As a long-time and regular customer of Chipotle, I have always appreciated the fact that they strive to provide customers with delicious food that is of high quality. One example of this is the fact that all of their meat is raised "without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones". This is what truly sets Chipotle apart from its other fast food counterparts. However, when I learned of the news that Chipotle is now considering changing their policy on selling only antibiotic-free meat, I grew very deeply concerned. I understand that beef prices have increased due to the shortage. However, I urge Chipotle to find alternative suppliers and continue to strive for a higher quality of meat...not supplying us with animals who are so sick that they require antibiotics!

Gas companies in Western Pennsylvania want to stop the kids who lost their home because of a nearby fracking operation from telling their story. Ever. As part of the legal settlement over the family's farm, the children were placed under a gag order -- for the rest of their lives. Any child impacted by fracking should have a right to speak about their experience if he or she chooses. Fracking contributes to groundwater contamination and climate change through methane leakage, one of the most potent forms of carbon pollution. In 2011, Stephanie and Chris Hallowich reached a settlement with gas companies after a legal fight over the fracking operation next to their farm they said jeopardized their family’s health and quality of life. As part of the settlement, the agreement between the companies and the Hallowich’s was sealed, placing the entire family under a gag order. Now, the children could face serious legal repercussions if they decide to speak out when they are older. When pressed by the media, Range Resources Corporation told reporters it will not enforce the application of the gag order if the children decide to speak. But, the family's lawyer asserts the gag order, as its currently written, could land the kids in legal trouble if they talk publicly about what happened to them -- or the impacts of fracking -- in the future. In order to protect the kids, all three of the companies involved must take the legal steps necessary to remove the children from the gag order. Children should not be forced by dirty energy corporations to remain silent about issues that affect their health and well-being. Thank you for taking action! Corinne Ball, Climate Parents

The people of California want a ban on fracking now. The California Democratic Party passed a resolution calling for a fracking moratorium now. http://www.cadem.org/resources/resolutions?id=0616 Right now, the state legislature is considering legislation on fracking, but the leaders of the Democratic Party--Governor Brown, Speaker Perez, President Pro Tem Steinberg--have blocked attempts to pass a moratorium. If we can pressure them to amend Senator Pavley's fracking bill, SB4, to include a moratorium on fracking, we will be closer to getting the outright ban we need to keep our state safe. Fracking and burning the existing 15 billions barrels of oil in the Monterey Shale will cause almost as much global warming as the Keystone XL pipeline. Fracking has been proven to contaminate ground water and the air we breathe with carcinogens and other poisons. We need to ban fracking and other unconventional oil and gas extraction techniques until there is absolute proof that they are safe. Support a ban on fracking and other unconventional extraction techniques now. Tell Governor Brown, President Pro Tem Steinberg, Speaker Perez, and Chairman Gatto: Include a moratorium in any fracking legislation passed by the California legislature, including SB4.

All nations that boarder the Pacific Ocean must come together to stop the Fukashima Nuclear Power Plant from its destruction of the Pacific Ocean and abroad. We demand that this nuclear facility to be completely taken over by countries that have the capable resources to fix and shut this facility completely down. We’ll send them a bill, later…

Please sign by August 20, 2013 AT&T wants to put a permanent set of cellular 4G antennas at Wilkie’s Inn, (1038 Lighthouse Avenue) next to the butterfly sanctuary. This is one of the few monarch habitats the butterflies rely on. This project needs to be halted immediately. Pacific Grove is an overwintering area for the monarch butterfly. Each year, these butterflies migrate thousands of miles from Canada to Pacific Grove and other special places in the Western Hemisphere. They arrive and stay through several reproductive cycles, and then continue their travels. These butterflies are huge pollinators helping in the process of making oxygen that we breathe. PG has an ordinance specifically protecting monarch butterflies. It has a small area set aside for the butterflies as a sanctuary, but the butterflies roost and feed in trees in the surrounding area. Many travel books feature this sanctuary to attract visitors from all around the world. The monarchs’ numbers have diminished, due to a variety of factors. Butterfly populations have declined by more than 90% in many areas, including along the Central Coast of California. Wireless radiation has known health impacts to humans, animals, insects, and plants. These include DNA and genetic damage, breaches to the blood-brain barrier (yes, butterflies have brains) which allows toxins and myelin-destroying white blood cells into the brain, cancers and tumors, cognitive and learning impacts, immune system damage, chemical disruption in the body, interference with magnetite (important for navigation in migrating creatures), changes in the blood, and more. There are cancer clusters around cell towers, up to 1/4 mile away. In 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer declared this a possible carcinogen – Class 2B – in the same category as DDT. In Feb 2011, AT&T and the Pacific Grove Unified School District put a temporary cell tower next to the butterfly sanctuary. Despite local opposition, it was there through two overwintering cycles, and was not removed until Feb 2013. The City of Pacific Grove actually sued to keep it there, until a temporary tower was constructed several blocks away at the city cemetery, adjacent to additional butterfly habitat. That has also been opposed by local residents. An extremely flawed report was written by the Pacific Grove Planning Department Staff, regarding the effects these AT&T cell phone antennas on Wilkie’s Inn could pose. The city did not require an environmental impact report (EIR). The city’s report did not once mention the monarch butterfly sanctuary, and stated there would be no significant adverse effects to the environment, humans included, directly or indirectly. It also stated there would be NO IMPACT, regarding this project conflicting with any local ordinance. There was no change in the city’s position when formal comments were submitted which pointed out the obvious flaws, and the planning department’s recommendations were submitted to the Planning Commission for approval. The Planning Commission approved the AT&T project on July 18, 2013. Thankfully, an appeal was submitted, but we weren’t given much time. The appeal date, when it will be heard by the Pacific Grove City Council, is August 21, 2013. An extension has been requested which would push the hearing on the appeal to September 7, 2013. We won’t know if this request is granted until the August 21 city council meeting. The monarchs rely on this sanctuary and this area. These butterflies migrate more than 2,000 miles and do not need any more obstacles to survive. By federal law, once a carrier is in an area, other carriers must be allowed to build towers or antennas as well so that AT&T does not have a monopoly. There could be a proliferation of antennas in this one area. The butterflies will be long gone if we don’t do something about this. Please take action to stop these antennas in Pacific Grove, California. Please sign this petition TODAY. Deadline for signing before the city council meeting is Tuesday, August 20. It is up to monarch lovers nationally and internationally to protect this threatened butterfly. For updates visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/savepg.butterflies Sources: http://www.mastsanity.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=269&Itemid=136 The Birds, the Bees and Electromagnetic Pollution, by Dr. Andrew Goldsworthy, May 2009 http://www.scribd.com/doc/3973887/Documentation-about-cancer-clusters-and-other-illnesses-around-mobile-phone-masts Documented cancer cluster cases nearby cell phone towers/antennas http://www.biolmedonline.com/Articles/Vol4_4_2012/Vol4_4_202-216_BM-8.pdf Impacts of radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) from cell phone towers and wireless devices on biosystem and ecosystem – a review, S Sivani, D Sudarsanam Biology and Medicine, Volume 4, Issue 4, Pages 202–216, Published: 6th Jan 2013 http://mieuxprevenir.blogspot.com/2012/07/sense-of-smell-and-sight-perturbed-in.html?spref=fb http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=22268919 http://www.teslabel.be/antennes/254-etude-a-lulb-odorat-et-vue-perturbes-chez-des-fourmis-soumises-au-rayonnement-gsm Sense of Smell and Sight Perturbed in Ants Exposed to GSM Radiation: Study at Université Libre, Brussels http://broschuerenreihe.net/britannien-uk/brochure/bees-birds-and-mankind/index.html Bees, Birds and Mankind – Destroying Nature by Electrosmog, Ulrich Warnke. Kompetenz Initiative If You Care, Do Something. Ask your kids what they’d rather have, “Cell phone reception or the butterflies!” The answer is easy.

Why don't The bugs bite your apples? It’s a funny question with a serious answer—Americans want inexpensive, perfect-looking fruit and vegetables, and pesticides do the trick. But those good looks come at the expense of farmworkers who wade through fields soaked with toxic pesticides to pick what we eat. Each year, 10,000 to 20,000 farmworkers and their families contract acute pesticide poisoning, according to the federal government. They suffer stinging eyes, rashes, blisters, nausea, headaches and even death. Long-term impacts include infertility, birth defects, endocrine disruption, neurological disorders and cancer. You can help end this travesty by joining with us in demanding stronger worker protections. Our target is the weak and outdated Worker Protection Standard, which is meant to safeguard farmworkers but hasn’t been revised for more than 20 years despite overwhelming evidence of its inadequacy. Act with us in calling on the EPA to strengthen the Worker Protection Standard by: -- Providing more frequent and more comprehensible pesticide safety training for farmworkers -- Ensuring that workers receive information about specific pesticides used in their work -- Requiring safety precautions and protective equipment limiting farmworkers’ contact with pesticides -- Requiring medical monitoring of workers who handle neurotoxic pesticides Workers in other sectors of industry are protected from hazardous chemicals, but not farmworkers. Let’s restore their right to a healthy environment!

The Oregon Department of Forestry, acting under the Oregon Forest Practices Act, continues to issue permits to spray herbicides over replanted clear cuts even when the land to be sprayed are clearly defined watersheds used by public water districts for drinking water. Other forest practices such as manual brush cutting are effective, but private forest managers are not required by law to use these alternative methods so some continue to spray. This is a flaw in the Oregon law and places citizens unnecessarily at risk. The Oregon Forest Practices Act should be amended immediately in special session. There is no effective way for water districts or the public water consumers in these small Oregon communities to assure non-degredation of their drinking water, in the face of direct herbicide applications to our watersheds.

Now more than ever, the United States needs a policy for genetically engineered food labeling: there are genetically engineered foods in up to 70 percent of the foods on grocery store shelves, the USDA is considering approving a genetically engineered apple this spring, and the FDA is nearing its approval of a genetically engineered salmon. The labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory. The public has the right to make an informed choice about the food they buy for their families. Without mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, consumers are left in the dark. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has sponsored new federal labeling legislation, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (S. 809), in the Senate. Take action and tell Senators Burr (R-NC) and Hagan (D-NC) to support the genetically engineered food labeling bill.

Now more than ever, the United States needs a policy for genetically engineered food labeling: there are genetically engineered foods in up to 70 percent of the foods on grocery store shelves, the USDA is considering approving a genetically engineered apple this spring, and the FDA is nearing its approval of a genetically engineered salmon. The labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory. The public has the right to make an informed choice about the food they buy for their families. Without mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, consumers are left in the dark. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has sponsored new federal labeling legislation, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (S. 809), in the Senate. Take action and tell Senators Kaine (D-VA) and Warner (D-VA) to support the genetically engineered food labeling bill.

Now more than ever, the United States needs a policy for genetically engineered food labeling: there are genetically engineered foods in up to 70 percent of the foods on grocery store shelves, the USDA is considering approving a genetically engineered apple this spring, and the FDA is nearing its approval of a genetically engineered salmon. The labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory. The public has the right to make an informed choice about the food they buy for their families. Without mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, consumers are left in the dark. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has sponsored new federal labeling legislation, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (S. 809), in the Senate. Take action and tell Senators Brown (D-OH) and Portman (R-OH) to support the genetically engineered food labeling bill.

Now more than ever, the United States needs a policy for genetically engineered food labeling: there are genetically engineered foods in up to 70 percent of the foods on grocery store shelves, the USDA is considering approving a genetically engineered apple this spring, and the FDA is nearing its approval of a genetically engineered salmon. The labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory. The public has the right to make an informed choice about the food they buy for their families. Without mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, consumers are left in the dark. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has sponsored new federal labeling legislation, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (S. 809), in the Senate. Take action and tell Senators Levin (D-MI) and Stabenow (D-MI) to support the genetically engineered food labeling bill.

Now more than ever, the United States needs a policy for genetically engineered food labeling: there are genetically engineered foods in up to 70 percent of the foods on grocery store shelves, the USDA is considering approving a genetically engineered apple this spring, and the FDA is nearing its approval of a genetically engineered salmon. The labeling of genetically engineered foods should be mandatory. The public has the right to make an informed choice about the food they buy for their families. Without mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods, consumers are left in the dark. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has sponsored new federal labeling legislation, the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act (S. 809), in the Senate. Take action and tell Senators Nelson (D-FL) and Rubio (R-FL) to support the genetically engineered food labeling bill.