SYSTEM CHANGE - Issues / Voting

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ISSUE / SUSTAINABLE ANSWER / ACTIONS TO TAKE:

1) Hot Current Topics:
a) Issue: Natural gas fracking
Answer: Switch to electric & fuel cells (click Energy on list to right)
Actions: Don't use nat gas for home/vehicles; See Ballot Issues (below)
b) Issue: Bees/Colony collapse disorder
Answer: Honeybees are non-native, and also support a non-sustainable form of agriculture and unhealthy food. Best to promote native bees and a more sustainable form of food production: Habitat for native bees, other native pollinators
Actions: Plant native habitat vs lawn, network with nature orgs (click Nature on list to right); See Ballot Issues (below)
c) Issue: Mountaintop removal mining
Answer: Switch to solar/wind, fuel cells, be efficient. Government policies to promote.
Actions: Install renewables or get RECs from your Utility provider (click Energy on list), See Ballot Issues (below). Vote for eco-minded candidates and issues/policies (see below).
d) Issue: Keystone Pipeline
Answer: Replace oil/biofuels/fossil fuels with clean energy answers
Actions: See ENERGY: Clean Energy Answers. Change policy (below) to promote/subsidize, and to implement a carbon tax.
e) More coming...


2) Voting, Ballot, Congress, Issues.
We vote with our daily actions, whether we realize it or not.
- - Good descriptions/actions coming soon:
- - Coming: Federal, state, regional, local (with links)
a) Coming: Energy policies
b) Coming: Farm Bill
c) Sustainability-minded candidates (LCV, under TRUSTED RESOURCES, below)

Telling US lawmakers what you want:
Anyone can call their representatives in Congress (our lawmakers) to tell them what we want. It's easy and fast - and callers won't be requested to discuss - only to say what is desired, accept the aide's thanks for calling, and hang up. Find a House rep here (each person will have only one): www.house.gov/representatives/find. Find Senators here (usually 2 per state): www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=IL. For example, a person can say: "I don't want us to build the Keystone XL pipeline." And "I want the US to subsidize and implement 100% clean renewable power."


3) For other ongoing issues:
a) "Search" field (Top right of page), or
b) Click subject under "Pages" (Column to right)



TRUSTED RESOURCES:
- League of Conservation Voters (LCV): Federal and state representatives - environmental scorecards: www.lcv.org
- Cable channel MSNBC - especially Rachel Maddow.
- Union of Concerns Scientists (UCS): www.ucsusa.org
- TruthOut: Investigative journalism - including email listserve: www.truth-out.org
- MoveOn.Org: Issues and networking, including voting - front.moveon.org
- United Nations Environment Programme: www.uneptieorg/sustain