Tag Archives: Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stand up to Big Oil and cut air pollution!

04/23/2013 Nativegrl77

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Today more than one billion people throughout the world will do their part to protect the Earth.

While you may not be able to plant a tree or ride your bike to work today, you can do something simple yet significant RIGHT NOW that will make a huge difference to the environment – the equivalent of taking 33 million cars off the road!

Sign our petition supporting the President’s plan to cut air pollution by cleaning up gasoline. Nearly everyone is on board with this smart idea – including cities, public health agencies, consumer groups, even automakers. But the powerful oil industry is trying to kill it, and we need to show that Americans want a better environment.

This Earth Day show Big Oil they can’t always get their way. Add your name in support of cleaner air!

While many of us would like a world without polluting cars, we’re just not there yet. But we can make a huge dent in pollution by cleaning up the gas our vehicles run on. The air near our roadways has high concentrations of particulates, ozone, carbon monoxide, lead and sulfur – over 50 percent of which come from vehicles.

A new plan would slash this pollution by cleaning up the gas before it’s burned in our cars. It will add under a penny to a gallon of gas and less than $150 to the cost of a new car in 2025.

The auto industry can handle that cost, but Big Oil is digging in! They don’t want to clean up their refineries, and they want you to live with the consequences – dirtier air and more asthma, lung and respiratory diseases.

Sign our petition and join others who care about the environment. Show Big Oil and Congressional opponents they are in for a fight!

If you think it’s worth a penny a gallon for cleaner air, then take action this Earth Day. And please forward this to friends and family so they can join you in this important action.

Sincerely,
Shannon Baker-Branstetter
Consumers Union, policy and action from Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What the banks don’t want you to know!

04/11/2013 Nativegrl77

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

They’re out to weaken your rights – and your watchdog!

Our financial watchdog is under attack right now in the Senate. Without a confirmed director to hold them accountable, the financial industry can get away with a lot more tricks! Tell your Senators to hold the banks accountable!

Lax banking and mortgage oversight tanked our economy, so Americans like you demanded a real financial watchdog, not a bank lapdog.

You got one in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In a little more than a year, this watchdog made the banks pay back $425 million to consumers they duped, made sure borrowers can pay back their loans, and demanded an end to hidden credit card fees.

But rather than being celebrated, your watchdog is under attack. A minority of Senators is holding up the CFPB director’s confirmation unless they can weaken his ability to protect the public – and turn him into a lapdog!

If you’re tired of these politics, email your Senators now and demand the accountability you were promised!

For more than a year Richard Cordray has successfully led the CFPB, not only holding the banks accountable but going after the giant credit reporting and student loan industries.

But this success is rubbing the financial lobbyists the wrong way. They want to weaken the bureau by subjecting it to the highly politicized and sluggish Congressional funding process; replace the director with a five-member commission; and let other bank regulators (those who failed to prevent the economic meltdown) veto the bureau’s decisions.

A block of Senators is holding up Cordray’s confirmation for a new term until they get these changes. And without a confirmed director, each of us is at greater risk of being scammed – the CFPB can’t exercise its full powers over payday lenders and certain mortgage operators, as well as student loan servicers and credit reporting agencies.

Email your Senators here and tell them you want a watchdog that holds the financial industry accountable!

The best way to stymie this plan is to flood the Senate with a tidal wave of constituent messages demanding the watchdog we were promised. Please take action, then forward this to as many people as you can so they can act too.

Sincerely,

Pamela Banks, DefendYourDollars.org
Consumers Union, policy and action from Consumer Reports

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Health reform: 7 things to know now!

10/16/2012 Nativegrl77

Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

Seven things you need to know.Consumer Reports digs in to tell you the major things you should know right now about the new health law. Donate and we will send you our 16-page guide so you’ll know how the law could affect you and your family. Help us distribute even more copies during this critical time!

Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act. Health reform. No matter what you call it, one thing is certain – the new health-care law will have some impact on your life.

But if you’re like most people, you’re not exactly sure how it will. Or, if what you’re hearing from the media, friends or family is really accurate.

Now there’s something you can do. Consumer Reports dug into the health law and picked out the most important ways it could affect you and your family. They tell it in their no-nonsense style in a 16-page colorful guide so you know exactly what is, and what isn’t, real.

Give a $5 tax-deductible gift to get your own Consumer Reports’ guide. Give more and we’ll distribute more copies during this critical time!

We believe it’s important that every American understands how the law affects them without the misinformation, hype or spin. Your $5 gift gets you this guide and helps cover the cost of distributing it to someone else. If you can give $10, we’ll distribute 25 more copies; give $25 and we’ll distribute 100 more. And your gift is tax deductible.

We know you and millions of others have questions, because we hear them everyday: If I already get health insurance through my job, what changes? Is Medicare going to be different? What exactly is that ‘mandate,’ and who does it apply to? Can I get a break on the cost of my coverage? Are there new taxes?

Consumer Reports answers these and other questions, and spells out what has already changed and what’s to come when the law is fully in place. Your donation helps get this easy-to-read guide out to you and as many other people as we possibly can.

Give $5 and get your own copy of the guide. Give more and we’ll distribute even more!

Your donation puts valuable information into your hands. And it helps us to continue getting you more affordable, decent health care and fair treatment from insurance companies. Thanks for helping spread the word!

Sincerely, De Ann Friedholm, YourHealthSecurity.org, a project of Consumers Union

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

08/30/2012 Nativegrl77

Consumers Union, Policy and Action from Consumer Reports

400,000 and counting

That’s the number of consumers who’ve asked Trader Joe’s grocery to sell only meat raised without antibiotics. This tidal wave of support shows grocers and factory farmers that you DO want drugs out of food animals so we can better fight off antibiotic-resistant superbugs in our communities.

Chris Meyer, Vice President, External Affairs We’ll be delivering your petition signatures soon in a high profile way. If you haven’t joined our campaign, there’s still time to get involved.

Chris Meyer, Consumer Reports

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Did you know you can actually overdose on vitamins? Or that those ‘natural’ supplements may be anything but. Consumer Reports examines the 10 surprising dangers of vitamins and supplements in this month’s issue. Learn more…

1.2 million messages to lawmakers this year from consumer advocates like you!

YOU showed us the money

Many of you sent in photos of refund checks you got from insurance companies that wasted your money. We put together a quick, fun video featuring you and your money being reunited, thanks to a provision in the health care law that holds insurers accountable to you.

But opponents still want to take away your right to a refund by gutting the law. Our video shows critics that the law works – cash doesn’t lie! Watch it now, then forward it to your state Insurance Commissioner.

Get antibiotics off your grill this Labor Day It can be tough shopping for meat raised without antibiotics, thanks to confusing labels and few grocers that carry a variety of no-antibiotic meat. Look for these labels so you know you’re really buying chicken, pork and beef without drugs.

Can’t drive 55? How about 55 miles per gallon? That’s the new standard (54.5 mpg) required of all new cars starting in 2025, thanks to a strong push from those of you demanding better gas mileage. The new rules were just finalized, so check out details here.

Fact Check: Health care law’s ‘cuts’ to Medicare You’ve likely heard politicians claim the Affordable Care Act is taking away Medicare benefits. We turned our fact checker on this claim and found out who is saving money (taxpayers), who is getting less money (health insurance companies), and who is getting more benefits (seniors). Check out the facts here.

Planning on living forever? Sometimes it seems possible with all the new medical implants on the market. But surprisingly these devices are held to lower safety standards than prescription drugs. With your help we fought for new safety rules in Congress. Find out what we won, lost and what’s next.