MusicFIRST Petitions Congress on Radio Performance Royalty

February 27, 2008

Washington - The MusicFIRST Coalition on Wednesday delivered a letter signed by more than 6,000 recording artists, asking members of Congress to support legislation that would create a performance right royalty and pay artists and record labels when songs are played on terrestrial radio. Radio stations have never paid a performance royalty in the U.S., with the thinking being that radio has traditionally been seen as a promotional medium; Canada and most European nations do pay a radio performance royalty.  

"It is ironic that the U.S. government, which proudly fights to protect the rights of artists and musicians in foreign countries, is today failing artists and musicians in its own back yard," the letter states.

"We ask legislators in the U.S. to deliver a fair deal for artists when their music is played on the radio. We do not seek any subsidies or special favours; all we ask for is for fair payment from the people that exploit our work to generate their own successful businesses."

by Mark Hefflinger 
www.musicfirstcoalition.org



Subject: Teaming with Wildlife Coalition Leader: Call Your Members of Congress to Sign the State Wildlife Grants Letter


February 26th, 2008

Teaming with Wildlife State Grant Programs - One year ago, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, who had honored Adrienne in 2006, by asking her to rework the lyrics for Hills and Hollers (Mark D. Sanders and AY) to better fit the VA landscape so that they could use the new version as the theme song for the Virginia WIldlife Action Plan Video. She was even able to get involved with narrating the inspiring and gorgeous footage. Then, in support of the national launch of all states WIldlife Action Plans, Adrienne was invited to sing and play America the Beautiful on the steps of the capitol, along with acclaimed harpist, (and dear friend) Mary Triola, while a Bald Eagle was released overhead to raise support for federal funding. 
Continuing the effort for crucial support in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26th, Adrienne joined David Whitehurst, Director of the Wildlife Diversity Division of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Robert (Bob) Byrne, Senior Project Manager for D. J. Case and Associates, for visits on the Hill, taking part in the 2008 'Teaming with Wildlife' Fly-In. Over 5000 BI-PARTISAN Conservation Groups from around the country joined forces to assist the ongoing effort to obtain federal funding for State Wildlife Conservation Programs. They visited the offices of Congressional Reps and Senators to help inform them about what is going with WIldlife Action Plan Programs.

Now here's where you can get involved!

For the ENTIRE NATION'S State Wildlife Grant Program they are asking for a humble 85 million to be divied up amoung ALL THE STATES! Seems pretty reasonable. So, if you are inclined, please check out www.teaming.com to learn more. To view the House version of the  'Dear Colleague' letter and find out if your State Representatives have signed on, click here.

Please communicate your opinion to our elected officials, and let them know if you would like for them to actively support this effort to protect open spaces, wildlife habitat, endangered species and wildlife, in general! ONE CALL from a constituent can often accomplish more than a dozen calls from those working in DC.

Remember, democracy is a living system, but it's the poplace that must keep it alive. www.house.gov

Points to Communicate:

* The deadline for signing on to the letter is Friday, March 14, so call today!

* Don't forget to find out if they have signed in the past. Please thank them if they have.
   It also helps to GIVE THEM SPECIFIC EXAMPLES of projects from your state. If you can give them examples from their       specific district, it will be even better. Consider using the success stories from your state:     www.teaming.com/swg_success_stories.html * Note that this is NOT an earmark program. If they ask questions about that or are reluctant to sign, le
the Teaming wilth WIldlife folks know and they can follow up.

* The most current list of signers is on the web: current signers

Thanks for taking action!





Adrienne is fortunate enough to work with many groups on behalf of a common cause which is, in essence, food security.
This piece offers an informative peek on the subject.

Washington Post Op-Ed

Sunday, March 9, 2008

EAT LOCALLY, EASE CLIMATE CHANGE GLOBALLY


 My farm is in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in
 southwestern Virginia. Like many others who have recently made the
 transition from tobacco to organic farming, we sell our produce
 through local and regional channels, including the farmers market in
 the nearby town of Abingdon, population 8,000.



 Of late, a number of commentators have disparaged local food
 economies, based on two claims: First, that shipping food long
 distances in fully loaded tractor-trailers is more efficient than
 local transactions; and, second, that consumers travel much further to
 buy local foods, creating more, not less carbon emissions. They're
 wrong.



 A full tractor-trailer hauls about 32,000 pounds of produce. On
 average, according to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
 at Iowa State University, this food travels about 1,750 miles from
 farm to market, in trucks that get about 5.5 miles per gallon. That's
 320 gallons of fuel to transport 32,000 pounds, or about a gallon of
 fuel for every 100 pounds of food.



 My farm is an eight-mile round trip from the Abingdon farmers market.
 Our '94 Toyota pickup gets 15 miles to the gallon, fully loaded, so my
 trip to and from the market uses just over a half gallon of gas. We
 take and sell an average of 1,600 pounds of fresh produce every
 Saturday morning. This works out to 3,200 pounds of food for every
 gallon of fuel expended. That's 32 times more efficient.



 Of course, not every farmer lives four miles from his or her market.
 But our local experience, along with studies carried out in Austin and
 Toronto, indicate that most farmers stay within a 50-mile radius.
 Assuming they carry about 1,000 pounds -- a third less than we do --
 the average local food transaction delivers 500 pounds of food per
 gallon of fuel, five times more efficient than conventional transport.



 So the argument that shipping food in tractor-trailers is more
 efficient than local food transactions doesn't hold up. But are
 consumers traveling so much farther to get to farmers markets that
 their additional fuel use offsets any efficiency gains? Though the
 data are a bit sketchy, two points stand out. First, in spite of the
 dramatic growth of Wal-Mart and other "one-stop shopping" outlets, our
 shopping miles are steadily increasing. As author Stacy Mitchell has
 pointed out, we Americans increased our travel -- just for shopping --
 by over 90 billion miles from 1990 to 2001. That's billion with a "B."
 It's safe to say that most of those new miles were not spent seeking
 out local food.



 Second, several studies indicate that consumers are not willing to
 travel more than six to eight miles or 15 to 20 minutes by car to shop
 at a local market, perhaps slightly more than what people will travel
 to reach the big-box store. And with farmers markets proliferating
 across the country, from 1,750 in 1995 to nearly 4,500 now, they're
 getting closer to consumers and farmers every year.



 One last thing: So far as I know, no food ever arrives at a farmers
 market by airplane. Yet air freight, which generates 10 to 30 times as
 much carbon per mile as trucking, is becoming a major part of the
 global food system.



 When my wife and I get up at 5 on Saturday morning to start packing
 our truck, a cup of strong coffee and a glass of orange juice make it
 a little easier. So we're not dogmatic about local foods. But we also
 know, first hand, that locally produced foods are increasingly
 abundant, convenient and rewarding. The critics notwithstanding,
 buying local food is a sensible way to eat well, save fuel and reduce
 your carbon footprint.



 -- Anthony Flaccavento



 Abingdon, Va.



 The writer is a food and society policy fellow and director of
 Appalachian Sustainable Development.





This is an exert from an email from the VIRGINIA CONSERVATION NETWORK in Richmond, VA.

More than 225 people (Adrienne being one of them) attended the Virginia Conservation Network’s Conservation Lobby Day on January 4th, 2008, in Richmond, VA. The forum was called to provide a platform for voters to demonstrate their protest against bills intended to strip Virginia’s citizen boards of their permitting authority. As a result of close coordination among numerous Virginia Conservation Network member groups, (HB1332 and SB423) were drastically overhauled.  Now, these bills—well on their way to the governor’s desk—protect the integrity of Virginia’s environmental boards and actually increase citizen access to the permitting process. YAY!!!

Just show up, that's what they say is the secret to success, right? Well, it sure worked wonders here!
As did the eloquent presentations and yes, even poems, offered by concerned Environmental Advocacy Groups and loyal Virginia citizens to the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.

Bills which had items tacked on at the end of session, I mean THE VERY LAST MOMENT, which aimed to 'strip Virginia’s citizen boards of their permitting authority by creating a new position that would have awarded ONE NON-ELECTED OFFICIAL final say over all water, air and waste management permits.

(WHAT ARE the VIRGINIA CITIZEN BOARDS? Three regulatory boards, composed of Virginia citizens appointed by the Governor, responsible for adopting Virginia's environmental regulations regarding Air Pollution, Water control and Waste Management, whose approved regulations are then administered by The Department of Environmental Quality.

The boards have statutory authority to promulgate regulations and to approve certain permits. Before promulgating regulations required by environmental statutes, the boards seek information from the public, the regulated community and advisory committees. The boards also become involved in permitting by conducting public hearings and approving certain types of permits. In cases where environmental laws or permit conditions are violated, the boards may impose administrative sanctions and initiate legal action.)

Something was rotten in Richmond, my friends, because the percentage of permit applications that are actually challenged by the Citizen Boards are, from what I understand, less than 5%, so really, only projects that hold the potential to really affect the quality of life for VA residents, human and non-human, ever come before the board. But O holy heavens -Praise   Democracy...the common folk SHOWED UP and peacefully demonstrated their support for VA's Citizen Boards, which are now being safeguarded. Funny how almost losing something so precious is often what it takes for us to fully comprehend it's worth.

read on to learn more about other interesting topics and have a great day!
 
Message from VCN's Executive Director

Last Wednesday marked Crossover, the mid-point of the Virginia General Assembly session when the House of Delegates and Senate exchange legislation.  Numerous bills—especially those with budgetary implications—have fallen by the wayside, but some key environmental bills, both good and bad, remain before legislature.

I’m very happy to report one major environmental victory already secured.  Thanks to close coordination among numerous Virginia Conservation Network member groups, bills intended to strip Virginia’s citizen boards of their permitting authority (HB1332 and SB423) were drastically overhauled.  Now, these bills—well on their way to the governor’s desk—protect the integrity of Virginia’s environmental boards and actually increase citizen access to the permitting process.

That remarkable victory came as the direct result of an outpouring grassroots support.  More than 225 people attended the network’s Conservation Lobby Day in January, where they heard from former DEQ Director Bob Burnley about why citizen boards matter.  These activists and hundreds more took that message to the capitol, and legislators responded.

Now, VCN is working to ensure the same level of cooperation and energy among environmental advocates around the state as we tackle two more significant bills: SB 525 and SB 768.

SB 525 purports to create an impartial commission to study uranium mining, but a closer inspection reveals much more.  Coupled with language tucked into the Senate budget instructing the Department of Mines Minerals and Energy to develop draft regulations, the bill looks much more like a deliberate first step toward lifting the moratorium on uranium mining that has protected Virginians since 1982.  The absence of adequate public-input and oversight is particularly troubling.  It’s now up to the House of Delegates to stand up for transparent government, environmental integrity, and public safety by reforming SB 525 or killing the bill outright.

The House Rules Committee should also act decisively to table SB 768, a flawed proposal to replace the proffers local governments now ask of developers with impact fees that would scarcely cover the cost of new pavement.  The bill will severely hamper local government efforts to create new parks, guarantee affordable housing, protect historic sites, and curb greenhouse gas emissions through transit-oriented smart-growth developments.

I encourage you to take a moment to write or phone your delegates; thank them for supporting the revised board bill (which passed unanimously) and ask them to take a closer look at SB 525 and SB 768.

Thanks,
Nathan Lott, Executive Director