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Union of Concerned Scientists

01/01/2016 Nativegrl77

DEADLINE APPROACHING
Progress: 85%

We had some big wins this year, but we have an even bigger job in the coming months as we enter scary knowns and even scarier unknowns.

Take a stand for science by renewing your support now >>

Renew Now

I won’t lie—there are a lot of reasons to be worried that Donald Trump’s presidency will be a disaster for science, public health, and the environment.

He named Scott Pruitt, who built his career suing to stop environmental safeguards, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. He takes policy advice from Bob Walker, who wants to eliminate NASA’s earth science research program.¹ The list goes on and on.

Worse than what we know, though, is what we don’t. Trump is the most erratic, unpredictable candidate to ever win the presidency. Will his administration’s attacks on science and climate policy be even worse than we expect?

That’s what keeps me up at night, Carmen: that uncertainty, coupled with the industry-funded advisers he surrounds himself with. And it’s exactly why your support is needed so much right now.

The uncertainty of the Trump presidency; you can’t avoid it, so what do you do about it?You double down on the facts. You put grassroots pressure behind them, and you raise the stakes for anyone who would ignore or undermine them. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it works.

We know it works because we’ve spent decades battling wealthy special interests that touted the same anti-science agenda as Trump and his team. And we won:

Our economic impact analysis showed that, per dollar invested, the solar and wind industries create far more American jobs than the fossil fuel sector. Our work has gotten states across the country, with both Republicans and Democrats in power, to adopt policies that accelerate the adoption of renewable energy.²
Our campaign to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for their climate science deception galvanized state attorneys general from New York and Massachusetts to open investigations into possible investor fraud by ExxonMobil.³
Our effort to give consumers much needed information on nutrition resulted in a new labeling policy from the Food and Drug Administration, requiring companies to include the amount of added sugars in packaged food.⁴

Even with Congress, state legislatures, and industry groups fighting us tooth and nail, these big wins should remind us just how much change we can effect when we stick to the science, promote the facts, and band together.

There are just three days to go before the 2016 tax-deductible giving deadline.

Hold corporate and political leaders accountable to ensuring our health and safety and the future of our planet by renewing your support now.

Our unwavering commitment to scientific integrity and the facts is why the Union of Concerned Scientists is a top-rated organization on Charity Watch, accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and considered one of the most effective organizations working on climate change by Guidestar’s Philanthropedia. We operate 100 percent independently and receive no government or corporate funding, so there’s never a question about our independence or objectivity.

We’ve set an ambitious goal of raising $2,065,000 million in preparation for the fights ahead. Thus far, 19,505 have stepped up, contributing $1,755,432 million, but we still need to raise $309,568 more.

Be one of the defenders of science to step up this month by renewing your support today.

Thanks for putting your values into action, Carmen. And in the weeks and months to come.

Sincerely,

Ken Kimmell
President
Union of Concerned Scientists

1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth-donald -trump-eliminate-climate-change-research
2. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/smart-energy-solutions/ increase-renewables/renewable-energy-electricity-standards-economic-benefits.html
3. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press-release/MA-AG-investigation-Exxon
4. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/catalyst/su16-advances.html

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Petition all 17 banks financing the Dakota Access Pipeline: Stop supporting DAPL

01/01/2016 Nativegrl77

We — as customers and account holders — can pressure the lending banks to take a stand.

If you are thinking of moving your money to a bank not financing the Dakota Access Pipeline, please note where you currently bank so that we can have greater and more specific impact.

Petition to the 17 banks on the project loan for the Dakota Access Pipeline (Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, BayernLB, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Crédit Agricole, DNB ASA, ICBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho Bank, Natixis, SMBC, Société Générale, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, TD Bank, Wells Fargo):

Stop supporting the Dakota Access Pipeline and disregarding the inherent sovereignty and rights of Indigenous peoples, including self-determination, Free, Prior and Informed Consent and the rights recognized and affirmed in the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaties with the Sioux.

The vast majority of you have signed the Equator Principles, in which you commit to resolve differences to the satisfaction of Indigenous peoples. And, according to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, you all have a responsibility to respect human rights and remediate human rights violations linked to your business operations.

The militarized police actions against peaceful and unarmed water protectors have been widely and publicly condemned, and may result in a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into police misconduct and civil rights abuses.

Continuing to finance DAPL signals your approval of the use of militarized force against those asserting their First Amendment rights and traditional spiritual beliefs and practices, and disregard for Indigenous responsibilities to protect people, lands and water.

We demand that you discontinue DAPL loan disbursements until outstanding issues with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation – Oceti Sakowin are resolved, and Equator Principle 5, which requires Free, Prior and Informed Consent from Indigenous peoples, is upheld.

For months the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Oceti Sakowin headmen and elders, other Indigenous peoples and other water protectors and allies have been under siege while peacefully and prayerfully resisting the DAPL.

The pipeline was approved without environmental reviews, adequate assessment of cultural properties and sacred sites, or the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Standing Rock Sioux affirmed in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

In addition to violating sovereign Indigenous rights and responsibilities, continued pipeline construction and any spills pose significant and direct threats to sacred sites and water supplies for the Standing Rock Sioux, who live less than a mile downstream, and threaten direct harm to the Missouri River, which provides drinking water to millions of people.¹

The companies responsible for the pipeline are Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Sunoco Logistics, who have a deplorable track record of pipeline spills and total disregard for Tribal rights, land and water.²

On December 4, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the easement needed to finish drilling under the Missouri River, saying it was necessary to produce an Environmental Impact Statement and analyze alternatives.³Yet ETP insists that the companies “fully expect to complete construction of the pipeline without any additional rerouting.”⁴

This could lead to banks financing an illegal activity. ETP and Sunoco are rushing to build a pipeline that is economically unnecessary today, and will become a stranded asset as the world moves away from climate-destroying fuels.

If DAPL does not deliver oil by January 1, shipper contracts will expire and the project will be in jeopardy.⁵ The Morton County Sheriff’s Department has violently repressed the water protectors in service of the corporate desperation to meet this timeline. Given further project delays as a result of the December 4 decision, that January deadline won’t be met.

The 17 banks financing the DAPL project have not yet disbursed all the loan funds they’ve committed. These banks now face a clear opportunity to reconsider further funding a project steeped in controversy and demonstrating material loss.

Public pressure is forcing DAPL’s lenders to confront the reality that they are backing companies who are openly defying the rule of law, undermining the regulatory process and authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and setting a dangerous precedent. Now these lenders must take a stand.

It is time for these banks to cut their losses and for us to turn up the heat.

Sign this petition to support the sovereignty and rights of Indigenous peoples and hold DAPL banks accountable.

1. http://standwithstandingrock.net/history/
2. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-nativeamericans-safety-i-idUSKCN11T1UW
3. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/04/dakota-access-pipeline-permit-denied-standing-rock
4. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161204005090/en/
5. http://ieefa.org/ieefa-report-dakota-access-pipeline-driven-high-risk-financing-overbuilt-region-little-known-economic-weaknesses-controversial-project

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How to Reduce Mass Incarceration Under Trump

01/01/2016 Nativegrl77

Think nothing good can happen under a Trump presidency? Think again.

We’re about to take huge steps towards reducing mass incarceration.

How? By getting rid of money bail. What’s that, you say? And why does it matter? Good questions. And all ones we answer in our new video, Breaking Down Bail, which was released today as part of a crucial effort to eliminate money bail in California and beyond.

Brave New Films is joining with the Pretrial Justice Institute, the ACLU, Human Rights Watch and many others to take on money bail, which is one of the main feeders of America’s mass incarceration crisis. It traps poor people in the system – and then keeps them stuck in it. In fact, over 500,000 Americans are in jail everyday without any conviction just because they are too poor to post their bail!

But all we have to do to change that is pass legislation and win litigation at the state and local levels! Aka, no Trump or Congress needed!

To get there, though, we need to start educating and informing people about this now.

And that’s where you come in. Check out Breaking Down Bail and share it to get this movement going!

Let’s do this,
Robert Greenwald, President

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My son was shot and killed — now I’m taking on the NRA

01/01/2016 Nativegrl77

My son was shot and killed at UC Santa Barbara in May of this year.

Why did Chris die? He died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. I said it the day after my son was murdered, and sadly it’s still true today.

What has changed is that millions of Americans like you have stepped up to demand more of our country and its elected officials: Not. One. More.

And it’s working. Here in California, with the help of Everytown, we passed a law that will temporarily suspend somebody’s access to guns if they’re found to be a threat to themselves or others — somebody like the man who killed my son. Everytown can take winning strategies like this all across the country, but only with your support.

I’m asking you to join me in supporting Everytown with a year-end gift of $5 or more. With your support, we can save lives. Please join this fight before Wednesday’s end-of-year deadline.

Everytown is doing something no one else has ever done before. I’ve seen the passion that powers this movement up close. I’ve shared hugs and tears with others whose lives have been turned upside down by gun violence.

Everytown has given me a chance to share Chris’s story and a platform from which I can work so that fewer parents have to experience this pain.

Our work is fueled by gun violence survivors, moms, dads, and concerned citizens — and it’s backed by cutting edge research and policy analysis. Because of this movement, the NRA is losing its grip on our country’s state houses.

Help us move forward in 2015. Lives depend on it. I’m asking you to show your support with a year-end donation of $5 or more right now — before the Wednesday night deadline:

https://donate.everytown.org/donate/2015-NOM-donate6

As the father of a young person killed with a gun, I know that it’s not enough to just want change. We must work hard and keep the pressure on in 2015.

Thank you for your care and support,

Richard Martinez

Asa movement of Americans fighting for common-sense gun policies, we depend on contributions from supporters like you to fund important work toreduce gun violence.Paid for by Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund. Contributions to Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund are not tax-deductible.