Endorsement Update: The Eastside Portland Air Coalition (EPAC) http://www.eastportlandair.org/ would like to endorse this petition in the interest of getting our message to DEQ and the State as quickly and efficiently as possible. Let’s show Salem how strong our voices are together and send them the message, “WE WANT CLEAN AIR NOW” On February 3rd, 2016, we woke up to alarming news that the carcinogenic heavy metals Cadmium and Arsenic had been detected at high concentrations in our moss, soil and in the air in SE Portland. The story has continued to unfold and only gets worse from there. More heavy metals in new locations all over Portland have now been identified, and the amount of Portlanders affected continues to grow. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and it should not have been a surprise to anyone. Portland has been polluted for quite a long while. Like many, we chose one of Portland's idyllic inner neighborhoods to buy our home and raise our family of three boys, ages 7, 5 and 10 months. Sadly, we had no idea that the air around us and soil under our feet could be so toxic. Our kids, like so many others, have spent countless hours digging in the dirt, making mud pies, rolling in our grass, eating out of urban vegetable gardens and going to our parks. Now, as the weather is starting to warm, all we want to do is take them outside to plant a garden, play basketball and teach our 10 month old what the grass feels like, but we hesitate because we are not sure if it is safe. Like many Portlanders, my family is not naive to pollution. We live in an urban area, so we know there is likely to be more risk. We are not complacent either. We actively compost, recycle, eat sustainably and locally and we ride our bikes when we can. We do our part as citizens to keep our city green and sustainable. We were, however, naive, and could not have fathomed that the very government agencies and laws put in place to monitor and regulate our precious environment could be so inadequate and inefficient. They are not doing their part, and it is time to hold them accountable. It is time to fix what is broken and make Portland and the rest of Oregon a truly healthy place for our kids to live and grow. Please sign this position and join me so that we can all get back to digging in our dirt and breathing fresh air.

Flint's water has been poisoned for more than 650 days. In order for Flint residents to have confidence and trust in the water coming from their faucets, all lead pipes in the city of Flint need to be replaced. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is moving forward with a $55-million plan, called Fast Start, to remove and replace Flint's residential pipes starting immediately, with first priority given to high-risk households. The plan is based on technical assistance and expertise from the Lansing Board of Water & Light, which has replaced most of Lansing’s lead service lines over the past decade. However, Gov. Snyder will commit only to reviewing the proposal. It's been months since the governor finally acknowledged the lead problem, and not a single lead pipe has been replaced.

Flint's water has been poisoned for 680 days and counting. In order for Flint residents to have confidence and trust in the water coming from their faucets, all lead pipes in the city of Flint need to be replaced. And Flint residents should be trained and employed to complete the work. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver is moving forward with a $55-million plan, called Fast Start, to remove and replace Flint's residential pipes, with first priority given to high-risk households. The plan is based on technical assistance and expertise from the Lansing Board of Water & Light, which has replaced most of Lansing’s lead service lines over the past decade. However, Gov. Snyder will commit only to reviewing the proposal. It's been months since the governor finally acknowledged the lead problem, and he has not replaced a single lead pipe.

Dr. Lester has nobly served the State of California as Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission for four and a half years since being unanimously elected by the commission. To be clear, Dr. Lester has not been accused of any improprieties. No accusations have been leveled against him regarding his job performance meriting cause for immediate dismissal from his position as Executive Director. Furthermore, and appallingly, Director Lester was fired despite overwhelming support, including 35 former commissioners, 156 current staff members of the California Coastal Commission, over 20,000 signed letters of support, online petitions totaling over 3,000 signatures, numerous hours of public testimony and speeches made by dozens of elected officials state, county and city, developers, conservancy groups, environmental, educational, university scholars, scientific groups and over 1,000 California citizens that travelled from all over the state of California to Morro Bay to attend the Coastal Commission's public hearing to show their support for Director Lester on February 10, 2016. In all, the consensus overwhelmingly confirmed Dr. Lester's impeccably immaculate and exemplary record of service as Director of the Commission and solidified his undaunted commitment to the Coastal Protection Act of 1972.

We must hold our government accountable for failing to strictly enforce pollution controls, and we must provide relief for the residents harmed as a result. Companies like Exide will continue to endanger people if they can violate laws and get weak punishments - let's make sure the government knows that if they let companies off the hook, they'll be held accountable instead.

We’re destroying our oceans, forests and climate - but we can’t afford to. We dump 8 Million metric tons of plastic into our oceans each year, at a cost of about $13 billion in damages to marine ecosystems each year. Overfishing and pollution are pushing endangered whales, dolphins and other species to the brink, and costing over 1 billion people the food they need to survive. Slashing and burning the world’s forests sends more climate pollution into the atmosphere every year than all the world’s cars, trucks, ships and planes combined, and has driven dozens of species - including tigers, elephants, orangutans and jaguars - to the brink of extinction. And underlying all of it is the damage we’re doing to our climate: 2015 was the hottest year on record, and during that one year there were 10 extreme weather and climate events in the US that resulted in more than $10 billion in damages and killed 155 people. 195 world governments have pledged to take action and protect our fragile planet - but they don’t yet have the plans, tools and technology to keep their promise. That’s why we’re calling on the 50 biggest companies on earth to make specific, systemic commitments to: OCEANS: Stop pollution, and protect critical fisheries. FORESTS: Stop deforestation, start systemic reforestation, and shift to climate-positive agriculture. CLIMATE: Support/implement a price on carbon and build market demand for renewables and efficiency. We’re calling on all 50 companies to take the Earth Day 50 Challenge, by Earth Day’s 50th Birthday - April 2020.

Seaworld and other coastal abusers must not be allowed to subvert the spirit of Prop 20, aka 'Vote the Coast,' which later became the California Coastal Act. Bring back the Coastal Act!

This will be the third year in a row that Wildlife Services has shot wolves from the air at the request of the Idaho Fish and Game Department. The stated goal of the wolf killing is to increase elk populations, although Idaho admits that elk populations in the Lolo Zone declined due to habitat changes well before wolves were reintroduced in Idaho. In February 2014 Wildlife Services killed 23 wolves in the Lolo Zone from a helicopter, and in February 2015 the agency killed 19 wolves. During the last five years, six other agency wolf-control actions in the Lolo Zone removed an additional 48 wolves.

The FDA does NOT require mandatory safety testing of genetically engineered foods, but instead allows GMO makers to decide on their own whether their foods are safe for American men, women, and children to eat. We need the ability to track the emergence of unusual foods allergies and other health problems that may be brought on by genetically engineered foods. We want Hillary to speak out in her campaign speeches that she supports mandatory plain English labels on GMO foods .

Public Trust Doctrine - Healthy Oceans

I don't want Congress to buy time for fossil fuel money!

On behalf of Warren Buffet's NV Energy, Nevada Public Utility Commission voted unanimously in favor of a new solar tariff structure that will destroy the Nevada solar market, one of the fastest-growing markets in the country. The changes will apply retroactively to all net-metered solar customers.