Tag Archives: Caribbean

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

How veterans are treated by their nation


VoteVets.org
 
George Washington once said that, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”
I was reminded of that quote last week after the filibuster of legislation to provide veterans more access to health care and tuition assistance, while restoring the cost of living adjustment for military retirees.
Senator McConnell and his Republican caucus halted the bill because of an increasingly partisan disagreement over diplomacy vs. sanctions in Iran: no sanctions, no increased care for our veterans from their perspective.
I think this is the wrong approach. The same Congress that approved our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has a responsibility to recognize that the costs of those wars continues long after the troops return home.
Join me and over 400,000 veterans, military family members, and VoteVets.org supporters and send your Senators a message that you expect them to pass the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act.
Whether it’s Syria, Iran, or the shocking crisis unfolding in Ukraine, Republicans have developed a horrible habit of reflexively using national security in a completely partisan attempt to score political points.
It’s terribly disappointing, and it’s one of the reasons I am happy to partner with VoteVets.org on this important issue. It seems that all too often, the voices of those who bear the disproportionate burden of keeping our country safe are forgotten once their service is complete.
That’s not right.
Join me and write a letter to your Senators telling them to pass the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay and Restoration Act.
http://action.votevets.org/veteran-benefits
The American Legion believes this legislation should pass cleanly and the American public agrees. Let’s put partisanship aside and provide for the veterans who risk so much for the country we all love.
I’ll be in touch,
Chris Murphy Senator, Connecticut
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

80% of energy is wasted


3:28 PM (10 minutes ago)
to me

Dear Friend,

Every year, we waste more than 60% of the energy we generate in the US. In fact, the amount of energy wasted in the US in 2012 could power the UK for 7 years!

Simply put, we need to become more energy efficient. That’s why the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill is so important. The bipartisan Shaheen-Portman bill would promote energy savings and efficiency upgrades in commercial and industrial buildings, helping to dramatically reduce the amount of energy we waste.

Tell your Senators that you support the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill!

The bill enjoys widespread support from environmental advocates and businesses, alike. It will save energy, reduce costs for businesses and the federal government, and save taxpayer dollars.

It seems like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the bill has been stalled in Congress for several months. We can’t afford to keep waiting. Energy efficiency is too important—both for our environment and for our economy.

Contact your Senators today! Urge them to support energy efficiency and vote for the Shaheen-Portman bill!

Thanks for your support,

-The Earth Day Network Team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Major vehicles victory!


Cleaner air and healthier communities are on the way.

We Did It!

ShareUCS supporters like you helped push new standards for cleaner gasoline and cleaner cars over the finish line. Share the great news for cleaner air on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Take a deep breath of (cleaner) air! Thanks to UCS supporters like you, we can all celebrate a major victory in the fight for cleaner air and healthier communities.

The White House just finalized stronger standards to reduce sulfur from our gasoline and pollution from our tailpipes. Implementing these standards, known as Tier 3 standards, will help prevent thousands of premature deaths and asthma attacks each year by ensuring our gasoline burns cleaner and our tailpipes spew less pollution.

Stronger standards for cleaner fuel and vehicles will also put the United States back on track with global efforts to reduce the sulfur in gasoline. And they will help us all breathe easier—especially the vulnerable communities living near high-traffic roadways or refineries.

We celebrate cleaner air today—despite the oil industry and their allies trying to block progress every step of the way—with the tens of thousands of UCS supporters who sent comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stood up against congressional attempts to derail Tier 3, and wrote letters to their local papers to share their personal stories about the dangers of dirty air.

We want to say thank you for pushing these standards across the finish line with all you do to support UCS.

Along with a coalition of public health, environmental, faith-based, state, labor, and industry groups, we’ll be keeping an eye on Congress and the courts for additional attacks on Tier 3 in the coming months. We’ll also keep you informed on ways to defend these standards and advance other solutions to clean up our transportation fleet—there’s lots of work left to cut oil use, global warming emissions, and air pollution from our cars and trucks.

But today we want to say thanks to UCS supporters like you for your dedication to building a cleaner transportation future that works for all of us.

Learn more about this victory and share the great news on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Sincerely, Rachel Cohen Rachel Cohen National Field Organizer Clean Vehicles Program Union of Concerned Scientists
P.S. For more on the benefits of this important program, see our Tier 3 webpage.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Michael Bell Team : Plea for a Change


The Wisconsin State Assembly unanimously voted in favor of external investigations of officer-involved deaths.  Officers who take a life will no longer be solely investigated by their coworkers.

Now we must get Wisconsin Senators on board.

You’ve gotten us this far.  Will you please take just a moment to encourage your Wisconsin Senator to support Assembly Bill 409?

Here is where you can find your Senator’s email address: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/pages/waml.aspx  and, here’s an example of what you could write to them:

Dear ___________,

The fatal use of force is the ultimate life or death decision that law enforcement officers should hope to never have to make. However, in the instance of an officer-involved death, we believe that the internal investigation into the incident shouldn’t be run by police officers from the same jurisdiction.

Assembly Bill 409, passed with unanimous through the State Assembly on Tuesday, February 18.

This bill, quite simply, requires at least two investigators from outside the law enforcement agency in which the death occurred.

This bill, authored by Rep. Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay) and Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison), brought families and loved ones of those impacted by an officer-involved death together with law enforcement to address their concerns. The result is a bill that would insert more independence into the investigation, reassuring families while protecting the rights of law enforcement officers.

Wisconsin is on the precipice of becoming the first state in the nation to mandate and independent investigation into officer-involved deaths.

This bipartisan bill is supported not only by families who have lost loved ones, but also multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Wisconsin Professional Police Association.

As such, I’m writing to encourage you to vote in favor of Assembly Bill 409, when it comes before you.

Sincerely,  Your Name  Address  City, State Zip

This message was sent by Michael Bell Team : Plea for a Change using the Change.org system. You received this email because you signed a petition started by Michael Bell Team : Plea for a Change on Change.org: “Protect Wisconsin Families and Honest Police: Support Fair Investigations.” Change.org does not endorse contents of this message.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Urge your legislators to sign a letter in support of American wind power

This week, your federal legislators have an opportunity to show their support for American wind power in a very clear way – by signing a letter that urges the Congressional leadership to take quick action to extend the tax credits for the wind industry.

I urge you to take a moment to write to your legislators today and encourage them to sign this letter.

Recently, wind industry employees met with legislators from 140 different states and districts.  They shared their personal stories about their jobs, as well as updates on the wind industry’s impressive accomplishments:

  • Employing 80,000 people across the U.S. today
  • Driving $105 billion of private investment since 2005
  • Bringing down the cost of power by 43% in the past four years alone
Shown above: Wind industry employees meet with Rep. Fleischmann (TN-03)

They asked their legislators to sign a letter to Congressional leadership that explains, “Like all businesses, the wind industry seeks certainty and predictability so that long term project decisions and investments can be made,” and asks for quick action to extend the tax credits that have driven the industry forward – the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC).

Please echo their request – ask your legislators to sign the letter today. 

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,
Aaron

Aaron Severn
Interim Vice President, Federal Legislative Affairs
American Wind Energy Association