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Congress … Bee a Champ!

08/09/2013 Nativegrl77

A new bill in Congress would ban pesticides responsible for poisoning millions of honeybees.

Tell your representative to support the Save America’s Pollinators Act today!

Bees are dying by the millions all across America.
According to leading scientists, they’re being poisoned by a group of pesticides called neonicotinoids (also known as “neonics”). If we don’t stop using these chemicals soon, the bee population could be done for – and so could all the fruits and vegetables that rely on bees for pollination.
But there’s hope. A bill was just introduced in Congress that would impose a ban on neonics until a scientific review and field studies prove no harm will come to bee populations from their use.
Passing this bill won’t be easy. Big Agriculture and chemical companies like Bayer are already lobbying hard to defeat it. Massive public support is the only chance the bees have. Over 100,000 Greenpeace supporters helped raise the profile of this issue last month. Together we now have a chance to save the bees before it is too late.
Write your congressperson today and urge them to support the Save America’s Pollinators Act and save the bees!
The stories are shocking. Some 50,000 bees dropped dead a few weeks ago in Oregon after being exposed to the deadly pesticides. And last winter alone, 31% of beehives in the United States collapsed. Sobering stuff.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been dragging their feet on this issue for too long. EPA is currently conducting a study on neonics that they don’t expect to finish until sometime in 2018! At this rate, there may not be any bees left by that time.
By allowing toxic chemicals like neonics to weaken and kill bees, we threaten our food and our environment. Every day these chemicals are allowed to be used is one day closer to disaster.
Now’s the time to act. Tell your congressperson to support the Save America’s Pollinators Act today.
The world is stepping up to take action and it’s time for the US to do the same.
Policymakers in Europe pulled three commonly used neonics off the market earlier this year, citing the growing body science showing their harms to pollinators. Just a few weeks ago, the EU added another bee-harming pesticide to their restricted list.
However, the Industrial Agriculture lobby has no intention of backing down and Congress is going to need all the support it can get.
Write your Representative now and tell them to support this critical bill and save the bees.
Without immediate action to save bees, many of our favorite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves. Avocados, almonds, apples…the list goes on. A world without bees.
A win for the bees here in the US is possible, but only if we keep the pressure up on Congress to do the right thing.
Thanks,
Mark Floegel Greenpeace Senior Investigator and Beekeeper
P.S. America’s bees are being poisoned. There’s a bill in Congress that would help save them. Write your representative today and tell them to support the Save America’s Pollinators Act today! Then forward this message to your friend and family.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Is pregnancy a fireable offense? …

08/08/2013 Nativegrl77

A pregnant fast-food worker in Washington, D.C., was fired after her employer refused to let her drink water on the job, but permitted other workers to do so.
A pregnant cashier at a Dollar Tree store on Long Island wasn’t allowed to sit on a stool, even though workers in other Dollar Tree stores did. Instead, she was required to stand for 8 to 10 hours at a stretch — landing her in the emergency room. The stories keep coming. Women who want to keep working — or need to keep working — but who wind up forced to choose between their jobs and the health of their pregnancies.
We’re only $1,035 away from our $10,000 goal — and our deadline is midnight tonight.
Your gift of $10 or more will help us fight for women facing challenges in the workplace and beyond.

Employers may not know they’re breaking the law when they refuse to make the types of on-the-job adjustments for pregnant women that they make for other workers. But they are. And it’s up to all of us to fight for the pregnant workers who are on the front lines, just trying to do their jobs in the face of employers who treat them unfairly — and illegally.
Anything you can contribute will help. Please help us meet our $10,000 goal by midnight tonight.
Your support means so much to us. Thank you, as always, for everything you do for women and families.
Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin Vice President and General Counsel National Women’s Law Center
P.S. We depend on your support to help us fight for women and their families. Please help us reach our $10,000 goal before midnight tonight.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Kenaf

08/08/2013 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

Kenaf – A 21st century crop

Posted on 21. Mar, 2010 by admin in crop

[Translate]

a repost

Kenaf, should be the fibre crop of the 21st century, and hopefully explode into the market place for industrial products made from sustainable natural materials. Several multinational companies already use kenaf fibre in small, but growing quantities, in newly-marketed green products such as the Toyota Lexus and NEC mobile phones to replace environmentally-damaging materials.

Crucially, the green tag attached to kenaf is gaining more importance as people, companies and governments realize that the kenaf crop removes substantial amounts of CO2 and NO2 from the atmosphere and three to five times faster than forests with its deep roots improving the soil. Trees take many years to reach a harvestable size, however kenaf grown as an annual crop will reach a mature size in just 120 to 150 days after the seeds are sown, producing the largest biomass of any agricultural crop – far more than trees.

It can clean the environment efficiently and in some Japanese cities, kenaf is planted by the Government to improve the air quality. Kenaf will also greatly reduce our reliance on wood pulp and petroleum-based products. From construction board and concrete to plastic composites for mobile phones, from paper and light-weight, high-strength surfaces in aircraft to non woven industrial fabrics, from newspaper to absorbents for the oil industry. Commerce is waiting for the sustainable kenaf fibre in large quantities.

The kenaf plant is composed of multiple useful components (e.g. stalks, leaves, and seeds) and within each of these plant components there are various usable portions (e.g. fibres and fibre strands, proteins, oils, and allelopathic chemicals). What can’t be harvested can be used as Biomass fuel and fertilizer

Exciting New Technologies

In the past kenaf fibre production has been limited by the manual processing required to extract the fibres once the kenaf crop has been grown and harvested and the non-sustainable method of retting the fibres in rivers. New methods are now becoming available to process kenaf in volume providing a distinct advantage over existing processes, taking them to a new economical viability.

Green Planets and our partners intention is not to compete with other existing kenaf producers or processors, but to enlarge the industry and provide new opportunities for kenaf fibres. In most of the countries chosen, there are existing kenaf customers, we aim to enhance those relationships and the export routes for kenaf to developed nations. While at the same time create locally-owned hubs of agricultural excellence, kenaf business and community social support for the growers.

To find out more and how you can assist us, please contact us at www.kenaf@greenplanet.com

Kenaf is a crop of importance – to a world in need of it

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Amazon Watch

08/08/2013 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

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Since late June protests across Brazil have not stopped. Over 3,000 people in the city of Altamira joined the demonstrations calling for Justice Now! and a halt to construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River. But their voices continue to be silenced and ignored by the Brazilian government and dam-builders Norte Energia.

It’s time that the voices of the Xingu are heard! Watch and share Voices of the Xingu today!

This past spring I spent months in the field near the dam site, meeting with Amazon Watch allies in Altamira and digging deep into their struggle to defend the Xingu and their lives. We want to share their voices with you.

Voices of the Xingu depicts men, women, elders, workers, farmers, fishermen, students, activists and indigenous leaders united under a common dream: to stop the Belo Monte dam.

While construction on the dam continues, a recent report by IBAMA – Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency – confirms what communities have been saying all along: Norte Energia has grossly neglected their legal responsibility to mitigate the project’s social and environmental impacts. The report not only threatens to halt construction of the project, but also shows clearly the level NESA and the Brazilian government are willing to go to build Belo Monte. This monster can still be stopped!

Show your support for the people of the Xingu, share their dream and join the chorus to stop the Belo Monte dam.

Xingu Vivo Para Sempre!

Maira Irigaray-Castro
Brazil Program Coordinator

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Sneak peek —

08/08/2013 Nativegrl77

Union of Concerned Scientists

You’re the first to see this…

Because you took action on the Farm Bill, this video is a special sneak peek just for you.

Join us in creating a more healthful food and farm system by spreading the word.

…now share the video!

ACTION ALERT To Support Healthy Food, Share This Video Now!
You may have heard that the House passed a controversial version of the Farm Bill last month that excludes the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). It remains to be seen whether this bill can be reconciled with the Senate’s version passed earlier this year, but we are continuing to work to promote critical programs for healthy food and sustainable agriculture in the Farm Bill.
These programs stand a chance today because of YOU. Thank you for sending emails and making phone calls to improve the farm bill. To show my appreciation, I wanted to share with you a special sneak peek of our brand new video.
The video is a part of new analysis from UCS which presents even stronger evidence that shifting Farm Bill funding to fruits and vegetables—instead of ingredients used for processed foods—is vital for our health.
In fact, this video—which I’m emailing now only to our most active supporters—shows how our current food and farm policies like those in the Farm Bill are actually killing us.
We now only have 54 days left until the current Farm Bill expires—it is more important than ever to spread the word and change our nation’s policies to support healthy food.
Tell your friends about our video today!