Editor's Note--July 14, 2005  Chuck Willer, one of the signers of this letter, has requested that the following explanatory note be attached:

"I signed on to the anti-Gore letter early in the campaign as a move to pressure the Gore campaign to improve its environmental position. Soon thereafter, many of us who signed the letter came out in support of Gore. The letter was organized by Tim Hermach of the Native Forest Council and did not represent but a moment in the flow of the campaign." 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 21, 2000

9:00 AM

CONTACT: Environmentalists Against Gore

Moisha Blechman         212.869.1630
David Brower            415.788.3666
Lee Christie            541.386.8891
Ronnie Cummins          218.226.4164
Janet Fout              304.522.0246
Dan Hamburg             707.467.0329
Tim Hermach             541.688.2600
Denise Joines           206.286.1235 x12
Tracy Katelman          707.629.3599
Bryony Schwan           406.543.3747
Jeffrey St Clair        503.657.5295
Brian Vincent           530.265.3506

Environmental Leaders Announce The Formation of
Environmentalists Against Gore

WASHINGTON
- July 21 -
Sixty-one environmental leaders from 18 states announced today the formation of ENVIRONMENTALISTS AGAINST GORE, and urged people who care about protecting America's environment to listen to their conscience and vote for anyone but Democratic candidate Al Gore.

"Gore is getting the endorsement of some national environmental groups only because they are so afraid of George Bush, and so intimidated by the Gore campaign's where-else-can-you-go attitude," said Tim Hermach, one of the organizers of Environmentalists Against Gore.

"Vice President Gore has a long record of making campaign promises about protecting America's natural heritage and then breaking his promise every time one of his political supporters wants to do something that would damage or destroy our forests, rivers, and streams, oceans, even our National Parks," Hermach added.

"If George W. Bush wins the election, then at least we could expect the national environmental community to really fight for tougher pollution enforcement and genuine protection of our living life-support system," said David Brower, another founder of Environmentalists Against Gore. "From Alaska to the Everglades, New Jersey to California, the Vice President talks about being an environmentalist, but he's sold out American citizens, workers, taxpayers and the environment more times than we can count. He sides with clear-cutting timber barons, big sugar, big oil and real estate speculators over forests and watersheds, parks and wildlife. And we lose those fights because when Al Gore sells out, national environmental groups come to his aide, claiming the problem lies somewhere else, with Congress or federal agencies.  But we all know the buck stops at the White House."

All the environmental leaders supporting the organization released this statement:

"Many of our members support Ralph Nader, and others believe that even having George W. Bush in the White House, under the eye of an energized environmental community, will lead to better protection for nature and wildlife than we can expect from Al Gore. We've seen Gore turn his back on the people of Appalachia while mountains and streams are illegally destroyed by strip miners. We've seen Gore talk about the importance of preserving our forest heritage while refusing to stop cutting it down. He is increasing the logging of what's left of our publicly owned native and old-growth national forests and monuments as we speak. Al Gore talks about the catastrophic threat of global warming, yet shows very little leadership to stop it. We've seen him talk about fighting sprawl while he's promoting sleazy real estate deals that would move industrial jobs away from urban Miami onto farmland between two National Parks. We've heard him lecture the world about preserving nature in the tropics when he is encouraging the big sugar plantations to continue polluting our own Everglades. We've read candidate Gore's press releases about protecting our beaches from offshore drilling, and then watched Vice President Gore say it is none of his business if his own Administration promotes offshore drilling in Florida, California, and Alaska. We've watched Gore pretend not to know about it when his own White House staff and the federal agencies turn the Endangered Species Act into a tool for extinction. And just this week we  watched Al Gore refuse to advocate breaching of four Snake River dams  rejecting the recommendations of scientists and federal agencies. We believe that people, nature and wildlife, in the United States and in the world, will be better protected if we return to an honest national debate about the role of the environment in our lives and economy, instead of the cynical orchestrated charade Vice President Gore is engaged in."

1) We can't get what we want by voting for what we don't want.

2) We can't win by submitting to fear of imagined Republican actions.

3) We can no longer condone or reward the long and established record
   of dishonesty, smoke & mirrors, shell games and betrayal.

4) We can't get good & honest people to run if we repeatedly fail to
   support the ones that do.

5) We demand Fair & Open Debates - and honest politicians.

6) We demand that People and the Public Interest receive the importance
   now given to corporate cash and political supporters.

7) We realize that false friends can often do more harm than known
   adversaries.

Voting Our Principles & Hopes, Not Our Fears.

(affiliations listed for identification purposes only)

 Cindy Allsbrooks - TX - Headwaters & NFC - (409) 653-3982
 Patricia Awerbuch - PA - Independent - (610) 359-1931
 Florence Barone - MI - Michigan Land Use Institute - (231) 882-4723
 Caroline Bauman - Lincoln County Chapter, Oregon LCV - (541) 547-3075
 Moisha Blechman - NYC Sierra Club - (212) 869-1630
 John Borowski - OR - Environmental Science Teacher - (541) 929.5224
 David Brower - CA - Sierra Club, Earth Island - (415) 788-3666
 Jasper Carlton - CO - Biodiversity Legal Foundation - (303) 926-7606
 Lee Christie - OR - Audubon and The Nature Conservancy - (541) 386-8891
 Patricia Clary - CA - Californians for Alternatives to Toxics - (707) 822-8497
 Michael Colby - VT - Food & Water - (802) 563-3300
 Carla Connally - AL - Wild South - (256) 974-6166
 Karen Coulter - OR - Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project - (541) 468-2028
 Ronnie Cummins - MN - Pure Food Campaign - (218) 226.4164
 Murray Dailey - MI - North Woods Wilderness Recovery - (906) 225-1938
 David Dilworth - CA - Friends of the Forest - (831) 624.6500
 Michael Donnelly - OR - Friends of the Breitenbush Cascades - (503) 581-2616
 Melanie Duchin - AK - Greenpeace - (907) 278-2502
 Ray Fenner - MN - Superior Wilderness Action Network - (651) 646-6277
 Sara Folger - MT - Predator Conservation Alliance  - (406) 587-3389
 Janet Fout - OH - Huntington Tri-State Audubon - (304) 522-0246
 Rick Gorman - NY - Native Forest Council Regional - (718) 530-5663
 Dan Hamburg - CA - ex-Congressman - Voice of the Environment - (707) 467-0329
 Tim Hermach - OR - Native Forest Council - (541) 688-2600 or (541) 953-5293
 Carol Hoover - AK/CA - EYAK Preservation Council - (415) 454-2436
 Deborah Howes - OR - Oregon Wildlife Federation - (503) 286-3634
 Denise Joines - WA - One Northwest - (206) 286.1235 x12
 Tracy Katelman - CA - EcoForester/Activist - (707) 629-3599
 Joe Keating - OR -Chapter Chair of Sierra Club's Oregon Chapter,(503) 234-2613
 Don Kegley - United Steelworkers of America - (509)-483-9126
 Steve Kelly - MT - Friends of the Wild Swan - (406) 586-0180
 Jeff Kessler - WY - Biodiversity Associates - (307) 742-7978
 Leeona Klippstein - CA - Spirit of the Sage Council - (626) 744-9932
 Cecelia Lanman - CA - EPIC Emeritus - (707) 923.3614
 Martin Litton - CA - Grand Canyon Dories - (415) 851-2616
 Gwen Marshall - OH - Protect Biodiversity & Public Lands - (513) 761-6978
 Emily Miggins - CA - Founder, Re-Think Paper - (510) 636-9019
 David Orr - UT - Glen Canyon Action Network - (435) 259-1063
 David Ortman - WA - past Director,NW Office,Friends of the Earth (206) 789-6136
 Karen Picket - CA - Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters - (510) 548-3113
 Pat Rasmussen - WA - Leavenworth Audubon Adopt-a-Forest - (509) 548-7640
 Ruby Lee Rose - CA - Planet, Mind, Soul, Spirit - (415) 868-2767
 Susan Schock - NM - Gila Watch - (505) 388-2854
 Bryony Schwan - MT - Women's Voices for the Earth - (406) 543-3747
 Lewis Seiler - CA - V.O.T.E. Action Committee - (415) 435-2522
 Dr. Fraser Shilling, - CA - Sierra Club - (530) 753-1678.
 Scott Silver - OR - Wild Wilderness - (541) 385-5261
 Robin Smith - OH - ex-EPA, NFC Office - (614) 538-9344
 Jeff St Clair - OR - CounterPunch - (503) 657-5295
 Alan Stein - CA - Fmr Director, Salmon Bay Protective Assn. - (707) 937-4700
 Kent Stromsmoe - CA - Forestry Monitoring Project - (925) 372-8619
 Charlotte Talberth - NM - Levinson Foundation - (505) 995-8802
 Dr. Bron Taylor - WI - Univ of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Professor - (920) 424-7183
 Larry Tuttle - OR - Center for Environmental Equity - (503) 221-1683
 Ray Vaughan - AL - Environmentalists FOR Nader - (334) 265-6529
 Brian Vincent - CA - American Lands Alliance - (530) 265-3506
 Paul Watson - WA - Sea Shepherds - (360) 370-5500
 Meca Wawona - CA - New Growth Forestry - (707) 462-2114
 Tom Weis - CO - Greenfire - (303) 245.8178
 Chuck Willer - OR - Coast Range Association - (541) 758.0255
 Margaret Hays Young - NY - NYC Sierra Club - (718) 789-0038

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