The City of Austin is currently debating a proposed ordinance that would tax and ban all so-called “single use” plastic and paper bags at retail checkouts. Please sign below to tell Mayor Leffingwell and City Council Members that taxing and banning bags is the wrong choice for you, your family and for Austin. Tell city leaders to preserve consumer choice and emphasize reducing, reusing and recycling.

We need your help to stop the Tanzanian government from allowing hunting in the Serengeti - Mara eco-system. Animals do not know borders. The community that has co-existed with the Wildlife for thousands of years are now refugees in their own lands, their homesteads razed to th ground to make way for Hunting.

Climate change has been described as a "critical concern" by Ronald Reagan, "destructive" by George Schultz, and "menacing" by Margaret Thatcher. John McCain has spoken of "all the endless trouble that global warming will bring," and warned that "time is short and the dangers are great." Yet Rush Limbaugh recklessly twists the truth and dismisses climate science as a leftist conspiracy. We owe it to all those who suffer the consequences now and in the future to condemn Mr. Limbaugh's distortions in the strongest possible terms.

Fracking is the process that companies use to remove natural gas from shale. Fracking is dangerous because it releases chemicals into ground water which we drink.

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline poses a test for all of us in the US. Are we truly committed to develop cleaner sources of energy or will we continue down the path of dependence on fossil fuels. President Obama has said that we can "be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil." Now is our chance to begin this process! Stop the pipeline!

Hit by extreme drought, New Mexico suffered devastating forest fires this year, yet the Governor and local officials cannot ban the use and sale of fireworks when fire danger is high. The New Mexico legislature is considering a bill, SB 5, that would give the Governor, and city and county officials the ability to ban fireworks when fire danger is extreme. Call on your legislator to support the ban. The legislature is in session from January 17 to February 18.

Suspending further use of hydraulic fracturing until extensive research proves it to be harmless to our environment! Dangerous chemicals are injected into the ground with this process and it appears to cause much environmental damage.(See Dimock, PA)

In many European countries the precautionary principle where technology has to be proven safe before it is put in practice. In the United States large powerful Corporations are given free rein to do damage in the name of making jobs, then private citizens have to try to prove harm after the fact. The petroleum industry has been very successful in killing the scientific study needed to scrutinize hydrofracking by getting exemption from the Clean Air and Water Act. Independent research is needed to insure protection of our air, soil, and water, as well as public health and welfare before irreparable harm is done.

Global warming. If I remember correctly, 2012 is the year that the warming trend is irreversable. But we can't accept that! This has got to be THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE for everyone around the world. It seems we're either preaching to the choir, or ignoring the elephant in the room. This scares me, for my children and for the future of everyone and everything on this unbelievably beautiful planet.

Energy from renewable sources is more labor intensive than energy from fossil fuels, creating more jobs. Oil imports are responsible for nearly a billion dollars a day of the U.S. trade deficit. A price on carbon will reduce our use of coal, oil and gas and speed up deployment of renewable energy.

I believe we should regulate plastic trash bags --- no bags should be made, sold, distributed, etc that aren't degradable. This includes mandating that municipalities, gov't buildings, military, schools, hospitals, households, private businesses, ---- all mainstream waste stream bags sold in the US MUST be made from biodegradable plastics. No more curbside stacks of bagged leaves sealed in plastic! Reduce the shreds of plastic in the oceanic gyres (http://5gyres.org/)! I propose the market offer degradable alternatives available to retail and wholesale consumers, and we ban the sale/trade of non-decomposing trash bags. There are many options for degradable bags; but we must eliminate the option to continue buying single-use plastic bags.

Adams County, Colorado is facing large-scale industrial drilling with the new oil and gas boom, and current laws do not allow citizens, cities, or counties to enact local ordinances regarding where drilling can occur and in what manner. Current state regulations do not offer adequate protection to the public and the environment from the harmful impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking.) Residents and localities are denied informed consent and the right of refusal, and some are subjected to "forced pooling." Citizens, HOAs, developers, and municipalities are faced with uncompensated financial burdens and losses with fracking. There is the potential for: • Loss of quality of life • Adverse health impacts and expenses • Loss of property values • Possible threats to mortgage and insurance coverage guarantees • Possible water, air, and ground pollution • Threat to water security in a water scarce state • Legal costs to prove harm and loss • Cost to taxpayer for remediation of contaminated land or water, damaged roads, etc. Such coerced contracts, denial of rights, and uncompensated harms are contrary to our U.S. Constitution, our State Constitution, human rights, and common law. This petition asks for relief from harm, from unlawful denial of rights, and from uncompensated loss, related to oil and gas drilling, by asking for a moratorium on drilling in Adams County until such harms or insults are cured.