Dec 17, 2008 -- Fight the Right-Wing Wackos Links of the Day.

** Food and Water Watch **
( http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/ )

The USDA recently put out a proposal to deal with the issue of access to pasture for meat and dairy cows being raised as organic. It prohibits the use of feedlots for organic beef and dairy cattle. It’s time for the organic industry to level the playing field for family farmers and make sure that organic animals are raised in ways that meet consumers’ expectations.

Take action now to advocate for strict organic standards.
( http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/741/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26353 )

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** Jobs with Justice **
( http://www.jwj.org/ )

KeyBank was approved for $2.5 billion as part of the national bailout. But instead of using the money to give relief to those hardest hit in the current economy, KeyBank is using their bailout money to increase corporate profits by buying other banks and underwriting Oak Harbor Freight Lines, a company that has cancelled its retirees health care and violated US and international labor laws affecting hundreds of striking Teamsters in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Listen to an ad about KeyBank here.

Last week, Jobs with Justice Coalitions in Portland and Seattle protested at KeyBank branches as part of the People's Bailout National Week of Action. More actions are planned this week in six cities throughout the country.

Tell KeyBank: We won’t back down until we see justice!
( http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/keybank/ )

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** Friends of the Earth **
( http://www.foe.org/ )

President-elect Obama and Congress are working to pass a green-jobs economic stimulus package—but it is in danger of being hijacked by the road-building lobby, which wants billions of dollars for unnecessary new roads that would increase global warming pollution.

Transportation is responsible for 30 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of our oil consumption. By investing in clean transportation solutions including public transportation and smart growth, the stimulus package can create green jobs and reduce our dependence on oil.

Send Congress this simple message: New Roads = New Pollution. Keep the stimulus clean.
( http://action.foe.org/t/8489/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26352 )

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** Natural Resources Defense Council **
( http://www.nrdc.org/ )

Each spring, billions of birds descend on the wild Canadian boreal forest to build nests and raise their young. More than half of North America's bird species breed in the boreal, and for many, the ancient forest provides their only nesting ground. A stretch of just a few miles in this vast northern network of forests, lakes, river valleys and wetlands can support as many as 600 breeding pairs of migratory birds.

Yet critical nesting areas in the western boreal are under threat by tar sands production, a new type of oil development. In Alberta, tar sands mining and drilling cause significant bird habitat destruction. Toxic waste ponds result in up to 100,000 drowned and oil-drenched birds every year. And global warming changes already affecting boreal birds are exacerbated by the tar sands, which account for Canada's fastest growing source of global warming pollution.

But the Canadian government continues to allow expansion of mining and drilling for tar sands oil in the boreal forest, anticipating a growth from the current 1.3 million barrels per day to as high as 5 million barrels per day. If this destruction continues at the projected rate, as many as 166 million birds, including future generations, could be permanently lost.
What to do

Tell the Canadian government to protect bird habitat throughout the boreal forest by halting the expansion of tar sands mining.
( http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/nrdcaction_121008 )