Horror stories of serious illness, contamination of air and water, presence of toxic chemicals in animals which may make it into the food we eat, corruption of agencies which are not releasing adequate water sample information to affected citizens are coming out of Pennsylvania and North Dakota where large scale fracking is underway. President Obama is encouraging this and wants to begin exporting natural gas. France, Ireland and the state of New York currently have bans on fracking. Fracking should be banned in this country until the health impacts have been thoroughtly studied and documented. References: Truth-out.org/news/item/13058-why-are-cows-tails-dropping-off ] Pittsburgh :Post-Gazette, November 2, 2012, http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/state/lawmaker-challenges-pa-deps-reporting-of-gas-well-water-safety-660238/#ixzz2BGVjiqwT .

Coal ash is contaminating our rivers, lakes and drinking water supplies here in North Carolina. Coal ash contains a number of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, chromium and selenium, among many others, and is often stored near waterways in unlined impoundments. The state is aware of the pollution, but has yet to take action. We need the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue comprehensive rules on coal ash disposal.

Extreme weather events have affected all regions of the country, and probably the planet: 2011 drought in Texas, 2012 drought in major grain-growing regions, "Superstorm Sandy," melting permafrost generating methane, temperature anomalies wreaking havoc on fruit production, bark beetles destroying coniferous forests in Texas, Canada, Alaska, and elsewhere.

Global pollution/warming is a threat to every person on the planet. A nationally televised symposium in early 2013, hopefully January to educate the public about this threat could rally the public and Congress behind its solution: a Green Recovery that the President would call for in his State of the Union Address, * Which will put America back to work by creating millions of new green, clean jobs * Which will make us more competitive in the next global growth industries of clean tech, clean energy and green chemistry * Will make continually cleaner and healthier millions of regular jobs, homes and workplaces * Will lower healthcare costs naturally with continually healthier air, water, food, homes, jobs and workplaces * Will help clean up America by continually reducing pollution and warming and if America leads The Human Race for a Healthy Planet, the world will join us!

I am concerned about the effect of global warming on the world's food supply. This summer, the entire state of Oklahoma was under severe to extreme drought conditions. But it wasn't just Oklahoma, 65% of the United States and much of the land on Earth where food is grown were also experiencing drought. Food shortages can pose humanitarian crises and national security concerns. The Agricultural Committee must act protect our food supplies.

Gas companies can blast with rock-smashing power and 100’s of toxic chemicals directly under our water well and the lake where our children, grandchildren, friends, and family swim and fish, as we have done for decades. The property has been in our family for over 80 years and is a treasured place for family gatherings. Governor Cuomo will decide anytime now. The towns and communities of upstate NY have been engaged in a battle against fracking for more than four years. If the gas companies have their way, they can take our gas and pollute our land and water without our permission. Please support the Health Impact Assessment. It is a crucial step in stoping fracking. An unholy alliance between corporations and governments has led to secret laws and corporate taking of private property that have given gas companies free rein to exploit and destroy New York State land, air and water (with an exception for the NYC watershed.) Setting aside the federal Clean Air and Clean Water Acts for natural gas extraction by fracking and setting aside private property rights by means of NY’s “compulsory integration” law are just two of many ways that subjugate democratic rights solely to benefit the gas companies.

Global climate change is steadily destroying the lives and the environment. As much as it is ignored global warming is only picking up speed. However, by investing in important green technology such as OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae) we can minimize its impact. OMEGA grows extremely productive microalgae to use as a biofuel that simultaneously sequesters carbon. For more information watch: http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_trent_energy_from_floating_algae_pods.html or visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/OMEGA/index.html

Nearly every meal we eat outside the home involves use of disposable food/drink containers, utensils, straws. A minority of these paper/ plastic/ styrofoam items are recycled; a massive burden of waste is generated from each meal. Even the process of recycling involves significant energy use and is not optimally efficient.

Several families have been tragically affected by pesticides, and their children and themselves were harmed. A family living next to an apple orchard that used heavy pesticide spraying on their crops had a son who was diagnosed with ADHD, and in his urine tests an abnormal amount of pesticides were found, and believed to be the cause of the diagnosis. Many other ADHD diagnosed people had abnormally high levels of pesticides in their urine. We need to stop using heavy amounts of pesticides so our children can be safe.

I would like to ban plastic bags in St. Petersburg. 47 municipalities in California, including Mexico City and Toronto ban them. Citizens of China, Mexico, India and countries throughout Europe and Africa shop without single use bags.

The deer were around my house, I saw some give birth. They were no trouble. They made me so very happy. Now they are all gone. And this is because hunters, cowards of the worst kind, enjoy shooting them with guns or bows and arrows. How sadistic can they get?

New Mexico requires Public Utilities to ramp up their use of renewable energy over time. The Public Regulation Commission (PRC) established that by 2020, companies like PNM will have to get 20 percent of their overall power from renewables. Attorney General King and the coalition, New Mexico Industrial Energy Consumers (The City of Albuquerque, TheUniversity of NM, Honeywell and Intel), filed formal requests asking the PRC to ax the diversity requirements altogether. Two PRC Commissioners, Pat Lyons and Ben Hall, also want to cut the requirements.