#ProtectParadise

I wanted to check that you saw my email last week. Procter & Gamble — the maker of Head & Shoulders shampoo — is pushing endangered animals like the orangutan and Sumatran tiger closer to extinction by supporting rainforest destruction.
In just one week, supporters like you have sent over 185,000 messages to Procter & Gamble’s CEO, demanding the company to take forest-destroying palm oil out of its products. But P&G is trying to ignore the public and the evidence linking its products to deforestation.
That’s why it’s time to turn up the heat. Right now, nine Greenpeace activists are protesting at P&G’s global headquarters. Or more accurately — on the walls of P&G’s global headquarters. Today, Procter & Gamble won’t be able to shut out the message that it is on the hook for deforestation.
Let P&G know that your concerns aren’t going away.

Tell Procter & Gamble to make its products forest friendly now.
Thanks for all you do,  From: Joao Talocchi, Greenpeace

Procter & Gamble’s products — like Head & Shoulders — are tied to Indonesian rainforest destruction. The  company must cut the link between its products and extinction. Demand that Procter & Gamble commit to forest-friendly palm oil now.

A rainforest that’s home to 10-15% of all species on earth — including the last remaining 400 Sumatran tigers — is being methodically destroyed in Indonesia.
Yet, despite this terrible fact, I’m optimistic. I’m not writing to tell you about extinction or catastrophe. I’m writing because I believe we’re on the verge of a historic moment that could change everything. To get there, I need your help.
Greenpeace launched a new global campaign this month demanding that big name brands cut their links to dirty palm oil — the leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia. And the pressure is working — new companies are announcing No Deforestation policies almost weekly.
But a few key corporate holdouts are stalling the progress. If we get these companies to commit, we can transform the palm oil industry in Indonesia for good.
Procter & Gamble — the company that makes Head & Shoulders — continues to buy dirty palm oil tied to forest destruction in Indonesia. Send the company a message now demanding that it use only forest friendly palm oil in all its products.
With every person who speaks out and every new company that commits to a No Deforestation policy, it gets harder and harder for companies like Procter & Gamble to continue with business as usual.
In the two weeks since we launched, over 220,000 supporters like you have demanded that brands they use commit to using only tiger and forest friendly palm oil. The results speak for themselves.
L’Oreal, Hershey, even supermarket Food Lion have joined multinational companies like Nestle and Unilever over the last two months in committing to cut their links with forest destruction.
This is huge. Change is happening faster than we ever could have hoped for. But to truly tip the balance in favor of the forests, corporate leaders like Procter & Gamble must commit to stop contributing to deforestation. Tell Head & Shoulders’ owner Procter & Gamble that it’s time the company cut the link between beauty products and extinction. Demand that the company commit to forest-friendly palm oil now.
Changing corporation’s palm oil policies won’t just help protect Indonesian rainforest. When major brand start demanding no deforestation palm oil, suppliers around the world will have to stop cutting down forests to keep their customers. This single campaign could protect forests across the globe from destruction for palm oil plantations.
We are at the tipping point to utterly transform the entire palm oil industry. Do that, and we’re well on our way to achieving our goal of zero deforestation globally by 2020.
Tell Procter & Gamble: Stop using dirty palm oil now. We won’t let up until it makes the change.
With hope,
Joao Talocchi Greenpeace USA Palm Oil Campaigner

P.S.

Tell Procter & Gamble — the maker of Head & Shoulders — to stop using palm oil linked to deforestation because washing away dandruff shouldn’t wipe out tigers.

By  CAP Action War Room

5 Important Things In The President’s Budget

President Obama released his administration’s fiscal year 2015 budget request today. It serves an important purpose in detailing the administration’s vision for investing in the future of the country and establishes an important contrast with Congressional Republicans. The latest GOP salvo in the budget wars, offered by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) yesterday, was filled with what we’ve come to expect: another attack on decades of successful anti-poverty programs. President Obama’s, meanwhile, contains a number of pro-growth policies and investments that will help create an economy that works for all Americans, not just the wealthy few. Here are five of the most important:

1. Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The President’s Budget doubles the maximum credit from $500 to $1,000 for 13.5 million low-income childless adults, putting more money back in the pockets of low-income working Americans. The credit has also been extended to young workers aged 21 to 24, adding further support to those individuals at the start of their careers.

Some conservatives have countered the progressive campaign to raise the minimum wage by saying that the EITC is a better alternative to help low-income workers. While the President and the progressive community have no intention of stopping the fight for a higher minimum wage, in this budget Obama has called their bluff in his expansion of the EITC — how will Republicans respond?

2. Significantly Extends The Child Tax Credit. Childcare be often be so expensive for families with young children that it can keep a parent from working full-time. The President’s Budget would extend the Child Tax Credit, particularly for families with children under age five. According to the White House, about 1.7 million families would benefit from the expansion in 2015, receiving an average tax cut of $600.

3. Invests $302 Billion Over Four Years In Transportation Infrastructure. As America’s roads and bridges are falling apart, the President’s focus on transportation infrastructure in this budget took a critical step forward in two ways. First, it draws almost half of the budget request–$150 million–directly from new revenues earned through closing tax loopholes. Second, it prioritizes “fix-it first” investments: those highways, bridges, roads, subways, bus services, and more, that are among the most in need of repair.

4. Promotes Smart Fiscal Responsibility. The budget predicts the following savings from smart policies:

• $402 billion in additional health savings from the Affordable Care Act as well as innovations for Medicare and Medicaid;
• $650 billion over a decade by creating a smarter, more efficient tax code including closing corporate tax loopholes and implementing the “Buffett Rule” so that millionaires pay no less than 30 percent of their income;

5. Reiterates Support For Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Immigration reform is a no-brainer, estimated to reduce the deficit by $1 trillion and increase economic growth by $1.4 trillion over twenty years. It is supported by the vast majority of American interests: businesses, faith leaders, labor unions, many Republican lawmakers, and most important almost 9 in 10 voters. And it would help more than just the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country — it would have huge benefits for American workers as well.

BOTTOM LINE: The President’s budget is a bold progressive document that calls for an end to an era of austerity by investing in working Americans and strengthening the economy for everyone and not just the wealthiest few. Republicans, even while finding that many anti-poverty programs are actually very effective, continue to castigate many low-income Americans and remain opposed to commonsense polices that would spur the economy and reduce the deficit.