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This Green Life
Is Environmentalism a Religion?
BioGems Update
 A BIG thank you to BioGems Defenders who recently sent more than 48,000 letters to keep oil and gas drilling out of Colorado's Baca National Wildlife Refuge.
» See the timeline of victories we've won
To Do Even More
Support NRDC's BioGems campaign to save our last wild places.
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 Whales in Danger
Help stop illegal whaling
Before the international moratorium on commercial whaling was established in 1986, an average of 40,000 whales were hunted and killed every year. Today, that number is dramatically smaller, but countries like Iceland continue to flout international law by hunting whales. In recent years, Iceland has increased its self-allocated quotas, killing 60 minke whales and 148 endangered fin whales in 2010 alone. The country also exported more than 750 tons of whale meat and other whale products -- a sharp increase from previous years. In light of these alarming developments, NRDC and more than a dozen other organizations are asking the Obama Administration to certify Iceland under the Pelly Amendment of the Fishermen's Protective Act, which allows the government to impose trade sanctions against another country for undermining conservation agreements. Administration officials have publically condemned Iceland's disregard for the whaling ban, but the country has been turning a deaf ear to such international criticism. Ask the Obama Administration to impose trade sanctions against Iceland for its escalation of commercial whaling and trade in whale products.
» Take action against Iceland's illegal whaling.
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| In the News |
| GOVERNMENT CAPTURES HUNDREDS OF WILD BUFFALO
 Earlier this month, government agents hazed and captured over 500 buffalo near the border of Yellowstone National Park. The captured buffalo are being held in captivity indefinitely, and those that test positive for exposure to brucellosis may ultimately be slaughtered. Yellowstone's wild bison, the only continuously wild population that remains in the United States, frequently wander outside the park in search of food during the harsh winter months. With the population estimated to have grown to around 3,900 animals since their massive slaughter in 2008, they are generally not welcome in Montana due to fears they will transmit brucellosis to domestic cattle. The risk of transmission, however, is tiny. In fact, there has never been a documented case of brucellosis transmission from buffalo to cattle in the wild. And, today, there is less reason than ever to kill buffalo because, among other changes, new regulations no longer require livestock producers to destroy their cattle herd if one of their animals tests positive for brucellosis. NRDC will continue pressuring the Interior Department to protect these majestic animals instead of killing them.
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN!
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized its veto of the permit for the massive Spruce 1 mountaintop removal mine near Logan, WV. The EPA's unprecedented decision means that more than seven miles of streams and more than 2,000 acres of forest will be saved, and local communities will be spared from further water contamination. Back in November, we asked you to send letters to the EPA in support of its recommendation to block the mine, and more than 34,000 of you responded by speaking out. While this is a huge victory for the southern Appalachians, where mountaintop removal mining is laying waste to entire ecosystems, the mining companies are already working to overturn the veto. We'll fight any efforts to undo the veto and will let you know other ways you can participate in this campaign.
OIL SPILL COMMISSION CONCLUDES
Last month, the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling issued its final report on the events leading up to the oil spill disaster and made its recommendations on how to prevent a repeat. Among other recommendations, the commission called for the creation of an independent safety agency that would regulate offshore drilling and provide better protections for workers and wildlife. NRDC President Frances Beinecke was appointed to serve on the commission by President Obama last June.
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| Action Insider |
| VIEW THE PEBBLE MINE TIMELINE
 See the progress we've made in our campaign to stop the Pebble Mine, which threatens the wildlife Eden of Alaska's Bristol Bay.
IS ENVIRONMENTALISM A RELIGION?
Sheryl Eisenberg explores this thought-provoking question in the latest issue of This Green Life. After you've read the issue, join the debate on This Green Blog.
GOOD NEWS ON WILDLIFE
Read Andrew Wetzler's latest roundup on good news for wildlife around the globe.
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