An anti-science “alternative facts” bill just passed the South Dakota Senate and is headed to the House Education Committee this Friday. The bill, SB 55, would permit the teaching of nonscientific ideas and opinions—like climate change denialism—in science classes. It would allow miseducation of students about climate change and other topics, with local or state administrators unable to intervene. The National Science Teachers Association is strongly opposing SB 55. And the American Institute of Biological Sciences says, "we should be working to strengthen our science education system—not enabling the misrepresentation of science in the classroom." Urge South Dakota Education Committee members to support evidence-based science education, and to reject the "alternative facts" anti-science bill, SB 55!

Although the fossil fuel industry, including SoCal Gas, continues to delay action, deny science, and destroy our health and climate, the people are waking up to say "Keep It In the Ground!"

We just won! http://usuncut.com/resistance/hunters-fishermen-public-land/ I am a member of and volunteer for Sierra Club, and I am fighting to keep our federal lands free of all ways to gut them and their budgets as a way for US OIL-igarchy and corps takeover to the detriment of the people. AND H.R.621 - To direct the Secretary of the Interior to sell certain Federal lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, previously identified as suitable for disposal, and for other purposes. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/31/public-lands-sell-congress-bureau-management-chaffetz - More like a free for all land grab. Not expected to make a profit for USA. Cosponsor Date Cosponsored Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2]* 01/24/2017 Rep. Love, Mia B. [R-UT-4]* 01/24/2017 Rep. LaMalfa, Doug [R-CA-1]* 01/24/2017 Rep. Amodei, Mark E. [R-NV-2]* 01/24/2017 Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-4]* 01/24/2017 Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-4]* 01/24/2017

President Trump's recent executive actions to push through the pipeline projects of the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline is a violation of Standing Rock Sioux Tribal sovereignty and marks the beginning of a full-frontal attack on Mother Earth on behalf of the fossil fuel industry. It's crucial we make our opposition heard. The Department of Army is now accepting public comments as part of the environmental impact statement for the Lake Oahe crossing by the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline—and we have until February 20 to submit our comments in opposition to this pipeline. Sign the petition now to submit your comment. President Trump's executive actions violate the legal and moral sovereign treaty rights of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota people and is an aggressive rebuke of more than 300 tribes who stand with Standing Rock in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline. With the strength of prayers and people power, water protectors—Native and non-Native—across the country are more than ready to respond with sustained actions to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline. Native Organizers Alliance will continue to support the tribal, spiritual, and grassroots-led movement which has mobilized millions to stand with Standing Rock. Stand with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and water protectors. Sign now to submit your comment.

The world will not last under the America First Energy Plan. Rather than double down on fossil fuels, as the new adminstration is attempting to do, we need to move rapidly and radically to renewable energy and strategies to drawdown greenhouse gas concentrations. The US has a huge responsibility and should have the ability to lead toward a climate resilient future, but we need to transform schools and communities into living laboratories of sustainable practices.

Since 2005, the oil and gas industry has fracked over 137,000 wells, used over 6 billion pounds of chemicals and produced billions of gallons of fracking wastewater. At least 157 of the chemicals used in fracking fluid are toxic to humans and aquatic life. Fracking produces billions of gallons of fracking fluid waste each year. And time and again, toxic spills have contaminated our water and endangered our health. Yet the fracking industry remains exempt from EPA regulation and the laws that ensure the safety of our drinking water. The Senate must close the fracking loopholes in the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Please sign the petition, then call or email the White House with the information below: Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact President Obama, we respectfully – and urgently request that in the closing days of your presidency you block vulnerable areas on the California Coast from fossil fuel exploitation. We are concerned that even with the protected areas on the Pacific Coast, the areas off of the southern coast of California – from Santa Barbara to San Diego have come into the crosshairs of the fossil fuel industry. The southern coast of California is particularly attractive to the Oilmen because there is on-shore infrastructure available to process the extracted hydrocarbons. They are proposing the use of new technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. We cannot afford to compromise the marine habitats of Coastal California. We have gained so much – but could lose as much or more by way of the air and water pollutants that fracking would release in our waters. It would also expose the entire coast to the risk of a catastrophic oil-spill event should the high-pressure wells blow – something that does occur on land where the blow-out can be contained without public notice, but would not be so easily contained (or concealed) in a marine environment. Please use your executive power to immediately protect our coastline from any oil exploration.

It’s time for a revolution in the food system—young and new farmers need support to nourish future generations. Farmers, businesses, policymakers, and educators need to promote agriculture as an intellectually stimulating and economically sustainable career, and to and make jobs in agriculture and the food system “cool” for young people all over the world. With a rapidly aging population of farmers, it’s time to attract more young people to agriculture. This is a global challenge; half the farmers in the United States are 55 years or older while in South Africa, the average age of farmers is around 62 years old. “Agriculture has an image problem,” according to the organization Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). Yet, according to the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 27 percent of the world’s population is under 10 years old while only eight percent is over 65 years old. “For decades, poor farmers were seen as a problem to be solved. But where and when people and governments have been able to give them the support they need and have understood that family farmers are, in fact, part of the solution, we have seen promising results,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. It’s time to cultivate the next generation of food system leaders—young farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, agronomists, extension agents, educators, researchers, scientists, and policymakers who can create a more sustainable food system. “Increased access to education means that young people can be a force for innovation on family farms, increasing incomes and well-being for not only farmers but also for local communities. Young people can develop the agricultural sector by applying new technologies to current work methods,” says Mark Holderness, Executive Secretary of GFAR. Agriculture means more than subsistence farming. Today, young people can explore career options in permaculture design, biodynamic farming, communication technologies, forecasting, marketing, logistics, quality assurance, urban agriculture projects, food preparation, environmental sciences, advanced technologies, and more.

Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) recently investigated an American Humane Association (AHA) Certified egg farm in California that supplies eggs to Whole Foods. The investigators found hens living in filthy, crowded conditions. Many of the hens had bloody wounds and prolapses, a condition where, due to having laid so many eggs, a hen’s internal organs are pushed out of her body. Other hens had died, and their bodies were left to rot on the floor of the barns. In the course of the investigation, DxE rescued a hen and named her Ava. Ava’s feet were severely injured and she was struggling to walk. With love and care at a sanctuary, Ava recovered and is able to walk again. Watch Ava's story at eggfarm360.com. Whole Foods claims to care about animals, and they market their eggs as cage-free despite raising hens in sickening confinement. Sign the petition and ask Whole Foods to cut ties with all farms that abuse birds.

There are two high pressure gas pipelines proposed for construction that will impact Pinelands residents and natural resources. Both proposed pipelines violate the rules that protect the Pinelands National Reserve, a state and federally protected region in New Jersey. Over 2/3 of Ocean County is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. The state Pinelands Commission is a 15-member independent public body responsible for enforcing the rules that protect the Pinelands. They will vote in early 2017 on whether or not to approve the first of these pipelines, the South Jersey Gas pipeline, which will go through Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic Counties. The second pipeline, to be constructed by New Jersey Natural Gas, goes from Chesterfield (Burlington County) to Manchester (Ocean County) and will also come up for a vote before the Pinelands Commission. Each county in the Pinelands has a representative on the Pinelands Commission appointed by that county’s Freeholder Board. Ocean County’s representative is Commissioner Alan Avery. Tell the Ocean County Freeholders that Alan Avery should stand up for the county and vote NO on both pipelines. They violate the rules that protect the Pine Barrens and they threaten the health and safety of its residents. Please sign by February 8 to have the maximum impact.

There are two high pressure gas pipelines proposed for construction that will impact Pinelands residents and natural resources. Both proposed pipelines violate the rules that protect the Pinelands National Reserve, a state and federally protected region in New Jersey. The state Pinelands Commission is a 15-member independent public body responsible for enforcing the rules that protect the Pinelands. They will vote in early 2017 on whether or not to approve the first of these pipelines, the South Jersey Gas pipeline, which will go through Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic Counties. The second pipeline, to be constructed by New Jersey Natural Gas, goes from Chesterfield (Burlington County) to Manchester (Ocean County) and will also come up for a vote before the Pinelands Commission. Each county in the Pinelands has a representative on the Pinelands Commission appointed by that county’s Freeholder Board. Cumberland County’s representative is Commissioner Jane Jannarone. Tell the Cumberland County Freeholders that Jane Jannarone should stand up for the county and vote NO on both pipelines. They violate the rules that protect the Pine Barrens, they threaten the health and safety of its residents, and Cumberland County residents will pay for the pipelines' costs without ever being able to use the gas to power their homes. Please sign by February 8 to maximize impact.

There are two high pressure gas pipelines proposed for construction that will impact Pinelands residents and natural resources. Both proposed pipelines violate the rules that protect the Pinelands National Reserve, a state and federally protected region in New Jersey. Approximately 2/3 of Burlington County is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. The state Pinelands Commission is a 15-member independent public body responsible for enforcing the rules that protect the Pinelands. They will vote in early 2017 on whether or not to approve the first of these pipelines, the South Jersey Gas pipeline, which will go through Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic Counties. The second pipeline, to be constructed by New Jersey Natural Gas, goes from Chesterfield (Burlington County) to Manchester (Ocean County) and will also come up for a vote before the Pinelands Commission. Each county in the Pinelands has a representative on the Pinelands Commission appointed by that county’s Freeholder Board. Burlington County’s representative is Chair of the Commission, Sean Earlen. Tell the Burlington County Freeholders that Sean Earlen should stand up for the county and vote NO on both pipelines. They violate the rules that protect the Pine Barrens and, they threaten the health and safety of its residents, and Burlington County residents will pay for the pipelines' costs without ever being able to use the gas for powering their homes. Please sign by February 8 to maximize impact.