Today is the last day to for you to call or e-mail Governor Bredesen directly so that he can help push LEAF's state bills through subcommittee in order to halt mountain top removal (MTR) practices in Tennessee. The governor is said to already support the legislation, but our Attorney General publicly spoke negatively toward it, citing constitutionality concerns over potential conflict with federal mining laws that supersede the state's.

Fortunately, the wording in the bills has since been tweaked, as I understand it, to emphasize the critical water quality protections needed by the state which should overcome those objections and give teeth to the legislation.

However, the first of the bills (senate version) goes to subcommittee vote tomorrow and in order to survive the subcommittee, a critical push is needed from the Governor himself. It would also help to call and write the Senators in the subcommittee (via here) and urge them to attend and to vote in favor of the bill. The coal lobby is pressuring senators from even showing up, which is equivalent to flipping their votes from Yes to No. Don't let them get away with it.

Here is the latest Urgent Action Alert, copied in its entirety:

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It is critical that Governor Bredesen gets phone calls (615-741-2001 or 615-532-4562) and e-mails (phil.bredesen@state.tn.us) IMMEDIATELY from everyone who cares about Tennessee's mountains.

All you need to say is`: My name is ---, and I'm from ---- county. I'm calling to ask the Governor to publicly support the Tennessee Scenic Vistas Protection Act and help facilitate its passage. The bill numbers are Senate Bill 3822 and House Bill 3348. Thank you.

The few minutes it takes you to call could help save Tennessee's mountains forever! If you'd like to review the bill or read supporting arguments for ending mountain top removal (also called cross-ridge mining) in Tennessee, go to www.tnleaf.org.

LEAF has attached a double copy of this alert so you can easily print it out, cut it apart, and post it or pass it on to friends. If each LEAF action team member will call the Governor, and then prompt 5 friends or family members to call, we will have a big impact. Please forward this alert to your e-mail address book. We need as many calls as possible. Today [is the last chance critical] time-frame for this action.

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Please also read the details in this update posted here by Betty Bean. More info. and background is here.

Thanks for your immediate attention to this.

Torture. McCain was against it before he was for it.

Only in the up=down world that is the Bush administration do weaker rules against greenhouse gases produce "significant reductions that are more effective than a state-by-state approach." Aside from several other facts, such as no one saying anything about this having to be an either-or approach for all the other states that do not want to participate, I suppose the EPA's denial of California's request to limit GHG outside of the federal government might be the best approach to fighting a problem the administration never has taken seriously.

And when rubber hits the road, conservatives again prove they aren't so eager to allow (let alone support) states' rights.

UPDATE: These people never change. They never learn.

"California met every criteria . . . on the merits. The same criteria we have used for the last 40 years on all the other waivers," said an EPA staffer. "We told him [EPA chief Johnson who ignored his technical staff] that. All the briefings we have given him laid out the facts."