Lots to do

California is on the verge of approving a very toxic gas for use in strawberry fields. Click here to sign a petition in opposition to the use of methyl iodide. More on methyl iodide here. Please note the comment period ends on June 29.

Even though I'm a vegetarian, I believe meat-eaters have the right to safe critters. Click here to send your Senators a message asking them to "beef up" the USDA's E. coli program.

Click here to urge Congress to support investments in quality, affordable childcare.

Click here to share your story: Why are paid sick days important to me?

Oxfam is asking you to urge Congress here to help end violence against women worldwide:

· Improve our government's ability to respond to systemic violence against women.

· Provide aid to women's groups on the ground working to help survivors.

· Support innovative programs that decrease acts of violence.

· Focus resources on prevention and ensure that dollars are used in the most effective ways possible.

Plant a virtual flag here to state your support for moving the U.S. away from oil dependence. (Kinda goofy, but what the heck?)

Let's not forget Darfur. 4.9 million people are displaced and violence is raging. Click here to help make a difference.

Click here to learn how to write an effective, attention-getting letter to your Representatives.

Urge Congress to pass the Safe Chemicals Act here.

Free shipping through June 30th at the Unitarian Universalist Bookstore. Click here.

I told you there is a lot to do!

Help realize Cesar Chavez' dream of safe food and justice for all a reality here.

Urge Elton John to give the money he received from Rush Limbaugh to marriage equality funds here.

Click here to urge Congress to fully fund NPR and PBS. Donate to your local stations if you haven't already.

Click here to urge Congress to bring all commercial dog breeders under federal oversight. This would be a huge step in puppy mill reform.

Click here to tell BP to quit burning the endangered sea turtles. Seriously. Gah. ^%#*&$^!

Tell President Obama "NO" last minute deals with whaling countries here.

Update on previous action:

On June 9th, EPA officials announced the end to use of the dangerous chemical endosulfan in this country. This is one step toward a global ban (you clicked to urge India to ban endosulfan here).

I'm baacckk!

Sorry for the extra long hiatus. Today's actions are all oil related. Of course. Ugh.

From the Sierra Club: 

The Keystone XL pipeline requires clear-cutting ancient forests, sucking up water supplies and leaving behind toxic lakes so big they can be seen from space. 

These toxic lakes are where they store the waste from the production of this dirty fuel. Unfortunately, the waste isn't "stored" but seeps out about 2.9 million gallons per day.

The comment period is open on the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to send your comments to the powers that be in the Department of State.


From Greater Good: Click here to tell Shell "HELL NO" to drilling in the Arctic. And here to demand a ban on offshore oil drilling.


Ban BP...it's working. From Democracy in America: 

When we started our Boycott BP campaign, we knew we had to get their attention in a language BP understands - profits. Now, we know it's working:

A chain of Convenience Stores in Philipsburg, Pa decided to debrand three of its BP-branded stations:

"We are debranding BP. We will no longer be associated with BP by the end of the month. We are doing this because of the backlash and bad publicity from the handling of BP's catastrophe," Sean Lay, vice president of operations, said in the report. "We don't want to be associated with them anymore. We've had enough."[Convenience Store News]

Our campaign has been covered by everyone from the New York Times to industry trade newspapers. You can be sure that BP is paying attention. Now, let's turn up the heat.

Click here to join the boycott and get bumper sticker. 


From the League of Conservation Voters:

You've got to be kidding us. Sarah Palin doesn't think BP is to blame for the ongoing oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. No, she's blaming groups like LCV, whom she's calling "radical environmentalists" for fighting to protect our country's wildlife reserves and coastal economies and working to transition away from dirty fossil fuels to a clean energy future. She's serious. 

Click here to make BP pay for the damages.  


This is sort of oil related - from Defenders of Wildlife:

But what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico right now is an unprecedented ecological disaster. It is threatening sea turtles, sperm whales, dolphins, brown pelicans, Atlantic bluefin tuna and scores of other species… along with entire ecosystems. 

Today you can help me save one of most visible victims of the Gulf offshore oil disaster: imperiled loggerhead sea turtles. 

Click here to urge President Obama to improve protections and list them on the Endangered Species Act.


More on Palin and oil - from Alternet:

It's an outrageous and absurd plan, but it's not surprising when you consider the source. Sarah Palin's response to the ongoing environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is to advocate for expanded oil drilling in a pristine natural habitat, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Click here to send the message that "drill, baby, drill" is not okay. You betcha. And, also too. Wink.


Let's move beyond oil. Seriously...it's way past time. Click here for more info and to take action.


From the UN Foundation:

World Environment Day is Saturday, June 5. At a time when oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and when we’ve just experienced the warmest April on record, it’s a challenge to stay hopeful.   

But climate change is not only about coal mines and oil fields. The good news is that our fields, farms, and forests have untapped potential to create energyand keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.

We’ve overloaded the sky and the oceans with carbon dioxide, but our terrestrial system – both the soil and the plants that grow there – can absorb much more. The first step is to reduce deforestation, because trees act as carbon sponges, and cutting them down is a major contributor to global warming. Here are some other solutions from the land:

• We can produce clean-burning biofuels to replace oil, especially from abundant grasses and crop materials that now go to waste – even from algae!   

• We can capture methane – natural gas – from landfills and animal waste to use as an energy source and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

• We can harness solar, wind, water, and geothermal power from South America to Siberia.

• We can store carbon and keep nutrients in the soil through such practices as not tilling the soil, rotating crops, and planting cover crops in the winter.

Even better, these solutions from the land are home-grown. There’s no need for a supertanker to navigate the high seas or divert dollars away from local economies.  

By saving water and increasing soil productivity, we can also produce more food and adapt to climate change as our population grows. Learn more about the UN Foundation's solutions to combat climate change. 

So what are we waiting for? The answers are right under our feet.

(I realize that some of the formatting is wonky, but can't figure out how to fix it. Sorry! )