Activism News of the Week (or Two)

loggerhead sea turtle

Here’s a roundup of great activism news or important activism opportunities from the week (and some stuff from last week), other than the stuff we’ve already covered. Enjoy!

Help Protect Endangered Turtles

Loggerhead turtles are in trouble. Why? Because of human activity of course, especially habit destruction and the threats of commercial fishing and pollution. “In the North Pacific, loggerheads have declined by at least 80 percent,” Oceana writes.

One thing we can do to help these endangered creatures is get them reclassified as endangered.

You have 2 days to make your way over to Oceana’s action page where you can tell the US government (the National Marine Fisheries Service, in particular) to mark these precious turtles as endangered.  Do so now!

And Care2 has a petition on the same issue.

The Guardian Wants Your Ideas for Saving Species!

A mass extinction of species seems imminent, and it has already started in fact, but those of us with care in our hearts cannot let these species die out without putting in our best effort to save them. As Greenpeace writes, there is a great campaign going on to help out with that:

By every measurable factor, biodiversity is up the creek with no sign of getting a paddle any time soon. International attempts to reverse the downward trend of species numbers through the Convention on Biological Diversity have failed, and the goals set by the CBD for this year have been missed….

Yet it would be absurd to give up the hope that something other than cockroaches and Japanese knot weed will be saved from the bonfire of the species we’ve ignited and fuelled. So the Biodiversity 100 campaign is an excellent opportunity to attempt something practical.

The idea, as explained by George Monbiot, is to compile a list of practical steps individual nations can take to stem the loss of biodiversity under their jurisdiction, outside the unwieldy architecture of international agreements. It’s a rallying cry, a challenge and an affirmative action all in one. And everyone can contribute.

Use the form on the Guardian’s website to submit your bright ideas which should be challenging and ambitious. No easy measures here, we need to think big. And ideally, it should be backed up with solid peer-reviewed science so provide references if you can.

Got an idea or two? Add them in!

Greenpeace UK had a handful of good ideas you could push for as well.

People for Bikes

Like biking? You know we do. Want to get behind a big bike movement? This is one a friend of mine just passed on to me that seems to be growing fast and certainly seems to have its ducks in order: People for Bikes

Join in this great bike movement and pass it on!

350.org Taking Solar Back to the White House

This is something I’m sure we will be coming back to, but worth a quick mention here. 350.org is planning to put solar back on the White House, literally, on 10/10/10. You can show your support, learn more about the history of this campaign, and get updates on it via the link above.

Take the “For Sale” Sign Off Capitol Lawn

A big problem we who want to protect the environment (which we rely on) concerns our representatives in government. Our representatives are put in office by the corporations that fund their campaigns. Sure, our votes are what technically do it, and individuals donate money to candidates they like as well. But the bulk of the reason why a candidate gets into office is often that they got enough money from corporations to build a strong and influential campaign.

The problem comes in when they get into office and rather than make decisions on behalf of the greater good, they do so on behalf of those corporations (even when it’s harmful to society and the environment that supports us).

The Fair Elections Now coalition is doing some great work to get a Fair Elections Now Act passed. Join in the fun and positive action via their website.

They have 4 specific goals you can help out with: 50,000 Citizen Co-Sponsors; Support from Candidates; 100 Messages to Congress; and 100 Letters to Newspapers. And be sure to check out their cool map!

Save Girls from Female Genital Cutting

I think the title sums this up pretty well. It is a little outside the bounds of our normal coverage, but for clear reasons I thought it was something I should pass on. To learn much more about the history and current status of this issue, and to take action to address it, visit Change.org’s petition page.

Help Demand Chevron Take Responsibility For Spills in the Amazon

“Tens of millions of gallons of toxic wastewater and crude oil dumped in the Amazon rainforest, with no accountability for the damage,” Planet Green writes.

If you think this is absurd and Chevron should take responsibility for its actions, you can help Amnesty International speak out about this issue by sending a letter to Chevron’s Board of Directors.

You can also learn more about this via the Planet Green link above.

A Greenhouse Gas Offset Protocol for Tidal Wetlands

Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE) writes:

Climate change–through a warming world, sea-level rise, changing precipitation patterns, and migrating species, both native and invasive–will significantly reshape our coastal landscape. In many ways, our coasts and estuaries are both the first line of defense and a measuring stick for climate change impacts. Coastal and estuarine habitat restoration is a key strategy in adapting to climate change, as well as mitigating its impacts.

As a result of this, RAE is “leading an initiative to develop a national greenhouse gas (GHG) offset protocol for tidal wetlands restoration.” You can read their action plan or a summary of it via the link above.

Well, that’s quite a news wrap-up. Hope you enjoyed it and helped out with some of those efforts.

Photo Credit: coda via flickr

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