The Arctic is a beautiful environment and it is home to many indigenous peoples, polar bears, arctic foxes, whales, and many other beautiful creatures. They don't deserve to suffer because of the actions of the invading companies. We need to stand up for this issue and stop it before the Arctic's environment itself is destroyed.

I decided to start this petition to use my energies to help a deeply imperiled part of our planet-the Arctic. Right now there are so many strikes against this amazing place which is home to endangered polar bears, various species of majestic whales whose numbers are in rapid decline, and many other beautiful animals. So I thought if an ordinary person like me could help to bring awareness about the plight of the Arctic, or encourage others to really think about what we’d be losing if the Arctic was ruined forever…why not roll up my sleeves and get involved. So here I am, ready and willing to act to protect this amazing place for future generations. Actually, I consider it my duty and an honor to be involved.

As a Philadelphia public school teacher for more than 14 years, I've seen firsthand the damage Walmart can do in our communities. My brother worked as a Walmart manager and saw how Walmart's business model destroyed families. But learning that the Walton Foundation is funding attacks on our schools was my tipping point. After eight years teaching health and physical education in the same school, my school was taken out of the district’s control and every single teacher was forced to be transferred - all in the name of creating a privately-controlled charter school with little oversight or accountability. I was forced to transfer to a new school and leave behind students who had grown up with me as their teacher since kindergarten. Teachers and students across Philadelphia have experienced these kinds of devastating school closures, which destabilize our communities and often take resources from students who need them the most. All of this was largely thanks to the work of the Philadelphia School Partnership, which received $5 million from the Walton Foundation in 2013 alone. Unfortunately, Philadelphia is not unique. The Walton Foundation funds anti-public education initiatives like this across the country. And yet their stores profit enormously from school teachers and parents, who stock up on school supplies each year during the back-to-school season. This year I'm taking a stand - I will be spending my back-to-school dollars elsewhere. Will you join me?

Joe Miller is a candidate for United States Senate in Alaska, and his campaign just sent the most overtly racist mailer of the 2014 election cycle. The mailing shows pictures of Mexican gang members with facial tattoos, and says that his Democratic opponent "wants them to vote." It continues, "And if 20 million illegals vote, you can kiss the 2nd amendment goodbye." This is way worse than politics as usual in the immigration debate. It’s dog-whistle racism — using common racial stereotypes to stir up fear of minorities. Joe Miller's underlying message is that no matter how educated, accomplished, or hardworking Latinos are, they will never be anything more than threatening gang members. The racism was so obvious that even one of his Republican primary opponents called him out on it during a debate. But Miller just doubled down on his cartoonish racism, saying, “It’s true. This is real world stuff.” Joe Miller reinforces this awful tradition, sending a perverse message that it’s ok to use these tactics because they’re just politics. But it’s not just politics: when immigrants — and anyone deemed to look like one — are dehumanized, it has real world effects on how Latinos are treated. Join us in saying "¡Ya Basta!" to electoral racism. Sign the petition asking Joe Miller to apologize for his racist portrayal of Latinos.

The one-by-one "investigations" miss the real problem!

Nicole Guerrero was pregnant and alone in a Texas county jail cell when she suddenly started having contractions. According to CNN, after screaming for help over and over again and being ignored for hours, someone finally came to her assistance, but it was too late. Her baby was born on a jail cell floor, a deep shade of purple, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Nicole’s baby did not survive. [1] [2] Nicole Guerrero is just one of the estimated 500 pregnant women in Texas county jails each month. [3] Reports from advocates in Texas tell us this isn’t the first time a pregnant woman in a county jail was denied access to medical care. The following standards and best practices should be established as minimum standards by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards: 1. Implement the current standard requiring jails to have a good medical plan that insures timely and appropriate prenatal care, specialized obstetrical services when indicated, and postpartum care. 2. When a pregnant woman says that she is experiencing labor symptoms, the jail shall provide an immediate evaluation by an obstetric specialist. If there is no obstetric specialist on site, an ambulance shall be called immediately and the woman shall be transferred to an appropriate medical care facility. In the event that a woman gives birth in the correctional facility, immediately call an ambulance to transfer both the mother and baby to a hospital. 3. Prohibit the placement of pregnant women in any form of solitary confinement, including a medical segregation cell. No mother should have to endure Nicole Guerrero’s tragic loss. If you are as horrified by this story as we are, please sign this petition today. [1] Shelby Lin Erdman and Carma Hassan. “Texas woman claims she gave birth alone in jail, baby died.” CNN, May 24, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/23/us/texas-jail-baby-death/ [2] Diana Claitor and Burke Butler. “Pregnant women in Texas county jails deserve better than this.” Dallas News, June 26, 2014. http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140626-pregnant-women-in-texas-county-jails-deserve-better-than-this.ece [3] Texas Jail Project. “Pregnant in a Texas County Jail?” January 1, 2013. http://www.texasjailproject.org/2013/01/pregnant-in-a-texas-jail/

There is damage and desperation in our environment. The time to act was yesterday, the time to act is always.

The state of Hawai‘i wants to spend about $1 billion on new prison bed construction. It plans on imprisoning over 6000 people for a state population of about 1.3 million. This large prison population makes Hawai'i less safe because the rate of repeating crime increases when people are imprisoned and the communities that they come from and usually return, suffer continual erosion. Instead of spending a $1 billion on a new prison, Hawai‘i should implement Justice Reinvestment, Restorative Justice, and increase community programming for safer communities.

When the community of Ferguson, Missouri demanded answers in the death Michael Brown, an unarmed 18 year old killed by a police officer, they were met with force more appropriate for a war zone than a suburban town of 21,000 residents. Police officers unleashed tear gas, rubber bullets, and hovering helicopters on residents mourning their community’s tragedy. Ferguson’s residents face racial discrimination in their community every day. 67% of Ferguson’s residents are black, just three police officers, one city council member, and no school board members are black. While the majority of people who live in the town are black, the people making decisions about who has value, and a say, in their community are white. When hundreds of residents rallied to remember and to grieve, the everyday policing biases they faced quickly escalated. Police officers dressed like soldiers armed with military-grade weapons looked like they were there to lead a tactical assault -- not help a community in crisis cope with a tragic loss. When weapons from the battlefield end up on our streets, no community is safe. Join us in calling on your Governor to opt-out of the militarization of our neighborhoods and take executive action rejecting military-grade weapons available through the Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) program. These weapons shouldn’t be anywhere, much less our back yards. Why does Ferguson, a town of 21,000, have a police force with access to helicopters, rubber bullets, and tear gas? In 1991, Congress established the LESO program which allows the Defense Department to transfer excess property to state agencies who request them. The property is given to agencies -- police departments, fish and wildlife services, and state universities alike -- as-is and must be used by the agency within a year. LESO gives these agencies access to tanks, helicopters, tear gas, machine guns, armored cars, night-vision equipment, and more battlefield-tested equipment. In 2013 alone, more than $440 million in supplies were doled out to agencies in all 50 states. These weapons do not belong in our neighborhoods or in the hands of our communities police forces. When combined with systemic policing bias toward communities of color, our citizens are less safe at the hands of those sworn to protect them. We don’t know where the next Ferguson may be, but so long as LESO continues to provide military-grade weapons to local law enforcement the threat remains. We urge Governors to opt-out of these programs to ensure the safety and uphold the civil rights of their communities.

Recreation Centers are oftentimes the heart and soul of a community. It is a huge priority for this community, our children and ultimately the health of our economy. Many children from local working families do not have the opportunities to be in after school activities or summer camps every day, year-round. These children are often limited to the library, which is trying to adapt to this need, but is not an ideal solution, and their programming is tapped out. We are an active community and there are more healthy, stimulating alternatives that we are not providing our children - playing games on a computer is not serving our children. Being a progressive community that cares about its children, it is an extreme disservice that we are not providing our community, our children and our visitors with year-round access to a public pool, a track, etc. Recreation Centers serve as affordable and year-round places for people to exercise, for children to recreate and hone various sports and skills, and for family and friends to spend time together. They are also a valuable amenity to the region, as they provide residents a better quality of life, increase property values, attract tourists, and help to bring the community together. Let's start the dialogue to get a Rec Center here in Telluride...we are one of the only resorts left in Colorado that doesn't have one and now is the time!

For too long, the University of California has tolerated managers and supervisors who mistreat employees. Despite the Union’s ongoing efforts to eliminate workplace bullying of our members and win a fair and respectful workplace, the problem persists. Although there are many good managers in the system, too many of our members are abused in the workplace while the employer turns a blind eye to the problem.

If the photographs emerging from Ferguson, Missouri look like some foreign war zone to you, you're not alone. Plenty of former soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan are saying the same thing. This was no accident. The armored vehicles, assault weapons and body armor that police are wearing in Ferguson—and other state/local police across the country—come from the United States military. Since 1996, the Department of Defense has transferred $4.3 billion in military equipment to local and state police through its 1033 program. Since 2001, the Department of Homeland Security has further militarized our police through federal funds for “terrorism prevention.” It is time for this to stop. Sign the petition to President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Homeland Security Secretary Johnson: stop sending military equipment to local and state police.