Mon 7/8: Protect wild California! Tell Sen. Jackson to support (2) bills with (1) call!

Up in the Santa Monica Mountains, P-47 was just going about his job. The mountain lion, studied by researchers since he was 4 weeks old, was part of an ecosystem that keeps rodent populations under control. However, due to eating prey animals dosed with anticoagulant poisons, internal bleeding caused him to die a slow and painful death.

Action #1 – Stop the poisoning of our wild critters. Say “YES” to AB 1788!

AB 1788 – Pesticides: use of anticoagulants. Anticoagulant rodenticides (rat poison) indiscriminately destroys ecosystems and poisons native wildlife such as bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, owls and hawks. These rodenticides are also one of the top ten pet toxins, injuring or killing household pets who eat either affected rodents or the bait itself. In addition, more than 4,400 children under age 6 were poisoned with these long-acting toxins in 2016, which disproportionately harmed those from low-income families. (More information from Project Coyote and Marilyn Krieger’s article “Rat Poisons Aren’t Selective” here.) We can do better.

This bill has passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate Natural Resource and Water Committee. Senator Jackson is on it, along with Senators Stern, Jones, Allen, Borgeas, Caballero, Hertzberg, Hueso, and Monning. They’ll be voting Tuesday morning (7/9), so get your call in today.

One call does it all! See the combo-script under Action #2 below!

Action #2 – Stop killing bobcats! Say “YES” to AB 1254

Many people saw this picture of a bobcat kitten and a fawn, who had been rescued from Santa Barbara’s 2009’s Jesusita Fire. During the mayhem, rescuers were forced to put animals anywhere they could, since they had run out of crates. The kitten ran to the fawn, and it was instant bonding

Continue reading “Mon 7/8: Protect wild California! Tell Sen. Jackson to support (2) bills with (1) call!” →

Thurs 5/9: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. UPDATE: Newsom bans it in CA!

The colored parts of the image above, prepared by Columbia University scientists, indicate where a child’s brain is physically altered after exposure to this pesticide.

UPDATE: CALIFORNIA IS DONE, DONE, DONE with this neurotoxin!

Governor Newsom and the California Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday (Wednesday, 5/8) that the Department of Pesticide Regulation is moving to ban the use of chlorpyrifos in California by initiating cancellation of the pesticide, according to a news release issued today.

The cancellation process could take up to two years. During the cancellation process, DPR’s recommendations to county agricultural commissioners for tighter permit restrictions on the use of chlorpyrifos will remain in place. These include a ban on aerial spraying, quarter-mile buffer zones and limiting use to crop-pest combinations that lack alternatives. DPR will support aggressive enforcement of these restrictions.

Newsom will propose $5.7 million in new funding in the May Revision budget proposal to support the transition to safer, more sustainable alternatives, and plans to convene a working group to identify, evaluate and recommend alternative pest management solutions. “California’s action to cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farm workers and vulnerable communities,” said CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. “This action also represents a historic opportunity for California to develop a new framework for alternative pest management practices.”

Minimal script – Call or email: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want to thank Governor Newsom for banning chlorpyrifos (klaw-pir’-uh-fos), the terrible neurotoxin that’s been harming California residents and their children.

Contact: Governor Gavin Newsom: email, (916) 445-2841

Action #1 – Stand Indivisible with other states! Support H.R. 230/S.921 – Ban Toxic Pesticides Act of 2019

Continue reading “Thurs 5/9: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. UPDATE: Newsom bans it in CA!” →

Thurs 4/11: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. New Senate action! Update on CA action! Learning to pronounce it -ongoing…

The colored parts of the image above, prepared by Columbia University scientists, indicate where a child’s brain is physically altered after exposure to this pesticide.

Announcement: The guy who protected chlorpyrifos is now Secretary of the Interior…

bernhardt2
David Bernhardt, the man who intervened to suppress the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) report on the lethal effects of chlorpyrifos on endangered species, was confirmed today (Thursday) as Secretary of the Interior (and boss of the FWS) in a 56-41 vote with three Democrats and one Independent voting for him. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.(?)), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.(?)) and Angus King (I-Maine) voted in favor of his confirmation. (Note: Both Maine Sens. Susan Collins (R) and King voted for Bernhardt because he promised that their state would not be open to his evil offshore drilling plan – apparently Maine’s ocean is separated by an invisible force field from the ocean off other northeastern states!)

Action #1 – CA isn’t waiting for the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos.

Continue reading “Thurs 4/11: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. New Senate action! Update on CA action! Learning to pronounce it -ongoing…” →

Tues 3/26: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. State & federal actions.

The colored parts of the image above, prepared by Columbia University scientists, indicate where a child’s brain is physically altered after exposure to this pesticide.

Action #1 – CA isn’t waiting for the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos.

SB 458 (Durazo) will ban the use of Dow’s highly profitable pesticide chlorpyrifos (klaw-pir’-uh-fos) in California, its biggest market, because the EPA will no longer do its job. In 2016, the agency’s own scientists and the Dept. of Pesticide Regulation determined that there was no safe level on food crops and prepared to completely ban its use. After the election, however, the new and now-disgraced EPA director Scott Pruitt reversed course. Therefore, Californians are still being exposed to a neurotoxin that can cause serious, irreversable harm to adults, children, as well as fetuses, through residue on food which cannot be washed or peeled off, water pollution, or drift from 1/2 mile away. Everyone is at risk. The bill is co-sponsored by CPR allies/members: the United Farm Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics-California and Earthjustice.

Earthjustice is currently presenting its case against the EPA reversal in court, but the agency can draw this out for years. Meanwhile, activists who are pushing for state and local bans to speed up the process of protecting their communities. Hawaii has already banned this toxin. We can too.

Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Senator [___] to vote ‘YES” on SB 458 – the “Protect Children from Brain-Damaging Chlorpyrifos Act of 2019.”

Continue reading “Tues 3/26: This is our kids’ brains on chlorpyrifos. State & federal actions.” →

Tues 2/19: Buzz through this action on bees…

Action – Email your legislators to ask them to stop the EPA’s policy of granting large exceptions for the spraying of apicidal pesticides.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported last week that in 2018 it issued so-called “emergency” approvals to spray sulfoxaflor—an insecticide that scientists as well as the agency itself consider to be “very highly toxic” to bees—on more than 16 million acres of crops known to attract bees.

Read this article here. The video below shows one aspect of what is happening to the bees when exposed to these types of chemical pesticides.

Continue reading “Tues 2/19: Buzz through this action on bees…” →

Wed. 5/16: Two quick reminder calls for our legislators to tell them that we’re watching!

If your senator or representative is doing the right thing on these issues, call them and THANK them!

Legislators appreciate being thanked like anybody else. They also need positive feedback to know that they are accurately representing our interests.

Call on Net Neutrality today!

Click here for information, call scripts, and contact numbers.

Our legislators on net neutrality:
Rep. Brownley: click here.
Rep. Carbajal: click here.
Sen. Feinstein: click here.
Sen. Harris on : Click here and here.
Other legislative contacts: http://www.phoneyourrep.com Continue reading “Wed. 5/16: Two quick reminder calls for our legislators to tell them that we’re watching!” →

Tues – 4/17 – Bookmark this – Environmental comments and calls!

However, these kids are schooling them now.

A trial date, Oct. 29th, has been set for the Kids’ Climate Lawsuit! (EcoWatch). If you haven’t been following this, 21 plaintiffs between the ages of 8 and 19 are suing our government, alleging that their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the government’s creation of a national energy system that causes dangerous climate change.

But we need to do our part. Make your calls! Make your comments!

Continue reading “Tues – 4/17 – Bookmark this – Environmental comments and calls!” →

Mon. 4/2 – Californians – Ban the pesticides that are killing our wildlife. Comments by 4/3.

( from Jim Hines, Team Leader, Sierra Club California/Nevada Wildlife Team)

Greetings, Wildlife Activists.

As she walks along a path in the Santa Monica Mtns, a mountain lion spots a dying rat. Ah! Something to eat! So she does and before long the mountain lion is dead also.

This mountain lion and many others like her as well as other predator mammals has eaten a rodent poisoned by what are know as anticoagulant rodent poisons which can be purchased in any garden supply, farm supply or home and garden improvement store in California.

But now we have, after long efforts, a chance to restrict the sale of these predator-killing rodent poisons. And not just because we love animals… Birds of prey, mountain lions, bobcats, fishers, foxes, coyotes, and endangered species such as the northern spotted owl, pacific fisher, and San Joaquin kit fox, are an irreplaceable part of California’s natural ecosystems and play an important role in regulating and controlling the population of rodents, protecting our public health and welfare. The loss of these natural predators mean that we will be fighting the next generation of rodents alone.

And it’s not just wild creatures. Our pets are dying too. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported earlier this year that rodenticides are the most common source of pet poisoning in California and 24 other states.

Continue reading “Mon. 4/2 – Californians – Ban the pesticides that are killing our wildlife. Comments by 4/3.” →

Tuesday 3/27 – It’s a beautiful spring day! Let’s talk about the birds and the bees…

Or more specifically, how we should be protecting them.

A particular class of pesticides, called Neonics, act as a deadly nerve agent on bees, damaging their brains and crippling their ability to learn, remember and navigate. Bees aren’t the only ones at risk. Research shows that these pesticides harm birds’ navigation abilities as well, and that near-constant neonic exposure in contaminated water can cause lasting damage to aquatic ecosystems.

It’s hard to imagine our world without bees or the 30% of the food crops that they make possible. but this is already happening in countries like China. Here’s a reminder of things we currently take for granted.

There are a variety of villains in the death of our bees, and we’re the source of a number of them. Abnormally severe winters and droughts, byproducts of man-made climate change, outright kill them or destroy their habitation. Monoculture, the practice of growing single crops over large areas are creating food deserts for insects dependent on a variety of flowering plants. The proliferation of the Varroa mite, a devastating mite from Asia, and the viruses they spread, have had a major impact on the health of bee colonies. Continue reading “Tuesday 3/27 – It’s a beautiful spring day! Let’s talk about the birds and the bees…” →