There are certain rules fishermen must abide by, such as, people only being able to catch six Striped Bass at a time or there being a certain size fisherman can catch. By removing these restrictions the number of Striped Bass in the Delta and San Joaquin River will be reduced. Since Striped Bass mostly feed on Salmon, after removing many of them from the water, Salmon population will be able to expand. Considering that Striped Bass is the most abundant predator, Salmon will be able to increase the size of their population after restrictions on Striped Bass are removed, therefore, bringing more Salmon to the San Joaquin River and Delta. Environmentally, this will benefit the Delta and San Joaquin River’s population of fish. There will be reduction of the amount of Stripped Bass in the Delta however, there will be an increase of Salmon. Economically, there will be more jobs for fisherman. There will also be more fish making the cost of Salmon decrease as well as the cost of Striped Bass.

What I'm proposing is for Chicago to implement a Cap-and-Trade emissions policy for carbon within the city limits, thus creating a proven model that can be replicated and spread throughout the United States and world. The details to be worked out by Mayor Emanuel involve MAJOR producers of greenhouse gases having to buy permits to put a certain amount of emissions into the air. Originally a Republican solution (Reagan, and Both Presidents Bush), this policy would financially incentivize voluntary reductions and conversions to cleaner energy sources. And according to Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a 10/14/09 USA Today article, the cap and trade impact on employment would be small. The Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/clearskies/captrade.html) and Al Gore's Climate Reality Project, as well as moderate Republicans and Democrats support this as a viable, market based solution to global warming. We therefore want to start in Chicago and go from there. --------------------------------------- Need more details? Here's a short summary from the US EPA: "Cap and trade is an environmental policy tool that delivers results with a mandatory cap on emissions while providing sources flexibility in how they comply. Successful cap and trade programs reward innovation, efficiency, and early action and provide strict environmental accountability without inhibiting economic growth." EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL cap and trade programs IN THE USA include the nationwide Acid Rain Program and the regional NOx Budget Trading Program in the Northeast. Additionally, EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) on March 10, 2005, to build on the success of these programs and achieve significant additional emission reductions." In other words, it has been done in the past and we can do it again. City by city, this petition starts in Chicago. Named the 2014 Earth Hour Capital of the US by the World Wildlife Fund, Chicago is second to none and this proposal will prove that WE DO HAVE THE POLITICAL WILL to change the course of what the U.S. Secretary of State called in a February 17th article on CNN.com "... the greatest challenge of our generation, and we can create the future that everybody dreams of". You are being called to rise to the greatest challenge to human existence in the 21st Century. I challenge you to get off the couch, sign and spread this petition to answer the call. Be the change that you want to see and thank you.

Until research is complete and the safety of our students is ensured the school board should make it their number one priority to protect our children. The potential loss of enrollment and funding will greatly affect the longevity of our local school and is of great concern.

According to U.S. Bureau of the Census, there are 11,459 households within Cheboygan County, Michigan. If each uses 9 plastic shopping bags per week, a total of 5.3 million plastic bags are distributed within Cheboygan County, Michigan, each year. According to the EPA, fewer than 5% of the plastic bags used in the U.S. are recycled. so 5.0 million of the plastic bags that are distributed within Cheboygan County are sent to landfills. According to www.worldwatch.org/node/5565, plastic bags take thousands of years to decompose. According to the Great Lakes Alliance on Adopt-A-Beach, plastic bags make up 13% of the trash on the beaches within Cheboygan County, Michigan. Animals, including turtles, fish, and birds, are killed when they ingest plastic bags.

Last year, the oil industry succeeded in stopping anti-fracking measures in the California Legislature. Since then, fracking has continued to expand in California, putting our communities and the climate at risk. But now it’s our chance to fight back. Senators Holly Mitchell and Mark Leno introduced SB 1132, a strong moratorium bill that, if passed, will protect California from fracking. The oil industry will spend huge amounts of money and exert tremendous political pressure fighting this bill, so we need to speak out to make it clear that we expect our elected officials to vote for a fracking moratorium.

It is urgent that we bring awareness of this emergency to as many people as possible. This being a catastrophe born of the last 50 years, in another 50, our grandchildren will not know what it means to swim in the ocean, to drink naturally fresh water, and will be learning about many extinct species of animals/mammals in their history books.

The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline would guzzle along half a million barrels of oil each day, tearing up the land, disrupting the community and wrecking local wildlife even if they didn't mess up again.

Back in December, the PA Supreme Court ruled that local municipalities do reserve the right to decide whether they will allow shale drilling in their communities. This big victory affirmed that the Pennsylvania constitution protects the authority of local communities to regulate or block the drilling companies looking to frack in their backyards. But last month, Rep. Seth Grove introduced a bill that would overturn that court ruling. In his own words, HB 2115 “will preempt all local ordinances.” We can’t let this happen. Local communities should have the power to make decisions about their own citizens lives; decisions that will affect public health, the environment and the economy.

Exxon has stated that it will not change its policies on climate change, despite the need to get away from fossil fuels. The Koch Brothers likewise are climate change deniers. I have grandkids. I would like to leave a better future for them.

WITH COP21 taking place shortly (this update is Nov 19, 2015, basically 10 days ahead of this monumental environmental event in Paris, bringing all world leaders to take their boldest actions on ensuring we have a livable planet)... WE NOW FEATURE A NEW PETITION-WITHIN-A-PETITION, going specifically to all mayors and their city councils in the East Bay, who have NOT signed on to a CCA. Here is the petition: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/mayors-and-city-councils With congressional gridlock on our climate threat, it is becoming clear that cities, counties and states now have the power to take significant action that is tremendously effective. It is clearly time to accelerate the country's 100% renewable agenda, now that the global mark of 400 parts per million of atmospheric carbon has been reached. With blueprints now published by Jacobson et al. for all 50 states to go 100% renewable, now is the time for action. See www.theSolutionsProject.org for details. (Note: you will probably need to copy all links to your own browser). Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Energy is a local energy solution that allows for the rapid switch to clean power sources. Besides Marin and Sonoma counties, other California cities and counties are investigating CCA for their communities: Monterey Bay region, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and the cities of San Luis Obispo and San Diego, and others, now including Lancaster CA. Nearly 1,000 communities in five other states legislated for these CCAs have chosen Community Choice Aggregated Energy. See www.LeanEnergyUS.org for more details. To see what a CCA looks like in Marin county, see www.MCEcleanenergy.com. Here is the link to an introductory study on how feasible this is for the East Bay: http://ecologycenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Concept-Paper_CCE-in-East-Bay.pdf The white paper indicates there is available capacity within the boundaries of these two counties to build solar and small wind farms on industrial wasteland, meaning little if no renewable energy would need to be imported, that it could all be locally provided - an ideal situation. ADVANTAGES A CCA will not raise taxes. It will work in partnership with PG&E, reducing the cost of energy, as proven in Marin county, and the other states that have them. UPDATES - in Alameda county, in June 2014, all 5 Alameda county supervisors voted 5-0, to approve $1.3 ML towards a feasibility study to create a CCA in the county. CCA legislation is in process in Hawaii and Utah, also Delaware and Minnesota. New York is now the 7th state with CCA legislation. In late July 2014, we learned about a new small wind company called PRIMO Wind, based in San Diego CA, that has created a non-turbine style fixture for accessing wind, that is silent, doesn't kill birds and can be applied to buildings or designed into small wind farms. Its footprint is smaller than solar, and is more cost-effective. See www.PrimoWind.com and this 2-minute video - http://youtube.com/watch?v=21HRjjLLjpg&feature=youtube PLEASE NOTE, those signing: we want to ensure signatures represent where you live. Mayors want to know who their constituents are. By signing, you are asking your elected officials to give setting up a CCA, a good look. EXCEPTIONS of cities not involved: The city of Alameda has its own utility and is already over 80% renewable. The city of Richmond has already joined MCE, along with El Cerrito and San Pablo.

Walgreens is the nation’s largest drugstore chain. Its business is all about promoting and supporting health and wellness, including its own families, friends and neighbors in Springfield, Illinois, where the company is based. In 2013, testing[1] of items bought from Walgreens found, among other things, high levels of lead in decorative beads, and high levels of phthalates in out-door folding chairs. Lead can cause brain damage,[2] while phthalates, an endocrine disruptor, can produce adverse reproductive impacts such as low sperm count, and even cancer.[3] While Walgreens has taken some steps to address certain environmental and public health risks, such as launching the "Ology™" Brand of Healthy Home Products that is free of phthalates and other risky chemicals, what about all the other products it carries? It has yet to adopt a chemical policy to work with their suppliers to reduce, eliminate, or safely substitute the Hazardous 100+ chemicals identified by the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families Coalition. How can the company in good conscience continue to sell products that could contain dangerous chemicals that could actually cause harm to their clients? Walgreens needs to be a good neighbor and help protect Illinois families... and ALL families! Sign the petition and tell Walgreens: No more toxic products! [1] http://www.healthystuff.org/retailer-walgreens.php [2] http://saferchemicals.org/toxic-chemicals/lead.html [3] http://saferchemicals.org/toxic-chemicals/phthalates.html

Pollution is a growing problem, and wind energy among other clean energies is an important step to try and stop the massive pollution. Increasing funding for wind research and energy will reduce reliance upon dangerous fossil fuels, help to keep a clean earth for future generations, and increase West High School recognition around the world.