Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Will they listen to what the science says?

05/15/2013 Nativegrl77

Union of Concerned Scientists

For decades, coal dominated American energy. Now that’s beginning to change.

With many of the oldest, dirtiest coal-fired power plants due for retirement, our nation is at a crossroads: do we invest in renewable energy, or do we keep generating electricity by burning fossil fuels that are not only expensive but threaten our planet?¹

We’ve launched a campaign to make sure we head down the right path. Our groundbreaking Ripe for Retirement report identified 353 of the worst, most out-of-date coal-fired plants, and since its publication, 45 of the plants we named have been slated for closure!

We’ve mobilized thousands of UCS supporters to contact key power companies, urging them to switch to cleaner, renewable sources of energy. It’s working, but we’ve got to do more. With over 300 plants left to close, we can’t let up.

www.ucsusa.org

The fossil-fuel industry wants you to think that wind and solar aren’t dependable or economical, but we know the truth: renewable energy is already powering homes and businesses across the country—and we’ve only just begun to see the benefits.²

With your support, we’ll move past fossil fuels to a clean energy future. Together, we can make clean energy a reality by:

Protecting and expanding state-based clean energy policies. We’re inspiring voters and lawmakers to support requirements that utility companies generate a certain amount of their electricity from renewable sources. Since March, we’ve delivered 40,000 letters to over 4,000 state lawmakers nationwide!
Building momentum to cut the nation’s projected oil use in half. We’ve developed a realistic, science-based plan that shows how we can cut our dependency on oil in half in just 20 years. Now we’re getting thousands of people working to support our strategies—meeting with concerned citizens and officials, producing videos and webinars, and mobilizing scientists to educate the public and policy makers.
Fighting to make nuclear power safer. In March, we released our latest nuclear safety assessment while Congress began working on a comprehensive nuclear safety bill. Dozens of news outlets across the country covered it, ensuring that lawmakers heard about the critical issues at stake.

We’re building momentum for a clean energy future—the wind is at our backs. The question is: will we forge ahead with science, or accept the misleading claims that fossil fuels can’t be beat? It’s up to us, Carmen, and we can’t turn back now.

www.ucsusa.org

When we work together, we get tough things done. We’ve won critical whistleblower protections for government scientists, helped craft game-changing vehicle emissions standards, and pushed companies like Pfizer to stop funding the anti-science Heartland Institute.

I hope you’ll stand with us today so we can pull out all the stops to win this next fight.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch President

1. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2013/03/13/coal-to-gas-moves-are-generating-economic-waves 2. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/smart-energy-solutions/increase-renewables/ramping-up-renewable-energy-sources.html

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: These two little girls lost their mother to cancer, and their father to the U.S. immigration system

05/15/2013 Nativegrl77

WATCH ON MOBILE | SEND THE GIRLS A MESSAGE!

Nikte and Ixchel are missing both of their parents this mother’s day. They’ve lost their mother to cancer and their father was deported because of this country’s broken immigration system. It’s time to stop separating families. Immigration reform must protect families like Nikte and Ixchel’s.
Watch the video and leave your message for the Gomez-Pierrard Girls. We’ll make sure they receive it!
Shamefully, the Gomez-Pierrard story is not unique. Each year around 100,000 mothers and fathers of citizen children are deported. We continue enforcing a policy based on hate and fear. We can not continue jeopardizing the future of American children. It is time to protect families and deport hate!
Watch the video and leave a message today!
Together we can make an impact!Yours, Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Job shortage? Builders can’t find enough workers

05/15/2013 Nativegrl77

not sure how accurate, but it is definitely interesting information

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

1.4 Million Americans : Want #GunViolence to STOP

05/14/2013 Nativegrl77

Last Thursday in Washington, D.C., I joined 30 OFA volunteers and three
gun violence survivors as they delivered our petition to Congress with
more than 1.4 million signatures — including yours. It was an amazing
day, and a reminder that we’re nowhere near done with this fight.

What impressed me most on Thursday was getting a chance to talk with survivors like Pam Simon, Sami Rahamim, and Lori Haas.

You’ll see in the video that these folks have turned their personal pain
into action, and a force for good. It’s enough to change hearts and
minds.

OFA volunteers got a chance to meet with a few leaders in Congress, like
Rep. Mike Thompson, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, and House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who asked all of us to keep fighting —
and even gave folks a few tips on how to keep the pressure on their
fellow lawmakers.

Senator Reid even tweeted: “Today, we received a petition from over 1.4
million Americans who demand action on background checks. This fight is
not over.”

I am more confident than ever that, if we keep working and making our
voices heard, we can and will win this. The petition delivery was a big
moment — but it’s not the end of this fight.

Watch the video and please, pass it along to anyone else who should see it and ask them to say they’re in, too:

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Dying Social?

05/14/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

Guns & Alcohol Don’t Mix

If there’s one thing Americans don’t need a coupon for, it’s an outing mixing guns and alcohol. Unfortunately, LivingSocial seems to think otherwise.

A new report out today from CREDO Action and the Gun Truth Project calls out the daily deal and experience company for offering booze and bullet-fueled experiences from coast to coast. The wide variety of deals even sometimes feature AR-15s, the same assault rifle used to kill 20 children and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Other experiences include AK-47s, semi-automatic pistols, and rifles.

Beyond perhaps being in poor taste, the experiences suggest that guns and alcohol go together. They don’t.

CREDO didn’t mince words when it came to calling out LivingSocial:

“In the wake of Newtown, I’d like to know how the people who own or work for LivingSocial can justify profiting from the packaging of AK-47 shooting sprees with an evening of bourbon shots,” Becky Bond, CREDO’s political director, said in a statement.

The company, she added, “is endangering the public health by suggesting pairing assault weapons with alcohol binges is just good clean fun.”

Data shows just how dangerous guns and alcohol can be when combined:

Mixing guns and alcohol is unfortunately common among those attracted to risky behaviors. As the report notes, 86 percent of homicide offenders were drinking at the time of the homicide. Gun owners also have far higher binge-drinking and chronic alcohol abuse rates than people who don’t own guns. People who carry concealed weapons or have confronted someone with a gun are more than twice as likely to drink heavily than non-owners.

In contrast to LivingSocial, its main competitor, Groupon, cancelled all gun-related deals in North America after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

LivingSocial, which lost $650 MILLION last year and $50 MILLION so far this year, has received more than $30 MILLION in tax credits from the District of Columbia, which, ironically, has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.

To find out more, check out the entire report HERE. If you think that guns and alcohol shouldn’t mix, you can contact LivingSocial using this form and tell them so.