Action Center

GET ACTIVE: CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!

Your voice matters and it should be heard. Read this "Legislative Guide" (from the Union of Concerned Scientists) and learn how to most effectively share your views about critical environmental policies currently being decided upon by your elected representatives.

>> Act Now:

• Urge Senate to strengthen and pass the historic Climate and Energy legislation House Bill- In late June, the House of Representatives took a historic vote to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation that would put in place a nationwide plan to rein in global warming pollution and establish a cleaner approach to our nation's energy system. Help the Union of Concerned Scientists push this bill over the finish line.

• AB 903 (Chesbro) - Compostable Bags requires that compostable bags carry a unique label that will readily distinguish them from non-compostable bags. Location: Senate Appropriations.
  

• AB 479 (Chesbro) - Waste Diversion - Location: Senate Appropriations. Would raise waste diversion mandate to 75%. To further this goal, the measure would require counties to adopt commercial recycling ordinances.

• SB 55 (Corbett) - Bottle Bill -Location: Assembly Floor. Would prohibit convenience zone beverage container recyclers from engaging in predatory pricing.

• SB 723 (DeSaulnier) - Electronic Waste Payments - Location: Will be eligible for hearing next year. Would authorize the CIWMB to adjust E-waste Collector and Recycler payments annually, rather than every two years to more accurately reflect market conditions for scrap material. SB 723 is a two-year bill and is not eligible for a hearing until next year.
  

• AB 1329 (Brownley) - PVC - Location: Will be heard on Senate Floor in 2010. Would phase out PVC resin in consumer packaging by 2014 due to its contaminating affect in the recycling stream and toxicity concerns.

• AB 907 (Chesbro) - Used Oil - Status: Senate Appropriations. Gives the Integrated Waste Management Board authority to develop a program to provide incentives to manufacturers of rerefined oil, and to develop additional capacity for the re-refining of used oil.

• AB 283 (Chesbro) - Extended Producer Responsibility - Location: Assembly Appropriations. Would implement an Extended Producer Responsibility program in California that would require manufacturers increase the recyclability, and recycling, of their products, as well as reduce toxicity.

• AB 222 (Adams) - Waste-to-Energy - Status: Stopped for the year. Would undermine the success of California's waste reduction and recycling efforts by allowing resource-destroying "conversion technologies" to count as recycling under AB 939 and as renewable electricity under the state's renewable energy law. CAW opposes this bill; it has been stopped for the year because it was not able to pass the Senate Environmental Quality Committee before a key legislative deadline.
  

• Petition to urge your Congresspeople to stop using BPA in children's products - BPA has been linked to many chronic diseases and disorders--and fetuses, babies, and children are especially vulnerable...via MomsRising.org

• Tell your representative to co-sponsor a national Healthy Oceans Act - brought to you by NRDC

• Tell congress to put an end to the overuse of human antibiotics in the feed and water supply of healthy feed animals.
  

• Contact CA Senator Jenny Oropeza to voice your opinion on upcoming legistlations. Choose from the various standing "issues" from the roll-down menu on this site.
  

• Mountaintop removal coal mining: On February 13th, 2009, a federal appeals court in Richmond, VA dealt a devastating blow to the environment by overturning a 2007 lower court decision curtailing mountaintop removal...
  

• Tell our new Secretary of Treasury your thoughts on the Department of Energy's rulemaking on bulbs
  

• Join the effort to eliminate nuclear weapons globally
  

>>Newly Enacted Legislations:

• House takes historic first step to help curb global warming emissions
  
• President Obama unveils new fuel economy standards
  
• President Obama signs bill instating one of the largest expansions of wilderness protection in a quarter-century
• President Obama increases fuel economy standards for 2011
  
• California bans phthalates in children's toys
• President Obama stalls Bush drilling plans
• UN reaches landmark decision to curb global mercury pollution
  
• Commerce department upholds coastal commission decision

GET ACTIVE: IN YOUR COMMUNITY

You have the vision and the power to promote sustainability in your own community! Whether it's in your office, at your local eateries, your gym, or at any other number of places you frequent, jump in and become the agent of change in promoting sustainability! You'll never know how large the ripples in the pond will get once you've dropped in the pebble. Use these easy-to-use tools to begin:

• Office: A practical, step-by-step guide on how you can green your office no matter how big or how small. Be sure and visit the tips section as well, brought to you by Greenyour.com
  
• Dining out: Green your local eateries with these easy-to-follow steps from Greenyour.com
  
• Following Dr. Meattle's advice on TED, use these three common household plants to improve the air quality in your bedroom, office, yoga studio, or any other place that you frequent: Areca or butterfly palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens), Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata) and Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum).
• Save our precious northern forests by opting out of catalogs and getting yourself off of mailing lists
• Start a recycling program at your business, your gym or at a school using this guide from the California Department of Conservation

Preserve Organic Integrity: Safeguard Animal Welfare, Stop Labeling
Fraud, and Ban Nanotech!

At the November 3-5 meeting of the USDA's National Organic Standards Board in Washington, DC, the Organic Consumers Association will be presenting your demands for stronger organic standards. Please let the NOSB, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan know that you want them to:

• Stop personal care and cosmetic companies from advertising their products as "organic" unless they are USDA certified
• Keep nanotechnology out of organic
• Improve the living conditions of organic poultry and livestock
  

Are you a Los Angeles resident? Help Bring Sustainable Works to the City of Los Angeles!

Get active! Write a letter to your City Council Member letting them know you would like Sustainable Works programs to be offered in Los Angeles. To find out more about our programs visit our website.

To find your City Council representative visit LACity.org, scroll to the bottom of the page and enter your address or intersection. The results of the search will provide you with a list of your elected officials.

If you live somewhere other than Los Angeles, let your local city government know about Sustainable Works.

SAMPLE LETTER

[DATE]

Council Member ____________

200 N. Spring Street

Room _______

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Dear Council Member ____________:

As a concerned global citizen and resident in your district, I am writing to express my support of bringing Sustainable Works to the greater Los Angeles area. Sustainable Works is a non-profit environmental education organization. Their mission is to create a culture of sustainability by reducing environmental impacts and promoting sustainable lifestyles. These choices enhance our resources, reduce hazards to human health and the environment, and benefit the local economy and community for the sake of current and future generations. In effort to achieve their mission they offer one of a kind “greening” programs for college students, businesses, and residents.

Their residential greening program, the Green Living Workshop, would greatly enhance residential participation in existing and future environmental programs. Participation in the program results in QUANTIFIABLE reduced resource use, improved human health, and community-wide support for environmental issues. Programs like the Green Living Workshop will be necessary in making progress towards becoming a more sustainable city. Please consider offering these workshops in our area.

Sustainable Works is interested in offering their programs to Los Angeles constituents. Please consider this letter my vote for Sustainable Works to host Green Living workshops in our district. For more information about the organization, feel free to visit their website or contact them directly: www.sustainableworks.org

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Address]