• E-waste: the dark horse of environmental problems
    Most of this electronics will be thrown away within three years due to new technologies and planned obsolescence. The average life of a computer has decreased significantly from six to two years, and the average life cycle of today's cell phones is only 9 to 18 months. As a result, up to 50 million tons of electronic waste are produced annually, most of it from First World countries, whose strict recycling laws make safe disposal expensive and tedious. As a result, much of it is exported to third world countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Africa, which are not subject to strict regulations. This export is illegal under the Basel Convention, according to which "hazardous waste must be disposed of in the country of origin". What it does to the environment: Chemicals in e-waste can be mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, nickel, and chromium. These compounds can be very persistent in the environment and are absorbed by plants through the soil and by humans through food, water, air, dust, skin contact, and ingestion. What it can do to people: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), low levels of lead, mercury and cadmium can cause neurological damage, cancer, lung, kidney, thyroid and liver diseases, and cause behavioral and learning difficulties in children. What can be done: Governments around the world must stop exporting their e-waste to these third world countries and instead try to improve their own waste methods. Governments should feel responsible for managing their own e-waste recycling programs so that businesses can explore this path in a cheaper and more sustainable way, rather than simply shifting the duty to countries that need money.
    3 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Slava D. Picture
  • Write-in Bernard Sanders for President
    We do not want anyone to vote for Trump, but 40-60 per cent will. That leaves 40-60 per cent for Biden and everyone else. Many will not vote because the choices are unpleasant. Biden lies as much as Trump, and has already "walked back" on some campaign promises and hints that more walk-backs are to come. Main stream media is not reporting it, but there are people who have already committed to writing in Bernard Sanders on the November 2020 ballot, and some will be voting for the Green Party and others. We believe that this equates to an unlikely win for Joe Biden. We want Bernie Sanders. We wanted Bernie and still want Bernie. Bernie is The Peoples' Choice. If enough people write-in Bernie, he could be our President. And, even if he doesn't win, his name on ballots all across the U.S. will send a strong message to politicians that we want Bernie's platform now.
    4 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Peter D.
  • Release Steven Hibbler From A Life Prison Sentence Due To An Unfair Prosecution Immediately
    Steven Hibbler, has been serving a life sentence in the Michigan Department Of Corrections since 1995 for a shooting he did not commit. Although an affidavit and testimony under oath from a person involved in the shooting pointed to Steven’s innocence, he was convicted of this crime and has been denied a retrial due to the justice system's failures. These failures include but are not limited to: * The first day of trial it was brought to the court's attention by an anonymous caller that one of the jurors knew the family and had a potential relationship with the deceased's daughter. Yet the judge never questioned the juror and allowed him to stay on the jury. * During the trial, the prosecutor openly admitted to the judge that, while they had a theory that Steven shot the deceased, they did not know whose shots caused the death. *Both Steven's trial attorney and appellate attorney admitted their ineffectiveness when it came to Steven's case and conceded that they made "mistakes" that could have affected the outcome of Steven's legal proceedings. Now, after two and a half decades, there has been a new development in Steven's case that brings about renewed hope. We have learned of exculpatory evidence that the prosecutor intentionally withheld from Steven's attorneys in a desperate effort to railroad Steven. The prosecutor who handled Steven's trial had knowledge that the key eyewitness in his case had previously testified to seeing and knowing the name of the person who shot and killed the deceased. The person he named was not Steven. Fortunately, this new information is currently being reviewed by the Michigan Attorney General's Conviction Integrity Unit, which has the power to investigate and reverse this wrongful conviction. While under the knee of injustice, Steven has managed to completely transform his life. He is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology and has also collaborated with The Yale School of Art. He is a published poet and an accomplished artist whose artwork has appeared in the October 2019 edition of The Harper's Magazine as well as several art exhibits and installations. Steven is a member of The Michigan Theory Group, an Inside Out Prison Exchange Program alumni group that trains professors and instructors from around the world in critical pedagogy. He is also a co-creator and facilitator of the Inside Out Theory Group's Restorative Justice curriculum and program. Over the years, Steven has developed the core belief that we are all interconnected as human beings and can change the world around us by doing one good deed at a time. Steven Hibbler needs your help to affirm his innocence. After twenty-five years of wrongful imprisonment, he deserves immediate justice. Please sign this petition to encourage the CIU to thoroughly investigate his case. Please also get in touch with the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at: Email - [email protected] Phone: 517-335-7622 Fax: 517-335-7644 or send direct mail to: G. Mennen Williams Building 525 W. Ottawa Street P.O. Box 30212 Lansing, MI 48909 Detroit Office Cadillac Place, 10th Floor 3030 W. Grand Blvd., Ste 10-200 Detroit, MI 48202 Phone: 313-456-0240 Fax: 313-456-0243 In addition please send emails and make phone calls to the following state representatives: Governor - Gretchen Whitmer General Telephone Number: 517-373-3400 Opinion Telephone: 517-335-7858 Fax: 517-335-6863 Email: [email protected] Address: State Capitol P.O. Box 30013 Lansing, MI 48909 Lt. Governor - Garlin Gilchrist II Phone: 517-373-6800 Attorney General - Dana Nessel Phone: 517-373-1110 Address: G. Mennen Williams Building 7th Floor 525 W. Ottawa St., Lansing, MI 48933 Email: [email protected] Legislators/Senators - Senator Aric Nesbitt - District 26 Phone: 1-866-305-2120 Address for all Senators: Michigan Senate State Capitol Building Box 30036 Lansing, MI 48909 United States Congressman - Justin Amash Phone: 616-451-8383 Address: 110 Michigan NW #460 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 State House Representative - Steven Johnson -72nd District Phone: 517-373-0840 Email: [email protected] State Information Center at 517-373-1837 Please send an email to [email protected] for additional information.
    2,216 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Raven H.
  • Bring back Buses to Castle Pines Village!
    1. DSCD school buses have been coming into Castle Pines Village for at least 20 years. a. Parents have relied on the buses to take our children to school. Suddenly, without any rationale or even any notice, the buses will not be stopping inside the gates. b. Children who used walk to the bus stop had options nearby, but the changes will now require parents to make new arrangements in an already very trying time for everyone. 2. There is a huge safety issue. a. There are no sidewalks for the kids to walk where the new bus stops are intended outside of the village. b. There is nowhere for parents to park with their kids to wait for the buses. c. There is increased danger since the buses for Middle and High School come in the dark in the winter mornings. d. Kids will need to walk 30 - 60 minutes to a bus stop outside the gates (in the dark in the mornings) if their parents can't drive them. 3. Traffic on Happy Canyon and Chase will be highly impacted. a. There is not a safe place for kids to wait for the buses, they will be lined up on Happy Canyon (in the dark in winter). b. Parents who will drive their kids to the bus stop have nowhere to park and they will be off the shoulder on Happy Canyon and off in the ditch/shoulder on Lagae/Chase. Although this year there will be a smaller number of kids on buses due to Covid restrictions, in future months/years this will be MANY cars. c. Due to the above reasons, there will be a large number of cars lined up waiting for the kids to board/un-board the buses every morning and afternoon. It will take quite a while for ALL the kids to board because of the minimal number of stops outside the village. Traffic will be very congested in these areas. 4. Bus Fees are charged for our kids to ride the bus. This is acceptable when our kids only have to walk a few blocks to a stop. Moving the bus stops to outside of the village, creating a huge inconvenience for parents and kids, does not justify the same bus fee.
    232 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Kimberly N.
  • Grant Refugee status for unarmed civilians in the Gaza strip
    More innocent Gaza residents will die from starvation, lack of air and from drinking contaminated water which might lead to the annihilation of the population of the Gaza strip. We need to start an emergency airlift to take many unarmed civilians from the Jabilya refugee camp in the Gaza strip.
    6 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Ola A.
  • Take Mark Zuckerberg's name off of San Francisco General Hospital
    As San Francisco residents, San Francisco General Hospital patients and staff, and other concerned citizens, we urge the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation to remove Mark Zuckerberg’s name from our city’s prestigious public hospital. Mark Zuckerberg’s failure to stop hate, lies, racism, and disinformation from running rampant on Facebook is counter to the values San Franciscans hold dear. He is being pressured to change Facebook’s policies by companies throughout the country that have stopped advertising on Facebook to #StopHateForProfit. San Francisco should support these efforts and remove any mention of Mark Zuckerberg’s name from San Francisco General Hospital until he takes real action to protect the public from lies, hate, and disinformation on the platform he founded.
    4,649 of 5,000 Signatures
    Created by Andrea B.
  • Tell the U.S.A., China, and Russia to START LEADING
    You know. It's clear when we listen to the youth rising, and look at the "racism, vast militarism and extreme materialism" around us. the real threat of nuclear extinction. The real threat of our grandchildren having an inhabitable climate and planet.
    8 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Anthony D.
  • Rust Belt Renewal Initiative
    The Rust Belt Renewal Initiative is a proposal for the United States to adopt a decade-long national commitment to rebuilding the once-mighty base of the industrial Midwest as the hub of a revived American manufacturing capability. The RBRI would be powered not by toxic fossil fuels but by clean and abundant, locally generated, renewable sources of energy, primarily solar and wind, to produce new generations of energy-efficient, carbon-free, electricity-powered transportation, appliances and other durable goods to the world-class standards of safety and reliability for which American-made products were once widely celebrated. RBRI will focus our personal and collective creativity on meeting the unique requirements of a 21st century economy and society while effectively addressing the paramount challenge of our time, reducing the disruptive impacts of climate change.
    7 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Jimmy D.
  • Bangladesh Must End Internet Ban in Rohingya Refugee Camps
    The Rohingya have suffered decades of systematic persecution in their home country of Myanmar. They have been denied citizenship, freedom of movement, access to education and health services. They have been subject to land confiscations, arbitrary arrests, forced labour, extortion, torture, rape, mass killings, the destruction of whole villages and other forms of collective punishment. Myanmar military clearance operations have forced more than 800,000 Rohingya to flee over the border to Bangladesh since August of 2017. Myanmar stands accused of genocide against the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice. The Myanmar government disputes the allegations and has failed to create conditions that would enable the Rohingya to return safely to their homelands. Bangladesh now provides shelter to approximately 1 million Rohingya. Rohingya have relied on mobile phone and internet access to communicate these abuses to the rest of the world. This access has also provided lifelines to families fleeing from attrocities. In September 2019, mobile phone and internet restrictions were brought in by Bangladesh for Rohingya genocide survivors in the refugee camps. The Bangladesh government’s internet blackout and phone restrictions at Rohingya refugee camps are currently obstructing humanitarian groups from addressing the COVID-19 threat. The shutdown is risking the health and lives of over a million people, including nearly 900,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar and the Bangladeshi host community by hindering aid groups’ ability to provide emergency health services and rapidly coordinate essential preventive measures. Aid workers and community leaders rely on WhatsApp and other internet-based communication tools to coordinate emergency services and share important information in the camps. The shutdown prevents effective dissemination of coronavirus information as well as impeding aid workers’ ability to conduct “contact tracing” to contain transmission of the virus. Rohingya survivors also need to use the internet and mobile phones to maintain links with home and contact family members with whom they have been separated from due to the genocide. It is also their only means to access news and information. The internet is the primary source of education for youth in the camps, who have severely limited access to formal schooling. The internet and phone restrictions must therefore be permanantly lifted.
    2,978 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Shabnam M.
  • COVID-19 Манифест на глобалната солидарност
    Кризата с COVID-19 разкри неотложността на промяната на глобалните структури на неравенство и насилие. Ние, хората по света, ще използваме този исторически момент.
    362 of 400 Signatures
    Created by COVID-19 GLOBAL SOLIDARITY COALITION -.
  • COVID-19(新型コロナウィルス)世界連帯マニフェスト
    COVID-19(新型コロナウィルス)うかーさなてぃ、世界にたなびちゅるとぅ暴力ぬかしーかしー けーてぃいちゅる必要あいびーん。わったー世界ぬちぬちゃーや、くぬ歴史的瞬間ゐーばすとぅっし考げーてぃいちゅん。わったーや、どぅーしまをぅてぃん、国をぅてぃん、世界をぅてぃん、まーうてぃん繋がてぃいちゃびーん。
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    Created by COVID-19 GLOBAL SOLIDARITY COALITION -.
  • Letting prisoners use cellphones makes sense – now more than ever
    *Connection to families is good for prisoners and prisons. *Because of the corona-virus prisoners can receive no visitations. State sanctioned prison phones present a sanitation risk that may spread the virus. *The cost to use state phones is prohibitive for many prisoners. *Cellphones are lifelines that keep prisoners connected to hope. Hopeless people are the ones who become violent and self-destructive. *Human connection is central to life and people connected to families, especially children, and friends are far more likely to re-enter society successfully and not reoffend. The ability to call a parent could be transformative. *Time spent connected to families is time spent not being violent in the yard and not stewing in rage, frustration and depression. Cellphone use to connect with families engenders less disruptive and calmer prisoner behavior. Managed access technology can track and monitor all calls and maintain prison security, the same as state phones are monitored.
    2,073 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Will S.