eastern Time or first thing tomorrow morning at 1-800-344-WILD (9453) and let agency officials know that you want these wolves to remain protected.
Speak out and be counted! Fill out this survey to report your call.
As soon as tomorrow, Interior Secretary Kempthorne is expected to announce the elimination of federal protections for hundreds of endangered wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.
Please take a moment right now to call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-344-WILD (9453) and deliver this simple message:
“My name is Dottye Blake and I’m calling from Sebring, Florida. I understand that the federal government may remove wolves in the Greater Yellowstone and Central Idaho regions tomorrow from the list of federally protected threatened and endangered species.
I want your department to know that I strongly oppose the weakening of protections for these wolves and expect you to fulfill your obligation to secure a lasting future in the Northern Rockies for these amazing animals.”
The lives of hundreds of wolves are at stake. Please call tonight before 8 PM Eastern Time or first thing tomorrow morning.
In a matter of hours, newspapers across the country could be reporting on the Bush/Cheney Administration's expected announcement … and its potentially devastating impact on some of America’s most beloved wolves.
But today I need your help to let these federal officials know that Americans love our wolves and want to see them protected.
Please call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-800-344-WILD (9453) and speak out for our wolves. Leave a message if you can, and remember to let us know that you called.
Respectfully,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife
P.S. Stay tuned tomorrow for more details on this breaking news and Defenders of Wildlife’s action plan to save these wolves…
Friday, February 15, 2008
Polar bears lose in Big Oil auction...
As polar bear mothers and cubs were deep in their dens, the Bush/Cheney Administration auctioned off habitat essential to their survival.
I want to help save polar bears from oil drilling and help other imperiled wildlife. Please rush my emergency donation of: | $20.00 |
 | $50.00 |
| $150.00 |
| $250.00 |
| Another Amount |
While polar bear mothers and cubs were nestled in their dens, the Bush/Cheney Administration auctioned off key habitat for these struggling animals to Big Oil --despite the opposition of tens of thousands of activists like you.
Polar bears need all the help they can get. Please donate to support our Campaign to Save Polar Bears.
As a warming climate takes its toll on polar bear habitat, federal officials are selling off the very places these great white bears depend on for hunting, denning and survival.
America’s polar bears will likely be extinct in fewer than 50 years, according to U.S. Geological Survey scientists. Yet federal officials have once again delayed action to protect these struggling animals as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
Instead, officials auctioned off millions of acres of vital habitat in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea to Shell and other Big Oil companies earlier this month -- and yet again, President Bush has included dangerous drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in his budget.
Help support our efforts to stop Big Oil from drilling in key polar bear habitat -- please donate to support our Campaign to Save Polar Bears.
Increased drilling in these critical habitats could devastate America’s polar bears. But ExxonMobil, Shell and other Big Oil companies continue to use their billions in profits to press for harmful drilling in the places polar bears need to survive -- and continue our dependence on the fuels that spur rising temperatures that are causing the bears’ demise.
Here's a hint of what our polar bears are up against: Royal Dutch Shell bid more than $105 billion for a single tract of drilling acreage in the Chukchi Sea. [1]
Our polar bears need allies if they are going to survive. Please donate now to help us fight to give our polar bears a fighting chance -- and a lasting future.
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is doing all we can to protect our polar bears -- right now, we're...
- ...working to prevent Arctic Refuge drilling language from entering the federal budget.
- ...working to pass the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act, a bill to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and continuing to battle efforts to open this special place to Big Oil’s dirty rigs.
- ...working to pass the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act -- already passed by the House of Representatives, this legislation is a vital first step to ensure that polar bears and other wildlife can cope with a changing climate.
- ...working to pass the Polar Bear Protection Act, legislation to stop wealthy U.S. trophy hunters from killing polar bears in Canada and returning with their quarry.
- ...working with Congressional staff to find sensible energy solutions to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, help combat global warming and protect our wildlife.
- ...holding our elected officials accountable for their actions on global warming and other wildlife-related issues.
Even in their final months in office, officials in the Bush/Cheney Administration have made their intentions crystal clear: they’ll fight for Big Oil’s profit -- and leave our polar bears out in the cold.
Please donate today to support our Campaign to Save Polar Bears -- and help these Arctic hunters survive.
 | Sincerely, |
P.S. Donate online right now or make a contribution over the phone by calling 1-800-425-4632, and your contribution can be put to immediate use to support our efforts to save polar bears and other wildlife.
(1) Source: Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/front/story/307588.html
Thursday, February 7, 2008
solar: makes sense, needs cents
Friends-
We've made great progress developing a world-class solar program in Florida. And now we need your help.
Gwen has spent a year putting together the nuts and bolts of the program, recruiting a coalition of allies, and even pitching the Governor. All the pieces are in place for a huge (5 gigawatts of PV big enough for you?) victory. All but one.
To push us over the top, we need a PR blitz that makes solar a force to be reckoned with. Something that will put solar energy on the tip of everyone's tongue, across the state:
In Little Havana, they'll say: Dame un cafe con leche, por favor...y un poquito energia solar, tambien.
On South Beach: Can you hold my top a second? I want to read this fascinating article on solar energy.
In the Governor's Club Bar in Tallahassee: Solar solar solar...that's all I hear when I visit my district...sip...that's a good martini...so, can I co-sponsor your solar energy bill?
Like that.
We've worked out a comprehensive plan with our local partners, and our share comes to $25,000. It'll go towards:
-Solar powered billboards
-Press conference on the steps of the Capitol building
-Editorial board meetings with every major newspaper in the state
-Guest columns and op-eds
-Solar Energy Day in the Capitol
It's the next, necessary step, but to make this happen, we need your help. How about a donation to the Florida PR Push fund?
Click here to help put the sun in the Sunshine State.
If you need more details to loosen your wallet, feel free to contact Gwen: gwen@votesolar.org. Deets on the Florida plan here.
300 Brannan Street, Suite 609
San Francisco, CA 94107
www.votesolar.org
Bush Calls for More Arctic Drilling -- Urge Congress to Act Now!
So far, it's been a pretty bad week for polar bears.
President Bush announced his 2009 budget on Monday, once again calling for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling by 2010. And yesterday the Bush administration started selling off prime polar bear habitat in Alaska for oil drilling - despite mounting evidence that its own scientists have questioned the legality and environmental impact of these sales.
Urge Congress to act immediately to protect the Arctic Refuge from drilling forever!
By now you've probably heard the bleak news: scientists predict America's polar bears could go extinct in 50 years. Melting sea ice due to global warming, trophy hunting, and now renewed efforts to drill for oil in polar bears' vanishing home all threaten these majestic bears.
Protecting the Arctic Refuge has never been so critical. Even with a pending decision on protecting polar bears under the Endangered Species Act, the Arctic Refuge is the most important on-shore denning habitat for our declining polar bears.
Polar bears can’t afford to lose this land to oil drilling ... or wait for the Bush Administration to protect this special place.
Thank you for making a difference today,
 | Rebecca Young, |
Paul McCartney's special message to save seals
"Please take a few minutes now to tell the EU you support a ban on seal product trade."
—Paul McCartney
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Dear Dorothy,
Like me, you’ve probably seen the horrifying images of helpless baby seals being beaten and shot for their fur. Wounded seals left to suffer in agony. Conscious pups sliced open. And the reason for their pain? So that someone can sell their fur.
Sincerely,
Paul McCartney