Right now some of California's crops are being irrigated with toxic fracking and oil wastewater. Some of the companies using this wastewater on some of their crops include Halos Mandarins, Sunview Raisins and Grapes (some of which are certified organic) and Trinchero Family Estates, which makes Sutter Home Wines. It is inexcusable that the oil and gas industry is allowed to use American families' dinner plates as a disposal site for toxic oil field wastewater. Governor Brown must stop allowing wastewater to be dumped on our food crops in California!

The Senate’s Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 (S.2015) isn’t what it claims to be. Instead, it’s just more of the same dirty energy policy: cuts to energy efficiency programs, accelerated approval for liquefied natural gas exports, and no real plan to decrease fossil fuel use or increase renewable energy. Sign the petition to tell your senators to say NO to this dirty energy bill.

To encourage the Waco City Council to pass an ordinance banning single use plastic bags. Bans or fees have been instituted in 31 countries and over 100 U.S. cities. Studies have found such policies effective in reducing local plastic litter.

Volkswagen repeatedly and intentionally cheated the Clean Air Act for the last 6 years. The company’s “clean diesel” cars included software VW installed on nearly 500,000 cars sold in the U.S. to cheat on emissions tests. When researchers discovered that VW cars circumvented emissions regulations in 2014, the company told the EPA they fixed the problem. But we now know the problem persisted for half a million vehicles. And the real-world results are astounding: VW cars could be emitting 15-35 times more smog-forming pollution while on the road than was showing up on their emissions tests. And while we aren’t sure why VW cheated, we have a pretty good guess. Experts have suggested these emission controls impacted performance, making the cars less fun to drive. When engineers couldn’t solve the problem, they decide to install a little bit of code to cheat the Clean Air Act and consumers. One thing is clear. We’re suffering. Pennsylvania has been named the second smoggiest state in the nation by a recent report from the American Lung Association. Another recent study found that diesel vehicles a major source of Pittsburgh’s air pollution problems. What the consequences look like for VW isn’t final. With fines reaching $36,000 per a vehicle, they could be astronomical. But, it’s important that the EPA comes down hard on VW—to protect our health and to make it clearing this kind of cheating isn’t tolerated.

The actions of these organizations have been extensively documented in peer reviewed academic research (Brulle, 2013) and in recent books including: Doubt is their Product (Michaels, 2008), Climate Cover-Up (Hoggan & Littlemore, 2009), Merchants of Doubt (Oreskes & Conway, 2010), The Climate War (Pooley, 2010), and in The Climate Deception Dossiers (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). Successful prosecution of the tobacco industry under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act) is a valid example of the power and effect of this act. It's high time to apply it to the fossil fuel industry it's CEOs and it's paid propagandists.

More than 100 million Americans live in vulnerability zones that surround dangerous chemical facilities, putting them at risk of explosions, fires and releases of toxic chemicals caused by these facilities. We can make our communities safer by ensuring that these facilities switch to safer chemicals and technologies that are both available and affordable. Tell Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy we need a strong rule to make chemical facilities safer!

To save the whales, who are very susceptible to loud noise in the ocean!

Just off the shores of New England, a fragile undersea mountain range brimming with rare marine wildlife—critically endangered North Atlantic right whales—is threatened with destruction. But there’s a chance to save it. Tell the Obama administration to make history and create the first-ever marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. New England’s “Grand Canyons,” sea mountains, and Cashes Ledge are national treasures. These precious ecosystems provide refuge for hundreds of species of rare and unique marine wildlife. These areas are also critical to the health of our ocean fish, the lifeblood of Atlantic coastal communities. Earthjustice has been fighting to protect our ocean ecosystems and we need your help! Unfortunately, these fragile undersea places are threatened with destruction from overfishing and industrial exploitation, as the deep ocean has become more accessible to drilling, mining and damaging commercial fishing. Leading scientists agree, now is the time to protect New England’s Grand Canyons, sea mountains and Cashes Ledge before it’s too late. Overwhelming public support is needed to persuade the Obama administration to protect these special places with a marine national monument designation. Send a message now to weigh in on this important decision.

Our food system is broken thanks to a handful of powerful Big Ag companies that are driving climate change and human rights abuses. For years, RAN has profiled Cargill's role in this flawed system, but there are other US Food Giants that are responsible for some of the worst food system impacts, and Tyson Foods is one of them. Tyson is known around the world for its massive poultry operation, and recently RAN exposed the company for its link to Conflict Palm Oil via one of its leading brands, Sara Lee. Tyson Foods and its global subsidiaries are one of the world's largest producers of chicken, beef, pork as well as prepared foods containing Conflict Palm Oil. It's leading brands include Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Sara Lee® Frozen Bakery, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells® and State Fair®. Tyson Foods is one of the largest meat producers in the world with recently reported record profits over $37 billion in revenue. The food giant has unprecedented control over the U.S. meat supply and is the biggest poultry producer in the world. The system of chicken production that Tyson has built keeps farmers in a state of indebted servitude, living on the edge of bankruptcy, and takes a huge toll on the climate. Altogether, our industrial system of agriculture is driving roughly one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, largely from tropical deforestation/land conversion for livestock and commodity feed crops, methane emissions from the prevalent industrial/factory farming model of animal production, and food sector emissions like manufacturing processed foods. Corporations like Tyson Foods, through its factory farm industrial model of production, is driving runaway climate change, increased levels of corporate control, high levels of food waste, forest loss and fragmentation, soil erosion, water scarcity and pollution, loss of biodiversity - both genetic diversity of crops and threatened extinction of key species, food insecurity, and racial inequity. Take action with RAN to demand that the biggest and most egregious global food producers, starting with Tyson Foods, adopt a comprehensive palm oil and meat sector policy. Tyson Foods must transparently report on its efforts to curb its impact on people, wildlife and the planet. It must publish data on its contribution to rainforest destruction, carbon pollution, biodiversity loss, human and workers rights abuse and its impact on global water supplies.

The science couldn't be more clear. We must take swift action to end the dangers that fracking and extreme oil extraction pose to California's future. Fracking and these other dangerous forms of drilling and extraction are a direct threat to our water, air, food and environment. Governor Brown and the Legislature must act now to keep our families, communities and planet safe by banning all dangerous forms of drilling and extraction immediately.

In his encyclical on the climate, Pope Francis wrote: “There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy.” Inspired by the Pope's call for climate action, and called to act by FERC's continued rubber-stamping of fracked gas projects like pipelines, compressor stations and export terminals, the BXE fast is in the great tradition of Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Dave Dellinger and Bobby Sands. They plan to visit FERC every day, and refuse to accept any food or drink except water until September 25th, the day the Pope speaks at the United Nations in New York City, or FERC stops issuing new permits -- whichever comes first. These brave climate warriors are risking their health, comfort and safety to stop any of our towns and communities from being sacrificed to fracked gas infrastructure. Sign here to stand in solidarity with them.

Urge American Airlines and their partners to participate in the collection of recyclable items on their aircrafts. American Airlines leads major companies like; U.S. Airways, PSA and of course, American Airlines. According to a recent study “the EPA estimates that 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable” and with such a large company, they can make a major difference by simply doing recycling collections. Please urge them to act now and make recycling collection occur on all of their aircrafts.