ACP builds leaders for conservation, convening community organizations and leaders in an effort to educate the community about pressing conservation issues.
(Prescott, Arizona) May 19, 2011
Taxpayers for Common Sense Action, a nonpartisan and politically independent organization dedicated to cutting wasteful government spending, subsidies and tax breaks, traveled to Arizona last week to release its Subsidy Gusher Report underscoring why federal policymakers should quickly work to end oil and gas subsidies.
“There are a couple of basic truths about oil and gas companies today – they are highly profitable, heavily subsidized and well-connected in Washington. While this scenario makes for a very lucrative business model, it has and continues to needlessly cost taxpayers billions. Now that the deficit and debt limit are pressing our budget to its limit, these outdated and unnecessary giveaways must end.”
More than 9 in 10 Arizonans say they want protections for air quality, natural areas and parks. Arizona’s recreation industry supports 82,000 jobs and $5 billion in annual retail sales, an economic base our state cannot afford to lose. Yet, Arizona’s U.S. House Freshmen Quayle, Gosar and Sweikert recently voted to cripple the Clean Air Act and eliminate funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund which has funded hundreds of Arizona projects and created thousands of Arizona jobs.
The LWCF has helped fund parks and recreation areas across the country for more than four decades including the Grand Canyon and Coconino National Forest. For more information:
Monuments Spur Tourism and Are Economic Engines for Surrounding Communities
Bills have been introduced in the U.S. Congress which seriously threaten the Antiquities Act providing the authority to designate National Monuments like Arizona’s Ironwood Forest, Sonoran Desert, Grand Canyon-Parashant, Montezuma Castle, Canyon de Chelly, Casa Grande Ruins – the list goes on. These monuments are vital to Arizona tourism and long-term economic health.
“The Antiquities Act has served Arizona well…This [pending legislation] is a guarantee for delay, politics and pressure from special interests…The Antiquities Act has been a valuable tool for more than a century. America should keep it.”
Monuments hold our past, deserve respect.
By Christopher Clark Deschene, Navajo Nation, Former AZ State Representative
ARIZONA REPUBLIC, February 21, 2011
“A recent Northern Arizona University study shows us that if Congress gets serious about ending our dependence on imported oil and creating clean energy here at home, Arizona could see $10 billion in business investment over the next 10 years,”
said Flagstaff Construction Company owner Tim Kinney in an opinion piece in the DAILY SUN.
The US House of Representatives recently passed the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act which provides rebates to homeowners who install energy-saving products and reduce energy use in their homes. This is an important jobs bill that benefits consumers and local businesses and reduces US dependence on foreign oil.
Voting “yes” were Arizona Representatives Giffords, Grijalva, Mitchell and Pastor.
Voting “no” were Arizona Representatives Flake, Frank, Kirkpatrick and Shaddegg.
The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act was endorsed by a wide range of groups including labor, consumer groups and the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Home Builders.
“This bill is designed to boost the American construction and manufacturing industries in the short-term by creating jobs immediately…In the long-term, it will help rebuild the foundation of our economy by encouraging American innovation and entrepreneurship in the growing clean energy industry.” For more information: Home Star Energy Retrofit Act
Keep Sedona Beautiful is running television ads across Northern Arizona for two weeks to thank Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick for introducing a bill to create a National Scenic Area Designation that would protect 160,000 acres of Coconino National Forest land from trades.
“We are proud that Congresswoman Kirkpatrick is committed to preserving Sedona’s natural beauty,” said KSB president Steve DeVol. “A National Scenic Area Designation will protect our tourism–?based economy, protect our land values and preserve Sedona’s beauty.”
Preservation of the beauty of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon is critical to maintain a strong Tourism economy in the area, DeVol said. Approximately 4 million people visit Sedona every year. In 2008, visitors spent more than $1 billion in Yavapai and Coconino counties and 14,000 of the region’s jobs were directly related to the tourism industry.
[Source: USA TODAY, Nov. 4, 2009; Arizona Office of Tourism Travel Impact Study, 2009]
Climate change mitigation has the potential to change Arizona’s job market for the better, says a new report by researchers at Northern Arizona University.
The NAU report, Economic Development Opportunities for Arizona in National Clean Energy and Climate Change Legislation,states that “Arizona could generate more than 50,000 construction-phase jobs, 4,000 permanent jobs and more than $10 billion in earnings and economic activity over the next decade under an aggressive, nationwide clean-energy development and climate change mitigation policy.”
Thank you to Representative Ann Kirkpatrick for introducing the Sedona-Red Rock National Scenic Area Act of 2010. View the legislation and read her remarks on its introduction.
Sedona Mayor Rob Adams and city council candidates Mike Ward, Barbara Litrell, Dan McIlroy and Dennis Rayner were recently elected to the Sedona City Council. Each of these candidates supported National Scenic Area designation for Sedona and other resource protection measures.
On February 17 over 300 citizens turned out to support a National Scenic Designation for the greater Sedona area and encouraged Representative Kirkpatrick to introduce long-sought-after legislation. For more information:
