The climate crisis is no longer a myth. From unpredictable and severe storms, crop failure, drought, and flooding, to rising tides, drowning islands, and thousands of acres of forests on fire....we need strong climate legislation from the U.S. government. Now. The fossil fuel industry is rampantly mining and drilling more of the antiquated (dinosaur) forms of fuel that have been largely responsible for the planet's current climate crisis. We can do better! This February, Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced The Climate Protection Act of 2013 (S.332) and The Sustainable Energy Act (S.329). These acts need co-sponsors from as many Senators as possible in order for them to reach the Senate floor for a vote, and then to advance to the House for their vote. We can do this. According to Sen. Sanders his climate change legislation would help business,create jobs, and save billions of dollars on disaster relief. "The price that America can not afford to pay is the price of doing nothing to reverse global warming", he states. Please sign this petition to let your lawmakers know that we are serious about national climate legislation and that as voters we are watching them. Thank you. P.S. Nothing says -' we are serious and we vote' - than a personal visit with your lawmaker. Consider getting friends together to visit them at their district offices when they are back home in your area. Ask your Senators to co-sponsor S.329 and S.332. Inform your House Reps that you expect action from them on this as well. You can find out when your lawmakers are back home for recess at: http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2013_schedule.htm Find your lawmakers home offices at: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Big polluters are using the budget process to attack environmental protections that are critical for our air, water, and climate. We urge the Senate to stand up to these attacks on our environment and keep our budget clean. Over the next three days, a variety of amendments to the Senate Budget that reduce or eliminate environmental protections will come up for a vote. Especially critical amendments include: •An attack on the Clean Air Act that would prohibit the EPA from issuing new regulations protecting our environment from the most polluting coal-fired power plants in the country; •An attack on the Clean Water Act that would leave over 20 percent of our waterways unprotected; •An amendment forcing construction of the Keystone pipeline, which would deepen our dependence on the dirtiest oil on the planet, oil from tar sands; •An attack on the President’s ability to protect key parks and monuments from development.

Proposed Coal Exports would bring a huge influx of train and barge traffic to the Puget Sound and all cities along it, threatening air and water quality, marine and human health. The resulting traffic congestion and compromised rescue and fire operations could potentially be devastating. What happened to Washington State's pledge to be a leader in Green Energy?

NC House Bill 201 introduced on March 5th seeks to repeal the 2012 energy conservation code and reinstate the 2009 energy code. As a home energy auditor working in the weatherization and building science industry, I know what a difference can be made when our homes and places of work are built with energy efficiency as a priority. The Energy Conservation Code put into effect in 2012 marked a great improvement in the minimum acceptable energy efficiency standards for buildings in North Carolina. Buildings are responsible for nearly half of the energy usage in the US, and cause more pollution than our cars. Better energy codes mean lower monthly operating costs for new home buyers and a decreased risk of loan default. Please join me in making sure that our state does not move backwards on this important issue.

The annual spraying of 20 billion tons of aluminum, barium, strontium, mercury, and other toxic, carcinogenic, and biohazardous material over cities everywhere (including daily in Boulder County and surrounding areas) is already having devastating effects on humans, the soil, our forests, and most other life forms. The short term effects have shown to be causing me to have respiratory illnesses frequently as a result, as have most people I know-- but the long term effects are deeper, such as Alzheimer's, neurological disorders, and cancer. If the public were adequately informed on this topic most would take appropriate action to put an immediate stop to these destructive activities.

Outgoing EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, called on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to establish a Citizen Advisory Committee that would give a forum for participation by non-governmental organizations including environmental, conservation, fishing and community stakeholder groups in the development and implementation of a Gulf-wide restoration plan. This committee is an essential piece of the process, without which the council will lack the important resources and knowledge base of coastal residents and the citizen engagement needed for effective participation in implementing Gulf-wide ecosystem restoration plan. Please take a moment to share your support with your governor.

The Efficient and Affordable Energy Rates Bill will create strong economic incentives and provisions for residential, commercial and industrial electrical utility ratepayers to invest in energy efficiency and solar energy.

Fracking is dirty, fracking uses billions of gallons of water, fracking will pollute the aquifer. McCrory has stacked his cabinet with Duke execs,they have blinders on and only see the billions they will rake in. The fracking bill passed by one very controversial vote. Stop the nonsesnse now. We need alternative energy sources, we do not need to squeeze every last drop of nonrenewable fossil fuel out of the earth.This is all about corporate profits which only benefit the executives of these corporations while leaving us to pay for the clean up and for our compromised health.

Global Warming is affecting our Earth by destroying habbitats of animals, thus putting them in the endangered or extinct catagories and we are the only ones that can stop it, but we need to let others know as well.

The most recent version of SB21 as of Tuesday still provides hundreds of millions of dollars of tax relief a year -- up to $1 billion or more -- for nothing in return. Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/03/19/2831929/our-view-dont-gamble-on-oil-tax.html#storylink=cpy

Raleigh's 2030 goals sustainable growth call for less sprawl and more compact, walkable growth in redevelopment areas. But this plan can only work if nearby neighborhoods are protected from the density impacts of increased car congestion and the bulk of larger construction. Mitigating these impacts in an area where road widening is constrained by stable neighborhoods will require a predictable plan for (1) contextual infill, (2) upgraded infrastructure and (3) improved mobility options that make it easier accomplish daily activities without driving. Given the high market demand in the Cameron Village Shopping Center area for more compact, walkable development in accordance with Raleigh's sustainable growth goals, the residents, land owners and business owners in the Cameron Village area call on the Raleigh City Council to initiate a detailed plan for sustainable redevelopment and mobility, updating and extending the Vision and Action Items of the Wade-Oberlin Small Area Plan. A Cameron Village Vicinity Plan would: 1. include design concepts for street changes that improve network efficiency and emphasize more mobility options for pedestrian, bicycle and transit access within and beyond the vicinity, 2. apply contextual design elements of the Comprehensive Plan and UDO (both adopted since the Wade-Oberlin Plan) to provide a more predictable blueprint for sustainable redevelopment in the area, and 3. specify near-term and long-term improvements and costs for infrastructure, streetscapes and enhanced transit operations.

During the summer of 2012, Caltrans began a 24-month program to Retrofit 67,000 lights with LEDs (LIght Emitting Diodes) in the California state highway and other roadway systems. So far Montana’s Department of Transportation (MDT) is not following suit. Its plans for the Highway 212 improvement call for high pressure sodium (HPS) lighting. Every old-technology light installed now will waste energy for 10-40 years in the future. If MDT saddles 212 with old technology, it will cost Red Lodge area citizens more than it should to reimburse NorthWestern Energy for electricity used and for lighting maintenance costs. Some LEDs are better than others. Recent improvements in LED light levels mean that with the right luminaire fewer 40-foot poles would be required to adequately illuminate highway 212. Fewer poles means a reduction in that component of project costs, offsetting some of the higher costs necessary to specify use of LED luminaires rather than HPS lighting. At last check MDT had not authorized a redesign of lighting for the 212 project to take advantage of this technological advance. A preliminary lighting analysis done on Hwy. 212 in the fall of 2011 indicated that for pole spacing on segment 2 one could use 13 poles housing LEDs for every 16 poles housing HPS. One could use 8 poles housing LEDs for every 9 poles housing HPS on segment 3. This assumed a 48 watt reduction in power required for the newer bulbs to achieve a 30% or better saving. These numbers will have changed with more recent technology improvements. For example, on San Francisco’s Dumbarton Bridge a 183 watt LED replaced a 400 watt HPS for a 60% energy savings. In addition, Caltrans is counting on 12 to 15 years more life (and thus smaller maintenance costs) from their LEDs. That’s why we are asking MDT: “Please install LED lighting during improvements to Red Lodge's Highway 212.” Please join our petition. Jay Mennenga Deborah Muth Paulette Richter Clare H. Whitcomb Russ Doty