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.

Ask the Mayor and the Austin City Council to ban petroleum-based plastic bags in Austin!

Photo by Romana Klee

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.

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.

WTP4 won't make new water, just the capacity to take more water from Lake Travis. Tell Mayor Leffingwell and the City Council to stop the Mistake on The Lake

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.

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.