The Clean Air Act requires polluters to disclose their levels of emissions. Now producers of "biomass" power want a blanket exemption from reporting their emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution. Tell the EPA to hold all energy producers accountable for their pollution.

Biomass is a term that includes many different fuel types such as trees; construction, wood, and agricultural wastes; and more. Due to the differences among types of biomass, it makes no sense to assume that none of them contribute to global warming. Some forms of biomass can be part of the clean energy solution, but science shows that if done wrong, biomass can increase greenhouse gas emissions, undermining our climate goals.

In September, the US Senate will decide on critical legislation that will affect the safety of the food supply in our nation. Unfortunately, Senators still need to be convinced that getting the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) out of our food and beverage containers is an urgent food safety issue that MUST be addressed in the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010.

Take a minute and send this urgent letter asking your Senators to support an amendment proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein that would get BPA out of baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula and baby food as part of the Food Safety legislation.

Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is severely damaging our state's environment and local communities. The drillers are not paying to clean it up, and with fewer state dollars going to environmental protection each year, this is a dangerous mix. Take action now and demand that our state legislature impose a tax on the extraction of natural gas. The natural gas drilling industry in Pennsylvania is getting an unfair deal that puts our state's land, air, and water quality at risk for generations to come.

Tell them to support clean energy

The U.S. Senate needs to hear from you that dirty bioenergy sources, like corn ethanol, are not the answer to our energy and climate crises. Right now, the Senate is deciding what to about these pressing issues. Some negative impacts of corn ethanol production:

• Uses large quantities of water and causes pollution and dead zones with its pesticides and fertilizers;
• Major soil erosion and depletion of nutrients in our soil, jeopardizing our ability to produce food and raising food prices;
• Requires large amounts of land which has led to the destruction of forests, causing biodiversity loss and massive impacts on water resources while actually worsening global warming;
• Has needed $20 billion subsidies and government handouts over the last five years, taking away from investment in actual clean energy sources;
• Uses a massive amount of energy, increasing coal and natural gas use.
  

It seemed crystal clear. When Consumers Energy recently shelved plans for a dirty, unneeded coal plant that would have saddled ratepayers and shareholders with billions in costs, it appeared as though the utility giant was finally seeing clearly.

Unfortunately, that's not the case.

Consumers is seeing about as clearly as if the board were wearing mud-covered glasses. That's the only explanation possible for the decision to pursue permits to drain wetlands in a watershed that directly impacts Lake Huron near Bay City for the new, dirty, costly, and unneeded coal plant. A plant, remember, the utility said was put on hold indefinitely.

By weighing-in today, you can make sure the state officials making the decision on the wetlands permit don't have the same vision problems.

The number one cause of pollution in New Jersey's waterways is phosphorus and nitrogen, two substances found in inorganic fertilizers. Fertilizer runoff is not only destroying important water resources, right now it is literally killing Barnegat Bay, one of the state's most important estuaries, ecosystems, and watersheds.

This comes at tremendous public health, environmental and economic costs from fish kills, cancer, and increased water treatment and rates to damaging New Jersey's multi-billion dollar tourism and fishing industries. Tell key legislators and the Governor that this is unacceptable.

What's in the products you use every day? The lining in a can of food? The mattress you slept on last night? Your children's toys? Or even the computer you're reading this on? In fact, the public has very little information about the chemicals in the products we use or their potential impact on our health or our environment.

More often than not, even the companies that made these products don't have this information because their suppliers won't tell them!

One of the major reasons for this is that chemical manufacturers have abused legitimate legal protections by claiming that this basic information is a trade secret or confidential business information.

What are all those chemicals in your shampoo? Your lipstick? your aftershave? And what do they have to do with asthma, breast cancer and learning disabilities?

Learn, share and help change this toxic mess: Watch The Story of Cosmetics, a 8-minute film exposing the ugly truth about personal care products - brought to you by Clean Water Action, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff Project and Free Range Studios, and take action to help pass the Safe Cosmetics Act.

Do you remember the crash test dummies featured in commercials and
ads for years? They were the nameless, faceless humanoids riding in
test vehicles that famously smashed into bridges, cars, semis, you name
it. They stood in for us in dangerous situations so we wouldn't be hurt.

Until now. Now, you and I are unwilling crash test dummies for the
special interests peddling their toxic stew of chemicals found in every
day products, but we have names and faces and families and lives. We
weren't invented to test chemicals in products, and we aren't dummies.

The time has come for the Austin City Council to phase in a ban of petroleum-based plastic bags in Austin Texas!

Plastic bags are an environmental and visual scourge, as well as a threat to wildlife. Worldwatch Institute estimates that Americans use 100 billion plastic bags each year - requiring the consumption of 4,300,000 gallons of crude oil.

The manufacture of plastic bags creates greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. At most, only 1% to 2% of these bags get recycled. The rest take up space in landfills, litter city streets, or find their way into creeks, rivers and oceans. According to the Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die from eating or getting entangled in plastic each year.

The United Nations calculates that on average over 46,000 pieces of plastic litter are floating in every square mile of ocean. The City of San Francisco has estimated that it costs its taxpayers an average of 17 cents to dispose of each plastic bag.

Take action now: Ask the Austin City Council and Mayor Leffingwell to ban petroleum-based plastic bags.

Pelicans soaked in oil sludge. Shrimp fisherman wondering aloud what they'll do to make a living now. Whole communities, dependent on tourism, now virtual ghost towns. The BP spill has ruined lives, destroyed jobs, and permanently damaged the Gulf waters to maximize its profits.

Now imagine it happened here.

If friends of dirty energy succeed in opening the Great Lakes to Big Oil, we could be next. It could be our $9 billion boating and $7 billion fishing industries washed away by a flood of tar balls. The Great Lakes are what so many of us love about living in Michigan - and they're also the lifeblood of our economy.

Tell the Governor to keep health-threatening bacteria out of our water!

The Texas state environmental agency, the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ), acting at the request of polluting interests and feedlots, is proposing to allow higher levels of harmful bacteria in our rivers and streams. This will put thousands of Texas who swim, canoe or fish in these waters at greater risk of getting sick! Help us stop this plan.

Shrek glasses with cadmium?! Canned food contaminated with the sex hormone bisphenol A?! Cancer-causing formaldehyde in furniture?! This week we ask you to join us in a nation-wide call in campaign to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House to make sure that manufacturers stop using toxic chemicals in the products we use everyday.

The Toxics Chemical Safety Act was just introduced in Congress. It aims to protect families from harmful chemicals by overhauling outdated chemical laws. The current draft of the bill is a good first step, but it's missing some key provisions, like phasing out the worst chemicals first and ensuring that chemicals are tested for safety before they are allowed on the market.

The reasons to support a stronger Toxic Chemicals Safety Act keep mounting. Research shows that chemicals found in everyday products are linked to negative health effects including cancer, early puberty, learning disabilities, and sexual dysfunction. A few weeks ago, the President's Cancer Panel released a damning report underlining the acute need for stronger toxics laws. The report specifically recommends removing cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins from our food, water, and air that "needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity and devastate American lives."

A critical committee vote on the bill could happen any day and Speaker Pelosi needs to hear from you. Please call her today and tell her to put health first by getting rid of the worst chemicals first!

The Lower Perkiomen Valley Regional Sewer Authority (LPVRSA) plans to double its capacity by constructing a new sewer line along the Perkiomen Creek.

There is no data that proves the need to increase sewer capacity. The middle section alone will cost over nine million dollars. Where is the money coming from? All ratepayers are expected to pay part of this in rate increases, and future developers are expected to pay as well. Don't feed sprawl: Help protect the Perkiomen Creek from sewer development.

Construction is responsible for a whopping 40% of all mobile diesel emissions in the Northeast. It's time that our policies reflect government concern for the health of the workers and the public in and around those construction sites, particularly when they are located in dense urban areas - the Diesel Emission Reduction Act does just that.

The worst effects of diesel pollution are felt in densely populated urban areas, such as Providence County, which is ranked in the worst 6% of all US counties for health risks from diesel pollution. Each year Rhode Islanders suffer 50 premature deaths, 80 heart attacks and more than 900 asthma attacks (that's 3 per day) from their exposure to diesel pollution. This cannot continue. There is a better way of doing business and it's right around the corner.

WTP4 is a proposed drinking water treatment that will cost $500 million, not counting the interest necessary to finance it, and require an increase in our monthly water bills by as much as 15% in order to pay for it.

When you get a "free" plastic grocery bag at the check-out stand, it's not really free. The retailer is passing 3 cents per plastic bag and 10 cents per paper bag on to you in the bill!

In addition, California's government spends billions of taxpayer dollars each year cleaning litter from streets, beaches, parks and storm drain systems. Since plastic bags are a huge part of the litter problem, you pay for them twice - at the store and in your taxes. Take action now: Ask your State Senator to support a state-wide ban on plastic bags at grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience food stores.

Michigan is already employing tens of thousands of workers in good-paying, clean energy jobs like manufacturing windmills, solar panels, energy efficient appliances, and advanced batteries. Even though more investments in clean energy will continue to put tens of thousands of Michiganders back to work all across the state, Holland Board of Public Works is still moving forward with their proposal for an expansion of a dirty coal plant that will bring only a handful of jobs to the state. Tell them this is not the right direction for Michigan!

BP's continuing oil spill disaster is devastating proof of the high cost that comes with our dependence on oil and other dirty energy sources. We will pay the price for Big Oil's reckless behavior for years to come: damaged health, ravaged coastal economies, destruction of entire ecosystems and the fish, birds and other animals that live there.

Energy technologies which degrade and deplete the nation's water resources need to be phased out. Urge your U.S. Senators, and your Representative to stand up to Big Oil and do the right thing, for a change.

Tell your State Representative and Senator to support strong protections for our groundwater - just like the protection we give our lakes, rivers, and streams. Without new legislation, our groundwater - which feeds our rivers, lakes and streams - is left unprotected to withdrawals from corporations who want to pump our water and ship it to the far corners of the globe.

On May 6, President Obama’s Cancer Panel released a groundbreaking report identifying chemicals in our home and natural environment as a significant contributor to cancer. The panel cites the problem has been "grossly underestimated" and recommends a number of immediate actions government, industry and individuals can take to address environmental cancer.

Individual recommendations by the panel included filtering home tap water to decrease exposure to carcinogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals, buying organic food and choosing products made with non-toxic substances.

The panel also supported reform of the nation’s outdated chemical law, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Bills to reform TSCA were introduced in the House and Senate in April and would require chemicals to be assessed for safety as a condition of remaining on the market.

For three decades, the Clean Water Act protected America's waters from industrial pollution, oil spills, sewage and outright destruction. Recent interpretations of the law have put drinking water sources for 110 million Americans in jeopardy of losing protections.

The Great Lakes Offshore Wind (GLOW) Council has recently announced its proposed policy recommendations and we need to make sure they hear the message loud and clear that Michigan supports wind power!  

Clean Water Action has been working hard to increase the state's investment in wind power, educating lawmakers on the need to grow renewable energy standards and provide incentives for small wind development that promote job growth in Michigan. 

Many familiar products, such as baby bottles, water bottles, and other food containers, use a toxic chemical called BPA (bisphenol-A) in the plastic. Unfortunately, BPA can leach out of plastic containers and is now found in over 93% of all Americans according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Our forests are at risk from natural gas drilling, and only you can save them.

One-third of state forest lands, or about 700,000 acres, are already open to natural gas exploration and extraction. But gas drillers are pushing for more land, and Governor Rendell has proposed leasing additional state lands to help close the budget gap.

Our precious state parks and forests cannot be used as an ATM. Some of our major industries - outdoor tourism, recreation and sustainable timbering - rely on well-managed, protected lands in order to thrive. Gas drilling operations would mean building roads and pipelines through pristine lands, and would pose an immense risk to quality waterways.

Michigan needs to move into a clean energy future that will create jobs, protect our environment and lower energy costs. The smartest way to do that? Energy efficiency!

A recent report released by the Midwest Energy Efficiency Association found that doubling Michigan's energy efficiency standard would save consumers over $22 billion by 2019. And if saving money isn't reason enough, the increased standard would create up to 7,600 jobs in Michigan!

Take Action: Help increase our energy efficiency standard!

Diesel pollution is bad for our health! Pollution from diesel vehicles like buses and trucks will cause an estimated 443 premature deaths in Michigan in 2010, as well as 648 non-fatal heart attacks, 15,004 asthma attacks, and 57,561 lost work days. Our children are particularly at risk.

Recently, Gov. Jennifer Granholm took a big first step toward cleaner air and healthier families in Michigan when she signed an Executive Directive calling for idling limitations for state vehicles.

While we applaud the governor for her efforts, we need help to make even bigger strides to protect our health and our environment, and create good-paying jobs in Michigan.

Sign our petition calling on Gov. Granholm to take another step forward for Michigan families.

"Every day, consumers rely on household products that contain thousands of chemicals. The American public expects the federal government to do all it can to ensure these chemicals are safe before they reach the market." -Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Americans assume that chemicals used to make ordinary products are tested for safety - but they are not. From baby bottles made with bisphenol A (BPA) to carpets containing formaldehyde, dangerous chemicals are in our homes, places of work, and the products we use every day. With each new scientific report linking toxic chemical exposure to a serious health problem, it becomes more obvious that the law intended to keep harmful chemicals in check - the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 - is not working.

Now, we have the chance to fix this problem - and to protect future generations from serious harm. By updating TSCA, Congress can create the foundation for a sound and comprehensive chemicals policy that protects public health and the environment, while restoring the luster of safety to U.S. goods in the world market. Take action:  Take
action: Tell Congress you support real chemical reform and the removal
of the most hazardous chemicals from everyday products.

Construction is responsible for a whopping 40% of all mobile diesel emissions in the Northeast. It's time that our policies reflect government concern for the health of the workers and the public in and around those construction sites, particularly when they are located in dense urban areas - the Clean Construction Ordinance does just that.

Take action now: Tell the Cranston City council that you support clean construction.

In the past two years, the natural gas industry has recklessly endangered the safety of Pennsylvania's waterways. Just this September, thousands of gallons of dangerous fluids, like diesel fuel and hydrochloric acid, have been spilled in multiple incidents in our state. Sadly, that's just the beginning when it comes to kind of accidents that have endangered our environment and our health.

Take action now: Ask your Representative to support critical legislation that would protect Pennsylvania's water from drillers.

On Earth Day 2009, eighteen Pennsylvania State Senators introduced SB 777, state legislation that would protect rivers, streams, and aquifers (groundwater) that supply our public drinking water. The list of co-sponsors has grown to 22 including 4 members of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

Almost a year later, State Senator Mary Jo White, Chair of the Committee, has still not scheduled the Safer Drinking Water Act for a vote.  Take action now: Tell your State Senator to ask Sen. White to schedule a vote on the Safer Drinking Water Act.

What is the greatest threat polluting the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and Rock Creek? The answer may surprise you. It is not industrial waste or piles of trash.

It's runoff of stormwater after heavy rains.

Unfortunately, this problem often goes unnoticed for the simple fact that we can't see it. During rain storms (or when our recent dumping of snow melts) water rushes off all of our paved surfaces taking much of the untreated oil, sediment, trash and other pollutants into our storm drains and the combined sewer/stormwater system which empty directly into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers.

Unlike the pollution that can more easily be controlled from a single source (waste discharged from an industrial building or construction site) stormwater is more difficult to control and thus requires a comprehensive solution.

The problem is that two-thirds of the District have an inadequate stormwater drainage system that uses old approaches to rush water away from our neighborhoods and streets as fast as possible towards DC's creeks and rivers.

Fortunately, new water management solutions can reduce and even eliminate stormwater pollution.

Take action now: Urge the EPA to issue the strongest stormwater permit possible for DC. Help protect the Potomac, Rock Creek, and the Anacostia from this hidden pollutant.

On March 10th and 11th, the South Florida Water Management District's Governing Board (SFWMD) will make a decision on the River of Grass land acquisition contract.

Minnesota's progress on the path towards a clean and renewable energy future will be in danger if we allow more nuclear reactors to be built in our state.

Allowing the construction of new nuclear reactors in Minnesota will lead us off the renewable energy path that has made this state a national leader. Minnesota’s moratorium on the construction of new nuclear reactors was enacted for a good reason – reactors are expensive to build and threaten our precious water resources. Plants being built in Texas and Florida are projected to cost over $17 billion each. The nuclear plants currently operating in Minnesota are allowed to withdraw almost 390 billion gallons of surface and groundwater each year. That’s more than the amount of drinking water allotted to the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Duluth combined!

A dangerous, dirty experimental, costly, and unneeded coal and chemical plant has been proposed for Linden, New Jersey. The proposal, purposely mis-named "PurGen", would include a pipeline that stretches 100 miles into the ocean in an attempt to bury carbon dioxide a mile and a half below the ocean floor.

Comprehensive clean energy jobs legislation would free the United States from our dependence on foreign oil. For Michigan, comprehensive legislation will rev the engine of our clean energy economy, which is already driving our economic resurgence. 

Comprehensive legislation will level the playing field, create more than 50,000 jobs in Michigan alone and move us to a sustainable, homegrown energy future.

Over the past few months, you've joined us in calling for swift action to stop the Asian carp invasion of our Great Lakes. We're down to the wire now, and we need to shut down the locks linking the Chicago river - where we know there are carp - and our precious Great Lakes via Lake Michigan. Earlier this week, Michigan's Governor Jennifer Granholm joined in a summit at the White House to discuss the threat with Obama administration officials and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

During the summit, representatives from Obama's administration said that the locks would be closed-but only at certain times! What's to stop the carp from swimming through any time the locks are open?

Coal ash is a concentrated toxic by-product of burning coal and is a growing problem across the nation. The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences research show that coal ash is toxic, and threatens human health.

Yet Big Coal has been fighting any change to the status quo, lobbying against these proposed regulations and asking the nation’s energy regulators to charge ratepayers for any coal ash cleanup charges.

Just recently, the very first battery pack for the Michigan-made Chevy Volt rolled off the line at GM's new Brownstown Assembly Plant, signaling another giant leap forward for Michigan's clean energy economy.

General Motors is making major investments all over the state as the car maker prepares to ramp up production of the hybrid electric Volt, revving up our economy and speeding along the path to a cleaner, greener Michigan.

As part of that green revolution, we're working hard to re-energize Michigan by reducing fuel emissions that cause global warming and health problems, and sending a signal that here in Michigan, we are committed to leading the world in advanced battery technology. Now it's time for our lawmakers to join in by supporting a fuel emissions reduction and the entire ReEnergize Michigan! legislative package.

Last year's elections to the board of the Pedernales Electric Co-op resulted in a majority committed to ending the days of scandal that have plagued the PEC for so long. The PEC board is now considering bringing a Bill of Rights before the members for approval during this year's board elections.

City Public Services (the City of San Antonio's electric utility) and New Jersey based NRG are currently seeking investors for two new nuclear reactors they hope to build at the South Texas Project site in Bay City, Texas. They are also seeking commitments from communities like yours to purchase the power these reactors would generate.

Recent revelations leave no doubt that top officials at the City Public Services deliberately misled the public and the San Antonio City Council about the true cost of nuclear power. Clean Water Action and our allies have issued warnings for several months now that the $13 billion price tag for the nuclear reactors proposed for South Texas was too low.

CPS has now admitted that this figure is $4 billion too low! Top staff
at CPS and chair of its Board have now resigned in disgrace.

As our lawmakers decide how to vote on clean energy legislation, they face pressure from the special interest lobbies of dirty coal and big oil to maintain the status quo. During these times, congressional staffers report what the public is saying--both what they hear directly, and what is said through local newspapers.

That is why we are calling on you - a clean energy and climate policy supporter - to write your local newspaper to urge passage of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act that is currently in the Senate.

Austin Energy, our city's award-winning electricity provider, has prepared a new ten-year plan on where we will get our energy from. This plan will increase Austin's commitment to clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, help keep electric bills in check, and cut back on pollution from the coal-burning Fayette Power Plant.

Help send a million babies to Washington, DC, to push for reform of the outdated and ineffective Toxic Substances Control Act, so that we are all protected from harmful toxins. Join the Million Baby Crawl to DC online by creating your own virtual baby.

Chemicals are currently regulated by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a decades-old law that experts say has utterly failed to keep the nation’s environment and its citizens safe from materials that cause cancer and a host of other serious illnesses. In fact, in the 33 years since TCSA was enacted, the EPA has required testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds now in use.

Although they did not yet have a majority, Miami-Dade Commissioners Edmonson, Sorenson, Sosa and Chairman Moss unified their voices, listened to their constituents and bucked the majority of commissioners who voted to advance a retail development proposed outside the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) at a November 4th hearing.

Earlier this year, many of you signed a postcard from Clean Water Action in support of clean energy and calling on leaders of New Braunfels to buy more renewable energy and develop energy efficiency programs that lower electric bills and reduce water use.

The good news is that New Braunfels Utilities has new energy efficiency programs, like a high efficiency air condition and heat pump rebate. The bad news is that it might sign a nuclear power contract with San Antonio.

Don't get duped.

Recent revelations leave no doubt that top officials at the City of San Antonio's electric utility, City Public Services, deliberately misled the public and the city council about the true cost of nuclear power.

Did you know the City of Georgetown has a plan to get 30% of its power from nuclear energy by 2030? It is currently negotiating with CPS Energy of San Antonio to buy power from two proposed nuclear reactors in South Texas.

Despite the claims from CPS Energy and the nuclear industry, nuclear power has inherent flaws that make it a dangerous and risky source of energy for Georgetown. Here are just a few.

• Cost: The cost of building new nuclear reactors is extremely expensive. San Antonio will have to spend at least $5.2 billion to build two new reactors with its partner, New Jersey-based NRG. The projected cost has already doubled since the project was first announced in 2007. To finance the project, CPS wants to sell half of its share to smaller utilities like Georgetown Utility System. That way, they would shed some of the huge financial risk that comes with such a massive project onto Georgetown ratepayers.

Roughly 70 percent of Pennsylvania sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation with an estimated 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas worth about $500 billion. The oil and gas industry wants to earn millions of dollars more by extracting the natural gas by the quickest method possible. Thousands of gallons of local-source freshwater are needed in the process. The contaminated wastewater then needs to be discarded and currently there are no rules on how that should be done.

Since 2002, we have known that one million gallons of untreated waste leak daily from failing septic systems in Kent County. Our community has spoken out loud and clear against this pollution. Now, we are delighted to announce that County Commissioners Brandon Dillon and Sandi Parrish have recently committed to moving forward this year to solve this threat to our water and our health.

Take a moment to thank Commissioners Dillon and Parrish for their leadership.They need to know they have your strong support in moving forward.

Support a tax on natural gas drilling!

In the budget deal agreed upon by Senate Leaders and the Governor last Friday, the state is mandated to lease approximately 100,000 acres of our most pristine forests for natural gas exploration.

Make no mistake, natural gas exploration will wreck these areas for hiking, fishing, hunting and the other outdoor activities. Drilling operatios will clearcut wide swaths through the forest and huge well pads, and they won't replace the trees when they are done.

You can't delay progress

We're moving Michigan forward every day, bearing down on our goal: a clean energy future for Michigan, 54,000 clean energy jobs for hard-working Michigan families, and a giant leap forward for the entire nation.

Prominent conservative Republicans are jumping on board. Already Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Lisa Murkowski have said they're ready to be flexible and consider the clean energy jobs legislation, but their far-right counterparts are trying to stall our progress and delay a vote.

Your commitment to contacting Sen. Levin and Sen. Stabenow and bringing your friends and family on board is paying off. We're marching down the field toward our goal, and nothing - not even the Republicans latest attempt to delay - is going to stop us.

Take action today!

Won't you join us in sending an e-mail a week to Senators Stabenow and Levin to keep the pressure on until they pass the energy bills?

Victory: Governor's leadership triggers huge win in the fight to stop the Michigan coal rush!

Governor Granholm started Michigan on the course toward a clean energy future in February when she announced a requirement that prior to building new coal plants there must be a proven need for the new power as well as a study of other potential sources of energy. Please take a minute to thank Governor Granholm for requiring utilities to prove the need for new power and to review alternatives to coal plants.

Currently, Pennsylvania makes electricity suppliers buy some of their power from renewable sources. The amount is very small, but we have a chance to increase it.

Right now, House Bill 80 is a bill that would commit our state to providing almost a fifth of its power from truly renewable sources by 2024 as well as more than double our commitment to solar power in the same time frame.

This would be a very exciting development, one that closely mirrors the progress envisioned in Federal Climate Legislation, except one problem: the current draft of the legislation could wipe out all that progress by giving the coal industry a good reason to build a brand new coal power plant.

Cherry Creek Reservoir is in danger!

The Reservoir has been closed several days this summer because of E coli bacterial levels. These bacterial pollutants occur in the water because area sewage treatment facilities don't treat their effluent properly before they discharge it into the Reservoir.

Governor Ritter can help fix this problem by appointing pro-environment members to the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority.

What is it that "We, The People" all want? Clean water, a healthy planet and a clean energy future for America.

Climate and energy legislation are vitally important to the success of our economy and the health our environment. America's energy policy should be driven by clean energy incentives and firm limits on carbon pollution, which will help drive America's economic recovery. We must invest in energy efficient technologies which would create hundreds of thousands of new construction, energy service, and building maintenance and operations jobs by 2020, and ultimately reduce consumers' energy bills.

Your Senators needs to hear from you today.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is considering an application to permit one million gallons of water withdrawal per day from the Delaware River. This water would be used to force natural gas out of wells very deep in the ground.

Over half of the water would have to be disposed of afterward, but these millions of gallons of water will be so polluted that there’s no good way to safely treat the water and re-release it back into the environment.

Additionally, transportation of this water will require approximately 200 diesel truck trips per day, further adding to the particulate and CO2 pollution in northern Pennsylvania.

Northern Colorado is threatened by uranium mining. In addition, other types of hardrock mining threaten much of Colorado’s landscapes, rivers, and wildlife habitat.

The Hard Rock Mining Act of 2009 (H.R. 699) was recently introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives to help protect Colorado from the impacts of hardrock mining.

Presently, federal mining law dates back to 1872; the Hardrock Mining Act of 2009 is a much needed update to that antiquated law and contains critical requirements to protect Colorado.

On July 1, 2009 the Allegheny County Board of Health voted 8 to 1 to indefinitely postpone updating the guidelines they use to issue permits for industry to release toxics (Air Toxics Guidelines). The current guidelines are over 20 years old and are based on science that is probably 30 years old. The Board passed the buck and said they would wait until the State of Pennsylvania develops new regulations.

The Health Department took this action even though our air is unhealthy. We have received four failing report cards on our air quality:

On Earth Day, eighteen Pennsylvania State Senators introduced SB 777, state legislation that would protect rivers, streams, and aquifers (groundwater) that supply our public drinking water. This bill, the Safer Drinking Water Act, will provide special protection to any water that supplies the public with its drinking water.

Take Action Now: Urge your State Senator to support the Safer Drinking Water Act and push for a vote in the senate.

Federal legislation has been introduced in Congress that would ban the toxic chemical BPA from food and beverage containers.

BPA, first developed as a synthetic sex hormone, can be found in re-useable water bottles, the lining of your soup or soda cans, baby bottles, sippy cups, and other polycarbonate plastic products. It has been shown to leach from containers directly into food and beverages, especially when heated. Why is this a problem?

More than 200 studies have found that low dose exposures to BPA are linked to heart disease, breast and testicular cancers, reproductive problems, and other diseases reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted research that revealed detectable levels of BPA in the bodies of 93% of Americans.

Construction is responsible for a whopping 40% of all mobile diesel emissions in the Northeast. It's time that our policies reflect government concern for the health of the workers and the public in and around those construction sites, particularly when they are located in dense urban areas - the Diesel Emission Reduction Act does just that.

You've probably seen a lot of talk in the news recently about the chemical, Bisphenol A, or BPA. Bans are now in place across the country, including Suffolk County NY, Chicago, IL and in the state of Minnesota. Companies like S.C. Johnson, Gerber, and Sonoco have stopped using the chemical in products intended for children.

This year, we have an opportunity make real progress toward building a new energy economy -- to reduce global warming pollution, create jobs and improve the quality of life in the Granite State. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation wants to re-introduce passenger rail service linking Concord, Hooksett, Manchester, Bedford (for the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport), Merrimack, and Nashua with Boston.

UPDATE: Since the release of our "No More Toxic Tub" report last month, people have been speaking out across the country to get toxic chemicals out of our bath and beauty products. A few members of Congress have called for stronger legislation, but we need to keep the pressure on! Send your representative a message and call for stronger regulation from the FDA.

We need your help to make our message clear.  We need our elected officials to support strong regulation to get nasty contaminants like formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane out of our bath and beauty products.

In the last three years, thousands of uranium mining claims have been filed in Colorado, including claims just a few miles from the heavily populated areas of Fort Collins and Greeley. Companies are aggressively exploring for uranium and drilling test holes in many areas of Colorado.

These uranium mines will be either in-situ leach or open pit mines - both are very dangerous. In-situ leach uranium mines pump dangerous chemicals into the aquifer and groundwater to leach out the uranium, and then pump the groundwater to the surface to chemically extract the uranium from the water. Open pit mines involve digging massive open pits that extract uranium by mechanical means.

In 2005, Rhode Island banned the sale of thermostats that contain mercury. However, remaining thermostats in Rhode Island homes contain over 3,600 pounds of mercury.

Now we need to require thermostat manufacturers to take responsibility for their toxic products and ensure that mercury thermostats are safely collected and recycled when they are removed from use. The Mercury Thermostat Pollution Prevention Act requires manufacturers to finance the collection and recycling of their mercury thermostats and pay a $5 incentive for each thermostat returned to their program.

Take Action: Write to Governor Carcieri and your state legislators today to urge them to support the Mercury Thermostat Pollution Prevention Act.

Florida is vulnerable to the effects of global warming and climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions. Our leaders must act now to prevent sea level rise and water shortages and other impacts linked to climate change by moving ahead with renewable, sustainable, less water-intensive energy technologies.

Take Action: Tell your Representative that strong legislation is needed to create an investment in renewable energy and protect Florida's environment, health and economy.

We need your help to flood your legislators with letters and faxes urging him to support 100 foot stream buffers on all streams in Pennsylvania.

Instead of supporting Clean Water Action's proposal to require at least 100 foot buffers on all streams in our state, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now proposing just a voluntary program. They would encourage developers to include buffers on their sites by agreeing to eliminate state review of stormwater plans that include buffers.

What's wrong with a voluntary buffers program?

Regionally, construction equipment is responsible for 40% of all mobile diesel pollution in the Northeast.  In Rhode Island construction equipment emits more toxic diesel soot than trucks, buses or even airplanes. Each year 51 premature deaths, 80 heart attacks and numerous other problems such as cancer, respiratory diseases, asthma attacks and cardiovascular disease are caused by diesel pollution in our state. 

Providence County is ranked in the worst 6% of all U.S. counties for health problems caused by diesel emissions. Lung cancer, heart and asthma attacks, chronic respiratory diseases, impaired lung growth in children, and premature death all result from our exposure to diesel.

Congress recently voted on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a result New Hampshire will receive funding that it can use for projects that will protect our waterways, invest in cleaner transportation initiatives- such as rail transit, and promote new energy solutions that address global warming and create jobs.

Thank your Representative and Senator Jeanne Shaheen for voting to pass this important legislation.

However, one of our Senators, Judd Gregg, did not vote at all. Write to Senator Judd Gregg and let him know you're disappointed that he didn't take a stand and didn't vote to support New Hampshire's clean energy future.

Fossil fuels are polluting the air, warming the planet and soaring in price.
Texas' dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power is an economic burden on its citizens and a threat to public health. As our population increases, we must prioritize clean energy and energy efficiency to protect public health and the environment, keep electricity affordable and bring jobs to Texas.

Over ninety per cent of Texas' electricity comes from dirty sources of power that put public health at risk. Texas leads the nation in emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic mercury from coal plants, and much of Texas' smog problem is due to coal. Two-thirds of Texans live in cities that are in violation of federal, health-based clean air standards.

Texas is fortunate to have a rich aquatic heritage, with nine major aquifers, fifteen major rivers, over 200 reservoirs, 3700 streams, and more than 300 miles of coastal waters. But population growth, drought and climate change are depleting water supplies at alarming rates. Public officials at all levels of government need to act now to conserve water for the future.

Texas' population is projected to double by 2060, with most newcomers settling in our urban areas. Unless we conserve, this will require new sources of water and new treatment capacity at great expense.

The Texas Legislature voted in 2007 to restore funding cuts to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) after years of budget cuts and deterioration of our state parks. The restored funding has allowed TPWD to replace staff that had been let go and make badly needed repairs to our crumbling parks. However, the funding is NOT adequate to fund the acquisition of new parks.

Texas ranks 49th among all states in per capita spending on parks, and less than 3% of Texas' land is in public hands. Our population is projected to double by 2060, with most newcomers moving to the cities. We lose an average of 160 acres to urban sprawl each day. Texas has not had a major program for acquiring and developing new parks since 1967.

In November 2008, the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission voted to move forward on a comprehensive review of the potential impact of uranium mining in Virginia. Earlier last year, during the 2008 Virginia legislative session, the House Rules Committee killed an attempt to fund a related study. These efforts are widely viewed as initial steps towards lifting a ban on uranium mining in Virginia that has been in effect since 1982, after uranium was discovered in an area used for cattle, hay and timber.

We need your help to flood Governor Rendell with letters and faxes urging him to support 100 foot stream buffers on all streams in Pennsylvania.

Instead of supporting Clean Water Action's proposal to require at least 100 foot buffers on all streams in our state, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is now proposing just a voluntary program. They would encourage developers to include buffers on their sites by agreeing to eliminate state review of stormwater plans that include buffers.

What's wrong with a voluntary buffers program?

Clean Water Action and coalition partners call on our leaders and on all sectors of society to embark on an Energy Empowerment Revolution that will protect all the inhabitants of this state from the ravages of recession and cold winter winds and to secure the future for our children and our planet. Please take a moment to review the Declaration of Energy Empowerment's goals calling for $1 billion dollars to weatherize every building and home in Massachusetts. This initiative would create over 10,000 jobs, help pull people out of poverty with decent paying jobs, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Our country faces unprecedented challenges. In November, unemployment reached the highest level in 14 years. America is still addicted to oil. The global warming crisis goes unabated.

With this election, Americans signaled we are ready to find new, lasting solutions to our energy, economy and global warming challenges.

Now is the time to Repower, Refuel and Rebuild America. By investing in clean energy, we can cut our dependence on oil, get clean electricity and reduce Global Warming pollution.

These investments will create millions of good-paying jobs in the hardest-hit construction and manufacturing sectors and create pathways out of poverty for the most affected communities.

Clean Water Action is working to make a clean, renewable energy economy a reality in Minnesota and on the national level. We advocate for strong, science-based policies both in the State Legislature and Congress.
In the state, Clean Water Action advocates for a variety of clean energy policies, focused primarily on Cap, Auction and Trade legislation - to reduce Global Warming pollution quickly and effectively.

On September 3rd, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the addition of the BoRit Asbestos Site, located by the Wissahickon Creek at the intersection of Whitpain Township, Upper Dublin Township and Ambler Borough, to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

The Florida Department of Community Affairs' (DCA) received thousands of comments from Hold the Line activists and Clean Water Action members and responded by strongly opposing Miami-Dade County's ill advised efforts to develop outside our Urban Development Boundary (UDB).

If County Commissioners do not rescind these amendments, the DCA's objections could cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs.

Let's keep the pressure on! Please tell Miami Dade Commissioners that it is wrong to waste our taxpayer dollars to help private development interests!

Wasting Water Hurts the Environment and our Economy

Rhode Island's water is shared by all of us. Drinking water, tourism, economic development, fisheries and much of our recreation depends on the state's clean flowing rivers and streams. With proper planning and use, the region's ample rainfall will continue to provide adequate water for Rhode Island's needs in the future.

Unfortunately, Rhode Island doesn't have a plan in place that will ensure enough water is available to supply all of our needs. It's time to share our water more wisely. Support the Rhode Island Shared Water Resources Act.

We Must Take Action Now

The Rhode Island Energy Independence & Climate Solutions Act will protect our environment and revitalize our economy. Global warming threatens Rhode Island's environment, economy, and infrastructure. Warming temperatures and a shifting climate threaten delicately balanced ecosystems and the ability of natural species in Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay to survive. The costs of inaction to the threat of global warming are great; addressing this problem now through measured efforts is more responsible and less costly than reacting to what effects will come our way.

Take Action: Urge your lawmaker to support the Energy Independence & Climate Solutions Act! 

Pennsylvanians get their drinking water from our state's more than 83,000 miles of waterways, acres of lakes, reservoirs and wetlands, and a natural system of underground aquifers.

Unfortunately, many of these vital water sources have been contaminated or are at risk of contamination.

Despite their importance, drinking water sources receive no special protection from pollution and polluting activities in Pennsylvania! Without action, our drinking water sources are in danger.

Canada and other states continue to flood Michigan with their garbage because it's dirt cheap to dump here. In 2005, 6.2 million tons of Canadian and out-of-state trash were dumped in Michigan!

That's 100,000 tons more than in 2004. Nearly one-third of all the garbage in our landfills comes from outside Michigan and it comes here for two simple reasons:

• We're the cheapest dumping ground in the region; and
• We have too much landfill space.

You can help fight the trashing of our beautiful state! Write your State Senator and Representative today and urge them to stop the flood of trash into Michigan.

Gov. Rick Perry is calling for doubling the number of nuclear reactors in Texas. Luminant, formerly TXU Corp., in proposing two new reactors at its Comanche Peak nuclear plant southwest of Dallas. Exelon Corp. wants to add two reactors in Victoria County in Southeast Texas.

Both the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say a surge toward nuclear to meet the country's energy needs and curb global warming is unwise. Clean Water Action agrees.

Nuclear power is not the answer to global warming:

Texas' dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power is an economic burden on its citizens and a threat to public health. As our population increases, we must prioritize clean energy and energy efficiency to protect public health and the environment, keep electricity affordable and bring jobs to Texas.

To beat back global warming, we need to summon a new natural resource — real political will.  Help raise the voices of Great Lakes residents on federal climate change legislation!

Sign up to be a Climate Precinct Captain with 1Sky and Clean Water Action today!        

Join Clean Water Action & 1Sky Michigan to send a clear message to our leaders that America wants bold action on climate change. Tell them to support solutions for a better future for the Great Lakes State and the rest of the nation!

 

Coal-burning power plants are the largest industrial source of mercury emissions in the United States, and ten percent of these emissions come from plants in Texas - more than any other state. Five of the nation's top ten emitters of mercury are in the Lone Star State.

When mercury is released into the air, it settles in rivers, lakes, and streams. Bacteria in the water convert it to methyl mercury, a very toxic form of mercury. The toxic mercury bioaccumulates in the bodies of animals. Eating contaminated fish is the main way people are exposed to unsafe levels of mercury. Unlike with some other toxins, there is no way to clean or cook mercury out of fish.