Climate change is impacting Montana, threatening our environment, economy, and the health of our communities. From longer fire seasons, to forests killed by pine beetles, to trout streams suffering from reduced flow caused by melting snow packs, the effects of climate change are already being felt by thousands of Montanans. Yet some of our elected leaders refuse to even acknowledge there is a problem. U.S. Senator Steve Daines is the highest-profile climate change denier in Montana politics, and it’s due to politicians like him that we haven’t seen more progress in the fight against climate change. Scientists warn that at least 80% of existing fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground if we are to avoid the worst consequences of a warming global climate. But Steve Daines is actively pushing to expand coal and oil extraction, and to build new pieces of fossil fuel infrastructure like coal export terminals and the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. Steve Daines publicly denies that human-caused climate change exists, and has refused to engage in a dialogue with constituents about how to address the issue. It’s time to hold Steve Daines accountable for his backward position on the scientific reality of climate change. Fortunately, ordinary Montanans are coming together to support climate solutions such as increased generation of solar and wind energy. This March, grassroots organizations will hold a nonviolent demonstration at Daines’ office to call out his climate change denial. Sign this petition urging Daines to take the threat of climate change seriously, and your signature will be delivered with hundreds of others on the day of the action.

The Smithsonian employs a notorious climate change denier — who was just caught concealing substantial funding from the fossil fuel industry. Tell The Smithsonian: Drop Dr. Willie Soon now.

This is an urgent moment for recycling on Maui. The pilot 3 Can Plan curbside recycling program is to be prematurely terminated on February 1st even though it was funded through June 30, 2015. If the plan is shut down, the opportunity for Maui to have island wide curbside recycling will vanish. We cannot let this happen. Curbside programs have been implemented and fully embraced by communities around the globe that have far fewer environmental concerns than we do on our island, and that have far fewer recycling commitments and obligations than we do. The goals of the pilot 3 Can Plan in Maui Meadows and parts of Kihei were to determine the program’s popularity, logistics, effectiveness and costs with the intention of expanding the program island wide. And by these criteria, the program appears to be a success. However, the success of Maui’s curbside recycling test program has been clouded by a lack of transparency in the Department of Environmental Management (DEM). Also, questionable conclusions, misleading statements and county politics have cast doubt on the accuracy of the DEM’s figures and heightened skepticism about department claims that curbside recycling is not viable for Maui. This is one of many reasons the County Council recently ordered a full performance audit of that department.

For generations, the fishing families of Kaʻūpūlehu lived in harmony with land and sea, sustainably growing and harvesting what was needed. As change came to their home, these families worked to protect the practices that sustained their ancestors by encouraging voluntary catch limits, participating in regional fishery initiatives, and sharing traditional fishing methods and educational materials; yet despite these efforts, marine life continued to decline. In 2009, following decades of loss, members of the KMLAC began developing a culturally-rooted, community-based plan to replenish the marine life that sustains the people within the ahupua‘a of Kaʻūpūlehu and beyond. A copy of the current rule proposal can be found at: http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/files/2014/05/HAWAII.13-60.4dr.pdf

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is the most popular Wilderness area in America. At 1.1 million acres in size, it is the largest Wilderness area east of the Rockies and north of the Everglades. The Boundary Waters offers 1,200 miles of canoe and kayak routes, 237.5 miles of overnight hiking trails and 2,000 designated campsites, and is home to unique wildlife including lynx, wolves, moose and loons. For 50 years the Wilderness Act has protected this special place. But, it is now jeopardized by recent proposals to bring sulfide-ore copper mining – a risky type of mining that has never before been permitted in Minnesota – to places where pollution will drain into the Wilderness itself. Byproducts of sulfide-ore copper mining include hazardous pollutants such as sulfuric acid and heavy metals, which could permanently ruin the pristine water and unspoiled forests of this place. Pollution from these mines would flow right into the heart of the Boundary Waters as well as impact Voyageurs National Park. These beloved national treasures offer unparalleled outdoor experiences to millions of people, and help drive the economy of Northeastern Minnesota, where tourism supports 18,000 jobs and brings $850 million in sales annually to the region. Please visit www.SavetheBoundaryWaters.org to learn more about the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

The largest rally against fracking in California history is coming up on February 7th -- The March for Real Climate Leadership -- and whether or not you can join us in person, we need you to sign the petition demanding Governor Jerry Brown ban fracking in California now, so we can deliver your demands right to his doorstep in Oakland! New York’s Governor took an unprecedented step by completely outlawing fracking -- now it’s California’s turn. But while Gov. Brown laid out bold plans to address climate change in his recent inaugural address, he made ZERO mention of the extreme dangers that fracking has to the health and safety of our communities. THIS is a game-changing moment for the climate movement in California. We applaud Gov. Brown's bold plans to address the climate crisis in California. But how can California claim to be a global leader in the fight against climate change while also allowing Big Oil to frack up our state and release millions of tons of carbon into the air that climate scientists agree must stay inside the earth? This is even before you factor in how fracking endangers the health of our communities, poisons our scarce water supplies, and increases the risk of catastrophic earthquakes Now is the time for Gov. Brown to show real climate leadership.

It is a disgusting blood tournament that's out of date and no longer has its place in a society where we are now aware of the delicate state of our oceans and other ecosystems.

My family lives by Scajaquada Expressway, a major urban arterial in Buffalo, NY. We were attracted to our home because it is large house near a beautiful park in our price range that can accommodate our growing family. However, after confronting the dirty reality of traffic pollution, we did some research. It turns out it's really making us sick and we can't move away from it because traffic pollution actually travels pretty far from the roadways.

Many stores and cafes in the town of Westhampton Beach serve food and drinks in containers that can and should be recycled. During the summer months, the garbage bins are often overflowing with both trash and recyclables. Our proposal is to add numerous recycle bins to the town to clean up the environment, reduce the amount of waste that flows into the current garbage receptacles, and create a more comfortable and eco-friendly community for visitors and residents alike.

As the senate convened to vote on the Ching nomination, the senate president announced that governor Ige had withdrawn the nomination. Congratulations! Each one of you was responsible for this victory for Hawai'i and our natural resources.

Fracking and extreme oil extraction techniques like acidizing are taking place in and around Brea. These wells pose a direct threat to the safety and well-being of Brea residents. There are currently at least 24 cases of fracking and acidizing within Brea’s sphere of influence. The City of Brea owns fracking wells that are located just outside the Olinda Elementary School and near the new Sports Complex. There are more fracking wells in the Blackstone and Olinda Ranch Neighborhoods within a few feet of people’s homes. Fracking is the process of injecting millions of gallons of water, sand, and tens of thousands of gallons of known toxic chemicals deep underground at extremely high pressures to blast open rock formation. This allows hard to reach oil and gas to flow more freely. Acidization is the process of using hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to stimulate wells as they melt rock layers that allow oil and gas to flow more freely. Hydrochloric and hydrochloric acid are air toxins that can cause illness and even fatalities if exposure is high enough. Less is known about acidization because it is a newer technique and mainly employed in California, but fracking has a horrendous track record. Fracking has been linked to over 1,000 cases of water contamination including groundwater contamination in 4 states, increases in air pollution and smog, and finally fracking practices and waste disposal wells have been linked to earthquakes as large as a 5.7 in Oklahoma. Fracking is also exempt from the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act making it impossible to hold the Oil & Gas Industry accountable to public health and the environment. With the passing of SB4, the statewide fracking regulations bill, we still don’t have enough protections to ensure that the public health and environment will be safe from fracking. SB4 only requires the notification of fracking and disclosure of chemicals. It does nothing to protect ensure that fracking is safe for communities of the environment. This is why we need to take local action to ensure the safety and well-being of Brea residents. This petition calls on the City of Brea to shut down their dangerous wells near schools and homes and to enact a permanent ban on all extreme and unconventional extraction methods as well as waste water injections wells within Brea City Limits.

Right now, members of Congress are working on legislation to remove existing Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across some—and possibly almost all—of the lower 48 states. These anti-wolf legislators could succeed, unless we fight back now. Wolves have just begun to recover in some areas of the United States after being nearly wiped out by centuries of ruthless hunting, trapping, and poisoning. Despite fragile successes that have brought wolves back to the northern Rockies and the Midwest, they are still missing from a vast majority of their former range and are subject to mounting persecution even where they have been restored. Urge your senators and congressional representative to stand up for wolves! Federal protections for wolves in the lower 48 states are critical to securing the recovery of existing populations and allowing wolves to expand into other suitable habitat in places like Northern California, the Pacific Northwest, the southern Rocky Mountains, and the Northeast. Now the House and Senate are poised to take up legislation to strip wolves of their federal protections in states including Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. If anti-wolf legislators get their way, the result will be more state-led killing of wolves and a blow to the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s safety net for imperiled species. Urge your senators and representatives to oppose any anti-wolf legislation put forth in this Congress.