Along with plastic bags and bottles, Styrofoam is a major source of trash along Rhode Island's coast, threatening Narragansett Bay and taking centuries to break down. Dunkin' Donuts has removed its ubiquitous Styrofoam cups from a handful of New England towns that have enacted Styrofoam bans. Join us in urging Dunkin' to remove Styrofoam from all Rhode Island locations––for the sake of Narragansett Bay and all of us who treasure it.

Rush Limbaugh recently warned his listeners that “if you believe in God, then intellectually you cannot believe in manmade global warming.” According to Rush, faith-based climate activists simply don’t exist. Imagine Limbaugh’s surprise to learn that there are thousands of us across the country – people of faith who care about God's creation. We need to send a message not just to Rush Limbaugh, but to everyone who believes that faith and climate action are incompatible.

This story from State Impact PA tells it best: http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2013/08/27/dep-attempted-to-supress-controversial-study-that-criticized-shale-gas/ A state report outlining how climate change will impact Pennsylvania is currently a year and a half late – and there’s still no indication of when it will be released publicly. The Department of Environmental Protection missed its legally-mandated deadline to publish the report in the spring of 2012. Today at a meeting of the DEP’s Climate Change Advisory Committee, the department said the report is still going through the review process. However StateImpact Pennsylvania has obtained a copy of the original draft climate report and internal DEP emails, which reveal an attempt by its Policy Office to suppress controversial research that questions the benefits of natural gas. The DEP’s Policy Office wanted a team of Penn State scientists who authored the climate report to remove all references to a 2011 study from Cornell University. The peer reviewed paper, by professor Robert Howarth, has been the subject of intense debate. It concludes that from a climate change perspective, natural gas is dirtier than coal. Although natural gas is much cleaner-burning than coal when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, methane can leak throughout the gas production process. Methane is the primary component of natural gas, and it’s 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas (although it remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter time period). Howarth believes this methane leakage negates any climate change benefits derived from burning natural gas.

The COLORADO OIL & GAS ASSOCIATION (COGA) (a private trade organization) has sued the City of Longmont, Colorado (a home rule city) and its citizens for exercising their constitutionally authorized powers to halt fracking inside their City Limits. Governor Hickenlooper has threatened to sue any other Colorado city or town who dares to follow Longmont. Governor Hickenlooper is guilty of the acts and omissions of "Constitutional Torts" and must be made to answer to We the People of Colorado, (the Sovereign), in Federal District Court in Denver.

While visiting Yosemite National Park, I was taken on a bus tour, in which the ranger stated they just put down a 16 year old female Black Bear for getting too close to the camp sites. Black Bears are on the endangered species list. They are not known to harm humans, and rely on grubs, berries, and shrubs for their diets. The park will put down the Black Bears they think try to open the Bear Lockers to get food. If the camper locks their lockers appropriately there should be no problem with the bears. The euthanization of this bear took place even though the bear did not harm any human. Currently their are only 300-500 Black Bears in Yosemite's 750,000 acres of land. Please find an alternate solution to killing this small number of bears. Please find a way to relocate them, instead of killing them for using their natural insticts to go towards the smell of food. This is a direct quote from the Yosemite website "The average lifespan for Yosemite 's black bears is 18 years. Main causes of death are vehicle accidents, disease, old age, and being put down when becoming too habituated and aggressive towards human food. Please be aware and properly store your food, this will save Yosemite's bears lives. " I believe the park has a responsibility to find a more humane way to deal with this situation since they make so much money off of what the park ranger claimed to be 4 million tourists a year.

WE NEED TO BREAK THE STRANGLE-HOLD THAT BIG OIL AND BIG NATURAL GAS HAVE AS FOSSIL FUELS ON OUR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND THIS WILL ALSO HELP TO PUT AN END TO THE DEMANDS MADE BY BIG OIL AND NATURAL GAS FOR HORIZONTAL DRILLING AND "FRACKING" - THAT MANY FEAR WILL CAUSE UNDERGROUND WATER POLLUTION AND ALSO CAUSE ADDED EARTHQUAKES! THERE ARE INNOVATORS HERE IN AMERICA - WHO ARE DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVES THAT WILL COMPETE AND BRING DOWN TRANSPORTATION ENERGY COSTS AND FREE US FROM OUR INVOLVEMENT WITH HOSTILE NATIONS FOR OIL. THESE INNOVATORS NEED ACCESS TO THE SAME CAPITAL MARKETS IN ORDER TO HAVE THE MONEY TO EXPAND. Here is some current information about one of these innovators: ALGENOL - located in Ft. Myers, Florida - showing its Founder & CEO: Paul Woods. http://www.youtube.com/user/AlgenolBiofuels/videos?sort=da&flow=list&view=0 On April 24, 2013 bills were introduced in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, seeking to “establish a level playing field” so that innovators [that aspire to provide us with clean and renewable energy sources] gain access to the same capital markets and sources, as are enjoyed and used by established oil and coal and natural gas providers and their pipeline transit servicers, and to thereby finance a significant expansion of competing and lower-cost clean energy products. No bill numbers are yet assigned to them. THESE TRULY BIPARTISAN BILLS NEED OUR SUPPORT AND OUR DEMAND OF OUR ELECTED CONGRESSIONAL OFFICIALS TO FIRST OF ALL CO-SPONSOR, AND THEN TO BRING THE MEASURES TO AN UP AN DOWN VOTE – IN FAVOR OF THEIR IMMEDIATE, UNFETTERED, UNLADEN AND UNMODIFIED ADOPTION - TO BRING ALTERNATIVE LOWER COST CLEAN AND GREEN ENERGY TO AMERICA. THEY MUST NOT DIE IN COMMITTEES! Sponsoring Senators and Representatives commended by us are: UNITED STATES SENATE: Chris Coons [D – Delaware] Co-sponsors were: Jerry Moran [R – Kansas] Debbie Stabenow [D – Michigan] Lisa Murkowski [R – Alaska] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Ted Poe [R – Texas] Co-sponsors were: Mike Thompson [D – California] Peter Welch [D – Vermont] Chris Gibson [R – New York] Cory Gardner (R – Colorado] We need you to SIGN THIS PETITION and if you agree with the urgency of this, to personally contact your Senators and your Representative and to urge them to co-sponsor and to vote for passage of this vital measure. America is sick and tired of DC’s partisan politics! We need a Congress that works for us - not for Big Oil and Big Money interests. http://energypolicy.asu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MLP-Brief-Sheet_Final.pdf

The very endangered Desert Tortoise is on the brink of extinction, and the BLM is going to close down one of the only sanctuary facilities that exists for them. They will euthanize any animals that are there when the time comes (they say SOON), and will be euthanizing any that come in as they don't have funding or space. The facility houses hundreds of tortoises. These animals are vital to their ecosystem, our ecosystem. There has to be another answer. More info here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/desert-tortoise-faces-threat-refuge-20060609

The possible dangers of cell phone towers are wide-reaching and numerous. Some people may only consider the issues of cell phones and driving safety, but the chronic exposure to cellular radiation may have some harmful effects as well. Moreover, many people assume that the radiation isn't that bad because cell phone towers are away from populations; the fact of the matter is that cell phone towers have been erected right in our communities, getting attached to schools, churches, firehouses, and even national parks. Health concerns related to exposure to cell towers are: • Abnormal cell growth promotion • DNA damage • Reduced immune system competence • Sleeplessness, irritability, anxiety, depression • Weakened blood-brain barrier • Childhood and adult leukemia • Eye cancer • Infertility and miscarriage • Attention span deficit and general memory loss • Sleep disturbance and chronic fatigue • Brain tumors • Cardiac problems Health effects of cell phone towers are not only restricted to humans. A study conducted by the Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy of the Veterinary School of Hanover (Germany) found that dairy cows were affected by their proximity to cell phone tower sites. The cows had reduced milk production and increased behavioral abnormalities. When the cows were removed from the area, the strange behavior subsided after five days. Upon returning to the antenna site, the symptoms returned. So, if you live within a quarter mile of a cell phone antenna or tower, you may be at risk of serious harm to your health, according to a German study cited at www.EMF-Health.com, a site devoted to exposing hazards associated with electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) from cell phone towers and other sources. Cancer rates more than tripled among people living within 400 meters of cell phone towers or antennas, a German study found. Those within 100 meters were exposed to radiation at 100 times normal levels. An Israeli study found that the risk of cancer quadrupled among people living within 350 meters (1,148 feet) of a cell phone tower/transmitter. Both studies focused only on people who had lived at the same address for many years. Other studies have found that levels of radiation emitted from cell phone towers can damage cell tissues and DNA, causing miscarriage, suppressing immune function, and causing other health problems. Cell phones and cell phone towers have been labeled as being a “possible carcinogen". In Sweden, the government requires interventions to protect the public from EMF. Why isn’t the United States (US) government paying attention to this potential risk to public safety? Astoundingly, the US federal government does not allow rejection of a cell phone tower based on health risks. I have personally completed testing using an EMF/RF (radio frequency) meter. Internet based research advises of several other individuals who have also conducted tests and complained the measurements are above the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limits. So when does the FCC check back on these towers and retest these sites? Several other countries have done their own research and mandated the removal of cell phone towers near schools, hospitals, and residential communities. However, the US FCC still has made no change. Even with cell phone towers meeting the current US FCC limitations people are still experiencing health issues. Yet over 1.9 million cell phone towers and antennae have been approved nationwide without any federal studies to assure safety of those living nearby. It has been fifteen (15) years that people have been asking for the FCC to reassess its RF radiation exposure limits and policies. The FCC is possibly going to consider changes to its rules regarding human exposure to RF radiation than can potentially cause several issues in animals and humans. If interested in assisting please read more at http://emrpolicy.org/news/action/index.htm. Feel free to include any of your research or simply send a comment/letter as an attachment asking for change to be made. The 150-day Reply deadline is November 1, 2013. Petition: DO NOT be pressured by major cell phone companies with deep pockets!!! We are requesting the US government (FCC) continue reassessing exposure limits and policies. Make changes to your policy to drastically lower the EMF/RF levels that cell phones and cell phone towers are allowed to output.

Most Americans are unaware of the severity of the climate change crisis because the major news sources have ignored the subject and rarely connect the dots between extreme weather events and our changing climate. We are dangerously close to the climate tipping point, when there will be nothing possible to stop the worst of climate change. Citizens must contact their elected officials and demand action, but they need honest, scientifically-accurate information in order to do that. There are solutions (i.e. carbon tax, energy conservation, renewable energy) to reduce harmful emissions. We need the media to help educate the public and our policy makers.

The Washington State Department of Fish and Game is planning to treat Badger Lake with rotenone to kill all fish in the lake and pollute the water with a dangerous chemical. This chemical has been shown to be linked to causing Parkinson's disease. New research shows a link between use of two pesticides, rotenone and paraquat, and Parkinson's disease. People who used either pesticide developed Parkinson's disease approximately 2.5 times more often than non-users. The study was a collaborative effort conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center in Sunnyvale, Calif. "Rotenone directly inhibits the function of the mitochondria, the structure responsible for making energy in the cell," said Freya Kamel, Ph.D. Sign the petition to save Badger Lake and the people who depend on it's water.

Rhinebeck is America's most beautiful village, lovingly nurtured for over 300 years. With 2,800 residents it is a jewel of the Hudson Valley and the nation. Northern Dutchess Hospital has proposed a $38 million expansion which is overly large and designed to accommodate eight "for-profit" doctors offices. The addition of these "for profit" facilities will require the leveling of most of the mature trees on the hospital's front lawn and paving over the green space. It will make an eyesore of the northern gateway of the village. There are many other possible alternatives to this plan. The most respectful is to rescale the project and remove the "for profit" doctor offices. These can be located anywhere in the village. For example the north end of Springbrook (Route 9) was designated for medical facilities and now four buildings stand empty and for sale. If the hospital expansion happens as planned the northern gateway of the village will be permanently defaced. We petition the Rhinebeck Zoning Board of Appeals to reject the request for a 9 foot height variance and request a thoughtful discussion of the plans for the northern gateway of the village. Please consider attending the September 19 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting at 7:00 pm at the Village Hall to speak in opposition to the expansion. Thank you. Learn more here: http://www.save-rhinebeck-green-space.com/

The Passaic Valley Water Commission has awarded a $3.1 Million contract to an out-of-state engineering firm to draw up blueprints to drain our beautiful NJ reservoirs & replace them with gigantic concrete monstrosities in which to store our drinking water. Nowhere else in the nation has a State Legislature endorsed such a project! The NJ State Legislature must pass a regulation to require the Passaic Valley Water Commission to DELAY any and all action on this project until 2016.