Tag Archives: United States

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chicken of the Sea: Stop Ripping up the Sea


Tell Chicken of the Sea that it’s time to end their destructive ways and start getting serious about saving the oceans.

There’s more that goes into a can of tuna than just what you find inside. A lot more.

According to an Australian government study, the canned tuna industry is responsible for killing thousands of sharks, rays, sea turtles, sea birds and other marine life as a result of the methods they use to catch tuna every year.

One company called Chicken of the Sea has a particularly bad track record when it comes to ocean destruction. That’s why we’ve been trying to start a dialogue with Chicken of the Sea for months now about how they can make their fishing practices more sustainable.

In fact, just last week I personally traveled to their headquarters and delivered a letter. They promptly showed me the door and have refused to acknowledge the damage they are doing to the oceans.

But they can’t ignore you and the tens of thousands of other Greenpeace supporters who care about the oceans. So join me and sign on to my letter to Chicken of the Sea. Once we reach 30,000 signatures I will head back to their headquarters and deliver the message again.

Tell Chicken of the Sea that it’s time to end their destructive ways and start getting serious about saving the oceans.

As one of the largest tuna companies in the U.S., Chicken of the Sea has a major role to play in saving our oceans. They have a chance to be a real leader in the industry, but it is pretty clear that they aren’t going to do it on their own.

Right now, the company is using something called fish-aggregating devices (FAD) to catch their tuna. The problem is that FADs, which are basically floating objects, don’t just attract tuna. They attract all sorts of things — including sharks, marlin, and baby bigeye tuna, which is a species in serious trouble. When the ship returns, it takes everything that has gathered around the FAD with a net. Very few animals caught in these nets survive the process.

The simple truth is that if Chicken of the Sea doesn’t change how it catches tuna, our oceans don’t stand a chance.

We aren’t going to allow that to happen. Join me and add your name to my letter today.

Once we’ve collected over 30,000 signatures I will head back to Chicken of the Sea Headquarters and deliver the letter with your signature on it. This next time we’ll make sure we get their attention.

For the oceans,

Casson Trenor,
Greenpeace Senior Markets Campaigner

P.S. Forward this to everyone in your address book who eats canned tuna and cares about the oceans.

~ my 2cents ...

Jobs … The President has been talking Jobs contrary to “the media” comments

2 Comments

by on Aug  9, 2011

Description: President Obama announces a major jobs initiative for veterans, with the goal of getting 100,000 more veterans working by the end of 2013. August 5, 2011

Nominates Alan Krueger to chair the Council of Economic Advisers. August 26, 2011.

President Barack Obama FTW to CEOs Ask what you can do for America Chamber of Commerce Feb. 7, 2011

With a huge nuclear crisis in Japan and fighting in Libya, why is President Obama visiting Latin America this weekend? The short answer is American jobs. In his weekly address he discusses his trip to Latin America and the importance of strengthening our economic partnership with the region to create good jobs at home. He expresses a need to open more global markets and increase exports as a way of expanding the U.S. economy.

President Barack Obama outlines his fiscal policy during an address at George Washington University in Washington DC. Wednesday, April 13, 2011

President Barack Obama is reassuring the public that jobs and the economy are his top priority. (May 7)

President Obama Wishes America Happy Fourth of July Creating Jobs and Cutting Deficit

I renewed my call to Congress to stop subsidizing the oil and gas industries. Understand, I’m not opposed to producing oil. I believe that if we’re serious about meeting our energy challenge, we need to operate on all cylinders, and that means pursuing a broad range of energy policies, including safe and responsible oil production here at home. In fact, last year, America’s oil production reached its highest level since 2003.

Speaking from Carnegie Mellon University, President Obama discusses the vital role advanced manufacturing will have in strengthening our economy and creating good, middle-class jobs.

President Barack Obama visited Cree Monday to tour one of our LED lighting manufacturing lines, meet with his Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and to address Cree employees. Cree was honored to play host to the president and his Jobs and Competitiveness Council.

President Obama Winning The Future Advanced Manufacturing Jobs America Economy President Obama visits the Alcoa Davenport Works in Bettendorf, Iowa and speaks about the critical role manufacturing plays in the American economy.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Abuse at Hershey


Hundreds of foreign exchange students paid to come to America this summer, expecting opportunities to learn English and experience American culture.

Instead, the exchange students found themselves forced to work in back-breaking, round-the-clock production lines packing chocolates at a Hershey’s plant in Pennsylvania at low wages. When the students complained, Hershey‘s threatened to have them deported.

Now the exchange students are fighting back. They just walked out of the Hershey’s plant and into the streets to protest the abusive conditions and to demand big changes to Hershey’s deceptive “cultural exchange” program.

And they’ve teamed up with the National Guestworker Alliance to start a petition demanding that Hershey’s compensate the exchange students, and turn their work into good jobs for local workers. Click here to add your name.   www.change.org

Yana, a 19-year-old girl from Ukraine, lifts boxes that weigh 40 pounds — nearly half her weight. Peng, a 21-year-old economics student from China, also lifts heavy boxes during his eight-hour shifts at the warehouse.

Hundreds of students from Ghana, Turkey, Mongolia, and other countries each paid up to $6,000 for the privilege to come to America in a cultural exchange program this summer. Now Hershey’s pays them around $8 an hour for their warehouse work, minus costs of housing — leaving many students broke, tired, and disillusioned.

Why would Hershey’s want to use foreign exchange students as cheap, manual labor? According to the National Guestworker Alliance, a group helping the students, it’s about profit. Hershey’s is laying off 500 American workers in the next year. The company’s strategy is apparently paying off: Hershey’s pocketed $130 million in just the last three months.

The foreign exchange students are asking Hershey to refund the thousands of dollars the students paid to come to America. And that’s not all: The students also want Hershey’s to convert their low-paying positions to living wage jobs for local residents in Pennsylvania.

Please sign the petition to Hershey’s demanding the company refund the students’ costs to come to America and give their jobs back to American workers who live near the warehouse.

http://www.change.org/petitions/hershey-stop-exploiting-student-guestworkers

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Jess and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Register Today: What Women Need to Know for a Secure Retirement


 
National Women's Law Center
 
 
     
  www.nwlc.org  
     
   
     
  Learn more about Social Security, pensions and savings to prepare for a secure retirement.  
     
  www.nwlc.og  
     

Especially in today’s uncertain economy, it’s hard to achieve a secure retirement — and women face additional challenges, because they generally earn less than men and live longer. But whether you’ve just started working or are nearing retirement age, there are steps you can (and should!) take to prepare for retirement.

Looking for answers? The National Women’s Law Center is hosting a two-part series of free webinars for service providers, advocates, and individuals. The first webinar focuses on women and Social Security, and the second webinar will dig deeper into pensions and savings. 

These online workshops are free to participants, but registration is required.   www.nwlc.org

Planning for the Future: What Women Need to Know About Social Security

2:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Find out more about the benefits Social Security can provide, including before retirement, and about how your decisions (and your spouse’s, if you are married) about when to claim benefits can affect your retirement income.

Planning for the Future:

What Women Need to Know About Pensions and Savings

1:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday, September 12, 2011

Find out more about ways you can save for retirement and manage your savings to

improve your retirement security.

There is no reason to be intimidated by retirement planning. The webinars, part of the

 National Women’s Law Center’s Citi Education Series on Family Economic Security,

will give you some tips and strategies to obtain peace of mind.

Sincerely,
 
Joan Entmacher   Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center 		 

P.S. Your generous donation allows us to continue to do our work on behalf of women and their families. We greatly appreciate your support —
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Defending science at the EPA


Union of Concerned Scientists

Defending Science at the EPA

During the Bush administration, the White House worked to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from protecting us from formaldehyde pollution, smog, and global warming. In fact, White House officials secretly manipulated or suppressed EPA scientific analysis on each of these issues and many others.

And we all suffered for it.

Now, the EPA is drafting a scientific integrity policy that could keep politics out of EPA science. But the agency’s first draft still gives the White House the opportunity to censor or suppress scientific research from the agency—and the public would never be the wiser.

www.ucsusa.org

Take Action Today
Sincerely,
MichaelHalpern_jpg
Michael Halpern
National Field Organizer
UCS Scientific Integrity Program