This project was stagnant awaiting funding for 16 years. Earlier in February of this year, Governor Hogan and County Executive Kittleman announced that not only were the two going to fund the project, but that it would start the following summer. 16 years earlier a sound study done revealed that the sound levels were too high for residents, yet in the plan put forth recently, there is no money, no plan, no concern whatsoever for sound mitigation for the residents along the highway. In a previous project to expand MD 216 to four lanes, sound mitigation was put in place from the very beginning; MD 216 carries on a daily average less traffic than MD 32. The State should not be allowed to proceed without a solid plan and requirement for sound mitigation.

The consequences of climate change are escalating, and momentum is building across the nation for meaningful action. In order to swiftly reduce carbon pollution, we call for a national price on carbon that returns the revenue as regular checks to benefit American households. Experts agree that we need a price on carbon to stabilize the climate. Carbon pricing is the most straightforward way to ensure that the true cost of dirty energy is reflected in the marketplace. As taxpayers, we are forced to pay the costs of climate change when hit by extreme weather, droughts, wildfires, food shortages, and more. A price on carbon shifts the burden of these unfair costs to those who are responsible for--and can reduce--greenhouse gas pollution. A strong price on carbon levels the playing field for low-carbon, sustainable energy like wind and solar, and it promotes investments in emission reduction technologies. It unleashes American innovation and stimulates new, low-carbon drivers of economic growth. Finally, a carbon price that returns revenue back to households in the form of a dividend will protect low and middle-income families, bring together both sides of the political aisle, and build voter support over time to ensure a solution that is built to last.

Beekeepers lost an average of 44 percent of their colonies last year—even more than the year prior. Other research out this year indicates that native bees are declining, too. Why are the bees still dying? Largely thanks to bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides! Bees are responsible for every one in three bites of food we eat, so we can’t afford to keep losing them. The EPA has the power to help bring back bee populations by restricting the use of bee-toxic pesticides. This June, beekeepers, farmers, and people like you are coming together for the “Keep the Hives Alive Tour.” We’re driving around the country with a truck full of dead bees in order to raise awareness about the plight of pollinators and how toxic pesticides contribute to their decline. The tour will end in Washington, DC on June 22nd with a large demonstration in front of EPA to urge the agency to take action on toxic pesticides and support sustainable agriculture. We must ramp up pressure on the EPA to act NOW. We’re aiming to reach 2 million petition signatures by June 22nd, but we need your help to reach our goal! What’s stopping the EPA from taking action? The pesticide industry. The pesticide industry is doing everything it can to protect its profits. We know the EPA is hearing from Bayer, Syngenta, and other major agro-chemical companies that spend millions of dollars on PR campaigns to shift the blame away from pesticides—despite a wealth of research linking pesticides to bee declines. We need YOUR help to tell EPA to stop dragging its feet and take strong action on bee-killing pesticides. We need to turn up the heat to make sure the harmful effects from these pesticides are eliminated once and for all. The EPA needs to hear from you—not just Bayer and other companies massively profiting from these toxic pesticides. This June we have the ability to do just that – help us make your voices heard! Tell the EPA it needs to do its job and protect bees, the planet, and all of us from pollinator-killing pesticides NOW!

The leaders of the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the European Union encouraged all countries to join them in eliminating “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” within a decade. We think that's a decade too late.

Petition to repeal Connecticut's natural gas plan Connecticut’s energy policy supports the expansion of natural gas pipelines in our state by 900 miles with the goal of converting 300,000 homes and businesses to gas. This policy is based on the false notion that natural gas is “cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable”. Natural gas is obtained through a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, which consist of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at high pressures. This form of extracting comes at the price of numerous environmental, safety, and health hazards. Natural gas by itself contains 97% methane and is a leading contributor to the contamination of water in addition to being a major source of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There have been over 1,000 documented cases of water contamination next to areas of natural gas drilling as well as cases of sensory, respiratory, and neurological damage due to ingested contaminated water* . We need your help to change Connecticut’s pro-natural gas energy policy. With the growth of clean fuel alternatives, Connecticut has the opportunity to use other renewables such as Bioheat, biodiesel, wind, solar, and hydro that can be utilized to insure that the environment is protected. With your help we can reverse the direction of the energy policy in our state. Please sign the petition below so that policy makers are aware of your opposition to the expansion of natural gas in our state. * What Goes In & Out of Hydraulic Fracking. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2016, from http://www.dangersoffracking.com/

Over widespread objections, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed raising the levels of radiation allowed in your drinking water. In the case of an emergency, your water would be allowed to contain the equivalent of 250 chest x-rays in radiation, for extended periods of time. High levels of radiation are dangerous, and there is no justification for exposing people to them, emergency or not. For the EPA to even consider this increase is incredibly irresponsible. Tell them to withdraw this terrible proposal.

A new proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) considers requiring state and metropolitan transportation organizations to track, measure, and reduce carbon emissions as well as other air pollution from transportation projects. If enacted, this new measure would help increase investment in public transit, expand safe bikeways and pedestrian walkways, relieve traffic congestion, and clean up the air we breathe. But it won't happen without your support. Transportation makes up 31 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions and is responsible for about 53,000 premature deaths each year. Reducing emissions from transportation will clean up our air and save lives. We need your help to fix the problem. Tell U.S. DOT you support this rule now.

I am a founding member of "Pure Water Alaska" and we oppose the fluoridation of our pristine glacial-fed water supply. Ocean Life is also affected by our "treatments" to the water.

From the Santa Fe Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (SF CAP): Ever since the City of Santa Fe passed an integrated pest management (IPM) ordinance in 2001, city parks, streets, and buildings have been as free as possible from pesticide applications. What a joy it has been to know you can take your children and pets there without fear of being exposed to poisons. And know that bees and wildlife are not being harmed. But that is about to change. The current IPM coordinator and Parks Division Director have breached our existing IPM ordinance, and are no longer committed to the no pesticide policy. They have already sprayed Rufina Street with glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup), a known cancer-causing chemical. They have also begun regular monthly pesticide spraying of the golf shop buildings, and made at least two applications of herbicides for weed prevention. All these actions violate the IPM ordinance, and future applications are surely to follow, since the IPM coordinator said if he couldn’t use pesticides, he'd “better get another job”. The City had it right when it stated in the IPM Ordinance that “(t)he city, in carrying out its operations, shall assume pesticides are potentially hazardous to human and environmental health.”

Fracking is causing real harm in every state where it is allowed. Health problems and even death in residents and workers, contaminated well and surface water, environmental damage and earthquakes are documented in 300 scientific studies. In Miami-Dade, fracking fluids have already been disposed of in Opa-Locka, a low-income African-American community, victimizing people with the fewest protections. Now the state wants to weaken water protection standards, making us all even more vulnerable. Signing this petition will also send a message loud and clear to Tallahassee in support of the movement to Ban Fracking in Florida. Please share this petition with your circle. To learn more about the movement to Ban Fracking, or to get info about Volunteering in the movement, please visit: http://urbanparadiseguild.org/stop-fracking/.

The CDC estimates there are half a million children ages 1-5 with elevated blood lead levels in the U.S. Lead is not safe for children at any level. Even trace amounts can cause irreversible damage to a child’s brain development and nervous system. The Flint crisis shed a light on the severity of lead poisoning in particular, as well as the urgency of taking action quickly. And it's not just Flint. Reports are sharing information about lead exposure in Texas, New York, California, Florida, and more. Half a million children in the US ages 1-5 have unsafe blood levels requiring medical attention. Lead exposure can happen through water, soil, paint... it can be pervasive and can have long-lasting medical and developmental implications for our children. Although we're *still* pushing for concrete financial support for Flint from the U.S. Congress, new efforts on Capitol Hill propose significant steps to improve infrastructure, require testing and reporting, assist those affected by lead poisoning -- making ALL our schools and homes safe for kids and families. Please join us in demanding swift action around lead NOW!

Senator Sweeney continues to support Gas Pipelines through the Pinelands Reserve. This is being done illegally, and with total disregard for the environment.