Tag Archives: environment

Time is running out on the opportunity to double the impact of your membership gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Time’s running out! Give today and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Act today and your gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists will go twice as far—putting science to work for a healthy environment and a safer world.

A generous supporter has pledged to match all donations dollar-for-dollar—up to $250,000—but only if you act by the end of the week!

Your support of UCS makes a vital difference in building a healthier environment and a safer world. If you’re still looking for a reason to support UCS, how about this one:

41 million fewer cars.

Picture a four-lane highway packed bumper to bumper with idling cars stretching all the way around the earth at the equator. Now picture the tailpipe emissions from all those cars and think about how much that would speed up global warming.

UCS supporters like you helped push through tough emissions standards for new cars and trucks that will require automakers to produce vehicles that emit roughly half of the global warming emissions of a new automobile today. By the year 2030, this effort alone will keep more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released into our atmosphere. That’s like taking 41 million cars off the road.

time is running out to take advantage of this special opportunity. Please act now. Join more than 85,000 other members of UCS—become a member of UCS today.

WWW.UCSUSA.org

With your help, we will:

expose corporations, front groups, and policy makers who mislead the public and undermine understanding of climate science;
fight to shut down old and dirty coal plants and increase investment in wind, solar, and other clean, renewable sources of energy; and
actively protect scientists in the government and academia from politically motivated personal attacks.

You are a key partner in all this work. Please act now and take advantage of this special, short-term opportunity.

With your help, I’m confident we can win more important victories in the year ahead and the years to come.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President

P.S. Remember: this special opportunity only lasts through the end of the week. Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar—but only if you act now!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Heartland billboard takeover

05/22/2012 Nativegrl77

Did you hear about The Heartland Institute‘s outrageous billboard comparing people who believe in climate change to mass murderers and terrorists? It’s possible you missed it, since a firestorm of criticism compelled them to take down their ad in one day. Take a look:

Since the billboard is now empty, we are reminding Heartland who is really on the fringe here. Just for this week, as Heartland convenes its annual conference, we are putting up our own ad in its place and on eight other billboards nearby — so that Chicagoans and everyone at the conference will see our response. And we are sharing this ad far and wide.

The Heartland Institute has a history of spreading denial and doubt about everything from tobacco to climate change. Now, they are associating everyone who believes in climate science with the worst of the worst.

We can’t let them have the last word. Serious leaders in science, business, religion and government from around the world have long recognized the need to take action to address the growing climate crisis. Our billboard will reflect their voices in the days ahead. And we need your help.

Take a look at our ad and help support this project.

Climate change is real. But there are groups out there — like the Heartland Institute — with a vested interest in promoting dirty fossil fuels. Don’t let them. Donate to our campaign to stop the climate deniers and win the conversation:

http://forms.climaterealityproject.org/billboard

Sincerely,

Maggie L. Fox President and CEO The Climate Reality Project

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

VIDEO: We Are Not ‘Garbage’ … Axel Caballero from Cuéntame

05/21/2012 Nativegrl77

We Are Not Garbage!

Watch Video and Send Your Message!

Few industries have a greater impact on neighborhoods, residents, workers’ rights and environment than the waste and recycling industry. Their drive for profit has left a trail of abuse, neglect and indifference and in some instances – death. Enough is enough, the community is standing up and saying: We are not garbage!
Watch this moving and powerful video and send a message to public officials that they must act now!
One of the worst offending companies is American Reclamation. A company that represents precisely what is wrong with this industry across the country – with dozens of health and safety violations that have resulted in official investigations. Even so, these companies are on the brink of securing major city contracts.
We must show that we stand behind our recyclers. They are listening right now. So leave or send your comment and we will deliver it to the appropriate official!
Together we can change the course.

Yours, Axel Caballero and the Cuéntame team.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Congress that sustainable agriculture is the right investment – repost

05/14/2012 Nativegrl77

Today the Backyard, Tomorrow the Farm!

Most gardeners will be planting bulbs for next spring and taking steps to protect perennials from harsh winter weather over the next few weeks. But did you know that actions you take now can also help in the fight against global warming?

The following advice from a gardening expert offers a simple step you can take this fall to be a climate-friendly gardener by increasing your soil’s ability to store carbon—a key component in the leading cause of global warming. After you read the tip, take action to call for the same kind of actions on our nation’s farms.

www.ucsusa.org

In Your Garden…

Tracey Payton, a horticulture educator from Norman, Oklahoma, offers this tip on how to be a climate-friendly gardener.

“Mulch is a great way to protect bare soil, and most importantly for the climate-friendly gardener, it can help prevent carbon loss. Uncovered soil is vulnerable to releasing more carbon than it stores. Mulch also has other benefits, such as protecting against temperature fluctuations that can damage plants, suppressing weeds, and reducing moisture loss and soil erosion. Using mulch can be as easy as an additional 2-3 inch layer of compost or straw in the garden; in the flower bed, cotton seed hulls, bark mulch, or wood mulch can be used. Do only keep mulch about 2-3″ deep and away from perennial plant stems to prevent rot and other moisture problems.”

More information about how healthy soil can lock up carbon may be found in The Climate-Friendly Gardener. This guide also contains more valuable tips and information on how to fight global warming in your own backyard. http://action.ucsusa.org/site/R?i=CbQwBKQYI1GwQMSDdIzNGA

On the Farm…

If gardeners can adopt practices to combat global warming on a small scale, think what could be accomplished if similar steps were taken on the millions of acres of farmland across the country!

Similar to mulching, one of the most effective farm practices to store carbon in the soil on a large scale—while building soil health and preventing erosion—is widespread planting of “cover crops” in the winter. A sort of living mulch, cover crops protect farm fields when other crops aren’t growing. They also have the benefit of releasing nitrogen—one of the main ingredients in fertilizers into the soil just in time for spring-planted crops, which can reduce the need for added fertilizer (another source of global warming emissions).

We can help expand the adoption of this practice by making sure that the next Farm Bill rewards farmers who plant cover crops. Voted on every five years, the Farm Bill helps determines what food farmers will grow and what practices they will employ. This bill includes programs to help farmers successfully adopt a wide array of sustainable agriculture practices, including the planting of cover crops.

Write to your members of Congress and demand farm policies that help farmers protect our water, air, and land while producing the food we need!

Take Action Today! www.ucsusa.org

Sincerely,

Jenn Yates
National Field Organizer
UCS Food & Environment Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Union of Concerned Scientists: the Environment

04/24/2012 Nativegrl77

Choose the one that best describes how you spend your free time:
Working in my garden and tending to my lawn.

Lying on a beach or teeing it up on the golf course.

Playing in the snow or reading a book by the fireplace.

Playing video games or watching the latest blockbuster.

Enjoying a book on my e-reader.
Answer just a few questions like this and you’ll be on your way to getting cooler and smarter about carbon.
We’re calling it 20/20/20: Choose from 20 ways to make planet-friendly changes in your home, on the go, and with what you eat and buy, and in 20 days, you’ll be on the path to 20 percent less carbon. It’s like your own personalized carbon Couch-to-5k. And just like the Couch-to-5K challenge can help people trim pounds, the 20/20/20 challenge can help you trim carbon. And there’s plenty of carbon to lose—our day-to-day activities are pumping too much carbon into the air and it’s having a dangerous effect on our climate.
Odds are you’re already pretty cool and smart when it comes to your everyday energy decisions. But even the most carbon-conscious consumers can find easy ways to help save the planet—and save a little dough while you’re at it.
Find out how you can do your part by taking our 20/20/20 challenge and get a FREE sticker.

We’ve done the homework for you. For two years, our team of scientists did research and crunched numbers to come up with the most effective ways for people like you and me to combat global warming every day—and they even help identify what things we shouldn’t worry about. The answers may surprise you.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Learn whether your choice in light bulbs or your driving habits make a bigger difference. Just a few easy changes add up fast—and if 20 of your friends do it… or 20,000… or 200 million…then we’re talking serious impact.
You’ve only got your carbon to lose. Thanks for being so cool and smart!
Sincerely,