Tag Archives: Pollution

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

EPA takes critical first step to tackle global warming … Union of Concerned Scientists

1 Comment

Union of Concerned Scientists

EPA Takes Critical First Step to Tackle Global Warming

Big news! On March 27 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft standards that will limit carbon pollution under the Clean Air Act. Carbon pollution from power plants contributes to global warming, endangering our health, our environment, and drastically altering our climate. By placing the first ever nationwide limits on carbon pollution from new power plants, these historic standards are a critical step to reducing the effects of global warming and protecting public health.

WWW.UCSUSA.ORG

Unfortunately, these standards are already under attack. Several members of Congress have introduced legislation that would block or delay these historic standards, and the Obama administration is facing intense pressure from dirty energy companies, who are spreading false claims about their impact on our economy. It is clear that these dirty energy companies care more about protecting their bottom line than protecting our health and environment from the effects of global warming.

To ensure that the EPA finalizes strong standards this year, we need to generate a record-setting number of supportive comments to the EPA and show support at in-person public hearings around the country.

We have a team of UCS Climate Ambassadors—scientists, economists, health professionals, and concerned citizens like you—who have volunteered to attend the EPA’s public hearings to represent you and the tens of thousands of Americans who care about reducing carbon emissions. They will hand deliver your comments to EPA officials and personally testify at EPA hearings on the importance of limiting carbon pollution from new power plants.

Tell the EPA that you support its efforts to make power plants take responsibility for their contribution to global warming by reducing carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Submit Your Comment Today!    WWW.UCSUSA.ORG

Sincerely,
Chrissy Elles
Chrissy Elles
Outreach Associate
UCS Climate and Energy Program

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Cruise Ships to Stop Spewing Filth Into Our Pristine Oceans!


 

make a difference

  • Target: Michael Thamm, AIDA President; Dr Michael Frenzel, Chief Executive of TUI AG
  • Sponsored by: Care2.com

What comes to your mind when you think of pollution? Thick black oil smeared on clean ice? Small piping shorebirds strangled by old plastic? According to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), you should be thinking of something entirely different – cruise ships.

NABU recently singled out AIDA and TUI, two German-based cruise lines, for their harmful environmental impact. In one day alone, a ship generates 21,000 gallons of sewage, which is often dumped untreated three miles from shore, as well as one ton of garbage, 170,000 gallons of wastewater, 6,400 gallons of oily bilge water, and 25 pounds of batteries, fluorescent lights, medical wastes, and expired chemicals.

It’s time for cruise lines like AIDA and TUI to stop putting profits over the environment. Updating their filtration systems to stop spewing filth into the ocean is a great first step to improving their impact on the environment. Tell AIDA and TUI to clean up their waste filtration systems today!

 Cruise ships are massive polluters, spewing filth into our oceans every day. You can make a difference; add your voice to the conversation. »
AIDA and TUI, two German-based cruise lines, were recently singled out for their highly negative environmental impacts.
AIDA and TUI supply every possible luxury to their passengers, but refuse to invest in a filtration system that would keep poisonous emissions from blackening our skies. As the 15 largest cruise ships produce as much air pollution as the world’s 760 million cars, this is not acceptable.
Take action. Click here to add your signature, telling AIDA and TUI install filtration systems in their cruise ships! »
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

We can’t let them get away with it


Dirty coal power plants are causing children asthma attacks and their parents heart attacks – all while leaking toxic chemicals into local tap water. This is simply unacceptable.

Up to 34,000 people – many children – are killed by pollution from coal plants every year.  At one plant in Portland, PA 30 people die prematurely a year!

Right now, owners of obsolete, dangerous coal plants around the country – like the one in Portland – are considering spending billions of dollars to keep these killers open. With an aggressive campaign right now, we can rally communities and shut the plants down. Can you help?

Please donate by midnight tonight  to help shut these worst-of-the-worst plants down. We need just 14 donations to reach our goal of $34,000 – one dollar for every coal-related death we must stop.

A drunk driver that kills one person faces justice. But what does a company whose pollution kills 30 children and adults get? Four years to slightly reduce its pollution – and a free pass to keep killing hundreds even after its facelift. I’m not ok with that.

What’s worse, it’s children who pay the highest price. The Portland coal plant alone causes five hundred asthma attacks a year. Right now, somewhere in Pennsylvania, one of those children with asthma is struggling to breathe. We don’t know her name, but we know she’s one of hundreds and could be the next victim if we don’t act now. Fight back >>

Just a few weeks ago, the owners of the half-century-old plant in Portland began reviewing whether to spend up to half a billion dollars to keep the plant open and continue to spew toxins into the air and water. We need to act now before they make a final decision.

We’ve seen what’s possible when we fight on the ground to expose the truth, mobilize local communities, and unite national opposition with grassroots action. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen the dirty coal plant in Salem, Mass and the Beckjord plant in Ohio announce shut-down plans – though we’ll keep fighting until they close their doors for good.

We can and must stop the coal industry from taking our children’s lives and their futures – but we need you to step up before midnight tonight.

Please help end the Portland plant’s reign of terror and stop other deadly plants like it. We need just 14 gifts from Washington to reach our goal of $34,000 – one dollar for every coal-related death we can prevent when we quit coal. Deadline: midnight tonight.

Coal-fired power plants kill in many ways ranging from coal ash to toxic emittants to being the biggest source of man-made CO2 emissions. But the coal industry has given millions in campaign contributions to buy a free pass – and leave children and families paying the cost of their dirty business.

If we have the strength to act urgently, we will save lives. Are you in? We have this moment to do right by our planet and right by our children.

Join me in quitting coal,

 

Philip Radford, Greenpeace

P.S. Please make your donation by midnight tonight on our secure website or by calling 1-800-792-6995. We need just 14 donors from Washington to step up.Thank you

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The coal industry


Somewhere in America a family will lose a loved one in the next hour as a result of pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Pollution from the coal industry isn’t just poisoning our communities. It’s polluting our political process as well. The millions of dollars they spend on lobbying and campaign contributions has allowed them to continue doing business as usual. But that’s changing.

Communities everywhere are standing up to the coal industry and doing what they have to do to keep their families safe and protect their air and water. And Greenpeace is supporting them.

That’s why we created a new website — www.quitcoal.org — especially for these activists and for anyone who is concerned about coal. Check out their stories and be one of the first people to see our new site by clicking on the video below.

We feel that this site can serve as a valuable resource by providing a platform for these activists to share their story and connect with other people in the movement and to highlight the work that is being done across the country to build a clean energy future.

You’ll be hearing a lot more about the site in the future. Thanks for all you do.

Quit Coal,

Kelly Mitchell

Greenpeace Coal Campaigner

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Take a Stand against Polluters


True or false: The coal industry has been pumping toxic air pollution, virtually unchecked, into our atmosphere for decades — pollution that has been linked to cancer and countless other health issues.

This is true, but if a new standard proposed by the EPA becomes a reality, it won’t be for much longer. The rule will significantly reduce the amount of mercury and other toxins that coal-fired power plants release into the air.

Making this rule the law of the land won’t be easy. We’ll face strong opposition from the same forces that stand in the way of solving the climate crisis. That’s why we need your help.

http://www2.repoweramerica.org/page/m/396e8e2e/6fdeebac/1a2b6a55/19ba7529/557510131/VEsE/

Tell the EPA that you support this rule. Take a stand against big polluters by submitting a comment here.

Mercury can cause birth defects, neurological damage and countless other health problems. Some of the pollutants that this rule restricts have been linked to cancer, heart disease, asthma and bronchitis.

While industry might complain about the cost of the rule, annual compliance costs are estimated to be far less than what we pay now to address the health impacts of mercury and other pollution.

Use our simple tool to submit a comment to the EPA today.

http://www2.repoweramerica.org/page/m/396e8e2e/6fdeebac/1a2b6a55/19ba7529/557510131/VEsE/

Thanks,

Kevin S. Curtis

Program Director

Repower America