The fossil fuel industry is determined to move coal from North America to Asia through ports on the west coast. Burning this coal locks in disastrous amounts of global warming and weather disruption around the world. Moving coal through our communities will leave coal dust in the air and on the ground increasing incidence and severity of asthma and other respiratory diseases. Coal is a jobs program for the health care industry and is a disaster for schools and school children near the rail lines. Why does anyone think this is a good idea? The fossil fuel industry will tout jobs and economics and argues that if we don't allow the coal to be moved through our communities, it will go elsewhere and still be burned. The long term environmental stability of the planet hangs in the balance and industry wants to tout jobs that will push the planet over the climate cliff. Communities and states must rise and stop this foolish enterprise. It's time for the Evergreen State to act Green. Governor Inslee in Washington State says the coal trains will not go forward without complete studies and environmental impact statements. Ok, fine, study the issue, but at the end of the studies, these coal trains cannot be allowed to move through the West Coast Ports. The global change to a sustainable energy grid depends on human beings weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. This is how we do it. We say no to fossil fuels. The pressure for energy that builds with an embargo on fossil fuel will power the green energy industry. Global warming is a jobs program. It's time to get to work to stop global warming and build the green energy grid. Let's stop the coal trains and get to work on the green energy grid that will keep our planet stable.

Hydraulic fraction of shale to release stores natural gas and/or oil is destroying hundreds of millions of gallons of water, first by contaminating it with chemicals and foreign matter in order to make it an effective agent to fracture the shale and then by being able to recover only about 30% of it after drilling is completed. The contaminated water has become additionally toxic as a result of its stay in the ground and there is no way known to clean it up for safe use by humans, plants or animals. Fresh water is not a renewable resource. Additionally, storage of this fracking waste, or "brine" is not regulated and poses an additional danger to life.

They're abundant, they're renewable and they're considered a "nuisance" but solar and wind power are two nearly limitless sources of energy we can be tapping in to on a daily basis. Meanwhile, we debate and argue for or against limited sources such as coal and uranium, which are not only harmful to our health and the environment but will eventually run dry.

This petition is about phasing out all nuclear power in CA, and never allowing any new nuclear power plants to be built. We live in a state with very active earthquake faults. We live in a state where our nuclear power plants are built along a coast that is part of the "ring of fire" and all around the Pacific Coast are major earthquake faults and volcanoes that can trigger tsunamis. We live in an era of terrorism. None of these facts are compatible with nuclear power and for the protection and safety of all life in this region, we should not take the risk with nuclear power.

There is over 100 million tons of debris from the 2011 Japan tsunami in a floating "continent" twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean. This debris has already begun washing up in Hawaii as well as the mainland and will have a disastrous effect on marine life once it arrives in force. This needs to be cleaned up before it arrives!

As a former senator, John Kerry frequently spoke out on behalf of the environment. Now, as the new Secretary of State, he has the opportunity to make immediate progress on climate change. In backlash to pollution reduction measures enacted by the European Union (EU), airlines pushed for and Congress passed legislation giving the government the authority to prohibit U.S. airlines from complying with the EU's new rules. Now, the EU program has been suspended for one year to allow for an international body to put together an agreement to reduce global emissions from the sector. The aviation sector should not be exempted from attempts to combat climate change. Technologies are available to build better engines and lighter materials. Such measures will not only decrease the emissions of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide but will also save costs on fuel. Secretary Kerry can advance President Obama’s mission to create solutions that mitigate climate change and ultimately keep our environment safe. Please tell Secretary Kerry to act now.

Recent attempts by Koch brothers and others in Kansas with massive fossil fuel investments, to impede clean energy development in Kansas, so that they may personally profit off the resultant massive global warming devastation to future generations.

The petition urges (mainly to the President) into disapproving the Keystone Pipeline in the upcoming summer of 2013.

Vaughn Brown

Allow cities and other jurisdictions to opt out in wanting Fracking in their backyards.

Michigan's legacy as a leader in natural resource management and conservation is being threatened by the "Anti-biodiversity Act", Senate Bill 78 (SB78). SB78 would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (Act 451 of 1994). Specifically, the bill would amend PART 355 (Biological Diversity Conservation) and Part 525 (Sustainable Forestry on State Forestlands) to do the following: -- Prohibit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the Natural Resources Commission from promulgating or enforcing a rule or an order that designates or classifies an area of land specifically for the purpose of achieving or maintaining biological diversity. -- Delete the conservation of biological diversity from the MDNR's duties regarding forest management, and require the Department to balance its management activities with economic values. -- Eliminate a requirement that the MDNR manage forests in a manner that promotes restoration. -- Provide that a State department or agency would not have to designate or classify an area of land specifically for the purpose of achieving or maintaining biological diversity. -- Revise the definition of "conservation" with regard to biological diversity. -- Delete a legislative finding that most losses of biological diversity are unintended consequences of human activity. Why this Matters: The MDNR has considered biodiversity in its land management decisions for over 100 years, which has successfully restored the health of forests after decades of deforestation and helped to recover wildlife populations enough to remove them from the endangered species list. SB78 would needlessly undercut longstanding and important protections that are helping restore Michigan’s natural resources and safeguard the genetic diversity of plants and animals managed on state lands. The “Anti-Biodiversity Act” prevents the DNR from acting under the Endangered Species Act or a number of other laws to promote and restore biodiversity on public lands. It jeopardizes almost $22 million in federal funding for forest management and puts Michigan’s sustainable forestry certificates that cover 3.9 million acres across the state at risk. This decision is a short-sighted approach that rejects science and sustainability. This stifles our ability to ensure our forests, native plants and wildlife will be here for future generations. As stated by Sen. Rebekah Warren from Ann Arbor, this bill would “make Michigan look like a laughingstock to the scientific community around the country." It is up to us to warn our legislature that SB78 is irresponsible, lacks common-sense, void of basic ecological principles, and will damage our reputation as a leader in natural resource management.

Fracking in New York could pollute our air and water, but fortunately the New York State Assembly just passed a bill to keep fracking out of New York for at least two years. Help us make sure it has the votes it needs to pass the State Senate and get to Gov. Cuomo's desk. Join us in telling the New York Senate and Governor Cuomo: we don't want fracking in New York.