The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had failed to conduct a proper environmental and cultural impact study. ... The Standing Rock Sioux tribe believes that the pipeline would put the Missouri River, the water source for the reservation, and the local environment at risk.

The use of nuclear weapons, either intentional or accidental, will cause untold suffering to millions of people and may be a threat to the existence of humankind. The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a legally binding treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. The Treaty prohibits, among other things, the possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. [To see the Treaty: http://undocs.org/A/CONF.229/2017/8.]

Sign this petition to ask California Governor Jerry Brown to shut down California Rehabilitation Center at Norco in Riverside County. A recent report from the California State Department of Public Health revealed shocking conditions at CRC-Norco, a medium-security state prison. This prison houses an astonishing 3,400 prisoners in unsafe and unsanitary conditions that include broken floor tiles, rat and cockroach infestations, and standing pools of water. With a population capacity of 2,491 people, the facility is both overcrowded and structurally neglected. "CRC-Norco is dilapidated and unsafe…. We have known for years that this prison is in terrible shape," said California State Senator Loni Hancock. In 2012, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation publicly acknowledged the unsafe conditions at CRC-Norco and set forth a plan to close the facility by June 2016. One year later, however, prison administrators suspended the deadline, stating that a federal court order to ease crowding in California’s already overcrowded prisons mandated the CDCR to keep the facility open until further notice. That decision was reaffirmed in January 2016 when Governor Brown released the CDCR budget proposal for the 2016-17 cycle, which reflected an extended continuation of operations at CRC-Norco. It is unconscionable for Governor Brown and prison officials at the CDCR to continue to house incarcerated people at a facility that is publicly known to be infested with vermin and structurally unsafe. Keeping the prison open and operating creates a host of health and safety hazards for both the inmates and employees. In addition, it reflects an extraordinary disregard for the human rights of the 3,400 people who are forced to live at the overcrowded, decaying facility. CRC-Norco should be shut down immediately.

In order for humanity to thrive we have to be willing to change our destructive economy. Working with nature is the answer. Helping people while growing business should be the bottom line of any business. Allowing society to embrace healthy ways of living while living in luxury is possible. Power Plant has many great ideas of changing our world for the better. From paper to fuel to plastic, we can still go about our daily lives and have all the necessities its just time to support new resources and companies willing to do so.

The federal government has secretly been working on a plan to transport highly radioactive liquid from Chalk River, Ontario, Canada, to the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC -- a distance of over 1,100 miles. A series of 250 truckloads are planned by the Department of Energy (DOE). Interstates 95 and 85 are two of the probable main routes. Based on published data of the US Environmental Protection Agency, a few ounces of this liquid could destroy a whole city water supply. These liquid shipments are unnecessary. The radioactive waste can be down-blended on-site, making it into a solid. This has been done for years at Chalk River. Records from the past are very clear about this liquid and how it should be managed. The report "Detailed Statement on the Environmental Considerations By the Division of Material Licensing, US Atomic Energy Commission" (December 14, 1970) -- which has within it Allied General's application for the Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (Docket No. 50-332) -- describes the waste generated at that facility, and describes how to manage the waste. I knew of this report because of the successful legal challenge to this facility in the 1970s in which I participated. Here is the outline of the criteria needed: * Ensure absolute confinement of HLLW by multiple barriers (HLLW - "high level liquid waste") * Ensure cooling to remove self-generating fission product heat by redundant cooling systems * Provide adequate space in storage tank... * Control corrosion by appropriate design and operating measures * Control non-condensable gases and airborne particulates, including radiolytic hydrogen H2 * Store in form to facilitate future solidification A majority of these are not possible during transport. In addition, when this is repeated 250 times, just a small error, human or equipment, could be disastrous. And errors are to be expected. For example, in the first shipment (and only so far), they had a hot spot in the transport container, and at the Savannah River Site had to turn it around to face the wall, supposedly so as not to expose the workers. Mary Olson of Nuclear Information Resource Service, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against these shipments, explains that "even without any leakage of the contents, people will be exposed to penetrating gamma radiation and damaging neutron radiation just by sitting in traffic beside one of these transport trucks. And because the liquid contains weapons-grade uranium, there is an ever-present possibility of a spontaneous chain reaction giving off a powerful blast of life-threatening neutrons in all directions -- a so-called 'criticality' accident." Despite the lawsuit, despite all the letters, despite email, despite petitions, from thousands of concerned citizens, the DOE claims the impact is "insignificant." Although the law requires it, the DOE has not done an Environmental Impact Statement. There has been a limited amount of news coverage; therefore, many people who would be affected by an accident do not know that this is happening. This needs to be stopped. Please ask the Governor to keep these shipments out of the state. Ruth Thomas Environmentalists, Inc.

Climate Change is our most urgent common problem and legislators are not responsive to "we, the people" because of fossil fuel money! I wrote my SunTrust and asked them to live up to their name. Sierra Club offers a Green Visa and Environmental Defense Fund has Bank of America MasterCard, but big banks need to do more! Think Fox/O'Reilly when customers boycotted their products to get fast results!

In the wake of the state’s most severe drought in memory, California Governor Jerry Brown issued mandatory statewide water restrictions that require all public agencies to reduce their water consumption by 25 percent. Officials at the 34 prisons operated by the California Department of Corrections have responded by restricting inmates' showers, ability to flush their cells' toilets, and access to laundry services and clean clothes, according to interviews with inmates. Showers are running only three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for a total of four hours, providing a little over an hour for hundreds of prisoners to take turns bathing on shower days. Any prisoner caught in the showers for more than 5 minutes, washing clothes while showers are running, bird bathing or flushing the toilets in their assigned cell could face disciplinary action, including 30 days added to their prison sentence (CDC-115 Rules Violation Report). Prison officials have been instructed to shut off water fountains, outdoor showers, and to stop hosing down sidewalks. As a result, California prisoners are denied water-breaks throughout the day and are refused the hygienic practice of washing off sweat after a workout. Women's prisons in particular have struggled with sanitary upkeep since the implementation of CDCR’s water conservation program. Shower and toilet restrictions affect female prisoners on their menstrual cycles most directly. CDCR’s water conservation program began in 2006 with a pilot project to install flush-restricting valves on toilets at nearly one-third of all California adult institutions, resulting in a host of unsanitary conditions ranging from foul odor to overflowing toilets. Water conservation methods have only grown more aggressive within the recent decade and California prisoners have borne the brunt of health and safety hazards associated with aggressive yet inadequate conservation planning. If California is serious about water conservation and water-use reduction in its prisons, state officials should consider developing policies that promote the depopulation of overcrowded state facilities -- starting with releasing disabled people, the elderly and non-violent offenders. Reducing the numbers of people incarcerated unnecessarily could result in significant water savings and help to make the prison environment more adaptable and suitable for rehabilitation. Other methods of reducing water waste, without violating the human rights of the imprisoned, can include updating sinks, toilets, showers, and appliances with advanced water-saving fixtures. Sign this petition to California Governor Jerry Brown asking him to immediately end all water conservation methods that violate the human rights of people in prison. Sources: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-ff-to-save-water-california-turns-off-prison-showers-20150709-story.html https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/california-prisons-are-restricting-shower-and-toilet-use-to-fight-the-historic-drought-626 http://www.insidecdcr.ca.gov/2010/04/california-prisons-reduce-water-consumption/ http://www.inmate.com/prison-articles/california-prisoners-affected-by-drought.htm

It's so good for so many things and not bad for anything, it's that simple.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections has shown a blatant disregard for both judicial authority and the thousands of PA prisoners affected by hepatitis C. In January 2017, Pennsylvania Judge Robert Mariani ordered the Department of Corrections to provide Mumia Abu-Jamal with hepatitis C treatment. Mumia has an active, chronic hepatitis C infection, and is at serious risk of experiencing medical complications. The debilitating symptoms of an active hepatitis C infection include extreme skin irritation, limb numbness, vision problems, and swollen feet. Mumia’s organs are extremely vulnerable due to the infection. Despite Judge Mariani’s order, the Pennsylvania DOC has not provided Mumia Abu-Jamal with the hepatitis C treatment. Mumia's lawyers have filed a motion for contempt against the Department of Corrections. The PA-DOC and their private health care provider, Correct Care Solutions, have retaliated by filing an opposition motion to the contempt motion with the 3rd Circuit. Throughout this petty battle over court orders, Mumia's life and the lives of over 6,000 hep C+ prisoners have been disregarded. It is imperative that Mumia, and all other prisoners who need it, get the hepatitis C treatment they need.

Thousands of adolescent youth, ages 11 to 18, are being held in solitary confinement in jails and state prisons across the U.S. These youth spend 22 or more hours each day alone, often in a small 8-by-8-feet cell, completely isolated both physically and socially, often for weeks, months, or even years at a time. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, as many as 10,000 youth prisoners are held in isolation in juvenile jails nationwide. For youth being held in isolation in adult facilities, there is no official count. The ACLU reports that solitary confinement can "cause serious psychological, physical, and developmental harm, resulting in persistent mental health problems, or suicide." Since youth are still developing, the physical and neurological effects are even more detrimental. These risks are magnified for children with disabilities or histories of trauma and abuse. On Jan 26, 2016, President Obama announced a ban on solitary confinement for juvenile offenders in the federal prison system. He said that the practice is often overused and has the potential for devastating psychological consequences on young people. Although Obama’s ban affected close to 8,000 youth in federal prisons, it had absolutely no impact on those in solitary confinement in state and county facilities. It is up to us to pressure Congress and state prison systems to follow suit!

The United States has the largest web of energy pipelines in the world, extending more than 2.4 million miles. The network of crude oil pipelines in the U.S. is 72,000 miles that connect regional markets. Two Hundred Twenty (220) significant incidents were reported by October 2016 - 3,033 since 2006 costing more than $4.7 billion. Days after President Trump signed executive orders to advance approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, a pipeline rupture spilled 138,600 gallons of diesel fuel in northern Iowa. Established by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a significant incident is classified when results of serious injury or fatality occur, costs incur more than $50,000, releases more than five barrels of volatile fluids such as gasoline or 50 barrels of other liquids, or results in a fire or explosion. Science and experience have proved that carbon infrastructure, i.e. fracking, pipelines, export terminals are faulty. The consistency of pipelines is not guaranteed, and the possibility of ruptures is inevitable thus, impacting the water, land, and air to irreversible conditions. The impact these pipelines and the chemical plants they feed cause long-term health effects of exposure to toxic air pollution, and the threat of disastrous industrial facility chemical releases. These conditions impose serious ecological risk to our communities, and more serious effects in low-income and communities of color. With Trumps recent executive orders to advance approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines in addition to streamlining the regulatory process for pipeline construction and expedite the environmental review process, we the people must take back our rights to clean water, air, and land and not wait on the current administration to act in the best interest of the people and our environment. It is in the best interest of the American people, the banks, and Trump to divest from this old dirty energy economy and invest in a new clean energy economy with renewable energy, Green Sustainability, and a revitalization of the existing pipeline infrastructure that is currently deteriorating.

On Wednesday, December 21, 2016, a prisoner at the Texas Clements Unit, Kevin "Rashid" Johnson, was gassed in his cell while handcuffed from behind. A letter written by Mr. Johnson to a supporter, dated December 22, 2016, reported that his gassing was “all retaliation for my involvement in exposing the foul abuses here." Kevin “Rashid” Johnson is a well-known scholar and prison activist who has dedicated his efforts to exposing the civil and environmental injustices behind bars. His most recent letter also reads: “I'm in a gas-covered cell now. The law requires that they decontaminate a prisoner and his cell anytime they spray gas on him/her. They refused in my case. My sheets and bedding are covered in bright orange gas, underwear too, as is the cell wall." According to the supporter who received Rashid’s letter, she could smell the toxic gas as soon as she opened the envelope. The vicious treatment of Mr. Johnson is part of a clear pattern. There is evidently a culture among prison staff that encourages such sadistic behavior. What they have done and continue to do -- both to Mr. Johnson and to thousands of other victims -- constitutes a clear violation of basic human rights. A signed statement from prison guard Britta Townsend corroborates that Mr. Johnson was confined to a gassed cell that was not decontaminated and forced to sleep with sheets covered with the bright orange gas. According to Mr. Johnson, Ms. Townsend now fears that she will be targeted by her peers and higher ranking officers.