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An Environmental Political
Watch/Political Action Page
The League of Conservation Voters is Informing the Public
about the Most Important Environmental Legislation & Tracking
How Congress Voted
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) produces
the
National Environmental
Scorecard, the authoritative record of
how members of Congress and the Administration handle
the most important environmental issues before them
each session. The Scorecard provides explanations
of the most important environmental bills that Congress
consider.
The
Online Vote
Tracker informs the public about
how their own and other representatives vote on
those bills in real-time. This tool encourages and
enables citizens to contact their leaders to thank
those who protect the environment and change the
minds of those who need to give sound environmental
policy greater importance during their tenure.
Click Here
to see visit the Online Vote Tracker. |
How Green are the Presidential Candidates?
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Kudos to
Grist.org
for assembling a clear and well-organized chart of the
environmental positions of the five major presidential
candidates (they include the independent, libertarian,
and green parties). The issues include offshore drilling,
fuel economy standards, emission cap-and-trade programs,
nuclear energy, biofuels, renewable energy and coal.
Do you know your candidate's stand on nuclear power?
Click here
to see the chart at Grist.org.
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Gore Calls for 100% Renewable
Electricity By 2018
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On July 17, former Vice President Al Gore spoke at Constitution
Hall in Washington
D.C., challenging Americans
to transfer all of our power use to renewable, clean
carbon-free energy sources within the next 10 years,
for the good of the environment, national security and
the economy.
Gore challenged our generation to produce 100 percent
of our electricity from green fossil fuel alternatives
by 2018 in this clear and inspirational speech.
He stressed this goal is achievable, affordable and
necessary, and will require Americans to break from
past habits and old ways of thinking. |
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At one point, Gore said: 'We're borrowing money from
China to buy oil from the
Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy
the planet. Every bit of that's got to change.'
Cathy Zoi, C.E.O. of the
Alliance for Climate Protection,
said of Gore's speech, "In the past months [Gore has]
been hosting a series of solutions summits with engineers,
scientists, CEOs, and financiers. This speech pulled
together some of the best thinking from those talks
and highlighted what we each can do to end our dangerous
addiction to fossil fuels and solve the climate crisis.
Thousands were present to hear him speak and I know
that we'll be hearing a lot about his challenge in the
days ahead. Be among the first to take on this challenge."
Watch the speech at
www.wecansolveit.org..
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Californians, Ask Your Senator
For Lead-Free Lipstick!
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From our Friends at
The Campaign
for Safe Cosmetics:
Did you know that some lipsticks
contain lead-a powerful neurotoxin that builds up
in the body over time? Last year, the Campaign for
Safe Cosmetics tested 33 lipsticks for lead, and
found the toxic metal in two-thirds of them. If
you're a California resident, there's something
you can do today to get lead out of lipstick: Call
your state senator!
While some cosmetics companies have been busy defending
the presence of this toxin in lipstick, California
State Sen. Carole Migden has introduced a bill that
would prohibit the sale of lipstick contaminated
with lead. This legislation, Senate Bill 1712, will
be up for a floor vote in the California Senate
as early as next week, and your senators need to
know that you expect them to vote YES.
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Lead is a potent neurotoxin linked to a variety
of health and reproductive problems, including learning,
language and behavioral problems. Lead is also linked
to infertility and miscarriage. Pregnant women and
young children are particularly vulnerable to exposure
because lead easily crosses the placenta and enters
the fetal brain, where it interferes with normal
development. Lead has been eliminated from paint,
gasoline and many other products for good reason,
and now we must demand lead-free cosmetics.
Call or e-mail your sate senator today! Find
your senator and his or her contact info online
here.
All you need to say is, "I support Sen. Migden's
bill to remove lead from lipstick. Please pass
SB 1712."
Learn more
about the Lead in Lipstick bill, SB 1712.
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Support the Bill for
Net Zero Energy Homes in CA!
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Help California reduce greenhouse gas emissions
by supporting Assembly Bill 2112! If passed,
this bill will require all new residential buildings
to be zero net energy by 2020. It will
also help CA to meet the requirement established
by the 2006 CA Global Warming Solutions Act
(which states CA's greenhouse gas emissions
must be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020).
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Energy efficient construction methods will be essential
to help counter California’s growing population
and the expected increase in energy consumption
in residential sectors. AB 2112 will require the
California Energy Commission to increase
energy efficiency
standards for new residential buildings statewide.
These newly constructed
buildings will produce
as much energy and power as they use, due
to energy-efficient design features, solar panels
other clean on-site energy generation.
How You Can Help!
Help green California
by supporting this crucial bill. If we're successful,
your state may be next! Call or write
the CA Assembly Appropriations committee members
and urge them to support AB 2112. For a list of
committee members and their contact information
click
here.
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Ask Governer Schwarzenegger
to Help Save the Electric Car!
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From our Friends at
Plug In America:
On March 27, the California Air Resources Board will
vote to revise the history-making program that put more
than 5,000 Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) on the road.
The air board's staff has issued a proposal that, instead
of propelling our country ahead toward a pollution-free
future, will profoundly weaken the program once again.
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This proposal would require automakers to produce
only about 150 ZEVs each per year through 2015—which
amounts to less than what these influential regulators
mandated in 2003.
The Governor must understand the advantages of electric
cars. He is on the waiting list for one himself, the
Tesla Roadster.
Urge the Governor to show leadership by asking the
California Air Resources Board for a revised proposal
that will help us all turn back the clock on pollution.
Ask Arnold Schwarzenegger to help save the electric
car!
Click here.
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How Green is
Your Favorite Candidate?
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See how your favorite
candidate answered a wide range of environmental
questions at this website created by the League
of Conservation Voters (LCV):
http://presidentialprofiles2008.org
Then check out your candidate’s
voting records (and those of your state and local representatives)
in the 2007 National Environmental Scorecard,
recently released by the League of Conservation Voters.
The Scorecard, which has been published every year
since the founding of Earth Day in 1970, details
votes cast by each congressperson on every environmental
measure put to vote during the year. Every congressperson
is also given an overall score for the year, ranging
from 100 (voting in support of all environmental
measures) to 0 (voting in support of none).
Click here
to view or download the Scorecard. |
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According to the 2007
LCV report, “the biggest environmental highlight
of 2007 was the passage…of Bill H.R. 6, the Energy
Independence and Security Act. It raises the overall
fuel economy of cars and light trucks to 35 miles
per gallon by 2020—the first fuel economy increase
of new cars, SUV and other light trucks since 1975….
The new energy law also included important incentives
and standards for efficiency in buildings and homes…[as
well as] new light bulb efficiency standards….”
Environmental Champions
(and Villians)
Looking at the most
extreme scores of 2007, 3 senators and 33 members
of the House scored 100, where as 7 senators
(including John McCain) and 46 members of the House
scored 0.
In terms of party
voting averages, the LCV found a tremendous disparity
when looking at congressional party leadership (including
leader, vice chair, caucus chair , whip and speaker).
Democrat congressional leaders averaged a score
of 91 in the Senate and 87 in the
House, where as Republican leaders averaged 7
in the Senate and 2 in the House.
Each of the environmental
issues covered in the report (including fuel efficiency,
clean renewable energy, liquid coal, clean water,
clean air, biofuels and offshore drilling to name
a few) is summarized in terms of the bills that
addressed them during 2007.
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Californians: Toxic
Toys Bill Signed by Governor!
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On September 4th, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma's Stop
Toxic Toys Bill (AB 1108) passed out of the California
state Senate. This bill prohibits the manufacture, sale,
and distribution of children's toys and feeding products
that contain phthalates (chemicals added to plastics
to increase their flexibility).
Extensive scientific literature has shown that phthalates
are toxic to our children. As stated in the press release,
"Children’s exposures begin at conception, as chemicals,
including phthalates, cross the placenta in a pregnant
woman’s body and can affect the embryo or fetus during
critical periods of development. Even after birth, children’s
bodies remain immature, with under-developed detoxification
mechanisms to protect them from phthalates."
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| Working through Environment California, hundreds
of Californians sent emails and phthalate-free rubber
duckies to show their support for Bill AB 1108. On October
15, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger, who originally had
threatened to veto the bill, signed it into law, making
California the first state in the country to ban the
use of phthalates from children's products.
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Californians: Take
Action to Save BioDemocracy in California!
Fellow Green Patriot Americans, it's an important
time to stand up and protect our democratic rights which are
currently threatened by new laws being pushed by large corporations
in California.
In order to protect their crops from being contaminated by drifting
pollen from genetically engineered crops, last year, farmers
and citizens in Mendocino County California voted to become
the first county in the U.S. to ban genetically engineered (GE)
crops. Since then, two more California counties and two cities
have followed Mendocino's example.
In response, the biotech industry is working to remove these
democratic rights. In the past several months, 14 U.S. states,
prodded by the Monsanto Corporation and the Farm Bureau, have
made it illegal for local communities to ban GE crops.
Two recently introduced bills in the California legislature
(AB 1508 and SB 1056) would make California the 15th state to
eliminate the right of local communities to ban or otherwise
regulate genetically engineered seeds.
This "preemption" bill would overturn GE-Free victories in Mendocino,
Trinity, and Marin counties, and the cities of Arcata and Point
Arena, and would prohibit local communities from banning or
regulating genetically engineered crops in the future.
Take action today to stop the biotech industry from taking away
our democratic rights in California! Send a message to your
state legislators:
http://www.organicconsumers.org/ca.htm
Senate Energy Bill:
Down Payment on Our Future
By David Steinman
The Energy Bill that the Senate passed earlier this month was
only a good start. The fuel economy provision it contains would
mean American cars and trucks will average 35 miles per gallon
by 2020. However, the Senate did not include vital measures
to reduce global warming and protect our land and water.
I recommend three measures, in line with the Natural Resources
Defense Council, that were not included in the Senate bill but
must be addressed in the House and in conference in order to
make meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and protect
the environment:
1. Adequate Safeguards for Biofuels
to ensure that intensive biofuel production does
not result in water pollution, habitat destruction,
or loss of forests. This should include analysis
of the potential damage from highly increased use
of herbicides to grow corn. We could inadvertently
add many thousands of new cancers to the population
due to overuse of toxic herbicides like atrazine.
2. A Renewable Electricity
Standard (RES) that would require utilities
to produce 20% to 25% of their electricity from
clean renewable sources such as wind and solar.
3. A Greenhouse Gas
Standard that would require advance
biofuels to emit 50% less global warming pollution
than gasoline.
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The problem with the energy bill right now is that it really
isn’t an energy bill per se but an energy-environmental bill—and
it won’t be successful in terms of addressing global warming
or other national security issues without a comprehensive environmental
component that includes critical examination of its effects
on climate and human health. I would be extremely concerned
if the huge increase in ethanol production resulted in a proportional
increase of some of the most highly toxic petrochemicals today,
such as atrazine, linked with ovarian cancer in humans and reproductive
effects in amphibians.
“America not only deserves but needs an energy bill that includes
meaningful reductions of global warming pollution and protects
our natural resources,” said Dan Lashof, Science Director of
the NRDC Climate Center. “This bill makes a down payment on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When the House of Representatives
takes up energy legislation, we trust they will include critical
components that were not added before the clock ran out.”
We’ll keep you posted on this important legislation and tell
you how to make your voice heard. Stay tuned.
Victory for Solar
Letter from Dan Jacobson of Environment
California - June 8, 2007
Good news! On Wednesday evening, the California General Assembly
approved a measure to create the nation's largest solar water
heating program, promising to again expand the state's market
for clean, renewable energy.
The bill, The Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007
(AB 1470), authored by Assembly member Jared Huffman, sponsored
by Environment California, and
supported by hundreds of organizations and businesses, would
create a $250 million ten-year program to provide consumer rebates
for solar water heating systems.
This victory would not have been possible without your actions.
Over the last month Environment California members have sent
over 7,500 emails on this issue. AB 1470 now heads to the State
Senate to be heard in the Energy and Commerce Committee
in June or early July.
Please take a moment to thank your Assemblymember for their
vote for our solar bill. To take action, click on the link below:
www.environmentcalifornia.org/action/energy/solar
Sincerely,
Dan Jacobson
Environment California Legislative Director
www.environmentcalifornia.org
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As Green Patriot™
Americans, we are highly motivated
to use our votes to help create positive change for
our environment, as we believe this will positively
impact our national security as well. While we may disagree
on candidates, parties and specific propositions,
we have this common overall
goal.
Click here to find
out how your representatives are voting on environmental
issues.
Members of all parties may be interested in reading
the blog by David Steinman
“Did you know? Republicans have
a history of Green Patriotism” |
Green Patriot™
Americans,
take Action!
Here's a simple way to take action and be part of the solution:
Take 5 minutes each week to e-mail your representatives
about important environmental issues.
The following websites make it a very quick and easy process:
Feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions
for this page at
greenpatriot@freedompressonline.com
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