Tag Archives: UCS

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A repost

Are you interested in creating a climate-friendly garden? These videos can help get you started. Follow UCS analyst Karen Perry Stillerman on her visit to Eden Place Nature Center in Chicago to see how the same practices used to create this urban oasis can transform the American agricultural landscape.

Composting

Use yard waste and table scraps to turn your garden into a global warming mitigation machine.

Urban Trees

They provide shade, lower air conditioning use, and store carbon.

Today the Backyard, Tomorrow the World

What we do in our gardens, farmers can do in their fields.

Last Revised: 02/04/11

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

UCS

09/11/2013 Nativegrl77

It’s no secret—the American diet of unhealthy, processed foods is killing us. More than 725,000 Americans die from heart disease and stroke each year. We can shrink this number through healthy eating, but we need our government working for—not against—us. Our new report, The $11 Trillion Reward, shows just how damaging current U.S. food policy is—favoring cheap, processed foods over fresh fruits and veggies—and what we can do to improve it. Check out the report, share it on Facebook and Twitter, and read on for more important updates! —Karla

This Just In

WATCH: The real cost of junk food If Americans ate just one more serving of fruits or vegetables a day, we could prevent 30,000 deaths each year. The benefits of healthy eating are clear, yet our government spends billions subsidizing processed foods like chips and soda that undermine our health, while fruits and vegetables get very little support. Watch our new video to see just how damaging current U.S. policy is—and what you can do to change it. MORE

Ask a Scientist

Jeffrey O’Hara Agricultural Economist

“What is UCS doing to encourage American farmers to grow more vegetables and fruit that would be healthier for our diets given that so many of them are dependent on government subsidies to grow commodity crops like corn and soybeans?”—Lanni Isenberg, Newton, MA It is not an accident that the U.S. agricultural landscape looks the way it does. Farm policy plays a critical role in influencing which crops are grown. Today, excessive subsidies are directed to “commodity” crops such as corn and soybeans that are used as animal feed and ingredients in processed junk foods. At the same time, as I describe below, federal farm policy restricts fruit and vegetable production. To make matters worse, significant obstacles exist in some communities for those wishing to use nutrition assistance benefits to buy healthy food at local markets. MORE

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Science in Action

DEADLINE: Act now for a healthier Farm Bill There are just days left to win support for healthy food and sustainable agriculture in the Farm Bill, which sets U.S. food policy for the next five years. Despite the importance of this legislation, Congress is locked in ideological battles that threaten to derail chances to pass this legislation before the current law expires at the end of the month. If this happens, programs that support healthy food and sustainable agriculture will suffer the most. If you’ve already contacted your elected officials, now is the time to contact them again. Tell Congress: The time is NOW to pass a Farm Bill that puts healthy food and farms first!

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Support Union of Concerned Scientists

10/17/2012 Nativegrl77

Union of Concerned Scientists

See UCS climate scientist Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel correct the climate science inaccuracies on a six-foot-tall Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Fighting Misinformation about Climate Science

Fox News Channel and the Wall Street Journal Opinion pages are overwhelmingly misleading when it comes to climate science. Not surprised? When UCS reviewed references to climate science in those two news outlets, we found it was even worse than we thought.
Our snapshot analysis shows that over a six-month period at Fox News Channel, 93 percent of the references to climate science were misleading. In one year on the Wall Street Journal Opinion pages, 81 percent of the references were misleading.
Last month, we released the findings of this snapshot analysis at a series of events in New York City, finishing the day by delivering nearly 20,000 comments from UCS supporters to the headquarters of News Corporation, which owns Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, asking them to stop failing science and improve how they represent climate science.
Watch the video of UCS climate scientist Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel correcting the climate science inaccuracies on a six-foot tall Wall Street Journal op-ed in Bryant Park.

She and other UCS staff were joined by dozens of UCS supporters who stamped the op-ed “Not Science” and filled out postcards to News Corp.
Thank you to everyone who took action and spread the word about our findings.

If you haven’t yet, please be sure you ask News Corp. to stop failing science!
Sincerely,

Jean Sideris Outreach Coordinator Climate & Energy Program Union of Concerned Scientists

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41 Million Cars — GONE … Union of Concerned Scientists

05/25/2012 Nativegrl77

Time is running out on the opportunity to double the impact of your membership gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Time’s running out! Give today and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Act today and your gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists will go twice as far—putting science to work for a healthy environment and a safer world.

A generous supporter has pledged to match all donations dollar-for-dollar—up to $250,000—but only if you act by the end of the week!

Your support of UCS makes a vital difference in building a healthier environment and a safer world. If you’re still looking for a reason to support UCS, how about this one:

41 million fewer cars.

Picture a four-lane highway packed bumper to bumper with idling cars stretching all the way around the earth at the equator. Now picture the tailpipe emissions from all those cars and think about how much that would speed up global warming.

UCS supporters like you helped push through tough emissions standards for new cars and trucks that will require automakers to produce vehicles that emit roughly half of the global warming emissions of a new automobile today. By the year 2030, this effort alone will keep more than 300 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released into our atmosphere. That’s like taking 41 million cars off the road.

time is running out to take advantage of this special opportunity. Please act now. Join more than 85,000 other members of UCS—become a member of UCS today.

WWW.UCSUSA.org

With your help, we will:

expose corporations, front groups, and policy makers who mislead the public and undermine understanding of climate science;
fight to shut down old and dirty coal plants and increase investment in wind, solar, and other clean, renewable sources of energy; and
actively protect scientists in the government and academia from politically motivated personal attacks.

You are a key partner in all this work. Please act now and take advantage of this special, short-term opportunity.

With your help, I’m confident we can win more important victories in the year ahead and the years to come.

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President

P.S. Remember: this special opportunity only lasts through the end of the week. Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar—but only if you act now!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support … Union of Concerned Scientists

10/25/2011 Nativegrl77

Want to know how you can help advance scientific solutions for a healthy environment and a safer world for as little as 40 cents per day? By joining the Union of Concerned Scientists‘ Partners for the Earth monthly giving program.

You can be confident your donations to UCS are spent wisely. We are accredited with the Better Business Bureau, have received four stars from Charity Navigator, and earned an ‘A’ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy.

WWW.UCSUSA.ORG

The Partners for the Earth program ensures that UCS has the funds needed to bring scientists and activists together to fight to cut pollution and global warming emissions, promote clean energy and transportation solutions, reduce the threat of nuclear weapons—and much more—every day of the year. Plus, it’s easy and convenient for you!

To become a Partners for the Earth member, select an amount that is comfortable for you and it will be automatically debited each month from your credit card. Additional benefits to you include:

Your gifts go to work faster;
You receive special updates on our progress;
You save time and trouble—no need to write checks or fill in credit card information;
You receive less mail—your membership is automatically renewed;
You strengthen the Union of Concerned Scientists with steady, reliable support; and
It’s easy to participate!

For less than you would spend on a cup of coffee per day, you can make a world of difference for the planet we live on. Join the Partners for the Earth program today. Thank you for your ongoing support. WWW.UCSUSA.ORG

Sincerely,

Kevin Knobloch
President

P.S. As a Partners for the Earth member, you are in control. You decide the amount of your monthly gift, and you can change or cancel your pledge at any time. Please join today.