This Wednesday Senate Bill 1464, companion legislation to Representative Jimmy Patronis’ House Bill 703, will be heard in the Senate Environmental Preservation & Conservation Committee. Conservation groups, local governments and newspaper editorial boards have all expressed opposition to what has been called “the worst bill of the legislative session” by the Gainesville Sun, “toxic” by the Martin County Times, and a “bill (that) would harm Florida” by the Lakeland Ledger. This legislation poses a direct threat to the health of Florida’s springs, rivers, estuaries, and natural lands by undermining the authority of local governments to make land use decisions, rolling-back springs and wetlands protections, and allowing for long-term consumptive use permits. In some cases consumptive use permits could be granted for up to 50 years, essentially removing this water from the control of the public and its elected and appointed representatives for a half century during a time when we know certain areas of our state will be unable to meet water demands in the near future. Among the most environmentally damaging aspects of this legislation are provisions which: •Preempt local government authority to protect wetlands and springs and regulate stormwater runoff on agricultural lands. •Preempt local government authority to require a supermajority vote on comprehensive plans and amendments. •Allow 50-year consumptive use permits for dispersed water storage projects. • Allow 30-year consumptive use permits for water projects associated with Developments of Regional Impact.

We asked the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) to require NorthWestern Energy to update existing street lights with more efficient LEDs. We’ve provided a way to pay for the retrofit. That is, we want the PSC to eliminate an overcharge that is costing Montanan’s roughly $2.1 million a year and to claw back approximately $25 million in past overcharges. That’s more than enough money to pay for implementation of this energy-efficient technology. Further, we allege that Montana’s Constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment requires elimination of NorthWestern’s wasteful nighttime energy usage. Monopolies like NorthWestern should not be allowed to force customers to pay more than they should have to because there is no alternative to the energy-hog lights NorthWestern supplies. If you support the refund of past overcharges to fund additional ongoing savings coming from purchase of Dark Sky Association approved LED street lights please join our petition; send it to 10 of your friends, and ask them to do likewise. We will present the petition as part of the public comment portion of the case. The city of Los Angeles has installed 150,000+ LEDs creating a 63.3% street lighting energy-use reduction and $7.7 million annual dollar savings (as of December 17, 2013). New York is replacing a quarter of a million of its lights with LEDs. Other cities are also moving to conserve energy. More than 2180 local governments in 50 states (+Washington DC, Guam & Northern Mariana Is), and 84 (of 196) countries & all 13 Canadian provinces and territories have installed some LED street lights. In many towns, payment for energy to light streets consumes 37 to 50+% of the municipal budget. We can cut the energy component of that expense in half. It is estimated that the US has between 26 and 52 million street lights. The technology used in those is 90 years old and the average age of these lights is 25 years. Energy to illuminate streetlights in the US costs tax and ratepayers $2 billion a year and $4 to $6 billion a year to operate and maintain them. Conversion of 52 million luminaires would save enough energy to supply 500,000 US households. At present, the PSC has decided to consider only the overcharge issue in the case. However, it has reserved consideration of other issues and we will be making offers of proof on issues not currently under consideration. Those issues include: 1) whether conversion to LEDs by NorthWestern should be mandated (as the conversion to high pressure sodium street lights from less efficient lighting was required by the PSC in 1982); 2) whether the overcharge ought to be used to fund energy efficient LED street lighting (which is saving communities worldwide money and reducing nighttime energy usage by more than 50%; 3) whether NorthWestern should be required to allow use of its poles that consumers have paid for to house LED lights if NorthWestern does not supply them (as has been done when Ottertail Power was required by the US Supreme Court to allow competitors to use its facilities); 4) whether a non-metered tariff for LED luminaires ought to be developed to eliminate the cost of metering LEDs (similar to the non-metered tariff now used to bill for current lights and non-metered tariffs offered by other utilities); and 5) whether future bills should reflect the amortization schedules of lights so cities will know when lights have been paid for and the portion of the charge used to defray infrastructure costs should drop out of the bill. If we can eliminate the present overcharge and apply past, refunded overcharge to save energy, property owners in roughly 80% of the districts with NorthWestern-owned street lights, will see a reduction of approximately $70 to $120 a year per household in their individual property tax bills. For the other 20% of street lighting districts it will mean elimination of looming future overcharges. For Montana local governments it will mean revenue savings due to elimination of part of the overcharge they pay when they contribute to overcharged lighting districts encompassing city property. After the cost of the new LED luminaires are covered from the overcharge, we are requesting that money remaining after other expenses in the case be refunded to consumers. Our testimony and exhibits have been posted (date of 3/21/14) on the Public Service Commission website at the link to docket # D2010.2.14 (incoming tab). Seattle City Light’s Edward Smalley, former Director of DOE’s Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium, notes: “LED technology has advanced to a point where it not only meets design standards for a plurality of applications where cobra head fixtures are used, but cost benefit analysis reveals the technology to also be cost effective. While many are seeing energy saving of greater than 50% over HPS, the driver for a large number of system owners is actually the operations and maintenance savings, both in manpower and resources. Furthermore, organizations like the Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium provide [online] tools and expertise to help simplify a transition to LED technology. We are at a point where it has become evident that there is a clear benefit of replacing HPS roadway lighting with LED.” To purchase 2000 LED streetlights in 2009, Seattle spent $369/luminaire. Today a better performing unit costs near $150 to replace luminaires in residential areas. As of the end of 2013, Seattle City Light has saved its street lighting customer $2.6 million per year in energy and maintenance costs by the conversion to LED street lighting, 75% of this savings going to the citizens of Seattle. It is anticipated that the savings will approach between $4-5 million a year once all 86,000 Seattle streetlights are converted to LED. At that point municipal energy use will have been reduced by 24%. Seattle City Light’s estimated simple payback is 7.6 years. Seattle’s RFP requires a 10 ye...

The American Petroleum Institute is determined to have Tar Sands Crude pumped to South Portland and Obama is likely in the next 2 months to say yes to the XL Keystone Pipeline.

I believe that climate change is the greatest challenge that our species has ever faced. California can set an example for the nation, as well as the world, by passing legislation that reduces the sales of ICE vehicles by 20% each decade over the next four decades. The state can promote a solar-based charging station infrastructure, perhaps through a public/private partnership, to support EVs as an alternative mode of transportation. If not in my home state of California, then where?

We all have lived through the elements and the hardships of this winter. Yes, I have experienced High Gas and Electric bills that I could not pay and I suffered a $900.00 + Auto Repair bill because of the weather conditions

The weak and outdated Toxic Substances Control Act does next to nothing to keep you and I safe from toxic chemicals. In fact, the scary truth is that there are about 80,000 chemicals approved for use in everyday products and very few have been tested to see if they are harmful. Many are linked to reproductive disorders, learning disabilities, diabetes, and cancer. That’s a whole plethora of chemicals that Americans are exposed to on a daily basis! We need you to call on your senators to make sure that reform of our toxic chemical laws is substantive and real. Chemical reform must protect pregnant women, workers, children and overburdened communities, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009)—as drafted—does NOT pass the test.

I'm starting this petition because I personally believe that the BSL-4 is completely safe and it will be very good for the city of Boston and the surrounding areas. This facility will attract the best and brightest from around the World and will make our great city a leader in the Biotech field. The facility has already gone through rigorous state and federal safety approvals and I believe Councillor Yancey is overreaching his mandate by trying to prevent the opening of this facility. Learn more at http://www.bu.edu/neidl/2014/03/17/bu-questions-claims-behind-proposed-ordinance/ http://www.bu.edu/neidl.

A Virginia-based corporation called Dominion Resources is seeking sign-off from Maryland regulators to build a massive fracked gas export facility on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland. Dominion wants to take nearly a billion cubic feet of fracked gas each day from drilling wells across Appalachia, pipe it across Maryland, liquefy it to 260 degrees below zero and then ship it to Asia -- at high costs to our climate and communities. If the Cove Point export terminal gets built, the increased pressure to frack throughout our region will be enormous, as will the pulse of new planet-heating pollution that wrecks our climate. In fact, the process of fracking, liquefying and exporting gas is so polluting, that Dominion’s plan could trigger as much or more greenhouse gas emissions than all seven of Maryland’s coal-fired power plants COMBINED. On top of it all, the U.S. Department of Energy itself concluded that exporting fracked gas would raise prices for Americans, harming every sector of the economy BUT the super-rich gas industry. They win big at our expense. People across Maryland and across the Mid-Atlantic region are rising up to stop Cove Point. You can join them today by submitting a comment to the Maryland Public Service Commission. Between now and April 2nd, the PSC is taking public input on whether a key permit Dominion needs to build its fracked gas export facility is in our public interest. Sign on to urge the Public Service Commission to put our health and climate above gas industry profits and deny Dominion’s Cove Point permit.

Maine has led the way in using federal grants to ensure the response by public safety will be effective and match the changing environmental conditions in the wake of climate change. Maine is no stranger to the challenges of extreme weather because of climate change, and we are a leader on climate change preparedness, but with superstorms like Sandy taking out the Northeast and droughts plaguing the Midwest, the American people deserve to know that our government is prepared for all possible scenarios.

REASONS TO SUPPORT THIS PETITION 1. CLIMATE CHANGE WON’T WAIT FOR NEW THINKING 2. NOBODY VOTED TO DESTROY HISTORIC STADIUM 3. FEDERAL LAWS ARE SUPPRESSING CANDLESTICK INVENTIONS 4. STATE LAWS ARE ALLOWING DEVELOPERS TO CHEAT 5. SAN FRANCISCO IS HIDING ITS SUPPRESSION OF INVENTIONS 6. CITY HALL IS RUSHING DESTRUCTION TO HIDE SUPPRESSION 7. KIDS NEED TO SEE ADULTS THINK OF THEIR FUTURE 8. ETHIC OF CONSERVATION NEEDED TO BATTLE GLOBAL WARMING 9. REJUVENATION OF EXISTING STRUCTURES NEEDS PROMOTION 10. WESTERN CULTURE IS STILL CONSUMING TOO MUCH FOSSIL FUEL 11. WESTERN CULTURE IS OBLIGATED TO HELP SLOW CLIMATE CHANGE ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: UPDATE ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: September 8, 2014 APOLOGIES TO SIGNERS: The authors of this petition – Richard and Judy McRee of Eureka Valley, San Francisco – have returned after experiencing some months of further suppression of their U.S. Patent for a new green technology inspired by Candlestick – renewed suppression this time owing to the interference of a compromised Federal Magistrate in their 9-year struggle to defend their own work in the face of unconstitutional U.S. Patent Law that has allowed and enabled that suppression, and which has consequently deprived American Industry and Culture of any benefit from the energy-saving inventions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`` NOT JUST A LOCAL ISSUE: -< This PETITION is far from simply a personal issue – it defines a State, Federal, and International issue that has relevance to everyone. Despite the above-mentioned further suppression, it has already been signed by individuals from France to Thailand, from the East Coast to the West Coast – people who recognize that Global Warming has been caused by bad habits like excess consumption of fossil fuel and the unnecessary destruction of sound structures like Candlestick. All unnecessary destruction contributes to increasing Climate Change. There is no Magic Fuel; no Magic Product; no Magic Legislation that will fix the problems that old habits have caused. New habits and awareness are needed. Proper legislation is nevertheless vital. UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY: -< President Obama, Governor Jerry Brown, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee have a unique opportunity with this PETITION to help set our culture on a new path to help better address climate change. By temporarily suspending the impeding demolition of historic Candlestick Park, they will allow time to investigate how long-outdated Federal and State legislation allows the unnecessary destruction of Candlestick Park and the suppression of its related inventions for new Green Industry. “NO BRAINER”: -< With the support of signers like you, many good things can happen. A moratorium can require San Francisco to back up a bit in its headlong, politically-motivated rush to destroy a useful and valued civic structure worthy of rejuvenation and respectful integration with proposed surrounding development. Our petition is not asking for anything unreasonable. Master Planners know that it is much easier and often wiser to modify existing plans before bulldozers create an irreversible and expensive mistake. AMERICAN SOCCER POPULARITY GROWS: -< Some have claimed that soccer simply won’t work at the existing 69,000-seat Candlestick Park. However, the new stadium in distant Santa Clara just hosted an international soccer match that drew 67,175 fans – S.F. Chronicle, Sep 7, 2014, p. B9). There are over 100 soccer teams in the Bay Area. PROMISE: -< Talented local Architects, Planners, and Engineers can open new doors of wonderful possibilities for our economy and culture. A Federal/State Moratorium can create some simple policy shifts that will help our Culture reorient to an exciting and imaginative Conservation Ethic instead of a habitual cycle of Destruction-Replacement touted by some as essential for a notion of “Progress” that presently rules the day among moneyed interests of the World. 35 YEARS OF WARNINGS: -< Today - thirty five years after the early warnings of Climate Change in the 1970’s - there is no longer any rationale for continuing environmentally-destructive habits like unnecessary destruction. This PETITION can help open minds to intelligent alternatives to unnecessary destruction. One by one, attitudes can change, and the President, Governor, and Mayor are now on respectful notice to act. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: F.Y.I. ==== PREVIOUS POSTINGS You may wish to cut/paste to your own file for further detailed study ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: May 19 -26, 2014 America only has one person for every twenty other people in the entire world. …yet it has habitually consumed almost one out of every three barrels of oil. Too many of us delude ourselves that American culture has no more accountability for climate change than anyone else. …however, “one out of every three barrels of oil” equates to four inches for every foot of the sea rise predicted to impact billions of people as the world’s ice melts on account of using fossil fuel like oil. In either a court of law or a court of ethics, America would appear to be held accountable for the disparity. Saving and extending the useful life of Candlestick for many decades instead of destroying it will demonstrate how to not only conserve “embodied energy” but also create green technology and green jobs for dealing with the dramatic changes that humanity is now facing – largely because our own culture over the past four decades has waited too long to assess the true cost of unnecessary destruction that is done in the name of “Progress” – such as Candlestick if we do not stop its demolition and seek a better way. … The world watches … and knows the Truth. When America admits and acts on the Truth, there will be new possibilities and opportunities for creating Good Will and Green Progress. … Saving Candlestick Park can help show the way. :::...

Asia Pacific Resources International (APRIL) is Asia Pulp and Paper (APP)'s main competitor, APP has recently committed to end deforestation while APRIL still hasn't. It is important for both our future climate and endangered species of animals that we get APRIL to commit to a zero deforestation, zero peatland, zero human exploitation policy.

Last year, under pressure from the oil industry, the California Legislature failed to pass a moratorium on fracking. Since then, fracking has continued to expand in California, putting our communities, our water supply and the environment at risk. Californians have another chance to pass a fracking moratorium bill. Senators Holly Mitchell and Mark Leno introduced SB 1132, a strong moratorium bill that, if passed, will protect California from fracking and other dangerous well stimulation techniques. We have a real opportunity to pass a moratorium this year. The oil industry will spend huge amounts of money and political capital fighting this bill, so we need your help. The first State Senate committee hearing is on April 8. We need a yes vote to move SB 1132 forward. Sign the petition to urge our California elected officials to vote yes on SB 1132 for a fracking moratorium now.