Do a Google search for 'Backyard Chickens' and you will discover that our nation is responding smartly to the pressures of economic downturn, overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, and our kids forgetting how to interact with nature and play out doors. MILLIONS of people with back yards are keeping two or three hens (hens don't make noise!) as pets; they fertilize lawn and garden, control pests (most eat stink bugs!), and, yes, as surprisingly sweet pets for kids! MAJOR CITIES allowing back yard hens: New York City, Chicago, Atlanta (home of the CDC), Miami, Albuquerque, Denver, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Cambridge, Houston, Austin, BALTIMORE, Spokane, Mobile, St Louis, Santa Fe, LIttle Rock, Minneapolis, Burlington, Des Moines, Pittsburg PA, Omaha, Toledo, Ann Arbor, Richmond VA, Louisville KY! Frederick's Municipal Code does not FORMALLY restrict this (see Article 1, Sec 3-1A & 3-8) as long as there is no sale of animals or eggs; keeping as pets is legal, but currently our Animal Control Dept interprets the Code INCORRECTLY and will impound a hen from your own back yard. LET'S GET THEM TO STOP. Sign this petition to tell our Mayor and Aldermen to instruct our Animal Control Officers to ALLOW up to 3 hens per 1/10 acre lot as long as they are not a nuisance to the neighbors! Frederick should join the MAJOR CITIES OF AMERICA and let us have a few hens for fun and pest control (did we mention they eat stink bugs?)

Most of our major cities are putting Chloramine in our drinking water. Chloramine is Ammonia + Chlorine. Hundreds of people are complaining of rashes and other ills as a result of this chemical being added to our water. Mothers who don't know chloramine is in the water are making baby formulars with this chemical. People are "cooking" with chloramine water and taking showers and baths in this chemical as well. Filters may not prevent this chemical from getting in your water. Contact your government officials and make some noise or this will continue to happen.

Styrofoam is estimated to take decades to centuries to degrade as it sits in our landfills. It leeches out toxic chemicals, potentially into our food, and certainly into the environment. And yet, it is the most popular take out container in a majority of restaurants. We can change this by urging restaurants to go the way of progressive cities like Denver - ditch the styrofoam, upgrade to a more eco-friendly to-go container!

People need jobs. The country needs renewable clean sustainable energy sources. It is time to invest in our own future and create the life we all want to live. China is beating us at prices for solar panels. We need our government to invest in our healthy futures for some life giving resources....instead of life diminishing consumption. Support green energy projects.

Stop dropping Yellow Page Directories at every door step. People use the internet to access businesses. Stop filling the landfills with unwanted, superfluous yellow page directories that nobody wants.

Tell President Obama and Congress it is time to take a stand for the environment, Jobs are important, especially if you are out of work, but this is the only planet we have. You can try to get another job if you lose one, but you can't get another planet. Come on people look to the future or we will not have one.

“Stop oyster farming in Drakes Estero and protect Point Reyes National Seashore.” Commercial oyster farming in Point Reyes National Seashore is permitted until 2012 when the permit expires. Drakes Estero is an area slated for Wilderness protection once this non-conforming use is eliminated. The Estero provides important harbor seal breeding grounds. Senator Feinstein has the chance to protect marine habitat by opposing the permit renewal. We are calling on her to support protection of our National Seashore against commercial uses.

AMR (automatic reading) "smart" electric, water and gas utility meters are a dangerous boondoggle. These meters are being forced on homes and buildings across the U.S. by utility companies. There is a flaw in the design of AMR meters which causes dangerous levels of pulsed microwave radiation to run through wiring and electrical equipment. This radiation is spewing throughout homes and neighborhoods. Although the utility companies would like us to believe that AMR meters are "green", this is not true. They were invented 20-30 years ago only to get rid of meter reader jobs and to save the utilities money. People across the U.S. are being injured by this unprecedented, untested and unregulated radiation. This must stop.

On Friday Sept. 2, President Obama scrapped his plans to tighten smog rules, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and business leaders. Obama overruled the Environmental Protection Agency – and the unanimous opinion of its independent panel of scientific advisers – and directed administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposed regulation to reduce concentrations of ground-level ozone, smog's main ingredient. We need to let Obama and the EPA know that this is not about business- this is about the growing health issues Americans face if we don't reduce the effects of smog immediately.

The gas industry wants to hydrofrack for gas in 37 states. Not only is fracking dangerous to air, water and soil; burning gas creates more global warming. In 2005, Cheney got fracking exempted from clean air and water standards. Treatment plants cannot decontaminate the millions of gallons of carcinogenic and radioactive frack fluid that each fracked well produces. It's time to end our addiction to fossil fuels!

It's about the abuse of power within our government and the fact that laws enacted to protect our state forests and agricultural lands are being leased and auctioned off to the highest bidder!

Ethanol, at low percentages such as E-5 (5% Ethanol) up to E-15 (15% Ethanol) causes MPG in most cars to drop about 12% to 20%. Thata costs the USA up to $200 B each year! Why? Because E-10 has about .5% water, its Ethanol clumps and burns first, destroying the car's use of real gas. We DEMAND that the EPA test our real "at-the-pump" gas that we are forced to use.