( My Elected Representatives )

To Find out who your reprsentatives are

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Haven't done this in a while now:
Sign the Petion to make birth control affordable in MS again
Hundreds of thousands of women across the country are losing access to birth control because they cannot afford this increase in the cost of their pills. This puts women at increased risk of unintended pregnancy and serious health issues.

Take action now and tell Thad Cochran to put birth control back within women's reach. Let him know that women deserve access to affordable birth control.

Some pills have gone up from 10 to 50 dollars a month!
They only need about 700 singatures, and mine was close to 630, so they are almost there.

Reguardless of wheter you are pro-choice or pro-life, affordable birth control that PREVENTS unwanted pregancies is a win win situation for everyone!

Over 40 endemic and threatened species, including sea turtles, are endangered by the development of two mega-resorts on the Caribbean Coast.

Urge Puerto Rico's Senate to support protecting these species from mega-resorts

The Northeast Ecological Corridor (NEC), on the eastern corner of the mainland of Puerto Rico, is home to many tropical habitats and endangered species. The Corridor harbors coral communities, mangrove and coastal pre-Columbian forests, a bioluminescent lagoon and one of the most important nesting sites for the endangered Leatherback sea turtle.

The government of Puerto Rico will soon vote on a bill that would designate the NEC a nature reserve. This bill will ensure protection for this extraordinary area once and for all.
Click here to go to the petiton

Although leatherback sea turtles have been on Earth for 100 million years, their numbers have decreased by 90 percent, and if they continue to decrease, these turtles could be gone from the Pacific Ocean in only ten short years.

Please sign this pledge now to help save these beautiful creatures from extinction

Each year, thousands of sea turtles choke on plastic bags after mistaking them for jellyfish, their favorite food. Other animals, like sea lions and dolphins, also mistake these bags for food and can end up with a stomach full of plastic.

Take action >> http://go.care2.com/e/R8Bj/hD4D/lk8H

Between 4 trillion and 5 trillion plastic bags are used each year globally. Most of these bags end up in landfills, where each one can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Others are blown into the ocean and become deadly to animals like the leatherback turtle. But this doesn't have to be the case.

You can help save these turtles by reducing your plastic bag use. Sign the pledge and get started today.

I have pledged to stop using plastic bags and only use canvas bags from now on when ever I go shopping. This is one of the many small changes I have pledged to make for the Earth, in light of approaching Earth day

2007 could be the year that the magnificent bluefin tuna, the fish behind
the finest sushi in the world, disappears from the Mediterranean.

Take action now to save bluefin by going to:
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vybmq00humyb0br5z3a3

Over recent years, high-tech fishing fleets have hunted down, often
illegally, ever declining numbers of these ocean giants. So much so that
bluefin tuna could soon be commercially extinct.

In May, the bluefin tuna fishing season starts again. But rather than
acting to stop this tragedy the European Union has set fishing quotas at a
level more than twice as high as science recommends. As a result the
fishery is likely to collapse.

Please go to:
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vybmq00humyb0br5z3a3
and send an email to the governments of France, Spain and Italy - the main
bluefin fishing countries in Europe. Ask them to take responsibility for
their fishing fleets. Ask them to set aside or allocate half of their
fishing quotas this year for conservation.

WWF report on worlds 10 most threatened rivers

Help stop the mulching of these beautiful ancient sentinels of the swamp. Call Wal-Mart, Lowes, and Home Depot today and ask them to stop using cypress mulch:



Please call Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe's to ask them stop selling cypress mulch and start promoting sustainable alternatives instead. The numbers and some easy talking points are below. When you're done, don't forget to fill out the form at the bottom to let us know you called and how the companies responded.
***************

1. For Wal-Mart, call 479-273-4000 and ask to speak with CEO Lee Scott. You'll be transferred to an operator who will ask your name and number. Make it clear that you'd like to talk to Mr. Scott, they probably won't let you, so just leave him a message.

Hello! My name is ________________, and I'm calling from _______________. I'm calling to ask Wal-Mart to stop selling cypress mulch. The mulch you sell is coming from endangered forests on the Gulf Coast. Those forests are the best natural protection we have from hurricanes and flooding. After Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart made a commitment to sustainability, and I want you to live up to it. There are plenty of sustainable mulch alternatives you can sell instead. Please discontinue all cypress mulch products. Thanks.


2. For Lowe's, call 704-758-1000 and ask to speak with CEO Robert Niblock. They should transfer you to his office, and if he's not available, just leave a message. Script below.

3. For Home Depot, call 800-654-0688, listen through the whole menu until the voice recognition part, when prompted say "Frank Blake" (he's the CEO). You'll probably end up at an operator, and then you can ask to be transferred to the CEO's office.
If that doesn't work, just call 800-HOMEDEPOT (800-466-333-768) and choose option 3. When you talk to the Customer Assistant make sure you ask for the CEO. You'll probably just have to leave a message for Mr. Blake.

Hello! My name is ________________, and I'm calling from _______________. I'm calling to ask [Home Depot or Lowe's] to stop selling cypress mulch. The mulch you sell is coming from endangered forests on the Gulf Coast. Those forests are the best natural protection we have from hurricanes and flooding. The [Home Depot or Lowe's] already has good sustainability policies, and its time to apply them to cypress mulch. There are plenty of sustainable mulch alternatives you can sell instead. Please discontinue all cypress mulch products. Thanks.

It only takes a minute of your time, and together we can all make a huge impact.
If you do call, please leave me a comment and let me know so I can keep a tally.

The Bush Administration has proposed to list the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting from global warming. This proposed protection comes after successful legal action by NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and its partners to protect the imperiled polar bear.

But this proposal won't become reality without a huge outpouring of public support. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is asking for your comments before making a final decision about whether to protect polar bears or leave them at the mercy of global warming and their vanishing habitat.

Polar bears live only in the Arctic and are completely dependent on sea ice for survival, but 80 percent of their summer ice could be gone in 20 years and all of it by 2040. They are already suffering the effects: birth rates are falling, fewer cubs are surviving, and more bears are drowning.
Time is running out. Without protection, polar bears could become the first mammal to lose 100 percent of its habitat to global warming.

You can help protect the polar bears from extinction by signing this petition and submitting your official public comment to USFWS today.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/891727564

I will be marching in DC this weekend against the war in Iraq:

Sign a petition to end the war

Barrow Island is the second largest island in Western Australia, and is
one of Australia's oldest nature reserves. But this remarkable place,
described as Australia's 'Galapagos' because of its rare and endangered
species, now faces unprecedented threats.

Take action to now to protect Barrow Island at:
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vwrb000humyb00nif3a3

In December 2006, the Western Australian Government overruled the advice
of its own Environmental Protection Authority and approved the development
on the island of a huge gas plant by the energy companies, Chevron, Shell
and ExxonMobil.

Risks to wildlife from the massive project include the introduction of
invasive species and diseases in the thousands of tonnes of material and
equipment needed to build the plant. The development would also require
the construction of a port in a pristine tropical area previously
earmarked for inclusion in the surrounding marine park and the dredging of
deep shipping channels in coral reef habitat.

You can help protect Barrow Island by signing our petition to the energy
consortium (Chevron, Shell and ExxonMobil). Go to:
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vwrb000humyb00nif3a3
and tell them to halt plans to locate the gas plant on the island and
instead look to alternative mainland locations.

Thank you,

This is a campaign that I personally have been fighting for a while, and we need more people aware:

Overfishing is a serious threat to the long-term health of the Gulf of Mexico. It is bad for fish, fishermen and the coastal economies that depend on sustainable fishing. You likely know that we have been working to end chronic overfishing of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, which has resulted in a reduction of the spawning population to just 3% of its historic level.

Right now we are at a critical juncture that can lead to key conservation measures being put in place within the next few months. Please join us in urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to implement their proposed temporary rule to end overfishing and finally start rebuilding the depleted red snapper.

Click here

You can also help out by not purchasing red snapper in the supermarkets or resturants.

Thank you

Toxic mercury pollution is so pervasive that many Americans cannot safely eat fish caught in local waters. In the Gulf of Mexico, king mackerel, cobia, blackfin tuna and greater amberjack all are under mercury consumption advisories.

The only way to clean up our fish and make them safe to eat is to limit mercury emissions into the environment. Unfortunately, one of the Gulf's largest mercury polluters, Pioneer Americas, refuses to follow the lead of the Chlor-alkali industry and switch to a mercury-free manufacturing process.

Take a moment to ask Pioneer to help protect public health by going mercury-free.

Click here to send a message to let folks know that you are opposed to further dumping of Mercury into the ocean

Nestled in the southern California desert, the Salton Sea is a desert jewel in danger of disappearing forever.

Don’t let one of North America’s most important areas for migratory birds wither away! Tell the California Department of Water Resources to adequately protect the Salton Sea!
( more info )

Not more than a week after reports of the extinction of the Yantzee River white dolphin, Japan is still continuing their slaughter of dolphins using unsustainable fishing practices that had lead to the end of the white dolphin.

Every year between October and April, more than 20,000 of these graceful creatures are needlessly slaughtered. Why is this government-sanctioned event happening? Officials claim the slaughter is a form of "pest control" since the dolphins may compete with a fisherman's catch.

But the butchered dolphins are actually being sold off to supermarkets and grocery stores!

Please help protect the dolphins and porpoises by going to: http://go.care2.com/e/R3KL/BocB/tzIr

Dolphins are considered one of the most intelligent species on earth. Conservationists, scientists, and aquarium professionals agree that the method of these killings "inflict measurable pain and suffering on animals that are intelligent, sentient, and socially complex." Together, we can prevent the suffering of thousands from happening!

And with all online petitions, you can always take it a step further, and call up the Japanese Ambassador yourself and tell him what you think.

His contact information can be found here

US action-
As the holidays approach, our thoughts turn to those who are less fortunate than ourselves. This year, we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of countless innocent women and their families who are suffering in Darfur, Sudan.

These women and their daughters are struggling to survive in cramped refugee camps where sexual assault is common, food is scarce, and medical help is almost non-existent. But there is hope. Tell our leaders to protect women from abuse and genocide by sending humanitarian aid to Darfur!

Women and girls as young as eight risk being raped and attacked when they leave their homes or refugee camps to gather firewood and food.

Hungry families face a terrible choice each day - do they send out their husbands and sons who may be killed, or their mothers and daughters, who may be raped and beaten? This is a choice no one should ever have to make!

Speak up for the women and girls who have no voice: http://go.care2.com/e/R2_G/b0yG/tzIr

In its final session before Christmas, the Norwegian government will decide
how much of Southern Scandinavia's last remaining large old-growth forest
is to be protected.



Send an email now at
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vhq2q000bgeb00tng3a3
and urge Norway to protect this magical place.

The Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell area in Norway covers low-land forests with
broadleaved deciduous trees, herb-rich spruce forests, dramatic river
canyons and miles and miles of undulating forested hills covered by spruce
and pine - all overlooked by majestic mountains.

Within the forest scientists have discovered over 100 species that are
endangered and threatened in Norway. The three-toed woodpecker, golden
eagle and Siberian jay are just a few of the examples of the rich wildlife
thriving in the old trees, where rare lichens and fungi conjures up a
uniquely magical atmosphere.

If the government fails to protect the whole of Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell in
the coming weeks then the area's unique environment and precious wildlife
will be under threat.

Please go to
http://mail.panda.org/inxmail/url?vhq2q000bgeb00tng3a3
and send an email now to the Norwegian government, urging them to do the
right thing and protect all of Trillemarka-Rollagsfjell!

Toxic emissions, tanker spills and dead sea turtles -- Is this what you want for America’s Gulf Coast?

With many of its allies preparing to leave positions of power in Washington, Big Oil and its high-priced lobbyists have launched a last-ditch effort to industrialize our coasts before Congress adjourns for the year. A vote on their legislation could come as soon as tomorrow.

Gulf Coast wildlife needs your help. Urge your Representative to oppose offshore drilling legislation and stand up for our precious coasts and the wildlife that depends on them.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed legislation that would open up as much as eight million new acres in the Gulf of Mexico to harmful oil and gas drilling (S. 3711). Now it’s your U.S. House Representative’s turn to weigh in on the bill.

More than 20 species of whales and dolphins, five species of sea turtles, dozens of fish species and hundreds of species of birds live in or near the area where new drilling would be authorized. Each of these unique and wonderful animals would be threatened by passage of the offshore drilling bill.

Drilling rigs spew air pollution and toxic mercury emissions that can poison marine wildlife. The vibrations from drilling exploration can cause dolphins to become confused and drown. And increased tanker traffic raises the specter of another cataclysmic oil spill that could wreck the beautiful Florida beaches where millions of Americans live or vacation.

It’s not worth the risk. Congress should be focusing on real energy solutions like improving fuel efficiency and spurring investment in clean, renewable energy sources. Instead, outgoing Members of Congress are offering up some of our most treasured coastal waters as a parting gift to big oil companies with sky-high profits.

We have only a few short hours before the House takes up this awful bill. Urge your Representative to reject harmful offshore drilling legislation... send your personalized message right now!

Ask Congress for Money to Protect Ash Trees
Non-native plants and animals can damage the environment, endanger native species, and place a financial burden on affected communities. The emerald ash borer is a beetle, originally from Asia, that has killed more than 20 million ash trees in several U.S. states. If it spreads, it could eliminate all native ash species across the United States. While this situation is dire, it is not too late to protect the vast majority of ash trees in the U.S. Ask your elected official, a member of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, to commit $90 million this year to address this extraordinary threat

Send a Message To your congress person

ALSO More importantly YOU CAN CALL YOUR SENATOR AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU THINK! (that is what they are for after all)

I strongly encourage CALLING!!!!


If you don't know who your representative is CLICK HERE!
( Talking points for my own refrence )

Giant Sequoia National Monument, one of the finest gifts from Mother Nature, was set aside as a gift for future generations by President Clinton in 2000. But after the most recent election it is possible some outgoing members of Congress are willing give these lands to big timber for logging.

( More info )
Tell Congress to leave the gift of Giant Sequoia National Monument alone

Click here

I might have to actually call in on this one. I want to SEE these trees before the Moron's Adminstarion turns them in to ply wood

Japan recently launched its annual mass dolphin slaughter - allowing "fishermen" to round up and butcher tens of thousands of dolphins.
Help stop the hunts: http://go.care2.com/e/R1uq/AKCD/lk8H

Researchers have identified dolphins as one of the few non-human species that posesses "self-awareness," or the ability to know that one exists. Yet, during drive hunts, fishermen panic and confuse migrating dolphin pods and other small whales with loud banging, then herd them by the hundreds, into shallow coves. There, the dolphins lie helpless as their pod-members are slaughtered one by one.

According to The Ocean Project, every year, some 20,000 small cetaceans (some endangered) are killed or taken in these drives, some illegally. The animals include bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, spotted dolphins, Risso's dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, white-sided dolphins, and false killer whales.

The hunts have been universally condemned by marine experts around the world as brutal, inhumane, and unsustainable, but we need to exert more pressure before Japan makes any changes.

One dolphin supporter with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society reported on the Risso dolphin hunt just days ago from Taiji, Japan:

"The dolphins are breathing, they are coming up and then swimming just below the surface, surfacing quite frequently, as this would be a sign of stress. I can only imagine the state of horror, shock and confusion that these poor animals are in now. [...] [T]he feeling of helplessness and horror is really hard to describe to you. This is an ultimately sad, tragic scene, and these dolphins will be pushed into a small bay tomorrow and killed."

Please help protect the dolphins: http://go.care2.com/e/R1uq/AKCD/lk8H