Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The Clock’s Ticking for Wal-Mart Women – Be Among the First To Know …Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center

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By the Numbers

 ** 10 years since Dukes and colleagues first brought their claims.

** 73 days since the Supreme Court heard arguments in Wal-Mart v. Dukes.

** 3 weeks remaining until the end of the Court’s term.

The clock is ticking — sign up today to be among the first to get news of the decision.    http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=oruVRq_y3jxuMJ-3gA7IPg..

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law. But, 48 years later, women still face discrimination in the workplace — women like Betty Dukes, who brought her case against Wal-Mart all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court in March.

We’re keeping a close eye on the outcome of her case, which is expected any day. We want you to be among the first to know, too!    www.nwlc.org/fairpay

The Supreme Court’s term is winding down, leaving only a few more weeks for the result to be announced. Will the Court allow women employed at Wal-Mart stores across the country to join together in a class action lawsuit?

With full-time working women still earning only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dukes case will have a huge impact on our work to close the wage gap. Don’t miss out: sign up to be among the first to learn about the Court’s decision. And once we know the results, we’ll need your help to spread the message via Facebook, Twitter and email.

We promise to give you a heads-up just as soon as we can — significant cases like this don’t happen every day, and we hope that you will continue to spread the word about this important case and stand with the women of Wal-Mart! The decision is expected sometime this month. The clock is ticking — make sure you don’t miss the big news.    http://action.nwlc.org/site/R?i=oruVRq_y3jxuMJ-3gA7IPg..

Sincerely,

 Fatima Goss Graves
Vice President for Education and Employment
National Women’s Law Center   

 
P.S. Join NWLC on Facebook to get the latest news and to interact with others interested in our issues.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell the EPA: Protect us from Toxic Air … Kathleen Rogers, Earth Day Network

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Mercury is so toxic… just 1/70th of a teaspoon can  contaminate a 20 acre lake. Imagine the damage 50 tons can do.

Coal-fired power plants emit over 50 tons of mercury into our air every  single year, more than any other source. Today, mercury exposure is so  widespread in our country that as many as 1 in 6 women of childbearing age have  blood mercury levels high enough to put a baby at risk of mercury poisoning.

There are no restrictions on the amount of toxic mercury  that utility companies can emit. But, at long last, the EPA has proposed a critical  rule to reduce the emission of mercury and other toxic chemicals that power  plants are now able to freely dump into our air.

The Power Plant Mercury and Air Toxics Standard is the most  important clean air rule since 1990 — and the EPA is predictably under  tremendous pressure by the coal industry and other polluters to weaken it. Now,  the EPA has asked us – the public – to weigh in on this critical  rule.

Tell the EPA to uphold this rule and protect Americans from dangerous air pollution. Submit your public comment now.

For decades, the electric industry has successfully fought  requirements to reduce these toxics.

They’ve kept releasing mercury into our air, where it finds  its way into the vast majority of our lakes and waterways, into our fish, and  then into our bodies, where the poison accumulates, causing deadly diseases and  impairing fundamental brain functions like the ability to walk, talk, read,  write and learn.

According to the EPA, reduced emissions from this new air  toxics rule will save as many as 17,000 American lives every year by 2015, and  will prevent up to 120,000 cases of childhood asthma. We must put our support  behind this lifesaving new emissions standard!

Tell  the EPA to uphold this rule and protect Americans from dangerous air pollution.  Submit your public comment now.

Thank  you for taking action during this critical comment period,
Kathleen  Rogers

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What’s saving Grace? a word from Helene D. Gayle, CARE


“The corn should be this high now,” Grace Orwa says, holding her hand far above her head. “But the rains came late.”

In Grace’s village in western Kenya, rain was scarce this year and the corn crop — which villagers depend on for food and income — will be meager, if it comes in at all.

The good news is that Grace and her neighbors formed a CARE community savings and loan group, which provides a vital financial safety net during tough times. Even if the crop fails, the villagers have the means to make it through to the next harvest. Thanks to her group, Grace has enough money to keep her children in school.

Your tax-deductible gift today can help poor people access tools and resources to become as resilient and self-sufficient as Grace is today. Here are some ways your gift can help change lives:
$75 can provide three village savings and loan groups with a lock box, ledger and other start-up supplies to help them manage loans and help start small businesses
$115 can provide a community mobilizer with a bicycle to reach village savings and loan groups in remote villages
$150 can provide a farmers’ association with soil testing equipment to help improve harvests
With the price of food skyrocketing, many families are struggling to afford food — and experts predict prices will continue to rise in the future. Veronica Okongo was worried that the increasing cost of food would jeopardize her ability to pay her children’s school tuition. So she moved her life savings from a bank to a CARE-created community savings and loan group where she earns more interest.

 Unlike banks, CARE’s community savings and loan groups are owned by their members, and interest earned from repaid loans is shared among group members. The more money Veronica saves, the more interest she earns! Today, Veronica is confident that her children will be able to stay in school and she will be able to afford the food they need to stay healthy and focused on their studies.

Your tax-deductible donation to CARE today will help women like Veronica and Grace build a brighter future for themselves, their families and entire communities.

 Thank you for all you do to help empower women and girls to escape hunger and poverty — for good.

Sincerely,

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH
President and CEO, CARE

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Save the saddest dolphins …Ricken Patel – Avaaz.org

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The pod was swimming peacefully in Samoa when nets closed in from behind — trapping 25 wild dolphins for a luxury resort’s latest exhibit. They are now locked in tiny pens, starved of food — but we can free them.

For wild dolphins captivity is torture, their powerful sonar bounces off the walls back at them — as if they are trapped in an endless house of mirrors. Most die young from stress induced illness, but some even commit suicide. If the wealthy Resorts World Sentosa succeeds in keeping them captive then half the dolphins will die in the first 2 years — and it will legitimise the widely banned  practice of capturing dolphins in the wild. We can’t let that happen — let’s use our voices to set them free.

Resorts World was forced to abandon plans for a whale shark exhibit two years ago because of the huge outcry that threatened their reputation. Let’s build a massive call now to free these intelligent, beautiful creatures — and make this a turning point in the fight to end the global wild-dolphin trade. When we reach 500,000 our petition will be delivered to Resorts World and the media. Sign now and forward this to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/?vl

 The appallingly cruel wild-dolphin industry has been banned in nations from the UK to Costa Rica. The terrifying capture process involves driving the dolphins to shallow water, where up to half drown or die of their injuries before they are even caught. If we force Resorts World to free these wild dolphins now it will send a powerful message to all other resorts, and help break the back of the capture industry. We can also give these dolphins a second chance in life — renowned dolphin expert Ric O’Barry has offered to rehabilitate them back into the wild.

 Resorts World argues that their “interactive spa program” will help heal sick and disabled children – but there is no scientific evidence to support this technique, which sees desperate parents pay thousands in pursuit of an imaginary cure. They also claim their programs aid conservation – but dolphin capture drives are also hunting expeditions. The “display-worthy” dolphins are spared, while the others are butchered. By ordering wild-caught dolphins, Resorts World is driving up demand for these barbaric hunts.

The trade of wild-captured dolphins must end. The world is moving slowly but surely in this direction, and our intervention could set a valuable precedent. Resorts World has buckled under pressure before, and it can’t afford another hit to its image. Let’s join our voices urgently to free the world’s saddest dolphins, and win a crucial battle in the fight to save all wild dolphins from short, miserable lives in captivity. Sign now and send this to family and friends:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/?vl

Wild dolphins are incredibly playful, social and caring, as well as extremely intelligent — they are utterly captivating creatures. In the world we all wish for, dolphins are not hunted, trapped and broken — they are treated with the respect that all life deserves. Today, as we work for their freedom, we are taking a small but important step towards making that world a reality.

With hope,

Ricken, Ben, Morgan, Alice, Shibayan and the whole Avaaz team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Space Needle: Raise the Pride flag! … Change.org

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In 2010, the organization that runs the Space Needle made history during Gay Pride month when they raised the Pride flag for the first time.

But late last week, a Space Needle executive announced they will not raise the flag again this year.

And now Seattle residents are spreading this surprising news to their friends, family, and neighbors.

Josh Castle, a lifelong Seattle resident, was inspired to start a petition on Change.org when he found out. In just a few days, nearly 5,000 Seattle residents have signed it. Click here to add your name to Josh’s petition — and tell Space Needle CEO Ron Sevart to raise the Pride flag this year — just like last year.

The Space Needle is a private corporation which has a strong and positive friendship with the LGBT community, so their decision not to raise the flag again is odd, to say the least. For example, last year, Space Needle CEO Ron Sevart told Seattle Gay News:

“It’s a big deal for some of our team members. Such a big deal that when we told some of them, it was very emotional. We’re as diverse inside the Space Needle as what is outside the Space Needle. The Pride event takes place on the Seattle Center campus. I think that being able to look up at the Space Needle and see that flag up there — I think it’s going to be a very proud moment for a lot of people.”

Stuart Wilber has been in a relationship with his partner Jon for 34 years. As Stuart told Joe Mirabella, Change.org’s Organizing Manager on LGBT Rights:

“I signed and have been promoting the petition because seeing the flag flying over the Space Needle last year was an affirmation of the inclusiveness I have felt since we moved to Seattle 17 years ago. It was a symbol of respect on top of the most iconic symbol of Seattle. If you see a photo of the Eiffel Tower you think Paris; the Space Needle, Seattle; I finally felt I was home.”

Stuart is right. Please sign Josh Castle’s petition encouraging Space Needle executives to fly the Pride flag this year:

http://www.change.org/petitions/space-needle-please-raise-the-pride-flag-for-seattle-pride-weekend

Thanks for taking action.

– Eden and the Change.org team