Both Politico and The Atlantic are hosting events during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, one of the organizations called out by Senate Democrats earlier this month for "perpetrating a sprawling web of misdirection and disinformation to block action on climate change." The American Petroleum Institute is a notorious front group for ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and other climate polluters. With the paid collusion of Politico and The Atlantic, they are promoting their civilization-threatening Vote4Energy "voter education project," which calls for an "all-of-the-above energy strategy " with "increased production of oil and natural gas," denying the urgent scientific warnings about increased greenhouse pollution. Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and the Democratic National Platform are all calling for a Department of Justice investigation of the fossil-fuel industry for "corporate fraud" and "misleading shareholders and the public on the scientific reality of climate change." For Democrats - including representatives of the Hillary Clinton campaign - to participate in a Big Oil propaganda event during the Democratic National Convention - is a unseemly grant of social license to this web of deception. The participants in the "Vote4Pollution" Atlantic and Politico events focused on energy policy include: * Gov. John Hickenlooper (CO) * Gov. Jay Inslee (WA) * Rep. Jerry McNerney (CA-9) * Rep. Gene Green (TX-29) * Rep. Dave Loebsack (IA-02) * Trevor Houser, Energy Advisor, Hillary Clinton campaign * Heather Zichael, former White House climate advisor Planned participants in the other "Vote4Pollution"-sponsored events during the week include: * Sen. Chris Coons (DE) * Rep. Joe Crowley (NY-14) * Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03) * Rep. Xavier Becerra (CA-34) * John Podesta, chair, Hillary Clinton campaign * Neera Tanden, President and CEO, Center for American Progress * Ruy Teixeira, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress * And other Democratic advisors and former top officials It is a troubling state of affairs that the journalists of the Atlantic and Politico are accepting payment from dangerous propagandists. It is even worse that Democrats who claim to not only recognize the serious of the climate emergency but call out fossil-fuel influence and deception are rolling in Big OIl's muck. We expect the members of the Democratic Party to stand by their professed principles and boycott these events.

No matter how careful you are about what you eat, your food could be loaded with toxic chemicals called phthalates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a petition, filed by Earthjustice and several partner organizations, asking the agency to withdraw its approval of all 30 phthalates currently allowed as food additives. Please tell the FDA that phthalates don’t belong in our food. Phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are a class of hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been linked to severe genital birth defects in baby boys and to other reproductive health problems. They’re also linked to deficits in child IQ, developmental delays, and other learning disabilities. It’s hard to avoid phthalates because they’re used in many of the materials that come into contact with our food—from the plastic gloves that food workers wear to plastic equipment used in processing food to the plastic packaging our food is sold in. Phthalates leach out of these materials and seep into our food, ending up in all of our bodies. Despite powerful scientific evidence of the harmful health effects of these chemicals, the FDA still allows the use of 30 different toxic phthalates as “food additives,” meaning that they can be used in food-handling equipment and food packaging. Please tell the FDA to keep toxic phthalates out of our food!

In the latest demonstration that he has learned nothing from the Flint Water Crisis, Gov. Snyder appointed oil industry lobbyist Heidi Grether to head the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Grether has said publicly that her top priority is improving the department's public image - not environmental protection. Yet again, Snyder is more concerned with PR than protecting our air, water and public health. The Michigan Senate has the power to confirm or reject her nomination. Tell them to stand up for clean air, water and healthy communities today by refusing to confirm Gov. Snyder's MDEQ pick.

In the latest demonstration that he has learned nothing from the Flint Water Crisis, Gov. Snyder appointed oil industry lobbyist Heidi Grether to head the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The Michigan Senate has the power to confirm or reject her nomination. Tell them to stand up for clean air and water today by refusing to confirm Gov. Snyder's MDEQ pick.

Western Pennsylvania is already plagued by poor air quality and resulting health problems like asthma and high rates of cancer -- yet Shell is trying to build a massive ethane cracker plant in Beaver County. This facility would be another major air polluter for the region; if built, it could emit up to 10 times as much volatile organic compounds as Clairton Coke Works, a notorious nearby air polluter. Call on Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to put public health first and reject Shell's ethane cracker permit.

Although Barack Obama promised in 2008 that he would support labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) he has remained silent behind his "bully pulpit" while voter initiatives to require GMO labeling failed by narrow margins in three states (California, Colorado and Oregon.) My family has a right to know what is in the food they eat. President Obama needs to veto pending legislation that preempts the states from passing REAL and EFFECTIVE labeling which the vast majority of consumers are in favor of. Here are the White House phone numbers: PHONE NUMBERS Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414.

This petition will place a ban on Gas and Oil Hydraulic Fracking in Hillsborough County Florida. This will hopefully shift resources to begin pursuing renewable energy sources and projects as a safer alternative.

The overdevelopment of the Savos plan at the Mount Manresa site with 250 homes will jam the entrance of Staten Island with traffic. Our infrastructure in this already overdeveloped area from sewers to schools can't handle it. Flooding, lack of school seats, and danger to the community by crowding another community in an overdeveloped area must be considered in your decision to act now, before it is too late. The Growth Management task force missed the opportunity to protect the public with correct zoning, and residents of Staten Island will pay for this incredible oversight unless drastic action is taken by the City.

I believe our community needs to be aware of the choice our city has decided on and I believe the community should have a voice in what happens to these animals! I think we can all agree euthanizing the wildlife should be at the bottom of the list for possible options.

As a CT citizen and ratepayer, I am angry that my money is being used to hijack CT global warming mitigation and renewable energy efforts and underwrite, at the same time, fracking to the west of us. I also worry about the waste water from the fracking fields that will be seeking a home here unless the fracking is stopped.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has identified climate change as an "urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources (like water)." To help prepare for the growing threat of climate change, the DOD adopted a "climate change adaptation and resilience" directive earlier this year. Top officials were assigned jobs of determining how climate change should shape everything from weapons acquisition to personnel training. But House Republicans just passed an amendment to the defense spending bill that prohibits the DOD from spending money on its climate programs. Andrew Holland, who works at the American Security Project, said, "It's actually crazy to me, and it should be crazy to anyone in the military, that Congress is telling them not to do this." (1) In addition to climate planning, the DOD has been leading clean energy research and deployment, in order to reduce the need to go to war for fossil fuels, to save lives lost while transporting fuel for battlefield operations, and to help prevent climate chaos. Given the high costs--in lives, dollars and climate instability--of fossil fuel dependence, the military’s climate and clean energy programs should enjoy strong bipartisan support, not ideological opposition rooted in climate denial. The U.S. Senate maintained funding for the DOD climate directive in its defense spending bill. Senators on the conference committee reconciling the Senate and House bills can remove the anti-climate action amendment from the final legislation.  Please sign the petition to tell senators to reject the short-sighted, "crazy" House legislation that would stop the DOD’s new climate change program. (1) http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2016/06/republicans-trying-to-stop-pentagon-climate-plan-000149#ixzz4D6Dc1WRo

Dear Mr. Schultz, As the largest coffee vendor in the world, Starbucks could be leading efforts to reduce waste in the food industry. You say you "are working to shrink [your] environmental footprint and meet the expectations of [your] customers by reducing the waste associated with [your] business, increasing recycling and promoting reusable cups," yet your company's routine practices suggest otherwise. Though you sell reusable cups and give a discount to customers who use them, I've seen no active promotion of this reward system in the many Starbucks I have visited. I've also discovered that bringing one's own cup is no guarantee that a disposable cup won't get wasted in the process. Your website claims that you "have learned that widespread behavior change is unlikely to be driven by one company alone" and that you "will continue to explore new ways to reduce [your] cup waste but ultimately it will be [the] customers who control whether or not [you] achieve continued growth in the number of beverages served in reusable cups." My own efforts to get you to address the waste inherent in your drip coffee system suggests that this claim is disingenuous. Customers like me, who order decaf in a large travel mug (even one purchased at Starbucks), have noticed that it is routine practice to use a disposable paper cup to catch the coffee before transferring it to a travel mug. Several efforts to head off this practice when I order have proven useless. I've also visited some franchises that sell travel mugs, but won't even sell you coffee in a reusable container. They say it's the law, yet another franchise 20 miles up the road makes no such claim. After three attempts over the last two years to get your company to address these relatively minor concerns, with absolutely no sign of progress, I have come to seriously doubt Starbucks' sincerity regarding waste reduction. Since I believe that Starbucks has the capacity make a real difference, I feel it's time to ask other Starbucks customers to let you know that this is not OK with them either. A company that earns $20 billion a year while adding 4 billion cups to the global waste stream could be doing a lot more to promote reuse, yet I see no evidence that you are interested in addressing even relatively small problems that would actually save you money. So, how can I expect more substantive measures, like offering real cups to those who aren't taking the coffee out in ALL franchises? You should be ashamed. I'm asking anyone who believes that waste reduction is everyone's responsibility to do the following until we see some sign that Starbucks is really listening: 1)Sign this petition to ask Starbucks to renew its commitment to promoting reuse both within its company and within its industry. 2) Share this message with friends and family. 3) Frequent locally owned coffee shops that serve coffee in real cups on premises and promote the use of reusable containers. If we don't lead the charge to stop letting convenience trump common sense, who will? Starbucks could be very influential in leading this effort, but first you have to commit to eliminating systemic waste and actively promote reuse. Can you hear me now? I hope so, because I really do like your coffee! Sincerely, Pat Blakeslee Advocate for Zero Waste