Stand Up Against Bush's Giveaway of America's Redrock Wilderness

You can't put a price on silence or solitude. You can't quantify the beauty of wilderness. And yet that's not going to stop the Bush administration from trying to sell off what should be the birthright of future generations.

In three days, this Friday, 110,000 acres of majestic Utah wild lands go on the auction block, to be sold to the highest bidders in the oil and gas industry. It's a last-ditch effort by a corrupt administration to further enrich its friends in the dirty fuels business. If they succeed, they'll leave a wasteland behind them.

Never mind that we the People of the United States just rejected the failed energy policy of "drill, baby, drill!" Never mind that once industrialized, these precious lands will be marred for centuries. Ravaging these places will put cash in the pockets of greedy speculators, even if it won't solve our energy problems.

The miraculous thing about America though, is that we the People have options. And one of those options is to take a corrupt and foolish administration to court.

This morning I stood with my friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) to announce an emergency lawsuit aimed at stopping this wanton destruction of Utah wilderness. Sharon Buccino, the head of NRDC's lands program, has been fighting the Bush administration for eight years, holding the line against an industrial juggernaut. She says it's illegal under federal law for the Bureau of Land Management to just snap its fingers and sell off national treasures. In its rush, BLM just ignored the rules.

Sharon's case will be among the last lawsuits NRDC ever files against the Bush administration. Most of those lawsuits have been successful. I don't know the odds on this one, but my fingers are crossed. It could be our last chance to protect these irreplaceable lands.

Bush may be a lame duck president, but he can still quack.

Help stop Bush's giveaway of America's Redrock Wilderness.

Comments

[Fae]

I saw in Mr. Redford's face and body language the same fear and disgust I see in my family, friends and co-workers. I cannot believe that a president can rape our environment, our economy, and our ideals and get away with it.
I can only hope that Mr. Redford's faith in Obama is substantial. The fact that our governement even has the legal right to lease our national forests without the American people being informed or having any opportunity to let their voices be heard is beyond me.
I truly believe that we need a massive grass roots movement to stop the corruption and greed in our government. If president-elect Obama does not prove to keep his promises and honor his commitments to our land and it's people we need to rise up as a nation.
I fear for our natural resources and what the world with be like for my grandchildren. I fear my government!
I

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

We're on the same page.

We pay taxes, yet have no say what goes on around us. TRULY, a broken system.

[MOM3GIRLS]

Mr. Redford,
Your dedication to the environment is unparalled. Thank you and keep it up. You inspire others to do the same.

[SimJack]

George Bush is much better than Ed Abbey at trying to make an environmental statement. After all, the freedom from intelligence is a costitutional right. Spelling intended,

[SimJack]

Martin Sheen chained himself to the gates at Rocky Flats, CO in protest of nuclear weapons development and Edward Abbey created he fictional Monkey Wrench Gang that torpedoed corporate mining and forest interests in the West. Anyone want to party at a national park, forest or monument in the near future?

Thought so, see y'all soon.

[doublels]

This Friday is only 2 days away. What immediate action can we take to stop this? Call or fax who?

[Collielady]

Click on the link (green) in his article above. Go there and follow the simple instructions.

[timetorevolt]

here's the link..it's the last line of the blog..
Help stop Bush's giveaway of America's Redrock Wilderness.

[brokenarrow]

We visited Sun Dance Ranch once.......loved it, and the buffet was unreal. In regard to Bush.......there is so much going on that you may have to do something very concrete. Can you rassle up a posse of people to stand them down???

I'll sign the petition.............that will make about three hundred I've signed to stop Bush from doing something harmful, and got it thrown right back in our collective face........he could care less if the world goes to hell on the last iceberg.......he makes no connection between human survival and the environment.

Thank you, everyone in our family loves you............you and Newman were/are men of true character and substance.

[Dukedraven]

I signed the letter in the link, Mr. Redford. I love your environmental activism and your movies, particularly Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson, The Hot Rock, The Great Gatsby, and the Twilight Zone episode where you played Mr. Death. You're fantastic!

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

The greed and give aways just never stop!

[RobertTheKiwi]

It's a pity that America doesn't borrow an idea from the Westminster tradition. In New Zealand etc the convention is that, following an election, while the outgoing administration remains nominally in charge it takes no new initiatives, and will follow direction from the incoming administration. The last time that an outgoing Prime Minister challenged this was in 1984 when the incoming government inherited a currency crisis and wanted to devalue, but the outgoing PM refused. This created a constitutional crisis, defused in less than a day when members of his own party threatened to vote him out and vote in another PM who would follow the convention.

If America followed the same convention, then all these decisions would be approved by the incoming Obama administration, and would not proceed without their approval.

[Collielady]

I know how the conservatives view nature, as I'm afraid to say I'm related to a few. They think it is to be used because man is superior. This whole Biblical thing is dangerous on so many fronts, but I won't get into that here. Besides, they believe that nature is miraculously self-healing. Animals are compared to Bic Lighters (disposable). No kidding. Their god will fix everything in the long run, anyhow.

I, on the other hand, a non-believer, have a deep appreciation of the billions of years it has taken to create what we see today. All of nature brings me to my knees, humbles me, and nothing breaks my heart more than to see any of it destroyed.

I signed it, but don't expect W or the Congress to do anything. Saving nature is probably off the table.

[OldKnute]

Dear and most sweet, Collielady,

What you say is true, but I seriously doubt you are a non-believer.

What soaring Cathedral could even come close to the inspiration and heartfelt description you have shared with us all here?

Bless you!

Bless YOU!

All the best

Knute

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

She doesn't have to be a "believer" to feel like that. Most NON believers I know are considerate, conscientious, intelligent beings; the opposite holds true for "believers" who "bless" everything.

[cae]

I signed. Good luck and thank you for all the good work you do!

[SilviaMaria]

Please everybody who reads this post, click on the link and submit your comments. Enough is enough already.

[thecanadian]

Who ever has PE Obamas phone number should call him right away!

[thecanadian]

Mr Redford. Get the Courts to block the sale - Call Obama - Call the Media - Call your power friends!

[lainey]

Thank you for your article and information. I saw you on the Rachel Maddow show and since that time, I have called my congressman--Van Hollen-- everyday to ensure that he knew that we, the People, want our sacred land to remain that way. He stands with you, just as many other Americans do.