Earthjustice

Campaigns

• TAKE ACTION: Get these hormone-disrupting chemicals out of our food!

  No matter how careful you are about what you eat, your food could be loaded with toxic chemicals called phthalates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a petition, filed by Earthjustice and several partner organizations, asking the agency to withdraw its approval of all 30 phthalates currently allowed as food additives. Please tell the FDA that phthalates don’t belong in our food. Phthalates (pronounced THAL-ates) are a class of hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been linked to severe genital birth defects in baby boys and to other reproductive health problems. They’re also linked to deficits in child IQ, developmental delays, and other learning disabilities. It’s hard to avoid phthalates because they’re used in many of the materials that come into contact with our food—from the plastic gloves that food workers wear to plastic equipment used in processing food to the plastic packaging our food is sold in. Phthalates leach out of these materials and seep into our food, ending up in all of our bodies. Despite powerful scientific evidence of the harmful health effects of these chemicals, the FDA still allows the use of 30 different toxic phthalates as “food additives,” meaning that they can be used in food-handling equipment and food packaging. Please tell the FDA to keep toxic phthalates out of our food!

  22,603 of 25,000 Signatures

  Created by Eve Gartner, Earthjustice
• Protect Northwest Orcas

  The critically endangered population of Pacific Northwest orcas has been reduced to only 84 individuals. Now, they face a new threat from anti-environmental groups seeking to strip away their Endangered Species Act protections. Tell the National Marine Fisheries Service that this unique population deserves full protection under the law. These unique marine mammals have been decimated by the decline of salmon—their primary prey—and by toxic pollution and habitat degradation from shipping, sonar and other human activities. They need more, not less, protection. Please voice your support for continuing vital protections for the Pacific Northwest's irreplaceable killer whales.

  61,963 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Alex Vanderweele
• Protect America’s Rainforest From Old-Growth Logging

  We have an opportunity to save the Tongass rainforest—but we need your help now to tell agency officials to end destructive industrial-scale old-growth logging on the Tongass much more quickly than the Forest Service’s proposed 10-15 year timeline. The Tongass is one of the few old-growth temperate rainforests in the world and America’s largest national forest. Its towering stands of 700 year old trees provide vital habitat for bears, salmon, Sitka black-tailed deer, goshawks, and—importantly—the rare and dwindling Alexander Archipelago wolf. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently found that, because of excessive old-growth logging, this unique subspecies of wolf may warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. At times, the Obama Administration has offered encouraging words about ending the large-scale destruction of this rainforest from old-growth logging. And in May 2014, the Administration announced it would be starting a process to amend the Tongass Forest Plan to phase out these devastating logging practices. Unfortunately, the U.S. Forest Service proposes taking far too long to complete that goal—another 10-15 years of industrial old-growth logging. Worse, the agency is set to increase old-growth timber sales on the Tongass in the meantime, with several big new sales in the worksgrowth timber sales on the Tongass in the meantime with several big new sales in the works—some of the largest the Tongass has seen in over two decades. The wolves and other species of the Tongass just can’t afford more habitat destruction. Take action now to protect the Tongass National Forest from destructive industrial-scale old-growth logging.

  175 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Rebecca Judd, Earthjustice
• TAKE ACTION: Stop Old-Growth Clear-Cutting in the Tongass National Forest

  Last year the U.S. Forest Service approved the Big Thorne timber sale in the Tongass National Forest—the largest, most destructive old-growth clear-cutting project in more than 20 years. Earthjustice is in court today fighting to stop Big Thorne, but if we don’t act soon the Forest Service could approve a forest plan for the Tongass that would allow more large-scale old-growth timber sales just like it for another decade or more, instead of the quick end to old-growth logging in the Tongass promised by the administration in 2010. We can save the Tongass rainforest—but we need your urgent help now to tell agency officials they should quickly bring an end to destructive and controversial large-scale old-growth logging. The Tongass is one of the few remaining old-growth temperate rainforests in the world, and America’s largest national forest. Towering stands of 700-year-old trees provide vital habitat for countless species, including the Alexander Archipelago wolf. An ancient, carbon-rich forest, the Tongass helps to moderate global climate change. Delegates to the Paris climate talks agreed that protecting the Earth’s forests is one of the most important means of curbing the damaging effects of climate change. Protecting Tongass old-growth is an essential step the United States must take to meet the climate imperative coming out of the Paris talks. A stronghold for all five species of Pacific salmon, the Tongass supports a thriving fishing industry as well as a booming tourism industry, as people from across the country visit to enjoy its world-class recreation, hunting and sport and commercial fishing opportunities. The communities of southeast Alaska depend on the bounty of the Tongass and its lands and waters for subsistence practices, recreation and livelihoods. Take action now to protect the Tongass National Forest and reject old-growth logging.

  778 of 800 Signatures

  Created by Holly Harris, Earthjustice
• Tell the FDA: Keep GE Salmon Out of Our Food Chain

  KEEP FRANKENFISH OUT OF OUR FOOD CHAIN. During the holidays, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) took a controversial step toward approving the first-ever genetically-engineered fish made for human consumption. These fish are the spawn of a company called AquaBounty Technologies and are engineered in foreign laboratories to grow twice as fast as natural Atlantic salmon. And if that’s not scary enough, the FDA isn’t even planning on thoroughly studying all the environmental risks presented by these Frankenfish before giving the green light to AquaBounty. This means these Frankenfish will be produced on a commercial scale before anyone knows what damaging impacts they may have if they invade our most sensitive natural marine environments. The FDA wants to be able to save these crucial questions for a later time, but these questions need to be answered now, before it’s too late.

  1,022 of 2,000 Signatures

  Created by Raviya Ismail, Earthjustice
• Reject the Next Generation of GMO Crops and Pesticides

  The USDA is poised to allow farmers to plant 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) resistant corn and soy. This would allow farmers to plant these crops wherever they please without any government oversight, disregarding the harms they will cause. 2,4-D is a toxic herbicide associated with serious health impacts. Dow AgroScience created these 2,4-D resistant crops so farmers could spray the herbicide without killing their corn and soy. But when the same herbicide is sprayed on a field repeatedly, a few naturally resistant weeds survive, reproduce and eventually take over. Because farmers did this with Monsanto’s Roundup-resistant crops, fields across the U.S. are now choked with Roundup-resistant weeds. Industry’s solution is to genetically engineer crops to resist a different, more toxic herbicide, to kill those resistant weeds but not the crops. But make no mistake, these GMO crops will, like their predecessors, lead to much greater use of even more dangerous chemicals, the development of more herbicide-resistant weeds, destruction and genetic contamination of neighboring crops, and severe economic impacts on other farmers. USDA projects approval of these crops will result in an up to 600 percent increase in 2,4-D use on crops, to as much as 176 million pounds per year, while independent scientists believe much greater increases are likely. Drifting 2,4-D already causes more crop injury events to neighboring farms than any other herbicide. Please tell the USDA to deny approval use of these crops.

  56,372 of 75,000 Signatures

  Created by Paul Achitoff, Earthjustice
• Concerned About Exposure To Toxic Chemicals?

  The weak and outdated Toxic Substances Control Act does next to nothing to keep you and I safe from toxic chemicals. In fact, the scary truth is that there are about 80,000 chemicals approved for use in everyday products and very few have been tested to see if they are harmful. Many are linked to reproductive disorders, learning disabilities, diabetes, and cancer. That’s a whole plethora of chemicals that Americans are exposed to on a daily basis! We need you to call on your senators to make sure that reform of our toxic chemical laws is substantive and real. Chemical reform must protect pregnant women, workers, children and overburdened communities, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009)—as drafted—does NOT pass the test.

  60 of 100 Signatures

  Created by Earthjustice
• Stop The Delisting Of Endangered Wolves

  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently proposed to delist gray wolves across the lower 48 states from the Endangered Species Act and we only have a few days left to tell President Obama and Interior Secretary Jewell to change their minds. If the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removes gray wolf federal protections, wolves in the Pacific Northwest, California, the southern Rocky Mountains, and the Northeast will face even more difficult odds than they do already. The recovery of gray wolves is an American success story, from their reintroduction in the northern Rocky Mountains to their comeback in the western Great Lakes states. But there are few, if any, gray wolves in the vast majority of their former range. This may be our last chance to stop the slaughter of wolves from being even more widespread! Urge President Obama and Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell to maintain protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states.

  173 of 200 Signatures

  Created by Doug Honnold, Earthjustice
• ASK THE EPA NOT TO REPEAL THE CLEAN POWER PLAN

  Today, the Trump Administration made a catastrophic step backward and announced it is repealing our country’s largest effort to stop climate change—the Clean Power Plan. This plan is the country’s first-ever federal carbon pollution limits for our nation’s electric power plants. By repealing the CPP, we are starting over. We don’t have the time. We can’t slow down. We’re in a race against disaster. Instead we need to strengthen the current Clean Power Plan and recognize that the climate science is correct—anything less would be a step back. Pruitt’s action to begin the process of repealing the Clean Power Plan is unacceptable. We need this vital, commonsense safeguard that will greatly reduce the United States’ largest source of carbon emissions. Tell the EPA to enforce the Clean Power Plan and defend our communities’ right to clean energy and a healthy future. Pruitt’s announcement cements his guiding environmental principle: Prop up the dying fossil fuel industry at any cost. This industry poisons the air and water of our most vulnerable communities while we watch the immediate impacts of climate change in real time. Our ocean is turning into a pressure cooker for hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma and Maria, which collectively have killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands. We don’t have time to sit this fight out until the political winds shift in our favor. We need to tackle our climate crisis now. Demand that the Clean Power Plan remain in place—and tell the EPA to double down on our commitment to a clean energy future.

  305 of 400 Signatures

  Created by Drew Caputo, Earthjustice
• Save Bees from a Highly Toxic Pesticide

  Bee populations are plummeting! Yet the Environmental Protection Agency recently sided with Dow AgroSciences to approve a new, highly toxic bee-killing pesticide called sulfoxaflor. And now the EPA is considering expanding the number of crops this pesticide can be sprayed on to include corn, alfalfa, oats, and several other significant and widely grown crops. Will you help us fight back? Tell the EPA to deny Dow AgroScience’s application to expand the registration of the bee-killing pesticide sulfoxaflor now. Nearly one-third of our crops—including many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds—depend on bees for pollination. But bees in our country are dying at unprecedented rates, and scientists are pointing to pesticides like sulfoxaflor as a cause. A world without bees is unimaginable. Earthjustice is doing everything we can to fight back, using the law and the power of the courts. But we need your help to stop this latest proposal. Help us ensure that sulfoxaflor does not become the final straw for bees. Take action now to save bees!

  41,868 of 45,000 Signatures

  Created by Greg Loarie, Earthjustice