
I’m not going to tell you to stop using shampoo. Or deodorant. Or to stop eating the occasional donut or fries.
Almost all of us put something in or on our bodies every day that contains palm oil—cookies, moisturizer, potato chips, makeup, you name it.1 And as you might know, some palm oil production is wiping out rainforests, destroying orangutan habitat, and driving global warming.2
So, what should you do? Stop buying products with palm oil in them? Even if that were practical, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as what UCS is doing with your help: convincing giant corporations to switch to palm oil grown in sustainable ways that don’t lead to an increase in global warming.
Company after company has changed their ways, thanks to you. But palm oil is just one front in the battle to defend science and our planet—and right now, your donation will have TWICE the impact on that battle. Our matching gift offer ends tomorrow. $250,000 is at stake.
Palm oil is just one example of how, together, we are changing the way corporations do business. We worked directly with brands like General Mills, Colgate-Palmolive, and Wilmar International (one of the world’s largest palm oil traders) to adopt deforestation-free policies that will prevent tons of carbon pollution. And we’re still at it.
Another example: we helped convince Pfizer to stop funding the Heartland Institute, a “think tank” infamous for billboards equating climate scientists with terrorists.
And our groundbreaking “Ripe for Retirement” report made a compelling business case for utilities to move away from using dirty, polluting coal as a source of electrical power—and we watched as soon thereafter close to two dozen coal-fired power plants closed down.
You see, UCS doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to the battles we choose. We go where science can do the most good now—whether that’s working with local leaders to prepare cities and towns for the impacts of climate change, defending stricter national rules on carbon pollution to fight global warming, or helping corporations adopt strong sustainability policies.
So, I’m not asking you to stop shampooing. I’m asking you to help change the way the food we eat and the products we buy are made. I’m asking you to help push science forward and push corporations and lawmakers in the right direction. We can do this. We already are.
That’s what you’re funding with your matched gift today—making twice the difference to defend science and protect our planet. The matching gift deadline is tomorrow. Please don’t delay
No one else combines independent scientific analysis, savvy media outreach, and grassroots power like UCS. It’s a mix that has enormous power—both to convince people who care to act on their beliefs, and to convince those who stand against us to change their tune.
You’re making a wise and necessary investment. Thank you for your generous support.
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Sincerely, Ken Kimmell President Union of Concerned Scientists |
1. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-and-forests.html
2. http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-scorecard.html


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