FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 14, 2006                      

For more information contact:

Anne Ambler 301-946-5599

Sierra Club Again Rates Six of Nine County Council Members

Unsatisfactory on Environment

The Sierra Club’s second environmental scorecard for the current Montgomery County Council, released to the public today, reveals a continued split between the good to excellent scores of Councilmembers Perez (76%), Praisner (81%), and Andrews (95%) and those of the other Council members, whose scores range from 64% (Councilmember Denis) to a low of 44% (Councilmember Subin).

The Sierra Club scored 22 votes with significant environmental implications. These votes determine the County’s direction on growth, transportation, energy, and water and forest conservation. But contrary to some organizations’ policy, we have included unanimous pro-environment votes that really didn’t cost the Council members any campaign contributor support--such as the tax rebate for renewable energy and the resolution on a long-range funding plan for Metro--in order to give Council members every advantage.  Yet the distinct demarcation remains and the low scorers remain unsatisfactory to failing. 

Accountability needed

“The Sierra Club feels very strongly that elected officials must be held accountable for their votes.  Each individual yea or nay reflected that Council member’s vision for our future, and each majority vote set the county’s course, usually with irreversible consequences for us, our children, and our grandchildren,” said Anne Ambler, Chair of the Montgomery County Group.  “Cool forests that fall to hot roads and rooftops do not grow back.  The current heat wave gives us warning we are on the wrong course.”

The 800 pound gorilla is still there

Although some Council members like to say the Intercounty Connector (ICC) is a done deal and consequently useless to consider further, the Council majority felt it needed to reaffirm its support twice, putting two ICC votes on our scorecard.  This project would have such a powerful negative impact on our county’s future that environmentalists will not give up opposing it.  If built, the ICC will set transportation policy in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties for years to come, and set it exactly wrong for the challenges of the 21^st century. “Sustainable transportation policy requires provision of alternate modes: more transit and remodeling arterial roads like Rockville Pike into bus-, bicycle-, and pedestrian-friendly boulevards,” said Pam Lindstrom, the Montgomery County Group’s Lead for Urban Planning. “This will be unaffordable, given the financial demands of the ICC.  Yet without these new facilities, the public will rightly fear increased congestion and oppose the very development that can transform our auto-dependent suburbs into true communities where we can work, shop, and play without depending on cars for every trip.”  Councilmembers Andrews, Praisner, and Perez have consistently opposed the ICC.

Good marks on one Agricultural Reserve issue

A bright spot on the scorecard is the near consensus on banning public sewer and water as well as enormous septic systems in our Agricultural Reserve to avert the invasion of large institutional campuses.  “We commend the Council on these votes and hope they are an opening to broader awareness of the importance of retaining our Agricultural Reserve for agriculture,” said Ambler.  “As transporting food long distances becomes ever more expensive, it is strategically important to preserve the ability to grow food locally.”

Audubon Naturalist Society Endorses

The scorecard received the endorsement of the Audubon Naturalist Society.  “The Sierra Club deserves a great deal of credit for keeping track of County Council votes on the environment,” said Dolores Milmoe, Conservation Director.  “We know that Montgomery County citizens have a great interest in the health and quality of the environment and often not enough time to closely follow the issues. The Sierra Club scorecard does this for them in an accurate and fair analysis.”

Wisdom from the perspective of space

“Before I flew I was already aware of how small and vulnerable our planet is; but only when I saw it from space, in all its ineffable beauty and fragility, did I realize that humankind’s most urgent task is to cherish and preserve it for future generations.”

--Sigmund Jahn, German Democratic Republic astronaut

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                           Electronic copies of the Sierra Club’s County Council Scorecard and notes are available

                                                 to the public at www.sierraclub.org/chapters/md/montgomery.

The Sierra Club’s purpose is “to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the Earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the Earth’s ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.”