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~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support NMAAHC


National Museum of African American History and Culture

Help us ensure that we meet our goal and stay on schedule.

You’ll be surprised to see all that’s been done since we broke ground for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on February 22, 2012.

The concrete has been poured. We’ve begun building some of the exhibition galleries. We installed two signature objects: a Southern Railway railroad car (segregated) and a 1930s guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. And we have acquired more than 25,000 items.

But there’s much more to do. And to accomplish this work, we need your support to ensure that we open in late 2015.

To make this museum a reality, we were charged with raising $250 million from individuals and private resources. To date, we have raised approximately $160 million and need to raise an additional $90 million to meet our goal.

That’s why we urgently need your help to build this important cultural addition to the American landscape.

None of this is possible without support from friends like you. Your tax-deductible gift today will ensure that we keep our construction timetable on schedule and ensure that other elements of this grand project stay on track, too.

Together, you and I are creating a center of learning and inspiration that will attract millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. It is here they will come to understand the African American story in full — the moments of great pain and the moments of soaring triumph.

We’re moving closer to reality with each passing day!

Thank you for your support.

Lonnie G. Bunch All the best,
Signature
Lonnie G. Bunch
Founding Director
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Washington​: Tell the EPA to ban bee-killin​g pesticides


save-the-bees200Honeybees, native bees, and other pollinators are responsible for 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Many fruits and vegetables, including apples, blueberries, strawberries, carrots, and broccoli, as well as almonds and coffee, rely on bees. These beneficial insects are critical in maintaining our diverse food supply. 

U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100% of their hives. Widespread use of a new class of toxic pesticides, neonicotinoids, is a significant contributing factor. In addition to killing bees outright, research has shown, even low levels of these dangerous pesticides impair bees’ ability to learn, to find their way back to the hive, to collect food, to produce new queens, and to mount an effective immune response.

Already, 15 countries have imposed a two-year restriction on the use of several of these chemicals. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists—even those employed by the EPA—and has delayed action until 2018.

We request an immediate moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Bees can’t wait five more years—they are dying now. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the power and responsibility to protect our pollinators. Our nation’s food system depends on it.

Europe has already fought back against powerful chemical companies and took a big step to protect bees by putting into effect a ban of the top bee-killing “neonic” pesticides. Now it’s our turn!

Bees are critical in producing the majority of our food crops, and the evidence is mounting that Bayer and Syngenta’s pesticides are a key contributor to mass bee die-offs. However, the EPA continues to ignore scientists—even those employed by the EPA—and has delayed action until 2018. 

But the bees can’t wait—and neither can we!

U.S. beekeepers have been consistently losing 40-100% of their hives, and are likely facing yet another season of historic bee die-offs.

We can’t let the EPA wait another five years to address this crisis. Please take action today and tell the EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides.

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

Thanks!

–Peter Stocker

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Friends of the Earth didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

In the Newsroom with Gov.Inslee ~~ April 2014


TumblrOrcasIsland featured pix is of orcas island

04/29/2014 – Gov. Inslee announces executive action to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Colombia’s U’wa People Facing Violent Eviction


Amazon WatchURGENT – We are sending this critical update and call for support given signs the Colombian government is preparing to violently evict the U’wa indigenous people from their own territory. Amazon Watch is raising funds to bring two U’wa leaders (seen in this video) to the United States in mid-May so they can communicate their situation to the world in their own voice. They will attend the UN’s annual meeting of indigenous peoples in New York City and then carry out important advocacy meetings in Washington, DC. But we need your help to get them here!

A Tragedy Foretold?
Colombia’s U’wa People Facing Violent Eviction

Colombia's U'wa

The last time Colombian armed forces evicted an U’wa protest, it ended in tragedy. On February 11th, 2000, three indigenous children drowned in the Cubogón River as they fled helicopter-bound National Police. The U’wa were peacefully blocking a road and stopping materials for an oil exploration project, not miles from where they are currently camped out in La China.

This situation is at risk of repeating itself once again. Though the U’wa held high-level talks last Friday with the Colombian government, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Amylkar Acosta, stated this morning in a Caracol Radio interview that the government might declare a State of Emergency given that the shut-down of the Caño Limón pipeline is causing significant economic losses. Some 2.5 million barrels of oil have not been exported since the pipeline was bombed on March 25th, resulting in an estimated $8 million in daily revenue losses for the government.

Watch the video and read the rest here »