I am a conservationist and educator who deeply cares about biodiversity. As the disappearance of cougars has led to a trophic cascade of disappearing native birds, invertebrates and plants (see http://www.cof.orst.edu/leopold/cougars/OpenHouseposter.pdf), I was aghast when I learned that cougars attempting to recolonize the East are being killed -- without punishment from many states' local authorities! In order to re-establish a more balanced ecosystem, keystone predators must be allowed to recolonize the eastern US.

The nation’s largest children’s radio network, Radio Disney, has joined forces with the Ohio Oil and Gas Association to deliver a musical roadshow to kids that promotes fossil fuel extraction and fracking under the guise of teaching them “science.” (1) The show has already been delivered dozens of times at schools and county fairs across the state. Worse yet, it is being considered for expansion in 2014. As the mom of two young boys who love Disney movies and music, and also as the Director of Climate Parents, I believe that a family-focused brand like Disney has no business peddling dirty energy to our kids. At Radio Disney’s “Rocking in Ohio” roadshow, popular DJ’s lead kids in games—such as a pipeline building contest—that promote oil and gas drilling in a festive atmosphere where pop music blares and kids receive Disney-themed prizes. There is no mention of the fact that burning fossil fuels is polluting our air and water, giving our kids asthma, and creating dangerous climate impacts like superstorms and droughts that endanger our communities. It's no surprise that the fossil fuel industry would want to partner with Radio Disney, which broadcasts in more than 35 markets around the country and online and calls itself the "unrivaled broadcast radio network for kids and families." (2) Rhonda Reda, who works for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said of the roadshow, "It allows science to be fun. Who better to help than Radio Disney?" (3) But if Radio Disney were really interested in teaching kids about the relationship between science and energy, it would champion energy that is "kid safe and climate safe"--not carbon polluting fossil fuels that put children at risk. Parents and families are Disney's most important customers. If enough of us speak out, we can compel them to end this misguided roadshow immediately. Please sign our petition. SOURCES: 1. "Disney and Oil Industry Team Up for 'Rocking in Ohio" Even, Huffington Post, 12-21-13 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/21/rocking-in-ohio_n_4480812.html 2. Radio Disney, ABC Television Group www.disneyabctv.com/division/index_radio.shtml 3. "Radio Disney visits Newark to make STEM fun," Newark Advocate, 12-15-13 www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20131214/NEWS01/312140023/

As a neighborhood family physician, I have an obligation to my community and the people of our country and planet to create a safe environment for living and re-creating healthy food options (remember, before World War II, all food was organic). Chemical pesticides are toxins, plain and simple; like all chemicals, the effect is dependent on the dose: at high doses, they are literally the same chemicals used for chemical weapons, at medium doses, they cause poisonings, at low doses they will contribute overall poor health and higher rates of disease. Additionally there are less vitamins in foods grown with pesticides - causing illness and disease in this way as well. Another problem with our food is the inhumane, unsanitary, and disease causing practice of raising animals in feed lots or cages and feeding them foods and antibiotics they were never intended to eat; this makes their meat, milk, and eggs unhealthy and disease causing. I hope to see the day when our country and world's food supply is again nourishing and healthy for all people and animals. Sincerely, Shay Shahram "Shay" Hosseinion, MD Family Physician Portland, OR

Unlike uranium, thorium burns almost entirely, with little residue that decays relatively quickly. We need safe grid support besides solar and wind in order to break our addiction to fossil fuels. America began this journey 40 years ago, and now it's time to finish the job.

I have created a petition to demand the removal of fluoride from our water supply. I am personally affected by this issue because I, like everyone else in the world, require water to survive and should not be consuming or bathing in water containing fluoride as it is a highly toxic chemical. By adding this neurotoxin to the water supply, it devastates the health of all living things as well as our environment.

The issue of replacement power for the San Juan coal plant is perhaps the most important energy decision that is looming and will have enormous consequences for at least the next 20 years. PNM’s abandonment and replacement power filing - Is not the lowest cost solution; Is not the best environmental outcome; Is not the best jobs outcome; Locks in fossil fuel energy when an avalanche of scientific data demonstrates that we must transition from the burning of fossil fuels to renewables.

Kahuku has long been at the forefront of developing wind energy. We are proud of that. However, we absolutely reject this proposal that will effectively surround our small rural community with multiple 500' tall wind turbines that will alter our landscape and have negative impacts on our schools and close knit community. For our personal well being, this project must be stopped.

We must act now to limit the increasingly catastrophic consequences of global warming and climate change (more extreme weather, droughts, rising sea levels, changes in water availability) of which the burning of fossil fuels is the primary culprit. Our own survival, as well as that of thousands of other species, is in question.

On December 14th, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection began accepting comments on proposed revisions to the state’s oil and gas regulations. The PA DEP’s Environmental Quality Board is also conducting 7 public hearings during the 60-day comment period that ends on February 12th. Currently, communities in 38 counties are being fracked, yet the EQB is only holding hearings in 7 counties, including 2 where no fracking is occurring. Meanwhile, the most heavily impacted counties, like Bradford and Butler are being passed over. We are calling on the DEP to add hearings in every county being fracked. In addition, the 60-day comment period is far too short. Proposed rules like these demand ample time for comment. Rules on similarly important matters have been subject to comment periods anywhere from 120-days to six months long. The short comment period also impacts the scheduling of the hearings. The first hearing is scheduled for January 7th, the second day of the first full work week of the new year. All seven will be held within 17 days during one of the most difficult travel months of the year. No alternate dates have been provided by the DEP, nor have they stated a process for cancelling and rescheduling meetings due to weather. Does the DEP really want to hear from you? Sure doesn’t seem that way! Demand that the DEP do its job and listen to your comments and concerns. Tell them to add hearings so people, some whose lives have been turned upside down by fracking, are heard. Tell them to extend the comment period so that these proposed rules receive the proper scrutiny. We risk nothing by taking our time to get this right; we risk everything by rushing.

The Leuser Ecosystem is home to the densest population of orangutans remaining anywhere in the world and is the only place where orangutans, tigers, elephants, rhinos and sun bears live in the same forest together. The people of Aceh have long fought to protect the Leuser Ecosystem as it also provides them with clean water for downstream irrigation, agriculture and food production and helps avoid soil erosion, flooding, landslides and pest outbreaks. Massive palm oil companies are pushing hard to open this pristine ecosystem up for mass clearing in order to plant palm oil plantations. Local activists and community members are being joined by scientists and conservationists around the world to call for protection for the Leuser. And protection comes down to one man, Governor Dr. Zaini Abdullah, who can nominate the Leuser as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Port of Olympia has been taking shipments of a material called "proppants." These materials are used in the fracking industry of North Dakota (Bakken) oil shale. The hydro-fracking industry of North Dakota is implicated in harms: social destabilization, and serious environmental pollution has occurred. Economic gains, jobs and domestic petroleum production have resulted in a boom that will eventually end in a bust. Support for the hydraulic-fracking extreme extraction industry conflicts with building a level playing field for renewable energy to compete. For the good of all people, we need urgent transition away from fossil fuels. For health, we need sensible policies. We believe the Port of Olympia can do better than to engage in the fracking business.

Newspapers need to stop publishing letters that deny climate change. Just as no legitimate news publications would ever again print "opinion" pieces that deny the harmful health consequences of smoking and second hand smoke, nor should they ever again print opinion pieces that deny the impact of human generated climate change. It's time for the national conversation about climate change to focus on moving forward in our race to lower greenhouse gas emissions, not ping pong back and forth, as if there were no sense of urgency to our expanding set of consequences and dilemmas.