Tag Archives: United States Environmental Protection Agency

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USA: Save the bees


Across the USA, millions of bees are dying, threatening our food supply. Scientists blame one group of pesticides some of which have just been banned in Europe. A new bill could save America’s bees, but big Agriculture and the pesticide industry are lobbying hard against it. We only have days to make sure Congress acts to stop the Chemical Armageddon — sign the emergency petition now!Quietly, across the USA, millions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. A new bill this week could ban one group of deadly pesticides and save bees from annihilation, but only if Congress feels the sting of public opinion.

America’s bees are facing a chemical Armageddon — just last week, 50,000 died in a single car park in Oregon after being exposed to pesticides, and last winter over 50% of all California’s bees died. Leading scientists blame one group of pesticides called neonicotinoids. The evidence is so compelling that the entire European Union has begun banning them, and the Save America’s Pollinators Act could impose a ban on these deadly poisons in the US.

Now it’s up to us to get our politicians to save America‘s bees. Big Agriculture and powerful chemical companies like Bayer are already lobbying hard to stop the bill, but if we show an overwhelming public support for a ban, we can counter their influence. Sign the petition below and tell everyone — when we reach 250,000 signers, we’ll take Avaaz’s giant inflatable bee to Capitol Hill to tell Congress to save our bees:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/usa_save_the_bees/?biEWLbb&v=27215

Bees don’t just make honey, they are vital to life on earth, every year pollinating 95 types of fruits such as avocados, almonds, apples, and that’s just the A’s — with an estimated $30bn value. Without immediate action to save bees, many of our favorite fruits, vegetables, and nuts could vanish from our shelves.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations — some bee species are already extinct and some US species are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals.

But increasingly, independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides, forcing the European Union to temporarily suspend use of one or more of these bee killers. But, in the US, the EPA has been slow to react — their review won’t be completed until 2018 condemning our bees to 5 more years of chemical Armageddon.

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem, and Representatives Blumenauer and Conyers have introduced legislation. If we can get other members of Congress to act, we could shut down once and for all Bayer’s influence on policy-makers and scientists. The real experts — the beekeepers and farmers — want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let’s support them now. Sign the urgent petition to Congress now, then forward this email:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/usa_save_the_bees/?biEWLbb&v=27215

We know we can win on bees. Last April, over 2.5 million of us signed a petition calling on the EU to adopt a ban on bee killing pesticides and won! And in the US, nearly a million of us persuaded the EPA to review their position on these poisons. Now let’s go one step further towards saving bees!

With hope,

Iain, Luis, Anne, Alex, Allison, Ricken, and the whole Avaaz team

PS – Many Avaaz campaigns are started by members of our community. It’s easy to get started – click to start yours now and win on any issue – local, national or global: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/?bgMYedb&v=23917

MORE INFORMATION

Mystery Malady Kills More Bees, Heightening Worry on Farms (NY Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/science/earth/soaring-bee-deaths-in-2012-sound-alarm-on-malady.html?pagewanted=all

Bee protection: US in spotlight as EU bans pesticides (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/30/bee-protection-us-eu-bans-pesticides

Legislation to restrict pesticide use proposed by Rep. Blumenauer (Oregon Live):
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/07/legislation_to_restrict_pestic.html

Some US bumblebees see 96% drop in last decades (Treehugger):
http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/some-us-bumblebees-see-96-drop-in-last-decades.html

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Mark Floegel, Greenpeace


Hi,

greenpeace

Did you see my message from the other day? Honeybees are in serious trouble and need our help. One type of pesticide is killing off their hives by the thousands. The European Union just banned the pesticides responsible, and we need to convince the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do the same.
We are more than halfway to our goal of 75,000 messages to the EPA, but we need your voice to make sure we get there.

Take a minute to urge the EPA to protect the bees and ban this pesticide!
Thanks, Mark

From:  Mark Floegel, Greenpeace

Subject: Honeybees

Honeybees that pollinate our food are being poisoned by pesticides called “neonics.”
Save the honeybee! Tell the EPA to ban use of these toxic chemicals to protect our food and our environment. take action today

Honeybees pollinate many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables we love. But beekeepers like me keep discovering our honeybees – whole hives of them – gone or dead.
This is no act of God. Our bees are being poisoned.
Scientists have linked a powerful class of pesticides called “neonics” to increases in bee die-offs. Due in part to these deadly toxic chemicals, 31% of hives in the United States collapsed this past winter alone.
Last month millions across Europe spoke up for the bees and pressured the European Union (EU) into imposing a two year ban on neonics, defeating the influential pesticide lobby. If we act together, we can convince the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do the same.
Help us send 75K comments to the EPA by June 27th to save the bees that pollinate our crops and that visit your backyard.
Tell the EPA today to suspend the use of neonics on crops that bees pollinate.
Viruses, mites and malnutrition can all contribute to the collapse of a hive. But neonics pose a unique threat to bees. These poisons spread into the pollen and nectar of treated plants, slowly accumulating in the hive with each bee’s trip to a contaminated flower.
By allowing toxic chemicals like neonics to weaken and kill bees, we threaten our food and our environment.
The companies that make these pesticides, Bayer and Syngenta, have spent millions lobbying the United States and European governments that simply commissioning more studies – even while bee populations plummet – will somehow solve the problem.
Of course more studies are welcome, but action is needed now to prevent an agricultural catastrophe.
Tell the EPA to suspend use of neonic pesticides in order to save the bee population that we all depend on.
Trying to solve all agricultural problems with chemical additives is shortsighted and reckless. To ensure that we have safe and reliable food, we must strive for sustainable agriculture that works with nature, rather than manipulates and destroys it.
The elimination of bee-killing pesticides is major progress towards that goal. Every step that helps restore the balance between the natural world and the agricultural world is an important one.
For the bees,
Mark Floegel Greenpeace Senior Investigator and Beekeeper
P.S. Honeybees need our help. Pesticides from our crops are killing off their hives by the thousands. Tell the EPA to protect the bees and ban the pesticides responsible.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help Save : Bristol Bay


    We only have until May 31 to convince the Obama Administration to protect the pristine rivers and lakes of Bristol Bay. If we don’t succeed, the bay will soon be nothing more than a pit mine.
            Please sign the petition today!             Click to Add Your Name: Don’t Destroy Bristol Bay

take action
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently collecting public comments on the fate of Alaska‘s Bristol Bay. Plenty of rich, powerful companies would love to get their hands on the bay and its plentiful natural resources. Those of us who care about the environment and wildlife have to speak up to save the bay!
Click here to automatically tell the EPA that you strongly oppose the destruction of Bristol Bay.
The Pebble Mine would destroy Bristol Bay. It would turn irreplaceable wild Alaska lands into an open pit mine that covers an area 50 percent larger than Manhattan, with dams the height of Hoover Dam, and the potential to hold more than 7 billion tons of waste.Instantly add your name to the petition urging the EPA to protect one of America’s last great wild places.

care2 Thank you for taking action,
Colleen H.c
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Building a Cleaner and More Secure Energy Future


President Obama delivers remarks on clean energy at the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill., March 15, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Obama delivers remarks on clean energy at the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Ill., March 15, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

On March 15, President Obama traveled to the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to discuss the Energy Security Trust that he announced in the 2013 State of The Union Address. The Trust, which builds on a proposal supported by a broad bipartisan coalition including retired military leaders, would provide a reliable stream of funding for critical, breakthrough research focused on developing cost-effective transportation alternatives to get our cars and trucks off oil.

The President’s proposal sets aside $2 billion over 10 years and would support research into a wide range of cost-effective technologies – like advanced vehicles that run on electricity, homegrown biofuels, fuel cells, and domestically produced natural gas. Paired with other Administration policies, including our historic new fuel economy standards that are already saving families and businesses money at the pump, the Trust would help solidify America’s position as a world leader in advanced transportation technology.

This represents just a snapshot of the Administration’s Energy Security Trust proposal. For more information, read the White House blog on the Energy Security Trust. Also be sure to check out the President’s recent weekly address on this proposal.

News & Events

New EPA Report: Initial Data Shows Significant Gains in Fuel Economy for 2012
The EPA released its annual report that tracks the fuel economy of vehicles sold in the United States, underscoring the major increases made in the efficiency of the vehicles Americans drive, reducing oil consumption and cutting carbon emissions. According to the report, EPA estimates that between 2007 and 2012 fuel economy values increased by 16 percent while carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have decreased by 13 percent, and in 2012 alone the report indicates a significant one year increase of 1.4 miles per gallon (mpg) for cars and trucks. In addition, compared to five years ago, consumers have twice as many hybrid and diesel vehicle choices, a growing set of plug-in electric vehicle options, and a six-fold increase in the number of car models with combined city/highway fuel economy of 30 mpg or higher.

President Obama Nominates New Energy Department and EPA Heads
President Obama on March 4 nominated Ernest Moniz to replace Steven Chu as Secretary of Energy, and Gina McCarthy to take over U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) leadership from Lisa Jackson. Of his new Energy Secretary nominee, Obama said “Ernie knows that we can produce more energy and grow our economy while still taking care of our air, our water and our climate.” In announcing McCarthy’s nomination, President Obama called her a top environmental official in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where she helped design programs to expand energy efficiency and promote renewable energy. She previously served as the assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Interior Department Approves Three Renewable Energy Projects in California and Nevada
As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to continue to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced on March 13 the approval of three major renewable energy projects that, when built, are expected to deliver 1,100 megawatts to the grid – enough to power more than 340,000 homes – and help support more than 1,000 jobs through construction and operations. Since 2009, Interior has approved 37 renewable energy projects, including 20 utility-scale solar facilities, 8 wind farms and 9 geothermal plants, with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. When built, these projects will provide more than 11,500 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power more than 3.8 million homes, and support an estimated 13,500 construction and operations jobs.

Obama Administration Holds 39-Million-Acre Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Central Gulf of Mexico
Taking the latest step in President Obama’s efforts to continue to expand safe and responsible domestic energy production, the Department of the Interior recently held a nearly 39 million-acre oil and gas lease sale for the Central Gulf of Mexico. As part of the Obama Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, domestic oil and gas production has grown each year the President has been in office, with domestic oil production currently higher than any time in two decades and natural gas production at its highest level ever.

Energy Department Partnerships Speed Advanced Vehicle Technologies
As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to speeding the transition to more sustainable energy sources that will help drive economic growth, the Energy Department on March 5 announced 16 major U.S. employers and two stakeholder groups have joined the Workplace Charging Challenge to give more American workers access to new transportation options, while another three U.S. corporations have joined the National Clean Fleets Partnership. These steps support President Obama’s goal to drive new technology that offers more vehicle fueling options to American consumers, as highlighted in his State of the Union address. The Workplace Charging Challenge is a collaborative effort to increase the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging by tenfold in the next five years. The National Clean Fleets Partnership aims to speed the deployment of clean, energy-efficient vehicles and the infrastructure to support their widespread use.

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Take Action …


Want to know how your Representatives and Senators voted? Check out the full list at WhoVotesDirty.com. Make a list of the politicians that voted against your right to breathe clean air, and vote them out of office on November 6th.