Tag Archives: news

Our roadless forests are under attack!

A thicket of aspen in the Sunset Roadless Area. (Ted Zukoski / Earthjustice)

Arch Coal just got the go-ahead to bulldoze for dirty coal in one of our pristine roadless national forest areas.
Help us fight back!

Arch Coal is at it again.

On April 6, the Forest Service announced it was paving the way for the second-largest coal company in the United States to bulldoze across thousands acres of pristine roadless forests in order to mine up to 350 million tons of coal.

When final, this deal will allow Arch Coal to reap huge profits while adding hundreds of millions of tons of climate pollution to our atmosphere—all at the expense of thousands of acres of beautiful, wild and public roadless forest.

I’m furious. And today, I’m asking for your help.

We’ve successfully stopped Arch Coal in the past. We can do it again.

Will you help us stand up to dirty industry with a gift of $5 or more?

As someone who has hiked in the Sunset Roadless Area for over a decade, I can tell you that this land is beautiful, and it provides important habitat for wildlife such as black bears and rare lynx in addition to beaver ponds, aspen stands, and giant spruce.

But unless we fight back and win, Arch Coal will soon turn this special place into an industrial zone of drill pads and roads—destroying wildlife habitat and valued recreation and hunting areas—all to benefit a single corporation.

Additionally, burning the 350 million tons of coal the company would extract would dramatically undercut efforts to slow the pace of climate change.

My team and I are determined to protect this critical habitat and ensure vital long-term protections for our other national forests…but we need your urgent gift today to see this and other difficult legal battles through.

For decades, Earthjustice has taken the lead to fight dirty energy and protect roadless forests across the country, but today we need your help.

We’ve stopped Arch Coal before. Help us win once again.

Thank you,

Ted Zukoski
Attorney
Earthjustice, Rocky Mountains Office

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help get junk food money out of school lunch

07/21/2015 Nativegrl77

Support kids’ health, not junk food interests.

Guess who’s funding lobbyists to weaken school lunch?

The School Nutrition Association represents the school food professionals who feed our kids—but their lobbyists are contradicting the science, and trying to take fruits & vegetables off kids’ lunch trays. And guess who’s funding their efforts? Junk food companies.

Take action today!

ACTION ALERT
Support Kids’ Health, Not Junk Food Interests

Meet the School Nutrition Association (SNA), one of the main lobbying groups—funded in part by corporate junk food money—standing in the way of healthier school lunch for kids.

The SNA’s members are the school meal providers who feed children in schools across the country—but their lobbyists aren’t as concerned with the health of our kids as you’d think. Could it be because corporate junk food companies like Domino’s and PepsiCo fund about half of the SNA’s budget?

Shockingly, the SNA opposes improved nutrition standards that would keep fruits and vegetables on kids’ lunch trays. In fact, they’re actively trying to convince Congress that schools can’t make healthy foods work in cafeterias.

But we’ve got what the opposition doesn’t have: evidence that the new nutrition standards—created by scientists and experts, not corporate interests—are working. Most schools have successfully implemented the standards, and studies show that kids are eating more fruits and veggies. UCS’s own analysis reveals that healthier school meals are a lifeline for many kids in a sea of junk food.

With an obesity crisis threatening our children’s future and driving up healthcare costs, the stakes are too high to roll back progress. Send the SNA a message: look out for kids, not the junk food industry.

Sincerely,

Ashley Elles
Food and Environment Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Twitter: @

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help the Duwamish River … Ms. Margie’s 4th grade class

07/21/2015 Nativegrl77

I’m Ms. Margie, a teacher and MoveOn member in Wallingford, WA, and I started a petition with my 4th grade class to King County Executive Dow Constantine, which says:

Constantine, which says:

Make Seattle’s only river clean enough for locals to fish. Sign Ms.’s petition

We are a 4th grade class in Seattle, Washington. We are petitioning Dow Constantine, King County Executive, to give enough money to clean the Duwamish River for citizens to be able to fish safely. The Duwamish River is one of the most polluted rivers in the U.S. and the only river in Seattle.

The Duwamish River is affecting people’s health. Residents who live closer to the river die 13 years younger than others who live in Laurelhurst.¹ There are three tribes that eat fish from the river. It’s in the tribes’ culture to fish in the Duwamish and we shouldn’t take that away from them, so we want King County to give enough money so that people can eat the fish without the risk of getting really sick.

The Environmental Protection Agency has already released a $342 million, 17 year-long cleanup plan to help.² However, it is not removing enough toxins so that locals can fish from the Duwamish safely. Although it will cost King County a lot of money and time, people and animals around the Duwamish will be saved.

Our goal is to collect 3,000 signatures by June 1, 2015. June 2 we will be holding a protest and presenting our petition signatures. If you add your name, it will really make a difference to the people and animals that live or fish in the Duwamish River.

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

Thanks!

–Ms. Margie’s 4th grade class

Source:

1. “The Duwamish: River of no return?” Crosscut, July 7, 2014
http://crosscut.com/2014/07/duwamish-river-no-return/

2. “$342 Million to Clean Duwamish River Superfund Site: EPA Finalizes Plan,” Indian Country Today, December 4, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=304554&id=117895-17809870-FDkiIDx&t=1

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Ms. Margie’s 4th grade class didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Single father of drive-by shooting victim needs help making home ‘comfortable’ for daughter

07/21/2015 Nativegrl77

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The 2016 GOP field ~ DNC Factivists

07/20/2015 Nativegrl77

Factivists With 15 declared Republican presidential candidates, and their first debate right around the corner, it’s more important than ever to stay in the know about all the ridiculous ideas GOP candidates have and why each and every one of them would be terrible for America.

We’ve compiled everything you need to know about the Republican presidential hopefuls into a handy online guide to the GOP field, and we’ll be adding news and other facts to share over the next few months — so you’ll always have the latest info about the outrageous things our opponents have to say. Click here to check it out.

With so many candidates in the 2016 GOP field, it can seem overwhelming to keep them all straight. But here’s something that should help: They’re all pushing basically the same bad agenda that would be disastrous for all of us. Our online guide has all the proof you’ll need.

Take a look, and then share it with your friends and family. And thanks, Carmen:

http://my.democrats.org/The-2016-GOP-Field

DNC 2016