05/26/2016 01:21 PM EDT

Millersburg, OH – Troyer Cheese Inc, under advice from its packaging facility concerning, CRANBERRY NUT DELIGHT MIX PREPACK, HONEY ISLAND CRUNCH MIX PREPACKAGED, PRETZELS PEANUT BUTTER PREPACKAGED, and WALNUT HALVES/PIECES PREPACKAGED, is recalling a limited number of products that have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

C. J. Dannemiller Co. Annouces Recall of “Sunflower Kernels, Roasted and Salted” and “Sunflower Kernels, Roasted No Salt” Because of Possible Listeria monocytogenes

05/24/2016 04:50 PM EDT

C. J. Dannemiller Co. is recalling SunOpta 50# bags and 30# cases of roasted sunflower kernels roasted and salted, and sunflower kernels roasted no salt because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria.

FSIS Recall Notification Report 045-2016 (Pulled Pork Products)Burger’s Ozark County Cured, a California, Mo. establishment, is recalling approximately 150 pounds of pulled pork products due to misbranding. The product has the correct label on the front, but an incorrect label for a beef brisket product on the back.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

A Time to Remember

05/30/2016 Nativegrl77

Courtesy of AARP

Memorial Day: A Time to Remember

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Re: Tell President Obama: No More Public Lands and Waters Giveaways

05/28/2016 Nativegrl77

I wanted to make sure you’d seen this, from Monday. It’s been five years since BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, but the Gulf Coast is still suffering. President Obama can help ensure there are no more Gulf oil spills — and establish his climate legacy at the same time.We’ve already had a great response from thousands of RAN supporters. Will you join them by adding your voice?

Tell President Obama: no more oil, coal and gas leases in coastal waters and on public lands.

Five years ago today, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing eleven people and sending some 210 million barrels of oil flooding into the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama called it “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced”.1

Never again. The president can help ensure there are no more disasters like the Deepwater Horizon — and establish his climate legacy at the same time. Call on President Obama to stop leasing our public lands and waters to the fossil fuel industry.

The Gulf Coast is still suffering. The 170,000 workers who cleaned up the spill are at greater risk for cancer, and kidney and liver disease.2 Last year, dolphins and whales off the Louisiana coast died at four times the usual rates.3 And 10 million gallons of oil sit on the Gulf floor in a congealed “bath mat” the size of Rhode Island.4

BP controls more of the deepwater Gulf than any other oil company, with an outrageous 600 leases.5 In the case of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, a U.S. judge found BP’s conduct to be “grossly negligent”.6 But — to be clear — when it comes to the fossil fuel industry, gross negligence is business as usual.

So we’re joining our friends at CREDO Action to say: No more Gulf oil spills. No more giving away our public lands and waters to rapacious fossil fuel companies that care only about their profits. Tell President Obama to issue an executive order now.

President Obama wants to be remembered as a climate leader. But he has a huge climate blindspot. While the president has pushed for international agreements to limit carbon pollution, he’s also presided over a massive drilling boom on our public lands and in our coastal waters.

That explosive growth is killing the climate. Emissions from federally managed lands and waters cause approximately 24 percent of U.S. energy-related greenhouse gas emissions annually — mostly from coal, oil and gas.7

The solution is simple. If President Obama wants to establish a real climate legacy, he should issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to stop granting new and expanded leases to extract fossil fuels from public lands.

To avoid catastrophic climate change, scientists say we must keep between 67% and 80% of the world’s remaining fossil fuels in the ground.8 One quarter of U.S. fossil fuel production happens on federally-managed lands and waters. The president can take a huge step towards stopping climate change — and preventing future Gulf oil spills. Urge him to issue an executive order today.

For our lands and our waters, our communities and our climate,

Amanda Starbuck
Climate and Energy Program Director
Rainforest Action Network

P.S. Bridge the Gulf, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and Idle No More Gulf Coast are among the many organizations fighting for justice and accountability in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. On this fifth anniversary of the BP disaster, support them today.

Sources:

1. “Remarks by the President to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill”, White House Office of the Press Secretary, June 15, 2010
2. “BP Oil Spill Cleanup Workers Are At Higher Risk Of Sickness, Cancer”, ThinkProgress, Sep. 17, 2013
3. “Science Links Dolphin Deaths to BP Oil Spill – Again”, National Wildlife Federation, Feb. 13, 2015
4. “Scientists have found a 10 million gallon ‘bath mat’ of oil on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico”, Business Insider, Feb. 4, 2015
5. “Deepwater Gulf of Mexico”, BP
6. “U.S. judge upholds BP ‘gross negligence’ Gulf spill ruling”, Reuters, Nov. 13, 2014
7. “Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fossil Energy Extracted from Federal Lands and Waters: An Update”, Stratus Consulting, prepared for The Wilderness Society, Dec. 23, 2014
8. “Unburnable Carbon 2013: Wasted capital and stranded assets”, Carbon Tracker Initiative & Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, 2013; “Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report”, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

88,200 gallons of oil

05/27/2016 Nativegrl77

Shell just caused an 88,200-gallon oil spill 90 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

Tell President Obama to stop ALL new offshore drilling in the Gulf and Arctic.

Picture 88,200 gallons of crude oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. This didn’t happen years ago — it happened less than two weeks ago near Shell’s Brutus drilling platform.

The photos are shocking. But if you ask coastal communities in the Gulf they’ll tell you the impacts of chronic fossil fuel exploitation are nothing new. Oil companies view spills like this one as business as usual. This is not acceptable — and business as usual CANNOT continue.

The good news is there’s a clear way to prevent more spills like this one and protect our climate at the same time — and President Obama can do it with the stroke of a pen.

There are fewer than 25 days left to gather 24,000 public comments against offshore drilling, and your voice needs to be heard. Will you stand with coastal communities and demand that President Obama end ALL new offshore drilling in the Gulf and other waters today?

This recent Shell spill — just 90 miles off the coast of Louisiana — is one of the largest oil spills in the region since BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, which dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of oil into the ocean. But it’s not the only spill. Since 2010, over 10,000 spills have reported in the Gulf of Mexico alone.

Considering the devastation coastal communities throughout the Gulf still struggle with today, it’s hard to understand how the Obama administration is even considering a plan that would allow new drilling off the Gulf and Alaskan coasts.

New drilling in the Gulf and other waters is bad for coastal communities, our oceans, and the climate. But you and I have the power to prevent future oil disasters and worsening climate change. Are you in?

Please join me while there’s still time. Tell President Obama NO NEW DRILLING in the Gulf or Arctic.

Thank you,

Ryan Schleeter
Climate Team, Greenpeace USA

P.S. The opportunity to tell President Obama to stop ALL new offshore drilling is almost over — and this recent Shell oil spill shows what we are up against. Don’t miss out on this chance to make your voice heard — send your comment now.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

ACTION:Turn On The Water … it’s the right thing -reminder

05/27/2016 Nativegrl77

Thousands of low-income Black Detroit residents have already had their water shut-off risking both public health and personal safety. What’s worse — the city plans to resume shut-offs tomorrow.

Water is a human right.

Tell the panel: turn the water back on in Detroit

Thousands of low income Black Detroit residents have already had their water shut off, risking both public health and personal safety. What’s worse — the city plans to resume shut-offs tomorrow.¹

Just weeks ago, under pressure from organizers in Detroit and thousands of supporters online, Governor Rick Snyder’s hand-picked Emergency Manager returned control of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to the duly-elected mayor.² While a small victory for local control, the move was ultimately a political ploy to provide cover for Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. Mayor Duggan’s “10 Point Plan” does little more than offer better customer service while continuing the inhumane and unjust practice of shutting off water.³

The solution is the Water Affordability Program (WAP) passed by the city council back in 2005. The WAP would provide relief to thousands and create a safety net that allows low income residents to pay on a sliding scale, based on their income. A 3-judge panel is holding a hearing on August 29th during which they could order the WAP back into effect and end the shutoffs once and for all.

Sign the petition: tell the panel to turn the water back on and implement the Water Affordability Program.

While Detroiters suffer under policies implemented by an unelected emergency manager, corporations are protected and speculators are circling. Individuals with as little as $33 owed have had their water shut off without warning while the Palmer Park Golf Course which owes $437,714 still has water.⁴ The initial round of shutoffs were a tactic to make the city’s water rights a more attractive target to potential private investors. ⁵

Even with authority tenuously returned to the Mayor, his plan offers little hope to residents whose rates have risen 119% in the past decade.⁶ Under this scheme, relief is only available after putting down a large lump sum payment and there is no promise that the emergency manager will not seize back control and change the rules yet again.

The Water Affordability Program would provide relief to all residents living under 175% of the federal poverty line and reign in the out-of-control rates DWSD has charged.⁷ The WAP is the best way to restore water to thousands of residents in Detroit at reasonable rates.

Turn the water back on: Sign the petition to implement the WAP.

Water is a basic human right and denying access to water poses a dire threat to public health. To make matters worse, earlier this month there were historic floods in Detroit. A state of emergency was declared. The flooding has caused millions of gallons of sewage to back up into waterways and basements. ⁸ How are you supposed to clean sewage from your basement when the city has shut off your water?

Sign the petition: Turn the water back on in Detroit!

Thanks and Peace,

Aimée, Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Johnny and the entire ColorOfChange.org team.

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.

1. “Duggan, DWSD to release updated plan on water shutoffs Thursday; moratorium extended until Aug. 25,” Metro Times, 8/4/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3787?t=8&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

2.”Detroit’s drought of democracy,” New York Times, 7/29/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3789?t=10&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

3.”Orr Dumps ‘Hot Mess’ of Water Shut-offs in Duggan’s Lap,” People’s Water Board, 7/29/14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3790?t=12&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

4. “Detroit water department now sending shut-off crews to commercial customers,” Detroit Free Press, 7/14/14
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3798?t=14&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

5.”Detroit shuts off water to thousands of broke residents,” Think Progress, 6/20/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3791?t=16&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP

6. See reference 3.

7. See reference 3.

8. “Snyder declares flood disaster for southeast Michigan,” Detroit Free Press, 8/20/14,
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3792?t=18&akid=3599.1174326.1Q65qP