Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon’s ecological systems.

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Humanity threatened – along with all life on Earth

03/19/2015 Nativegrl77

Join us in our shared commitment to the web of life
by making an investment in life itself with a
contribution for World Environment Day

“It is reckless to suppose that biodiversity can be diminished indefinitely
without threatening humanity itself.”
– Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson, the “Father of Biodiversity”

We talk about biodiversity a lot, – but what does it really mean? Should we care?

All living beings in an ecosystem are part of the web of life, including us. Together there are an estimated 8.7 million species of plants, animals, and insects on Earth, each interacting to create a resilient environment upon which we all depend for survival. When the web is weakened, our future is threatened. Maintaining diversity of species in our ecosystem – including the 2.2 million marine species and the 6.5 million terrestrial species –is of critical importance.

In honor of World Environment Day, Amazon Watch asks you to make a commitment to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon by supporting our efforts. From protecting Yasuní National Park in Ecuador to preventing destructive mega dams, Amazon Watch is confronting threats to our precious biodiversity where it is richest and densest, in the Amazon.

When we talk about biodiversity in the Amazon, we’re talking about the greatest repository of life on Earth. The Amazon is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and 2,000 birds and mammals. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 2,200 fish, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. And there are thousands more discovered that have yet to be documented. One in five of all the bird species in the world live in the rainforests of the Amazon, and one in five of global fish species live in Amazonian rivers and streams.

A 2001 study finding that a quarter square kilometer (62 acres) of Ecuadorian rainforest supports more than 1,100 tree species, meaning that the biodiversity of plant species there is the highest on Earth. In the Amazon alone we find almost four hundred billion trees!

Among those trees live scarlet macaws, woolly monkeys, three-striped poison dart tree frogs, sloths, monkey frogs, capybaras, red howler monkeys, ocelots, harpy eagles, squirrel monkeys, green iguanas, jaguars…and hundreds more. Those are just the animals!

The Amazon is our richest repository of biodiversity, and it is under great threat. Maintaining the integrity of the Amazon means protecting one of the densest sections of our planetary web of life.

By supporting Amazon Watch you support this web of life that we all depend upon. Through our efforts to protect the Amazon and advance the rights of indigenous peoples – the traditional and best stewards of this natural world – you, too, are making a tangible difference.

This World Environment Day, please support Amazon Watch. We’re working for you and for all life.

For the Amazon,

Branden Barber
Director of Engagement

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A Tale of Two Visions

03/19/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

A Day In The Life Of Progressive And Conservative Priorities

Today we saw snapshots of two very different visions for our country — two very different sets of priorities on how to help it get ahead.

On the one hand, this afternoon the Center for American Progress hosted Attorney General Eric Holder at an event recognizing the one year anniversary of the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative. On the other, details of the anti-working families proposals in the House GOP budget continue to emerge. These two cases exemplify the stark contrast between the progressive vision for strengthening America and giving everyone an opportunity to succeed, and the conservative vision in which the wealthiest and corporations benefit, low- and middle-income families lose, and inequality gets even worse.

My Brother’s Keeper is an initiative launched by the White House in conjunction with cities, towns, businesses and foundations to address opportunity gaps faced by young men of color. “The fundamental idea behind this initiative,” Attorney General Holder said today, “is that every child in America should have the opportunity to grow, to succeed, and to contribute to their community and their country.” My Brother’s Keeper cuts across a diverse and complex set of of issues: education, poverty, health, the criminal justice system, racial bias, and more. But at it’s core, it is an example of a bold, inclusive initiative working to expand economic opportunity for some of the Americans that need it the most.

In contrast to this, we have the House GOP budget: a road map of what conservatives want to accomplish. Despite claims that the GOP is focusing on middle and working class Americans, House Republicans include major cuts to programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance that are essential in helping people escape poverty. Their budget would double the number of uninsured Americans by promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act yet again — even while they offer empty promises to come up with a “fix”. All this while giving tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and corporations; a choice that we know only makes rich even richer and increases inequality.

The Senate GOP Budget, released today, offers little different; it balances the budget on the backs of working class Americans, and uses sneaky accounting gimmicks to do so. Check out a more detailed analysis of the budgets from CAP here.

BOTTOM LINE: Through My Brother’s Keeper, community leaders around the country are taking steps to help some of our most vulnerable citizens escape hardship and injustice, and discover an opportunity to get ahead. And at the same time, Congressional Republicans, while rhetorically trying to address inequality, continue to push the same old policies that we know in reality only increase it.

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Scott is trapped in prison for a crime he didn’t commit

03/19/2015 Nativegrl77

Petitioning Leila de Lima, John Kerry

Free Scott McMahon: Innocent American Imprisoned in the Philippines

Petition by Shelley Campanella

United States

899

Supporters

Sign Shelley’s petition

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The Intercept highlights Kirstin’s case – Update on “Allow DNA Testing for Kirstin Blaise Lobato

03/19/2015 Nativegrl77

Michelle Ravell just posted an update on the petition you signed, Allow DNA Testing for Kirstin Blaise Lobato.

The Intercept highlights Kirstin’s case

Mar 18, 2015 — The Intercept wrote an amazing article regarding Kirstin’s case. Please read it and share it with all of your friends and family…. Read more