The White House Responds

I received the following two letters about the issue of Great Whales and other marine life being damaged irrevocably by military testing in the ocean. I also received a form response letter from Barack Obama's office, which is to be expected at least at first, on the issue of health care reform. The envelope from the White House was addressed by hand and both the Senator and the Representative to whom I wrote replied personally. I am sharing their responses to provide a resource and on-going demonstration of the power of citizen letter-writing.

"Dear Jadene,
Thank you for contacting me with your views. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents about the issues that matter to them most.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts regarding military testing off of the Oregon Coast. Protecting the environment and wildlife are two of my top priorities in Congress and I am disturbed by an action that threatens the health of either precious resources. You can be sure that I will continue to monitor this situation closely. I appreciate your advocacy on this important issue. Your opinions are important, and you can be sure that I will keep them in mind as I continue my work in Congress.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns.
Sincerely,
Earl Blumenauer
Member of Congress"


"Dear Ms. Fourman,
Thank you for contacting me about the Navy's proposed Northwest Training Range Complex (NWTRC) expansion. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. As you know, the proposed expansion of the NWTRC would include exercises with guided missile submarines and unmanned aerial systems. The military would implement new air and sea surface targets, new electronic signal emitters and development of a small-scale underweter training minefield. I was disappointed that the Navy initially appeared to intend to expand the NWTRC with minimal public input. I was joined by the Oregon Congressional delegation in February in requesting that the Navy extend the public comment period on their proposal, and that they schedule additional public meetings. The Navy agreed to extend their comment deadline until April 13, 2009, and held an additional meeting on their proposal in Tillamook.
While I am pleased that the Navy took these steps to provide the opportunity for greater public input, I still have many concerns about the environmental and economic impacts expansion of the NWTRC will have. On April 9, 2009, Senator Jeff Merkley and I sent a letter to the Navy outlining our concerns, including the economic health of fishing communities and the potential impacts on marine mammals and endangered species. I believe that these concerns must be balanced with our national defense needs, and I am hopeful the Navy will strike the appropriate balance. I look forward to hearing back from the Navy about our concerns. Please know that as I continue to follow the issue, I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for keeping me apprised of the issues that are important to you. If I may ever be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Ron Wyden
United States Senator"

These letters are encouraging examples of typical responses from elected officials to citizen letters. I find it interesting how each official educates and invites further dialogue.

Health Care Legislation

The following letter was handwritten three times and is being sent to President Obama, Senator Max Baucus, and Senator Edward Kennedy (the two chairmen of Senate committees writing health care legislation):

"Rather than mandate health coverage for those who can afford it, and thus STILL leave uncovered those without resources to pay for health care, America needs AFFORDABLE health coverage for ALL citizens. Good health and a government that demonstrates its concern will allow and encourage the impoverished to contribute as productive citizens.

The individual mandate favored in Congress by Democrats would offer Federal subsidies or tax credits to help defray the cost of insurance for people with low to moderate incomes. Better, though, is the "Blue Dog Coalition" idea that private insurers should be required to charge affordable rates so everyone can pay for coverage."

Power of Citizenship

in the office where i work, we receive daily announcements of the successes won by the environmental movement. i have recently been inspired by the current administration to take up writing letters again to elected officials, after a 10 year hiatus. i used to write to representative darlene hooley, rep for corvallis, when i was in college, and she always wrote me back. we talked about kenaf paper and other forest-related issues and solutions.
my last post reminded me that my sense of humor isn't easily accessible to strangers, or even acquaintances, which are basically the same thing, so i'll include the tidbit that the u.s. government counts a letter written and sent via snail (or regular) mail as the equivalent of two thousand citizens who concur with the author of the letter. the government's rationale is that two thousand of us feel the same way or would if we knew about the issue, knew how to compose an informed letter on the issue, or had any idea that writing a letter to an elected official meant something. it may seem like the simplest of things, sticking a self-adhesive stamp on an envelope and writing out the addresses, then walking to the mailbox. but for some reason* for many of us, the mind groans at the idea of such effort. this doesn't even include the composition of the letter, nor the research that must go into it. the internet allows comparatively quick research if one knows where to look. i suggest the websites of the major environmental groups as a start. you can use these to find out about atrocities around the world and begin forming what you would like to say about the issues you care most about. for those addicted to getting lost in minutia instead of acting, such as questioning the motivations of large environmental groups, you can still go further than their sites in your research and formulate your own letter; the point is to say something in writing and send it to an elected official, now, while there are still forests and whales.
having said that, i'm making a case again for writing letters to elected officials; now more than ever the administration in office is receptive, intelligent, and aware. as that fact stands, we bohemians, environmentalists, radicals, artists, etc. have a grand opportunity to let those serving in office know how we want them to handle the issues brought to the fore by greedy, mindless corporate polluters and destroyers. just think of the mega-million-dollar lobbying budgets (think it should be illegal? well there's your first letter!) the car, oil, gas, and logging industry (to name a few) have if you need a reason to get out of bed in the morning and write.
essentially, your voice counts, so please use it this month, year, whatever; just consider the natural resources, the purity of the fresh water supply, the undiscovered medicines, the dying native tribal survival wisdom, the stirring up of natural disasters by crazy resource and ecosystem destruction.
ok, so here is a direct link to finding the addresses of our reps and senators, and mr. obama himself. if you live in another state you can also find your elected officials by starting there.


*oh yeah, urban sprawl and the car insanity problem; but that's another story.

The Great Whales & Military Sonar Tests

May 23, 2009

President Barack Obama

The White House,
District of Columbia 20500

Dear Mr. President,

A few years ago, I became aware of military testing of sound frequencies in the ocean. I am writing because that kind of testing endangers the natural life cycle of whales and other cetaceans by disrupting the vibrations of their calls across the ocean. They can't communicate with each other or find their way. In many reports, their communication organs, the parts of their bodies that they use to talk to and hear each other, are destroyed by the ultra low and other frequencies used undersea by the military in these tests.

It is important to me that something like this technology be scrutinized and regulated or halted immediately, because of the violent damage it does to marine organisms. It is unethical for our military to use technology that disables this inherently valuable species of life. Whales are amazing natural creatures who have a place in the ecosystem of Planet Earth. In fact, we do not know the role that they might play in the natural balance of things.

Please immediately do what you can to halt undersea tests that hurt cetaceans.

Sincerely,

Jadene F.