As a longtime Albany resident, I'm gravely concerned about my city. Petroleum company Global Partners wants to ship heavy crude oil, extracted from tar sands, by rail to the Port of Albany in New York and then down the Hudson River. A mere derailment or fire could irreparably damage New York's environment. And the site of the crude oil heating facility is right next to low-income housing, where the predominately African-American and Latino communities who live there will be particularly vulnerable. New York needs to take a stand on environmental justice. Tell the Department of Environmental Conservation to protect the Hudson River and low-income communities and stop crude by rail. http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Editorial-Come-clean-on-crude-oil-5139332.php

I started this petition because I am concerned about the quality of our drinking water, the quality of our air and the overall quality of life in northern Wisconsin. Please sign if you agree.

The EPA has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the transportation and storage of toxic chemicals. The explosion in West, Texas was a tragic reminder of why these regulations are necessary. The latest chemical spill in West Virginia serves to reiterate that need. The EPA needs to act.

Wolves were recently removed from the Endangered Species Act protections. They are now being hunted, trapped, and snared often suffering terrible pain before death in these barbaric torture devices. Despite the public's support of wolf recovery, and in contravention of the court's holdings that kept them protected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the urging of special interest groups, pushed wolves off the ESA and into the hands of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming where the state "management" plans call for killing almost all of their wolves. The method by which this was achieved was via a sleazy backdoor non-germane rider that was pushed for by ranchers, sportsmen and hunting groups. This is the first time that any animal was targeted to be removed from the ESA. Not only is it bad for wolves but it has opened the door to target other species from being protected under this key legislation. We need wolves placed back on the ESA by another act of Congress. Take your legislators to task.

The USDA is poised to allow farmers to plant 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) resistant corn and soy. This would allow farmers to plant these crops wherever they please without any government oversight, disregarding the harms they will cause. 2,4-D is a toxic herbicide associated with serious health impacts. Dow AgroScience created these 2,4-D resistant crops so farmers could spray the herbicide without killing their corn and soy. But when the same herbicide is sprayed on a field repeatedly, a few naturally resistant weeds survive, reproduce and eventually take over. Because farmers did this with Monsanto’s Roundup-resistant crops, fields across the U.S. are now choked with Roundup-resistant weeds. Industry’s solution is to genetically engineer crops to resist a different, more toxic herbicide, to kill those resistant weeds but not the crops. But make no mistake, these GMO crops will, like their predecessors, lead to much greater use of even more dangerous chemicals, the development of more herbicide-resistant weeds, destruction and genetic contamination of neighboring crops, and severe economic impacts on other farmers. USDA projects approval of these crops will result in an up to 600 percent increase in 2,4-D use on crops, to as much as 176 million pounds per year, while independent scientists believe much greater increases are likely. Drifting 2,4-D already causes more crop injury events to neighboring farms than any other herbicide. Please tell the USDA to deny approval use of these crops.

Last year, Rhode Island lawmakers first considered a statewide ban on plastic bags. With the General Assembly back in session for 2014, we have the opportunity to get this on the agenda right away. It’s going to take significant people power to overcome tough plastics industry opposition at the State House, so take action and share with your friends!

Governor Pat Quinn claimed the law he supported to regulate fracking would protect Illinois' environment. That was a lie. The inadequate law cannot make fracking safe for people and our environment. After being negotiated with industry lobbyists behind closed doors, the fracking bill was rushed through the legislature with only a few hours of public debate. Now that the public has had time to review the regulation, it's clear the weak law won't protect us. The fracking law will not prevent: earthquakes after fracking in two Illinois seismic zones, water contamination, the results of flooding and tornado disasters that hit fracking sites, radioactivity of fracking waste water, the negative health impact of air emissions on people who live nearby, destruction in the Shawnee National Forest, or many other community and public health impacts of a fracking boom. It even allows an office of Mines and Minerals that's notoriously cozy with industry to waive fines and grant new permits to repeat offenders who have a history of violating the law. Key legislators who led the way in negotiating the law include Representatives John Bradley, Mike Bost, David Reis and Barbara Flynn Currie, plus Senate sponsor Mike Frerichs, and Green Caucus chair Ann Williams. They claim to care about protecting your environment. Tell these fracking hypocrites we don't believe their empty promises! The only reliable way to protect people and our environment is to ban fracking.

Oregon doesn't currently have any fracking facilities, and there's no reason to support such a dangerous business. Fracking (hydro-fracturing) is the process of blasting shale with a mixture of water and chemicals to release energy. The blasting contributes to earthquakes, and only 30-50% of the fracking fluid is recovered; the remainder of the toxic chemical mixture is left in the ground, spreading to groundwater - and into people's drinking water. Furthermore, shipping oil on trains increases the possibility for oil spills. In March of 2013, a derailed train spilled up to 714 barrels of oil. Oregon is also proposing to import liquify natural gas, in the process increasing carbon dioxide usage by up to 30% compared to currently used domestic and Canadian natural gas. The proposed pipeline on the Columbia River would import fracked natural gas, liquify it, and export it. To build and run the liquifying terminal, rivers would need to be dredged, the process would use billions of gallons of water, the pollutants would affect water quality and air quality, and public safety would be reduced. This is clearly a hazard to human health and the environment; Oregon needs to stop supporting the fracking industry immediately, and move to safer sources of energy.

Over 300,000 West Virginians’ water was poisoned with chemicals from the coal industry -- and now hundreds of people are sick. Water isn’t only being poisoned by these chemicals; there is a long history of water in West Virginia being poisoned by the coal industry; mountaintop removal has destroyed thousands of pristine streams, and there are dozens of toxic slurry dams across the state. West Virginia’s DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has been captured by the coal industry, and can’t be trusted to ensure safe, clean, drinking water. We need OSM to step-in, terminate West Virginia’s ineffective mining enforcement program, and set-up a program that protects our water. Water in West Virginia is being poisoned every day, and another tragic spill like this could happen at any moment. The CARE Campaign, founded by concerned West Virginians, is petitioning the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to terminate West Virginia’s mining enforcement program and implement a program that is accountable to the people of West Virginia. Demand President Obama’s OSM step-in and stand with West Virginians. "Exposure to the slurry of water and other chemicals formed after coal is washed would be more dangerous to human health than exposure to MCMH—and there have been numerous coal slurry floods and spills in West Virginia and U.S. history. That slurry is made far more toxic by the heavy metals and other dangerous elements leached from the coal itself. " - Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-dangerous-is-the-chemical-spilled-in-west-virginia&page=2)

Good News! The first hearing for this bill will be January 28, 2014. Please send your supportive comments to [email protected] Make sure your subject line is: "Testimony re PIA-58 Jan 28th" Address it to "Chair Hokama" This is only step one so keep sharing this petition widely!

In Massachusetts there are no laws for "Great Ponds" that require an environmental inspection and certification to ensure that all holding tanks on a boat have been permanently disconnected or sealed so that accidental leaking can not occur. New Hampshire has such a law, why not Massachusetts! Please copy and paste the link below into google search then look for the PDF named "WD-BB-38 The DES Boat Inspection Program New Hampshire" to read how New Hampshire addresses this problem. http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/bb/documents/bb-38.pdf

Our Leaders in WV have turned our state over to the destruction caused by oil and gas extraction. Just as our long history with coal mining has proven; little more than lip service has or is being paid to the health and welfare of our citizens or the environment upon which we depend. Every day we face more contamination and potential death due to spills, pipeline ruptures, well explosions, dangerous roads and heavy equipment traffic. Lives have already been lost. We do not need jobs that kill. We need leaders who will focus on developing renewable energy which will guarantee jobs and a cleaner environment for our children well into the future. West Virginia must also be concerned about our neighbors living up wind and down stream from our ever increasing poisonous emissions. West Virginia is our home. We insist that our home be protected.