Let’s Divest New York State From Fossil Fuels

New York State is one of the largest and most visible institutional investors in the world. It could also be one of the first to divest from destructive fossil fuels. At $160 billion, our state’s Common Retirement Fund is the third largest pension plan in the country, and it’s heavily invested in the fossil fuel industry. Climate change is real, it’s here, and it’s endangering the and natural resources we depend on, as well as the physical infrastructure that makes our state run. So why are we invested in the very companies driving this crisis? Comptroller DiNapoli has the power to divest New York State from fossil fuels. Divestment has the power to rein in the fossil fuel industry and support our transition to a clean energy economy. With the evidence mounting that fossil fuel stocks are overvalued, divestment also protects our public funds from serious financial risks. Around the country, a movement is brewing to divest public institutions from fossil fuels, and it’s growing every day. It’s growing because divestment is both the smart thing to do and the right thing to do. It’s time to divest New York State from fossil fuels and invest our public money in a sustainable future. And while your at it, join 350.org’s movement to have all universities divest from fossil fuels too!

Tell Michelle Obama: Consumers Want Labels on Genetically Modified Foods!

Help ask Michelle Obama to do something about the FDA?s failure to address GMO labeling and remind President Obama of his 2007 campaign promise to label GMOs?a promise he has consistently failed to honor. In 2012, The Organic Consumers Association launched a petition asking Mrs. Obama to remind the President of his promise. The petition garnered more than 207,000 signatures. What happened when those signatures were delivered to Mrs. Obama? She ignored it. Mrs. Obama has made kids? health, including nutrition and exercise, her signature cause during her husband?s presidency. But she has consistently ignored the facts around GMO foods, including their link to obesity, and the fact that GMO crops require the use of tons of toxic herbicides and pesticides, which ultimately pollute soil, air and water and our food. Increasingly, scientists and doctors warn of the dangers these toxins pose to our health, especially for children whose immune systems are not yet fully developed. Even the American Medical Association has said that we need long-term, pre-market safety tests on the impact of GMO foods on human health. In the meantime, consumers ought to have the right to know if their food has been genetically modified. When Mrs. Obama talks about healthy food choices?without talking about GMO labeling?she fails to address what has become one of the most high-profile, controversial food policy issues of our time. Click here to add your name to the petition.

Pledge to Take Extinction Off Your Plate

The Center for Biological Diversity’s has launched a campaign calling for an ‘earth-friendly’ diet by asking that we all reduce our meat consumption. Meat production is one of the planet’s largest causes of environmental degradation and most significant threats to wildlife. And the problem is rapidly getting worse: Production of beef, poultry, pork and other meat products tripled between 1980 and 2010 and will likely double again by 2020. This increasing meat consumption in a world of more than 7 billion people is already taking a staggering toll on wildlife, habitat, water resources, air quality and the climate. Meanwhile, Americans eat more meat per capita than almost any other country in the world. ??By signing the pledge below to reduce meat consumption by one-third or more, we can start to take extinction off our plates. Join the Center for Biological Diversity’s Earth-friendly Diet Campaign today.? Spread the word by taking the pledge today and asking your friends to sign.?? Protect wildlife and take the pledge today to eat an Earth-friendly diet.