Perry Place Neighbors are joining together to stop the development of a garage in our small family oriented community. We have schools nearby and many children who play in parks near the proposed garage. Like in many other urban areas our children suffer from respiratory ailments, like asthma which will be made worse by the huge influx of cars to the proposed garage.

It’s official! The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized the president’s Clean Power Plan—the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants. The president deserves our thanks for taking the biggest step any president has yet taken on climate change. The Clean Power Plan provides a foundation for states to build on to achieve a transformational shift away from fossil fuels to clean energy. None of this would have been possible without your support. Earthjustice has been pushing hard for strong limits on carbon pollution over the past few years, and activists like you have been making climate action a top priority. From the record-breaking 8.7 million comments submitted to the EPA in support of climate action to the largest climate march in history in New York City last fall, support for climate action is simply undeniable. Power plants are America’s single largest source of carbon pollution—the pollution that’s fueling climate change, intensifying extreme weather and threatening public health. The Clean Power Plan starts us down the path to achieving real pollution reductions from this sector while pivoting to clean energy solutions to power our future. Take a moment to thank President Obama for this major action on climate change. Climate change is an undeniable threat to our health and our environment. We owe it to our kids and grandkids to support the Clean Power Plan, which lays the foundation for even greater action by every state in the country. Decisions about clean energy should be in the hands of the people, not the fossil fuel industry. The Clean Power Plan was designed to address these challenges head-on. The overwhelming support we have seen from you is making a crucial difference in spurring the most meaningful climate action by the United States to date.

Kinder Morgan is proposing a new high pressure natural gas pipeline from Wright, NY to Dracut, MA. This pipeline will create the risk of chemical leaks and explosions that would contaminate our soil, water, air, damage our properties, and create hazards in our communities. Chemical off-gassing of known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and endocrine disrupters happens at compressor stations and drilling sites, wherever pipelines are leaking. In 2011 the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration cited Kinder Morgan for a number of safety violations. The gas that will go through this pipeline will be extracted using hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking) which is irrefutably linked to health problems because of the chemicals involved and the contamination to underground water supplies. In terms of natural gas and pollution, methane leaks from fracking, compressor stations, and transmission lines create more pollution than coal or oil. We are specifically concerned about the proposed gas compressor station that would be located in the Town of Nassau, NY. It would cover 40 acres and add light and noise pollution comparable to a commercial jet taking off all hours of the day and night. Although Kinder Morgan has stated this pipeline is necessary to keep prices down and provide a bridge between older fossil fuels and future renewables, mounting evidence strongly suggests this is not true. Both the Kinder Morgan website and their project pre-application letter state that some of the gas from this pipeline will be exported. Exporting can raise our fuel prices, as was observed in winter 2014 when propane was sold overseas and U.S prices soared. We the undersigned citizens call upon your leadership to enact legislation and take such necessary actions to stop the Northeast Energy Direct Project (NED) because: 1. We do not feel that constituent concerns raised in regard to the NED are being answered honestly, fully, and accurately. 2. The profits of Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company LLC are taking precedence over the immediate and long-term safety, security, and well-being of people living along the proposed pipeline route in the following ways: a. There is no benefit of the project to New Yorkers or New York State. b. We assume health and safety risks so the NED can generate profits for their companies. c. The federal agency responsible for pipeline safety has inadequate resources to do its job. A report from the Transportation Department’s Office of the Inspector General indicates “The Federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, isn't ensuring key state inspectors are properly trained, inspections are being conducted frequently enough and inspections target the most risky pipelines”. d. Our property rights will be taken by eminent domain so that the companies can profit while we remain responsible for property tax payments. e. Our public safety officers will be unable to adequately respond to pipeline explosions. f. Our property values are likely to drastically fall. g. Our areas economic viability is likely to drastically suffer. h. We will not consume the gas, most of which is likely to be exported for the company’s profit, which in turn will drive up the cost of gas for us. 3. The NED will transmit up to 2.2 billion cubic feet of fracked gas daily, through a 30” pipeline, at a pressure of up to 1,460 pounds per square inch, and has the potential to leak toxins, carcinogens, and other hazardous chemicals that may contaminate our water wells, air, and soil. These include: a. Methane – a greenhouse gas that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found contributes to global warming. Affected Organ Systems: Dermal, Pulmonary, and Cardiovascular. b. Benzene – a colorless, sweet smelling, highly flammable chemical. It evaporates into the air very quickly and floats on top of water. Affected Organ Systems: Hematological, Immunological, and Neurological. c. Toluene – a clear, colorless liquid with a distinctive smell. It is used in making paints, paint thinners, fingernail polish, lacquers, adhesives, and rubber. Affected Organ Systems: Cardiovascular and Neurological. d. Sulfur Dioxide – a colorless gas with a pungent odor. It is a liquid when under pressure and dissolves in water very easily. Affected Organ Systems: Immunological and Respiratory. e. Formaldehyde – a colorless flammable gas that has a distinct, pungent smell. It is used in the production of fertilizer, paper, plywood and urea-formaldehyde resins. Affected Organ Systems: Dermal, Gastrointestinal, Immunological, and Respiratory. f. Nitrous Oxide – a colorless, non-flammable gas with a slightly sweet odor and taste. Commonly used in surgery or dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic effects. Affected Organ Systems: Pulmonary and Cardiovascular. 4. Local elected officials of the Rensselaer County Legislature oppose the project, opposing use of eminent domain and requesting intervention by federal officials. Therefore, we the undersigned, realizing the risks and costs to our families, our property values, our safety, our drinking water, our clean air, our roads, and the potential costs and stresses to our towns that will be created by the Kinder Morgan/Tennessee Gas Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline Project – which will be using fracked shale gas – do hereby state that it is our desire for our federal, state, county, and town leaders to immediately and permanently declare on our behalf that no gas compressor stations or new or additional high pressure gas pipelines of any kind shall be placed within the boundaries of our towns. Although NYS has banned fracking, allowing the pipeline and compressor stations to be built will result in the same amount of damage the legislation was designed to prevent.

Glyphosate, along with other toxins, made my family and I very sick and led to the death of my oldest son. Watch Dr. Stephanie Seneff interviewed by Jeffrey Smith on how glyphosate destroys many body functions and causes many diseases. https://youtu.be/KVo51yLnohY

Burning coal to generate electricity is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, and toxic air pollution which includes, among other things, mercury, lead, carbon dioxide and arsenic, which contribute to adverse health conditions suffered by those communities living on the fencelines of these plants. Retiring Bridgeport Harbor Station would improve public health, lower climate disrupting emissions, and provide opportunities for cleaner, more efficient energy alternatives.

The brutal slaughter of the lion Cecil, a Celebrity tourist attraction of Zimbabwe, was poached by American hunter Walter Palmer, who has been trophy hunting for years. Cecil's carcass would have been shipped to this country legally, had it not been impounded as evidence of criminal activity in Zimbabwe. Details of the story are here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/31/world/zimbabwe-cecil-lion-dentist/index.html We as a nation need to BAN the importation of carcasses and body parts, otherwise known as "trophies" into this country by American hunters. We as a nation should NO LONGER support the decimation of the world's wildlife for this sick sense of entertainment. We no longer want to support the practices of Cowardly and Arrogant Hunters who pay for the perverted pleasure of killing innocent and defenseless and often endangered wildlife. We need to BAN the importation of the SPOILS of the HUNT NOW!

The Clean Power Plan regulates carbon emissions from the most significant source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States: power plants. It provides a flexible framework for states to reduce their emissions by 30% through advancing the role of renewable energy, installing carbon filters on existing power plants, and updating older power plants. Not only will the Clean Power Plant reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it will also reduce American dependence on foreign oil, and benefit the economy by creating thousands of jobs in the renewable energy industry.

We have said for years that continuing fracking in Pennsylvania will lead to a public health nightmare for our state. Now we have the documents to prove it. Pennsylvanians Against Fracking steering committee member Food & Water Watch has obtained documents from the Pennsylvania Department of Health showing that the agency has had a clear pattern of responding inadequately to fracking-related health complaints. In many instances, the Department of Health responded to serious health complaints by pushing the complaint onto another agency or suggesting that individuals seek out expensive tests on their own dime. Much of this negligence occurred before Governor Wolf came into office, but the problem is now his responsibility. Governor Wolf must act immediately to halt fracking in Pennsylvania now, and put forward a plan to help individuals already adversely impacted by fracking. Join us in calling on Gov. Wolf to protect the people of Pennsylvania.

We have said for years that continuing fracking in Pennsylvania will lead to a public health nightmare for our state. Now we have the documents to prove it. Pennsylvanians Against Fracking steering committee member Food & Water Watch has obtained documents from the Pennsylvania Department of Health showing that the agency has had a clear pattern of responding inadequately to fracking-related health complaints. In many instances, the Department of Health responded to serious health complaints by pushing the complaint onto another agency or suggesting that individuals seek out expensive tests on their own dime. Much of this negligence occurred before Governor Wolf came into office, but the problem is now his responsibility. Governor Wolf must act immediately to halt fracking in Pennsylvania now, and put forward a plan to help individuals already adversely impacted by fracking. Join us in calling on Gov. Wolf to protect the people of Pennsylvania.

I enjoy visiting state parks, but even when I don't visit, I believe we need to hold some places in their natural state.

Big game hunting needs to be abolished in every country in the world.

On July 23 (2015), the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1599, a bill written by the biotech and processed food industries that preempts states’ rights to pass laws requiring the mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The bill also would prevent passage of a federal mandatory GMO labeling law. We call H.R. 1599 the DARK (Deny Americans the Right to Know) Act, because that is its sole intent--to deprive consumers of ever having the right to this basic information. Senator Sanders is in a unique position to attract mass media attention to this bill, and to persuade his fellow U.S. Senators to oppose a Senate version of the bill, when it is introduced. After all, Vermont's mandatory GMO labeling law, set to take effect July 1, 2016, would be repealed under the DARK Act. And the Boxer-DeFazio Bill, a federal bill intended to require mandatory labeling of GMOs--a bill that Sen. Sanders has agreed to co-sponsor--would be preempted under H.R. 1599. We need Sen. Sanders to speak out now, before a Senate version of this bill is introduced and gains traction. If we don't stop this bill, Monsanto will permanently take away our right to know about GMOs.