All posts by Nativegrl77

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Shell heads to Russia

07/04/2013 Nativegrl77

Shell was forced to quit in the US Alaskan Arctic this year after a series of dangerous and humiliating failures. But now Shell has a Plan B to enter the Arctic through Russia, and it’s urgent that we spread the word before it’s too late. We need you to share this video to expose Shell’s ruthless new plan, and ask your friends to sign the petition to save the Arctic from oil destruction:

Increasingly desperate to plunder the Arctic in any way possible, Shell has made a deal with the devil: partnering with monstrous Russian oil and gas giant Gazprom to access the Arctic through Russia, where laws are lax and corruption is rife.

Shell’s new bedfellow Gazprom is infamous for a catastrophic accident in 2011 when its oil rig sank in stormy weather – and 53 people died. This new partnership is a guaranteed oil spill in the making, and the environmental catastrophe zone of northern Russia is a preview of the Arctic’s future if we don’t act.
We know that spreading this video will harm Shell’s carefully-tended reputation. The last thing the company wants is to appear as a risky investment to its shareholders and partners, so broadcasting this treacherous new deal to the world could help keep Shell out of the Russian Arctic.
Help us trash Shell’s brand before they trash the Arctic. Click here to see the video, share it with your friends and invite them to our movement. You can also just forward this email, or copy and paste the text below.
Thanks so much.
Ian Duff

Arctic Campaign

Greenpeace

—————–Copy and paste this text into an email for your friends—————-
Friend,
Have you seen this petition to save the Arctic? www.savethearctic.org. I’ve signed and you should too.
The Arctic is under threat like never before. As polar sea ice melts faster than ever, huge oil companies like Shell are rushing to profit from Arctic oil at any cost. An oil spill would have deadly consequences for this fragile environment, destroying the home of Indigenous communities and amazing species like polar bears.
Help us declare a global sanctuary in the uninhabited area around the North Pole, and a ban on offshore drilling and industrial fishing in the whole region. Join our 3 million-strong movement now at www.savethearctic.org.
Thanks!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Emily J. Martin, National Women’s Law Center

07/04/2013 Nativegrl77

As Americans, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.
This is true not only on the 4th of July, but every day in our country.
Last week, the Senate passed a historic bipartisan immigration reform bill. Though the bill was flawed, it was a good first step toward creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrant women and men who contribute to our communities. Now it’s time for the House of Representatives to follow suit.
Tell your Representative to pass comprehensive immigration reform that meets the needs of immigrant women and their families.
Immigration reform should help families reunite and stay together, ensure that immigrant women have fair access to the path to citizenship and green cards, protect against the exploitation of workers, make affordable health care available to lawfully present immigrants, and preserve tax credits and Social Security benefits for lawful immigrants.
Fight for immigrant women and their families. Tell your Representative we need immigration reform to provide a roadmap for people who aspire to be citizens and to give immigrant women and families a fair chance.
It’s not what you look like or where you were born that makes you American — it’s how you live your life. We believe that families should stick together, and that we have a responsibility to help our neighbors. Common-sense immigration reform will make this possible for the millions of immigrant families contributing to our communities today.
Thank you for everything you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,

Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center

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Demand the snack food industry remove rainforest destruction from its products.

07/03/2013 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

www.ran.org

I stand with RAN in calling on the US snack food industry to help stop the destruction of Indonesia‘s rainforests for palm oil.

The rainforests of Indonesia are some of the most biodiverse forests in the world and home to a number of endangered species, like Sumatran orangutans, Sumatran tigers, pygmy elephants and rhinoceros. These rainforests continue to be destroyed to produce palm oil so it can be used in the manufacturing of food products, including in snack foods and sweets that are some of America’s favorite brand name products.

I would prefer my crackers, chocolate, cookies, peanut butter, and ice cream not to come with orangutan extinction. That is why I am standing with RAN in calling on snack food companies to protect Indonesia’s rainforests and all of the people and wildlife who depend on them by cutting palm oil tied to rainforest destruction and social conflict out of their supply chains.

We have reached the last stand for Sumatran orangutans, but it’s not too late to save them.

Many Americans are being made into unwitting accomplices in the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests—which provide crucial habitat for a number of endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan—because palm oil is in half of all the products on their neighborhood grocery store‘s shelves. In the months ahead, we’re going to tackle this problem at its source.

RAN has just sent letters to 20 snack food companies—makers of some of the most popular brand name products in America—alerting them to the rainforest destruction and orangutan extinction in their supply chains.

Stand with us: Sign our petition and demand the snack food industry remove rainforest destruction from its products.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

150 million wieners!

07/03/2013 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Hot dogs, apple pie and antibiotics.This Fourth of July, declare your independence! Sign our pledge, and join tens of thousands of consumers not buying meat from animals routinely fed antibiotics.

Did you pledge yet?

July 4th is just two days away, and you can still join tens of thousands of Americans pledging their independence this holiday from meat raised on drugs.

Why is this pledge so important? The Fourth of July holiday is one of the biggest weekends for meat sales (yes, 150 million wieners), and your pledge shows industry that consumers don’t want products from animals routinely fed antibiotics.

Take the pledge now, and declare your independence from antibiotics this Fourth of July!

You know enough not to take antibiotics everyday just to keep from getting sick, since it weakens their effectiveness for when you really need them. But most conventional beef, poultry and pork sold in our grocery stores come from animals routinely fed antibiotics to promote their growth or so they can survive in filthy feedlots, rather than just giving them medicine when they are sick.

All this overuse on livestock is contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ in both animals and people. Unless we stop this practice, there may be a day when our antibiotics no longer work.

Congress has a bill before that would prevent routine dosing, reserving the drugs for when animals are sick. But ultimately, consumers like you can change the tide by not buying these products. And what better day to declare our independence than the Fourth of July?

Pledge this July 4th, and be part of the movement to save our antibiotics!

Thank you for pledging with us this Independence Day. And have a great holiday weekend.

Meg Bohne, Consumers Union Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

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a message from Gov.Jay Inslee

07/03/2013 Nativegrl77

I’m happy to report that Sunday I was able to sign a new operating budget for the state of Washington and avert a partial government shutdown.

It is unfortunate it took this long to reach a budget agreement, but I am pleased that we delivered on many of the key principles you and I fought for during my campaign.

We made our budget priorities clear: funding education, protecting vital services, and closing tax loopholes. We didn’t get everything we wanted — that’s the nature of negotiation. But, with your help, we stayed strong, and I am pleased that we were able to pass a budget that delivers $1 billion in education funding and protects vital programs for Washington’s kids and seniors.

Will you help spread the word about this accomplishment by clicking here to share this graphic on Facebook?

The budget I signed Sunday is a down payment on our commitment to fulfilling our legal and moral duty to fund education for our children — but it is clearly only the beginning.

What this budget is not is a vehicle for irresponsible, bad policy — like devastating cuts to essential services for our most vulnerable neighbors, or dramatic anti-labor, anti-environment, and anti-consumer policy initiatives.

I’m proud of that — and you should be, too — because if you and I hadn’t held the line, that’s exactly what it would have been.

Along with these key wins on the budget, I’m pleased that the Medicare expansion made possible by Obamacare is going to increase access for Washingtonians and create jobs.

Help spread the word by clicking here to share our graphic with your friends on Facebook now.

Unfortunately, it’s also clear we have a lot of work to do.

I am disappointed we were not able to reach an agreement with senate Republicans to close a number of unnecessary tax loopholes. This year’s improved revenue forecast helped us meet our short-term goals, and made clear that we did need to find new revenue, but I remain committed to securing a long-term education funding strategy by fixing these loopholes in upcoming sessions.

I’m also disappointed that senate Republicans refused to bring to a vote to pass a much-needed transportation package.

Our transportation infrastructure is the lifeblood of our economy, and continuing to ignore it is not an option.

But today I want to thank you again for standing by us, making your voice heard, and keeping up the fight for the working Washington we’re building together.

We’re going to need you again in the weeks and months to come, and I’m proud to have you by my side.

Let’s go get ’em.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee Governor