May, 29 2012, 03:43pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Shelley Vinyard, Environment America (202) 461-2465
Liz Judge, Earthjustice, (202) 797-5237
Jan Goldman-Carter, National Wildlife Federation, (202) 797-6894
Lynn Thorp, Clean Water Action, (202) 895-0420 x. 109
Suzanne Struglinski, Natural Resources Defense Council, (202) 289-2387
Trey Pollard, Sierra Club, (202) 495-3058
Amy Kober, American Rivers, (503) 708-1145
Lea Brumfield, League of Conservation Voters, (202) 454-4559
Jay Campbell, Hart Research Associates, (202) 234-5570
New Poll Shows Protecting America's Waterways is Good Policy and Good Politics
A new poll [PDF] commissioned by the nation's leading environmentalists and sportsmen organizations in key Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain states shows that the public overwhelmingly supports an Obama administration proposal to restore protections for America's rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands.
WASHINGTON
A new poll [PDF] commissioned by the nation's leading environmentalists and sportsmen organizations in key Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain states shows that the public overwhelmingly supports an Obama administration proposal to restore protections for America's rivers, lakes, streams, and wetlands.
The poll confirms that - across party lines and in all age groups - voters demand clean water for safe drinking water and oppose the pollution of places where their families fish and swim. This poll comes at a time when the Obama administration is set to finalize its Clean Water Act guidance, yet the House majority is preparing to ignore the will of the public and instead continue dirty water politics.
Three-quarters (75%) of the likely voters surveyed in Ohio and nearly seven in ten
(67%) Colorado respondents support the President's proposal to restore clean water safeguards, with support strong across political affiliations.
The poll was released as the U.S. House of Representatives is poised to vote on the House Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5325) next week. The bill includes a provision to block the President from restoring critical clean water protections. However, the poll's findings indicate that blocking those protections could be a political dead end for many in Congress. Two-thirds of Ohioans and Coloradoans (66%) say they would feel more favorable toward their Representative if he or she supported the restoration of clean water protections, including more than 60% of independents in both states.
"The voters' message is clear: we want our water to be clean and safe and we support restoring Clean Water Act protections to achieve this," said Jay Campbell, Vice President for Hart Research Associates. "Their support is extraordinary in both its depth and its breadth. Given the contentiousness we see on nearly every issue, when you have an idea that large majorities of Republicans, independents, and Democrats all agree on you know you have something that is both good policy and good politics."
The poll was conducted in urban, suburban, and rural areas in Colorado and Ohio. Major findings of the poll include:
- There is extensive support in Colorado and Ohio for restoring clean water protections. Not only is this support more intense than the opposition, but also it is shared broadly across party lines.
- Supporting clean water protections can be a winning political issue for both Congress and the President.
- Messages in favor of the proposal to restore clean water protections are much stronger than arguments in opposition to the proposal.
(The full summary of the poll's findings can be found here [PDF].)
"From fishing in the Great Lakes to kayaking on the Colorado River, this poll is further proof that protecting our waterways is enormously popular and important," said Margie Alt, Executive Director of Environment America. "Unfortunately many of the waterways we love and cherish still are inadequately protected. It's time for President Obama to stand up for our waterways and finalize these critical protections."
"We have no time to waste if we hope to protect our valuable streams and wetlands and the billions of dollars in economic activity that hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation around our nation's waterways generate every year," said National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger.
"Rivers and streams supply most of our drinking water. Their protection is vital to the health of our families and communities," said Wm. Robert Irvin, President of American Rivers. "It is time for Congress and the administration to restore clean water protections that benefit our public health, economy, wildlife, and recreation. If we want healthy communities, we need healthy rivers."
"These findings make one thing clear: The American people expect our elected leaders to protect our rivers, streams, and drinking water - and they'll remember who took their side on this issue," said Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. "It's time Congress listened, stopped the obstructions, and acted quickly to restore these critical protections that keep our waterways and our families healthy."
"It is no surprise that Americans overwhelmingly support protecting our nation's waterways," said the League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski. "It is past time that our elected officials act to protect the network of rivers and streams that provide safe drinking water to millions and safe areas for fishing and swimming."
"The streams and wetlands at issue here are vital parts of our nation's water infrastructure because they filter pollution, prevent floods and affect the drinking water of over 117 million Americans. Clarifying protection for these vulnerable water bodies is an important step forward," said Clean Water Action President Robert Wendelgass.
"Preventing pollution of the nation's waters will better protect Americans' health," said Frances Beinecke, President of NRDC. "People want safe places to swim and fish. They want reliable drinking water supplies and natural barriers against flooding. This poll shows that they expect leaders in Washington to support policies that safeguard our waters. That's true in Colorado and Ohio, and it's true all across our country."
"Our waters are where our families swim, fish, and where we get our drinking water, so it's no surprise that this poll shows that Americans are overwhelmingly demanding strong clean water protections," said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel of Earthjustice. "For the American people, unlike our Congress, politics vanish when it comes to protecting their communities' waterways, because Americans want safe, swimmable, fishable, drinkable waters for themselves and their families."
The findings of this poll echo the immense public support these protections have consistently enjoyed across the country, from more than 200,000 concerned citizens, more than 450 elected officials, hundreds of sportsmen organizations, more than 140 local farmers, dozens of recreational businesses, and many more.
The poll was commissioned by American Rivers, Clean Water Action, Clean Water Network, Earthjustice, Environment America, the Izaak Walton League of America, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Waterkeeper Alliance.
American Rivers is the only national organization standing up for healthy rivers so our communities can thrive. Through national advocacy, innovative solutions and our growing network of strategic partners, we protect and promote our rivers as valuable assets that are vital to our health, safety and quality of life. Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and supporters nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, California and Northwest regions.
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US Voter Registrations Surge as Republicans Try to Limit Ballot Access
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The group behind a popular get-out-the-vote technology platform said Friday that it's registered more than 100,000 new U.S. voters since President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race, a surge that came amid mounting Republican efforts to make it harder to register and vote.
Vote.org said that 84% of voters registered in the new wave are under age 35. Nearly 1 in 5 new registrees is 18 years old. Andrea Hailey, the group's CEO, said that "since 2020, we have led the largest voter registration drive in U.S. history," with more than 7.8 million people registered.
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Vote.org's success comes as Republicans at the federal level are proposing and passing legislation creating obstacles to the ballot box.
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Lee said the SAVE Act underscores the need to pass her recently introduced Right to Vote Act, "which would establish the first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee, ensuring every citizen may exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot."
Earlier this year, U.S. Senate Democrats also reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation its sponsors say will "update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act."
Meanwhile, Republican-controlled state legislatures and red-state governors are enacting laws imposing tough restrictions on voter registration, with violations punishable by stiff fines that critics say are meant to dissuade people from registration drives and similar efforts.
Again under the guise of preventing fraud, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed legislation limiting voter registration drives, with fines of up to $250,000 for violators.
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Three years after Kansas passed a law making "false representation" of an election official a crime, campaigners say it's become extremely difficult to sign up new voters.
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In Louisiana, Republican state lawmakers quietly passed legislation making it easier for election officials to toss out absentee ballots with missing details, limiting how people can mail in other voters' ballots, and restricting the ability to assist people with disabilities with their ballots.
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Climate and environmental defenders on this week implored U.S. senators to block a permitting reform bill introduced this week by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso that campaigners linked to Project 2025, a conservative coalition's agenda for a far-right overhaul of the federal government.
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These are nearly identical policies to what's proposed in Project 2025's Mandate for Leadership. The plan, which was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, calls for "unleashing all of America's energy resources," including by ending federal restrictions on fossil fuel drilling on public lands; limiting investments in renewable energy; and rolling back environmental permitting restrictions for new oil, gas, and coal projects, including power plants.
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Hartl said the bill "deprives communities of the power to defend themselves and gives that power to Big Oil by making it harder for communities to challenge polluting projects in court," and "prioritizes the profits of coal barons over public health."
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Hartl added that "to preserve a livable planet," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) "must squash this legislation now."
Manchin—who has said this will be his last term in office—has been a steadfast supporter of the fossil fuel industry, partly because his family owns a coal company. The senator says his permitting reform bill "will advance American energy once again to bring down prices, create domestic jobs, and allow us to continue in our role as a global energy leader."
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Last week, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the U.N., said that the SAF's obstruction of the border was "completely unacceptable."
Both warring parties in Sudan continue to perpetrate brazen atrocities, including starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. This piece focuses on the SAF's ongoing obstruction of essential aid. The situation is catastrophic. The policy is criminal. https://t.co/FKhqQh3EI9.
— Tom Dannenbaum (@tomdannenbaum) July 26, 2024
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