Tag Archives: John Locke

Português | Español | Deutsch | [+]The indigenous peoples of the Amazon have long known this simple truth: what we do to the planet we do to ourselves. That is why Amazon Watch directly supports communities challenging massive industrial expansion like the Belo Monte Dam Complex and the proposed dams on the Tapajos River in Brazil. And why we supported indigenous women at the COP20 Climate Conference last week in Peru – generating media and grassroots support to make their fight central to the climate change debate. Your donations made that work possible.Scientists have shown empirically that empowering indigenous peoples with the rights to their ancestral territories is the most effective way to preserve the Amazon rainforest. In fact, if indigenous communities successfully assert their land rights, over 200 million hectares of the Amazon could be protected.

The race to exploit the Amazon has already led to mass deforestation, sickness, death, the extinction of previously “uncontacted” communities, cultural disintegration, prostitution, and more. This is unacceptable. We need everyone to invest in the fight to end these abuses.

Amazon Watch will continue to advance the rights of our indigenous partners – the stewards of our planetary life-support systems. And you can directly help tip the balance in their favor for everyone’s benefit. Please support Amazon Watch today.

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Barbecue: History Channel The word “Barbecue” originated in West Indies 15th Century

05/25/2015 Nativegrl77

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/american-barbecue

Barbecue has become popular American cuisine, but the technique originated before its European settlement.

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A Huge Victory for Forests and the Climate!

04/08/2015 Nativegrl77

Tell the Fast Food Industry to Go Deforestation-Free!

Ask fast food chains to adopt a deforestation-free palm oil policy. There’s no excuse to use palm oil that drives climate change, tropical deforestation, and forest fires.

Take Action Today! a repost

In September, we had an incredible month full of successes—and we couldn’t have done it without your help. Together, we persuaded four food companies—Dunkin’ Brands, Krispy Kreme, ConAgra, and Hershey’s—to adopt zero deforestation commitments for their palm oil purchases.

These new commitments are a direct result of public pressure. The Union of Concerned Scientists and other groups rallied our supporters to voice their concerns at Dunkin’ Brands’ annual shareholder meeting in May and attend Krispy Kreme’s new store openings in Tennessee, Delaware, and Florida. What we have seen time and again is that when consumers speak, companies listen, and act.

But the fast food industry still has a long way to go. McDonald’s. Burger King. Taco Bell. Fast food chains are often the focus of negative attention for their effect on our heath, but they are also having a big effect on our climate.

This spring, the Union of Concerned Scientists exposed how these brands are buying palm oil, largely for their fried and baked goods. As tropical forests are cleared to make way for palm oil plantations, carbon is released into the atmosphere, driving global warming and shrinking habitat for endangered species. Most of the big brands have yet to make a commitment to purging deforestation from their palm oil purchases.

Fast food chains need a push, and that’s where you come in. The Union of Concerned Scientists has been in active dialogues with many of these fast food companies about palm oil—and a few are considering announcing new commitments this year. With your help, we can convince the fast food sector to take this issue seriously.

Send an email today urging the largest global fast food companies to go deforestation-free.

Sincerely,
Sharon Smith signature
Sharon Smith
Campaign Manager
Tropical Forest & Climate Initiative
Union of Concerned Scientists

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John Tye – Avaaz

03/24/2015 Nativegrl77

The Syrian air force just dropped chlorine gas bombs on children. But President Obama is considering a No Fly Zone that could stop these chemical weapon murders. He needs urgent public support to save tens of thousands of lives. Every signature makes a safe zone more likely:

SIGN NOW

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Brittney Berry: Low Pay Is Not Ok

03/23/2015 Nativegrl77

I’m Brittney Berry of the organization Low Pay Is Not Ok, and I started a petition to U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez which says:

Four out of five fast-food workers have been burned on the job—most repeatedly, many badly.¹ To make matters worse, many fast-food restaurants don’t even have a properly-equipped and accessible first aid kit and try to treat workers’ injuries with mustard and other condiments instead of getting them the treatment they need. It is unconscionable that fast-food companies value their own profits over basic safety for their workers. I urge you to investigate the fast-food industry’s failure to provide safe working conditions or proper treatment for severe injuries.

Sign Brittney’s petition

An expectant mother is told by her manager to treat a bad boiling-water burn with mustard. Mustard.

A fast-food worker gets third-degree burns from a blisteringly hot, totally unsafe fry lamp.

A cook sears the entire palm of his hand on a too-hot grill—and his supervisor makes him work for hours before getting it treated.

This is the truth about the serious, painful and often permanent injuries that occur every single day in fast-food kitchens across the country. Dangerous conditions, insane “first-aid treatments” like mustard and butter on burns, and poor management have led to this: Four out of five fast-food workers have been burned, most repeatedly. That’s 2.8 million workers burned this year.²

Call on the Department of Labor to investigate an industry that is putting millions of fast-food workers’ health and safety at risk every day.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Brittney

Sources:

1. “Survey Of Fast Food Workers: Some Bosses Told Employees To Use Condiments As Medical Supplies”, CBS New York, March 17, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303566&id=109984-17809870-sW0blux&t=1

2. Ibid.