In the past decade, protections for waters of the United States have been stripped away by the Supreme Court. Their EPA's rule, now under public comment, will restore Clean Water Act protections that have been lost for 55% of Illinois waterways. Clean water is necessary for public health, recreation, business, and for our children's futures.

When I put some grid connected solar panels on my modest Milwaukee WI roof a couple years ago, at the same time that I was trying to get our 30+ year old home to be as energy efficient as possible, I certainly didn't do it for the money. I did it as one tiny way to help the planet instead of hurting it. With our panels and other efficiency upgrades combined, our average WE Energy bills have been roughly half of what they used to be. I actually thought I might be helping WE Energies out as well, since I know sourcing more green energy is a goal for them. The current plan to raise fixed charges for all WE Energies customers, rich and poor, energy hogs and energy sippers alike, feels like a slap in the face, and is most frustrating since it will hurt low income and low energy consumers the most, take away financial incentives for both individuals and businesses to conserve energy, and is completely unnecessary, since by slightly raising the cost of energy consumed instead, they could not only meet their financial needs, but encourage conservation and green energy production at the same time.

A decision is brewing in Texas that could affect students across America. Texas Board of Education member David Bradley is trying to stop students from learning the facts about climate change. Bradley is pressuring fellow Board members to approve new social studies textbooks for K-12 students that deny the scientific consensus on climate change. Since Texas is the nation’s second largest buyer of textbooks, books produced for the state are often sold around the country. Therefore, if the Texas Board of Education approves scientifically inaccurate textbooks, students nationwide will be negatively impacted. Bradley said recently, "Whether global warming is a myth or whether it's actually happening, that's very much up for debate. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.” The broad scientific community in the US and abroad links the burning of fossil fuels to climate change with the same level of certainty with which it links smoking to lung cancer. Communities across the country, including Texas, are currently confronting climate impacts including flash floods, extreme drought and heat waves. Students have a right to be taught accurate information about the causes and consequences of climate change, so they can help develop solutions to the biggest global challenge their generation will face. Tell the Texas Board of Education to refuse to consider any textbooks for adoption that deny or censor the scientific consensus on human caused climate change!

Prescription Bottles are generally made of #5 plastic, which most cities do not take by curbside recycling and it ends up in the garbage/landfill. Join me in asking major companies to continue showing environmental leadership by launching a program where customers can bring their prescription bottles back for recycling. An effort like this would be HUGE and would reduce the waste of the thousands of prescriptions being picked-up daily and around 4 billion prescriptions filled in retail U.S. pharmacies per year. Plastic #5 is also known as PP-Polypropylene and is highly resistant to photo degradation and will not decay for at least a few hundred years.

Here’s what Google Chairman Eric Schmidt recently told NPR’s Diane Rehm: “Everyone understands climate change is occurring. And the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people. They're just literally lying.” Schmidt was talking about Google’s better-late-than-never decision to disassociate from the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a far-right group that pushes polices benefitting dirty energy industries and undermining progress on climate change. But Google is still a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which – as the leading shill in Washington, D.C., for Big Business – does even more than ALEC to perpetuate polluters’ profits while humanity’s very survival is threatened by irrefutable climate change. If Google “should not be aligned with” ALEC, it should not be aligned with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce either.

Antibiotics are a pillar of modern medicine that can ensure a simple cut does not develop into a life-threatening infection, or so a cancer patient can undergo a full course of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, however, these ‘miracle drugs’ are becoming increasingly ineffective. Two million Americans get sick from antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year, and 23,000 die.

We have concluded that above all else, the carrying capacity of Kauai's Maha'ulepu Valley cannot support an operation of HDF’s size. Indeed, it remains to be proven that the land can or should support a dairy of any size. This industrialized dairy is not compatible, sustainable nor appropriate agriculture use for Maha’ulepu. HDF’s proposed dairy poses serious environmental risks and health hazards which threaten Maha`ulepu’s beautiful and ecologically unique, and culturally significant, coastline. We agree that Hawaii must continue to make steps towards self-sufficiency, but these steps must be calculated to ensure the protection of our precious resources. An Environmental Assessment (EA) must be required.

The Arctic is an amazing place, home to whales, polar bears, and other amazing creatures. We need to act now to protect it for future generations. Life is more precious, more valuable than money ever can or will be, and it is our duty as the human race to preserve and protect it.

Free trade agreements like TPP and TTIP are being pushed by the industries most responsible for driving climate change, including fossil fuel and industrial agriculture interests. These agrements empower corporations to attack our environmental laws and expand market access for producers of GHG intensive agricultural products like farmed shrimp, pastured beef, and palm oil from crops grown in the place of clearcut rainforests.

Loopholes in the Clean Water Act are threatening Lake Michigan and all of Illinois' waterways. Just this year 32, 000 people enjoyed Illinois waterways, and millions of people statewide rely on Lake Michigan and other watersheds for drinking water. Polluters should be held accountable!

The City of Milwaukee stands for the right to choose solar power. We Energies would eliminate that choice as well as raising rates on all ratepayers. We Energies needs to hear from its ratepayers that you will not be penalized for reducing your energy load through solar, other renewable's, or energy efficiency.

Every 15 minutes an elephant is killed for its ivory. That’s over 30,000 a year. The illegal ivory trade is a cruel business. But it’s much more than that. Illegal ivory generates up to $10 billion a year for criminal and terrorists organizations. Crime syndicates involved in gun, drug, and human trafficking reap huge profits from the ivory trade. So do dangerous terrorist groups, including Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab. These terrorists threaten the safety and stability of Africa and the national security of the United States. Ivory smugglers thrive with the complicity of local authorities who have little incentive to stop them. Although the trade is outlawed, lax enforcement and bribes make it easy for smugglers to operate. It’s time for America to send a message: any country that facilitates the ivory trade will pay an economic price. I’ve introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would do just that, and I hope you’ll lend it your support. The Targeted Use of Sanctions for Killing Elephants in their Range (TUSKER) Act would impose trade sanctions on countries found to be complicit in facilitating ivory trade. With the TUSKER Act, local authorities would face a new calculus when dealing with ivory smugglers: either you enforce the law, or you face the fallout of tough economic sanctions. Sign the petition: tell Congress it’s time to pass the TUSKER Act and shut down the ivory trade! Thank you for taking action. Peter DeFazio