Fracking is the use of high-volume, hydraulic fracturing of the earth to release natural gas for use in energy. Horror stories from other states about open pits of toxic wastewater, secret brews of toxins injected into the earth, air emissions sickening neighbors, and contaminated drinking water are just a few of the impacts seen elsewhere. The prospect of the gas industry coming Illinois to extract gas from beneath our state using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has caused a great deal of controversy and concern, especially in parts of Illinois where leasing for drilling rights has been underway for well over a year.

According to Dr. James E. Hansen, former head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and its most famous climate scientist, a bi-lateral carbon tax is our last best hope to stop the irreversible effects of global warming. The carbon tax would steer consumers and businesses toward products and energy sources having low carbon foot prints such as wind and solar power, locally grown food, electric vehicles and 4g nuclear power solutions which would replace aging backbone coal fired plants. Market forces and new technologies would determine future product winners and losers over the transitional period of ten years as the carbon tax increases at a predictable rate. If the US and China implement a unified carbon tax the rest of the world will follow or pay import duties to the world's two largest economies. Consumers can use the Carbon Dividend to offset the higher price of energy.

The Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico will lose virtually all protections in 2015 if Congress doesn't include it in the National Park system as a National Preserve. It's urgent that Congress pass Senate Bill 285 as soon as possible to secure the Preserve's future. New Mexico's economy will benefit and this spectacular place will be protected for all time.

Imagine this: While walking in the door to your home, the phone rings; on the other end a representative from EPA informs you that there has been a disaster at the BP plant in Whiting, Indiana; something about an explosion and leaking pipes filled with toxic chemicals... The conversation ends with her telling you that you MUST NOT drink the water out of the faucet - the water is contaminated! You turn on the TV and the news is everywhere - DO NOT DRINK OR USE THE WATER OUT OF LAKE MICHIGAN! I wait for this day to come; all that it takes is one problem and millions of people, plants and animals that rely daily on our lake's fresh water, will suffer. The World will suffer. 97% of the World's water is salt water... 3% of the World's water is fresh water... Of this 3% fresh water, less than 1% is actually above ground and of this above ground water roughly 21% of the entire worlds fresh and above ground water lies in the Great Lakes. We must do everything we can to preserve the world's resource! Please act now and say NO MORE TO BP IN LAKE MICHIGAN!!! Water is our most precious resource. We must defend the defenseless and defend ourselves. Big money corporations look out for their pocketbooks, not for the protection of the environment. We are not going to sleep on this issue any longer. We, the people, are waking up NOW! We want British Petroleum (BP) out of Lake Michigan!

Whenever I go to the gas station to fill up my tank, I use the opportunity to empty out the garbage in my car. However, it's not always garbage. A lot of times it's items that could be recycled: aluminum cans, plastic soda bottles, paper, etc. If all gas stations provided receptacles for recycling, we could go a long way in keeping our earth green!

Like most Americans, I'm tired of big money buying congressional votes.

Illinois House and Senate will soon be voting on a compromise bill that would allow fracking in Illinois. I am concerned that we have seen enough evidence of severe harm created by this unregulated industry to cause us all alarm for the future health of people and the environment.

Small animals (skunks, squirrels) looking for food find their heads stuck -- eyes, nose and mouth totally covered by Yoplait containers, which have been left as litter by unthinking people. Due to the container's inverted shape the container remains on the animal. They are rarely rescued and suffocate. All because Yoplait has a poorly designed container.

Not content with the power it holds over lawmakers in Washington, the American Petroleum Institute is now waging a battle against small towns. The powerful oil and gas lobbying group has weighed in on an important court case that will decide whether a town in rural, upstate New York has the right to ban oil and gas drilling activities – including the controversial fracking method – within its town borders. API, predictably, thinks that no town should have that right. Of the ten largest U.S. oil and gas companies, nine are API members. All nine of these companies have headquarters in Texas, Oklahoma, or California – states where courts or legislatures have determined that towns or cities have the right to ban oil or gas drilling within their borders. API members lost these battles on their home turf. Now they are trying to deny those rights in states where they want to open up large-scale oil and gas development. Towns that want to ban drilling and fracking shouldn’t have to worry about facing off in court against API, the most powerful lobbying group in the country. Will you tell the American Petroleum Institute to back off of communities that don’t want fracking and stop joining legal challenges against them? Sign the petition to support small towns standing up to the oil and gas industry.

There is presently a 40 acre parcel of land that is part of the Wounded Knee Massacre for sale. I have written to President Obama at whitehouse.gov about this matter. My feeling is that the site should be made an American Historical Site by the U.S. government.

The Environmental Science class at Mead Hall Episcopal School has been researching the benefits and use of Biodiesel fuel in the Aiken County School District. If all of the buses in our school district used Biodiesel fuel we would not only cut gas costs but we would also be using a cleaner way of transportation. This petition will help us to show the South Carolina the number of people who support and would like to reinstate the use of Biodiesel fuel.

Methane gas leaking during the fracking process accelerates global climate change increasing the probability of natural disasters. The Environmental Protection Agency has detected ten efficient ways of significantly reducing 80% of that pollution.