This means major corporations can own our genes

Post by Deborah Rolon.

But with less than a month to save the bees

From: "Jon Lloyd, SumOfUs.org" <us@sumofus.org> Date: September 14, 2014 at 9:10:27 AM CST To: "Paul England" <Paulalengland@msn.com> Subject: A death sentence for the bees Reply-To: us@sumofus.org A giant pesticide company just asked the U.S. government to increase the legal limit on bee-killing pesticides by a stunning 4000%. Will you chip in CA$5 to launch an emergency campaign to stop it? Donate CA$5 now Dear Paul, Breaking news: A massive pesticide company has just asked the U.S. government to increase the legal limit for its bee-killing pesticides by 4000%. That’s right. Four. Thousand. Percent. Bees are already facing a massive global die-off. This could be a death sentence for millions more bees. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting public input on the decision for the next 27 days. So we're urgently working to organize beekeepers and the public to speak out against this devastating bee-killing proposal -- and we need your help. Can you chip in CA$5 to help get us started and fight for the bees? Click here to chip in CA$5 to launch an emergency campaign to stop this urgent threat to the bees. Bees fill a crucial ecological role as pollinators and are essential for agriculture, and are responsible for every third bite of food we eat. In other words: No bees, no farms. No farms, no food. These pesticides are already banned in Europe. But rather than phase them out for the sake of our bees, pesticide companies are suing the European Union to overturn the ban. Now, they're petition the US government to massively increase the limits of pesticide residues -- residues that are actively harmful to bees, and can stay in the soil for up to a year. Pesticide companies are already spending millions to get their way -- to beat them, we need to show the depth of public opposition to this move. So here’s the plan: First, we’ll use social media, our five million member email list, and online ads to alert the public about this dangerous new threat. Then, we’ll organize beekeepers to speak out in the media to put pressure on the EPA to reject the proposal. But with less than a month to save the bees, we have to act fast. And since we don’t get a dime from corporations, we count on you -- our members -- to provide the funding we need to win. Can you chip in CA$5 to stop this urgent threat to bees? Yes, I’ll chip in CA$5 to help save the bees. We know we can win this. A massive public campaign helped get these bee-killing pesticides temporarily banned in the EU, and SumOfUs members are crowd-funding a legal intervention to protect the ban, too. This is just one battle in a larger fight -- but we have to win in the US, now, if we're going to win for the bees all around the world. Thanks for all that you do, Jon, Paul and the rest of the team at SumOfUs.org ****** More information: Syngenta asks EPA to raise tolerance level for 'bee-killing' chemical, E&E Greenwire, September 5, 2014

The future of the internet—including Daily Kos—is at stake.

From: "Rachel Colyer, Daily Kos" <campaigns@dailykos.com>
Date: September 14, 2014 at 11:36:59 AM CST
To: Paulalengland@msn.com
Subject: Signature needed: This could kill Daily Kos
Reply-To: campaigns@dailykos.com

Paul, here at Daily Kos we almost never send any single email out to every single one of our supporters, but today we are—because this is important to the existence of Daily Kos and there is a deadline fast approaching. The future of the internet—including Daily Kos—is at stake. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering passing a rule that would carve out a fast lane on the internet for wealthy corporations which could afford to buy priority access to have their websites load quicker. By creating this fast lane for corporations, all of the other independent, grassroots, and start-up websites like Daily Kos would be stuck on the remaining slow lane. The internet would be severed—stuck with slower speeds on some website which can’t afford to pay, where a level playing field for start-ups couldn’t exist, and where democratic discourse would be suppressed. We cannot let Big Telecom, Big Cable, and their lobbyists in DC, who influence the FCC, ruin the internet. You can help stop this. Please write and send a personal comment to the FCC today. You don’t have to be an expert on net neutrality to know this is about corporate greed and influence which could change every facet of the way you use the internet. It would be an entirely different internet than what we’ve always known. One where your cable company or internet service provider would be able to favor some websites and data over others and diminish your ability to choose your own content. For example, Fox News could strike a deal to become the priority news provider of big cable and load on the fast lane, while independent media, like Daily Kos, would be reduced to a second tier internet with crawling speeds—we’d lose the largest liberal blog in the country at a time when we are needed most. The Internet, since its inception, operates in a neutral state as a level playing field. A place where all content and data are passed along from website to user equally, allowing you, the user, to control your experience, with no interference from your internet service provider. This is net neutrality. The FCC is considering breaking the way the internet operates and creating two internet experiences at the behest of Big Cable so they can extract more profit. If the FCC passes this rule it would create this two-tiered internet. Instead, we need to pressure the FCC to change their rule before they vote on it. To protect the internet we know, one with net neutrality, we need the FCC to write the rules using legal authority they already have—Title II authority of the Telecommunications act—which would treat the internet like the public utility it is and prevent Big Cable from creating two internets. Please, write and send a comment to the FCC—the deadline is September 15—urging them to reject the fast lane approach and to protect an open internet with net neutrality by treating the internet like a public utility under the law.You don’t have to be an expert on the topic to write an email—be honest and tell them why the internet is important to you—if you are a student, an internet activist, a writer, a reader, or any type of internet user, you have a voice. And, now is when we need you to use it—time is running out. Keep fighting, Rachel Colyer Campaign Director, Daily Kos

P.S. Please help keep Daily Kos strong by chipping in $3.

From The Desk of Paul England: Too High A Price For Chicken?

From The Desk of Paul England: Too High A Price For Chicken?

Help Save The Elephants

Help Save The Elephants One of the Worlds Largest Elephants is gone, read what you can do to help.

All Posts - VIDEO OF THE DAY

All Posts - VIDEO OF THE DAY

The holy sh*t response to climate change

From The Desk of Paul England: Global Warming

Posted by Deborah Rolon on June 24, 2014 at 1:18pm in Paul's Views

From: "Emma Ruby-Sachs - Avaaz" <avaaz@avaaz.org> Date: June 19, 2014 at 5:25:57 PM CST To: "Paulalengland@msn.com" <Paulalengland@msn.com> Subject: The holy sh*t response to climate change Dear friends, The delicate balance of the planet's biosphere is tipping -- threatening all life on earth. Scientists are calling it our Holy Shit moment on climate change, and world leaders meet at the UN in just over 100 days -- we have until then for all of us, everywhere, to act, in the largest day of action on climate change in history, to call for action and fight for everything we love. Sign up to join in: The last ice age happened in 6 months. 6 months for the planet to unleash an army of apartment-building-size ice blocks across Europe and the United States. It was a climate tipping point where the balance is knocked completely out of control and threatens the survival of everything -- and three more tipping points exactly like it are on the verge of happening. It's our "holy shit" climate moment according to a leading NASA scientist, and only a holy shit massive coordinated day of action response, right now, can change the future we're facing. One agreement with common sense steps to end dirty energy can save us. That's why the UN has called an urgent climate meeting in just over 100 days with all major world leaders — if we greet them on September 21st with the largest ever global climate mobilisation in history we can break through the walls of mega coal, oil, and business that prevent even the best politicians from doing what is right. There's no way to get around how big a task this is. But together, each small action will add up into a millions-strong movement that literally drowns out the opposition and gives our leaders the best reason to break free and build a hopeful, clean and green future. Click below to join in: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/join_to_change_everything/?bpiBrhb&v=41430 "Tipping points" are feedback loops, where climate change feeds back on itself and causes rapidly accelerating, catastrophic consequences. Right now, methane gas that is 25 times worse for global warming than CO2 is frozen in our ice. But as the ice melts, the gas leaks, causing more melting and each melt loses us another layer of reflective ice shield that we rely on to keep the planet cool, more methane and less ice means more warming still, and everything starts to spin out of control. And that's just one example… it's why scientists are yelling from the rooftops that we have to act now. We actually have the tools and the plan we need to make sure we don't cross into a world where tipping points destroy us. And while it will take global cooperation on a bigger scale than ever before, our 36 million-strong movement already has the people power necessary to move leaders from every country to take the first steps. Just days ago, the United States and China announced serious new plans to curb their pollution — momentum is building ahead of next year's critical Paris climate summit where a deal could be inked, and in just over 100 days we can take it up a notch further. Taking to the streets in a record setting show of power and coordination is one of the most effective ways to create change -- from the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa to civil rights in the US, it's sometimes been the only way. This is our chance to bring that power to the most important issue of our time: survival and a thriving future for our families, and their families and the generations of people to come. Click below to be a part of it all: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/join_to_change_everything/?bpiBrhb&v=41430 We know we can do this… and do it big. When our community was just 3 million people we held 3,000 actions on the same day to protect our planet. We're now 36 million strong, ten times the size! Imagine what we can achieve together now... With so much hope for our future, Emma, Iain, Lisa, Ricken, Alice, Emily, Sayeeda, Uilleam and the rest of the Avaaz team MORE INFORMATION Global warming: it's a point of no return in West Antarctica. What happens next? (The Guardian) http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/17/climate-change-antarctica-glaciers-melting-global-warming-nasa A Call to Arms: An Invitation to Demand Action on Climate Change (Rolling Stone) http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/a-call-to-arms-an-invitation-to-demand-action-on-climate-change-20140521 Mini ice age took hold of Europe in months (New Scientist) http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427344.800-mini-ice-age-took-hold-of-europe-in-months.html Report: Prepare for climate tipping points (Politico) http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/national-research-council-report-climate-change-could-hit-tipping-points-environment-100615.html Support the Avaaz Community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way. DONATE NOW

 

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