Help the NRDC run this powerful ad against Pebble Mine 19JUN14

THE NRDC has been leading the fight against the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska for years (just click the link to go to their Pebble Mine campaign page). There is still one major international corporation, Canada's northern dynasty minerals, that is still pushing plans and gathering investors for the mine. Please see the blow from the +NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) , check out their Pebble Mine campaign page, and make a donation to keep the struggle active. This battle can be won, public opinion across the nation, including Alaska, opposes this mine, and more politicians are joining the fight. Please donate whatever you can afford....

http://youtu.be/MmVEMGbhUa8

We still need $32,000 to run our hard-hitting ad in The Vancouver Sun and other media outlets. Please make an emergency gift to help turn up the heat on Northern Dynasty to quit the destructive Pebble Mine.

Help run our full-page ad in The Vancouver Sun and turn up the heat on Canada’s Northern Dynasty Minerals to abandon its plans for the disastrous Pebble Mine. READ OUR AD We need your help to send Northern Dynasty Minerals -- the last company standing behind the Pebble Mine -- a message loud and clear: It’s time to walk away from Bristol Bay! Read the full text of our powerful new ad. Then please make an emergency donation to help us run it next week in The Vancouver Sun -- in the hometown of Northern Dynasty’s headquarters. We need to raise $85,000 right away to get this ad placed next week and to keep running it in other outlets until Northern Dynasty relents in its outrageous attack on an American paradise. We will reach our goal in just 24 hours if a few thousand supporters like you each make a small donation. Will you help get us there? There are three great reasons to believe that your donation and our ad can make a big difference: We pushed hard to get the Pebble Mine’s biggest corporate backers -- Mitsubishi, Anglo American and Rio Tinto -- to abandon this reckless venture, and they did. But Northern Dynasty has not gotten the message. It is still rushing headlong to build its open-pit, copper-and-gold monstrosity -- in defiance of Bristol Bay’s Native communities and commercial fishermen, who don’t want to see their unspoiled Eden turned into a toxic wasteland. Next week, we can make sure that this Canadian mining company feels the harsh glare of the spotlight in its own backyard. Our hard-hitting, full-page ad will turn up the heat until Northern Dynasty quits this disastrous mega-mine. Your tax-deductible gift will enable us to run our ad in the Sun and other media outlets, galvanize a continent-wide outcry against Northern Dynasty Minerals and defend our environment in the most effective way possible. Don’t let them destroy one of America’s last and greatest wild places. Please donate now and send a powerful message to Northern Dynasty next week: It’s time to quit the Pebble Mine! Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

The mission of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. Donations to this campaign will be used to Stop the Pebble Mine and defend our environment in the most effective way possible.

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Practical Progress: Raise the Wage Movement Grows...41 Years Later, Roe Still at Risk...24JAN14

PRACTICAL PROGRESS: The Agenda Project Action Fund's actually 'brief' briefing on the most Important news from the Progressive Movement.
RAISE THE WAGE MOVEMENT GROWS -- The Economic Policy Institute found that if the minimum wage was raised to $10.10 it would create 85,000 new jobs and add $22 billion to the U.S. economy in the initial phase-in period alone. Just yesterday Pentagon food service and janitorial staff went on strike yesterday morning to demand a higher minimum wage. Currently, three out of four government contracted service employees make less than $10 an hour, and four out of ten subsidize their full-time income with public assistance to make ends meet.
To date, EPI, Demos, the NAACP, 75 leading economists, members of the US Senate and House, the leaders of national religious organizations, over two-thirds of small business owners, and even Bill O'Reilly and Phyllis Schlafly have come out in support of an increased minimum wage. The President is expected to make reducing income inequality a central theme of his State of the Union address.
READ: "Even These People Think it's Time to Raise the Minimum Wage"
41 YEARS LATER, ROE STILL AT RISK -- The Center for Reproductive Rights launched a new series of PSAs to commemorate the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, starring actor Mark Ruffalo and Tony and Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater. The videos are in conjunction with the Center's recent State of the States report, which features interactive maps and highlights current litigation focused on abortion. Center for Reproductive Rights President and CEO Nancy Northrup: "It's time to seize this vital opportunity to reclaim the rights that Roe recognized and the protections it established more than four decades ago."
WATCH Alliance for Justice's short documentary Roe at Risk highlighting the current threats to the monumental decision HERE.
STATE OF THE DREAM -- United for a Fair Economy (UFE) released its 11th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day report, finding that five million Americans--primarily low-income racial minorities--will be denied health insurance because they live in the 25 states that have refused Medicaid expansion. Report author and UFE Executive Director Brian Miller: "It's bad enough that communities of color face additional health hazards and stressors. Now we have politicians around the nation trying to block health insurance that would have otherwise been extended to millions of low-income Americans." READ: "State of the Dream 2014: Healthcare for Whom? Enduring Racial Disparities."
EPA STANDS BEHIND BRISTOL BAY -- Western Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Joel Reynolds lauded the EPA's recent Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment analyzing the potential impacts of mining development on the Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska: "This is a scientific indictment of the Pebble Mine -- or any other large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed. The assessment documents what we've feared for years -- Pebble Mine would destroy the world-class salmon fishery, cost jobs and endanger the communities and wildlife that depend on it." The proposed Pebble Mine would destroy nearly 94 miles of Bristol Bays streams, which house the world's largest sockeye salmon run -- a $480 million annual business that supports 14,000 full and part-time jobs. READ: "Bristol Bay Assessment Fact Sheet" and "EPA's Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment Has Everyone Buzzing."
VoteVets created a petition addressed to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy stressing the need to protect Bristol Bay. SIGN HERE.
AMERICA VOTES STATE SUMMIT -- America Votes will be hosting their 2014 State Summit February 4-5 in Washington DC. Issues including the Affordable Care Act, minimum wage and job growth, and electoral landscapes will be among the main topics covered. LEARN MORE by checking out the agenda and an FAQ. REGISTER HERE.
FROM THE WONK WIRE ...
... IMMENSITY UNDERMINES RESPONSIBILITY: Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor and Top Wonk Anat Admati connects the dots between financial institutions, ineffective intervention, and perverse incentives.
... BUBBLE BURST: Institute for New Economic Thinking Director of Institutional Partnerships and Top Wonk Marshall Auerback pins down the characteristics of an economic bubble.
... INEQUALITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL: Former Secretary of Labor and Top Wonk Robert Reich refutes David Brooks' inane comments on inequality.
Find out more at www.TopWonks.org.
Check out our newsletter's website at www.PracticalProgress.org. Like what you see? Join the movement and send tips, news, and reactions to Hannah Hendler at hhendler@agendaproject.org.

Fantastic news to share with you, anglo-american ends involvement in Pebble mine project 17SEP13

OVER the past few years I have posted information about and asked you to sign petitions to various government agencies and elected officials as well as the companies involved in the proposed Pebble mine. Now anglo-american, one of the two companies seeking to open  Pebble mine, has pulled out of the project. To be sure this is a victory, but until northern dynasty minerals gives up their plans for the Pebble mine and no other company tries for approval of the project we will still have to be on our guard. Congrats and thank you to all who participated in this campaign! This update from the NRDC......

Mining Giant Anglo American Pulls Out of the Pebble Mine Project! The British company calls it quits on a disastrous plan that threatens one of America's last and greatest wild places. This is a game changer, but our fight still goes on... The announcement came like a thunderbolt yesterday morning. British mining giant Anglo American -- the lead company behind the potentially catastrophic Pebble Mine -- said that it was throwing in the towel on the project immediately! This is spectacular, game-changing news for our long, hard-fought campaign against a mega-mine that threatens to destroy an American natural treasure: Alaska's beautiful Bristol Bay. Believe me, it takes a lot for a hard-nosed company like Anglo American to change its mind. The corporate giant had reportedly sunk more than $500 million into the Pebble Mine-- a massive gold and copper operation that would produce some 10 billion tons of contaminated waste and threaten the greatest wild salmon runs on the planet. For years the company asked us to believe that it could gouge a vast and toxic open pit out of the Bristol Bay wilderness without turning it into the kind of dead zone that surrounds other major copper mines. Now it wants out. And it is willing to write down losses of $300 million to do it. What changed? Anglo American -- like Mitsubishi before it -- came to its senses and realized that the Pebble Mine is a financial and environmental disaster waiting to happen. Of course it helped mightily that local communities, Native groups and fishermen have opposed the mine courageously and tirelessly ... that NRDC BioGems Defenders like you stood shoulder to shoulder with them by deluging Anglo American with nearly one million messages of protest .. that Robert Redford took our campaign to the national and international stage (he was cited by more than 50 news outlets yesterday!) ... that EPA scientists found the mine posed "catastrophic" risks ... and that more than 600,000 Americans petitioned EPA this year to stop the mine. Just last April, we hand-delivered 200,000 messages from NRDC activists to Anglo American's new CEO, Mark Cutifani, calling on him to break with his predecessors and chart a new course by abandoning plans for the Pebble Mine. Now he has done just that -- by pulling the plug on a terrible investment with astronomical risks. As a direct result, every American who loves and cherishes our natural heritage can breathe a little easier tonight. And every BioGems Defender should feel profound pride in the fight we have waged against a horrific project that, until recently, was considered all but unstoppable. Simply put, I have never been more inspired by our collective power to make a difference. So does Anglo's exit mean the Pebble Mine is dead? No. It may be on life support but there are ways it could be revived in a hurry. Anglo American's partner in the Pebble Mine -- Northern Dynasty Minerals, a Canadian company -- must now go it alone in trying to push through the controversial project. It's unlikely that Northern Dynasty can put the massive mine into production without major funding from another giant partner like Anglo American. And Northern Dynasty has already made it clear that it's actively looking for new funding partners. That means you and I must go all out to make sure that other mining giants are not tempted to make the same bad bet that Mitsubishi and Anglo American made.We must also keep the pressure on Rio Tinto, another global player which now owns nearly a 20 percent stake in Northern Dynasty. Above all, we absolutely must protect Bristol Bay forever -- by making sure the EPA uses its power under the Clean Water Act to ban large-scale mining in an American Eden where both human and wildlife communities depend on the annual miracle of 40 million returning salmon. By now you must realize: NRDC never walks away from a battle until it's truly won. This battle is not over, but it sure feels like the tide is turning! I'm counting on you to stand with us until we reach our final goal: the permanent protection of the awe-inspiring Bristol Bay -- and the certainty it will never be destroyed to enrich a handful of mining corporations. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

Five Western senators question Obama on proposed Alaskan mine & TELL EPA TO ACT ON ITS FINDINGS AND REJECT THE PEBBLE MINE! 9JUN13

THE NRDC and a host of other environmental groups have been waging a campaign against the Pebble Mine for the last few years. It is good these five Senators from the Pacific Coast have joined the struggle, now it is time for all of us to join in
. To find out more about the environmental threat from the Pebble mine go to the NRDC's Stop The Pebble Mine campaign webpage http://www.savebiogems.org/stop-pebble-mine/?__utma=1.119269012.1370818096.1370818096.1370818096.1&__utmb=1.2.10.1370818096&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1370818096.1.1.utmcsr=link|utmccn=email|utmcmd=alert&__utmv=-&__utmk=182721574
and check out Frontline's report on it at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/alaska-gold/
YOU can send a message in opposing the Pebble Mine to the EPA Acting Administrator until 30JUN13 by clicking the link in this call to action from the NRDC....

		The time for studying the Pebble Mine is over. The EPA has once again confirmed that the PebbleMine would be a disaster for Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Tell the agency to act on its findings and reject the Pebble Mine! Enough study. It’s time for action! The EPA has just released its latest scientific findings. And once again it has determined that the Pebble Mine would be devastating for the spectacular wilderness, wildlife and people of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. The time for study is over! Tell the EPA to finalize its assessment and stop the Pebble Mine.  The agency is inviting the public to send comments until June 30 -- so we’re aiming to flood them with 500,000 anti-Pebble messages by month’s end. Please do your part today! There are 10 billion reasons for EPA to stop this mega-mine. That’s how many tons of contaminated mining waste the Pebble Minewould produce, endangering one of America’s great natural treasures. I’m sure you agree: We can’t stand by and allow a toxic mega-mine to destroy a world-class salmon fishery that provides 14,000 jobs and generates $1.5 billion per year just to fill the pockets of a few global miningcompanies. The EPA has produced all the scientific evidence it needs to stop this mine. What’s more, it has the clear authority under the Clean Water Act to do so. But the agency and the White House are under enormous pressure from the mining industry to give the Pebble Mine the green light.That’s why it’s so crucial that they hear from 500,000 outraged Americansright away. Please tell EPA you will not tolerate the destruction of one of our planet’s last and greatest wild places. Tell them to turn their latest findings into action by rejecting the Pebble Mine. Thank you for standing with NRDC and our local partners in defense of Bristol Bay. Sincerely, Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

FIVE WESTERN SENATORS QUESTION OBAMA ON PROPOSED ALASKAN MINE

By Juliet Eilperin, Sunday, June 9, 5:37 PM

Five Democratic senators are asking President Obama to consider blocking a proposed mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a move that could heighten pressure on theEnvironmental Protection Agency to veto the project.
In a letter Monday, the group of senators from Washington, Oregon and California, led by Maria Cantwell (Wash.), argue that their states could suffer economically if a huge gold-and-copper mine moves forward. The EPA is conducting a scientific review of how the project, underwritten by mining giants Northern Dynasty and Anglo American, would affect the region’s aquatic life.
The group of senators — which includes Patty Murray (Wash.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Barbara Boxer (Calif.) — points to a recent study by the University of Alaska Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) that estimates that salmon fishing in Bristol Bay provides their states with $500 million in direct income. In addition, the study says, Washington, Oregon and California benefit from $674 million in economic activity from the region’s salmon fishing and processing.
“Our states have a strong maritime history of which our commercial fishing industries are a key part,” the senators write. “In order to maintain these direct fishing and processing jobs, and the jobs supported by associated businesses like gear manufacturers, shipbuilders, suppliers and other maritime businesses, we must maintain healthy, sustainable fishery resources.”
In the letter, the senators ask Obama to “make staff from both the Council on Environmental Quality and the Department of Commerce available to our staff to discuss the implications of this economic report, and how these two agencies, specifically, are working with the EPA to protect our maritime economies.”
Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA can invoke the rarely used section 404(c) authority , which bars the Army Corps of Engineers from issuing a federal permit on the grounds that a project would harm the region’s waterways, fish and wildlife.
The EPA issued a draft watershed assessment last year saying the mine would probably cause the loss of between 54 and 89 miles of streams and between four and seven square miles of wetlands, and any mining accident there could cause serious damage to the salmon habitat. Agency officials are accepting comments on the analysis until June 30 and have said they have not decided what action they plan to take on the proposed mine.
The coalition backing the mine argues that its economic benefits would outweigh any possible environmental damage, and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski (R) and Mark Begich (D) have warned the EPA against issuing a “pre-emptive veto” of the project. Last month, the Pebble Mine Partnership released an economic analysis estimating that the project would generate 2,500 construction jobs during the five years that it would take to build the facility and up to $180 million in taxes and royalties.
The EPA could not be reached for comment Sunday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/five-western-senators-question-obama-on-proposed-alaskan-mine/2013/06/09/80cc0c90-d115-11e2-a73e-826d299ff459_story.html?wprss=rss_politics

Alaska's Loch Ness Monster Is Latest Alleged Sea Serpent Sighting (VIDEO) 20JUL11

WHAT better story to post on 420 Day than this! 
It has a horse-like head at the end of a long neck, with big eyes and humps on its back. It undulates above the surface for just a moment before diving back underwater -- leaving even the most seasoned sailors scratching their heads.
It sounds like any of the thousands of sea serpent stories, from Scotland's Loch Ness Monster to Lake Champlain's Champ. But this time there's video.
A remarkable piece of footage purportedly shot by a fisherman in Bristol Bay shows what many people believe is Alaska's version of the Loch Ness Monster, reports Discovery News.
WATCH THE ALASKA SEA SERPENT VIDEO: 

"These are large animals, swimming up and down and probably propelling itself by the flap of its tail. It's clearly not a whale and not a seal," said scientist Paul Leblond after viewing the video which premiered on this week's edition of the Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Monster Hunt."
"That looks a lot like Cadborosaurus," said Leblond, former head of the department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia.
In the last 200 years, numerous sightings of a Cadborosaurus -- named from Cadboro Bay in British Columbia and the Greek word "saurus" (or lizard) -- have come to light as people claim to see a serpent-like animal, reportedly up to 30 feet long and sometimes showing front and rear flippers. "Caddy," as the animal is nicknamed, is the subject of a book, Cadborosaurus: Survivor From the Deep, co-written by Leblond.

The Cadborosaurus, like most sea serpents reported around the world, is categorized by scientists under the heading of cryptozoology, the study of animals not yet recognized by mainstream science, like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot.
While Caddy has been written off by some as a shark, eel or whale, Leblond disagrees.
"It must be a mammal or a reptile, since it oscillates up and down in a vertical plain, which eliminates sideways-oscillating fish," he said.
Whether Caddy or its Scottish cousin, Nessie, are relatives or even real, remains to be seen -- at least until more compelling visual evidence is presented. Or one of these beasts is actually captured.
MORE WATER BEASTIES AND OTHER CRYPTOZOOLOGY CREATURES:

Loch Ness Monster

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A view of the Loch Ness Monster, near Inverness, Scotland, on April 19, 1934. The photograph, one of two pictures known as the "surgeon's photographs," was allegedly taken by Col. Robert Kenneth Wilson, though it was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling. On his deathbed, Spurling revealed that the pictures were staged by himself, Marmaduke and Ian Wetherell, and Wilson. References to a monster in Loch Ness date back to St. Columba's biography in 565 A.D. More than 1,000 people claim to have seen "Nessie," and the area is, consequently, a popular tourist attraction.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/20/alaska-loch-ness-monster_n_904658.html?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Daily%20Brief&utm_campaign=daily_brief#s272967&title=Loch_Ness_Monster