News recently emerged from the Gulf Coast that BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.1
That’s right. BP is using “controlled burns” to contain the oil spill, and any turtles that are not removed from the area before the fire is lit are literally burned alive.
A boat captain who has been leading efforts to rescue the endangered turtles says BP has blocked his crews from entering the areas where the animals are trapped, effectively shutting down the rescue operation.
With BP already facing so much public outrage, we can stop this. Our friends at Credo Mobile launched a petition demanding that BP stop burning turtles alive, and you can add your name by clicking the link below:
The petition says: “BP: Stop blocking the rescue of endangered sea turtles before you burn them alive in your ‘controlled burns.’”
Then, after you’ve signed, be sure to share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or by forwarding this email.
The way controlled burns work is that shrimp boats create a corral of oil by dragging together fire-resistant booms and then lighting the enclosed “burn box” on fire. Any animals not removed from the burn area are trapped.
The sea turtle most affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is the Kemp’s Ridley, which is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.2
“They ran us out of there and then they shut us down. They would not let us get back in there,” said turtle rescuer Mike Ellis in an interview with conservation biologist Catherine Craig that was posted on YouTube.3
Environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network have called on BP to end the practice, but BP has refused, denying that there’s really any problem. Yesterday, these groups filed a lawsuit demanding that BP take action to protect the endangered turtles.4 But the legal system can work very slowly, and the turtles need help now.
Tell BP to allow the rescue boats back in and stop burning endangered sea turtles alive. Click the link below to sign the petition:
Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
All across the country, right-wing extremists are disrupting congressional town-hall meetings with venomous attacks on President Obama’s plans for health care and clean energy.
Last night in Tampa, Florida, a town hall meeting erupted into violence, with the police being called to break up fist fights and shoving matches.1
A Texas Democrat was shouted down by right-wing hecklers, many of whom admitted they didn’t even live in his district.2
One North Carolina representative announced he wouldn’t be holding any town-hall meetings after his office began receiving death threats.3
And in Maryland, protesters hung a Democratic congressman in effigy to oppose health-care reform.4
We’ve got a plan to fight back against these radical right-wingers. We’ve hired skilled grassroots organizers who are working with thousands of local volunteers to show Congress that ordinary Americans continue to support President Obama’s agenda for change. And we’re building new online tools to track events across the country and make sure MoveOn members turn out at each one.
But we need to scale up our efforts quickly to make sure this plan works. To really swing into action during this month’s congressional recess, we need to raise at least $250,000 immediately. Can you chip in $20 to support our work?
If the shouts of the right-wing mobs are the only voices our senators and representatives hear over the recess, we’ll have a hard time passing health care and clean energy legislation.
That’s why we’re launching our Heat Up Congress campaign so quickly to fight back, using new technology to implement rapid response town hall turnout, organizing personal phone calls from small business leaders and donors to their representatives, running new ads, and activating an energized network of on-the-ground organizers and volunteers.
This month could decide the future of health care and clean energy in America—and we’re already one week in. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, now’s the time to get involved. Talk to your neighbors, go to a town hall meeting—and today, please chip in $20 to support our work:
Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
This email showed up yesterday. I know I have been slow with the general updates, but the news was making me a bit crazy. On the advice of a family member I took a news sabbatical, and am now only slowing getting back to paying attention in more detail.
Ok here is newsletter:
Sign the petition Dear MoveOn member,
Think oil companies should pay their fair share of taxes? So does President Obama.
In his budget, the President has proposed cutting billions of dollars in unfair subsidies and tax loopholes for oil and gas companies, to help pay for critical priorities like clean energy and green jobs.1 After all, they don’t exactly need the help: ExxonMobil made a record profit of $45.2 billion last year.2
But Big Oil is already fighting back. Like other corporate special interests, they’re lobbying heavily to gut Obama’s budget. The American Petroleum Institute has announced plans to fly top executives into Washington to help save their tax breaks.3
And they’ve got a lot of friends on Capitol Hill, thanks to millions in campaign contributions over the years. So we’ve got to be louder than Big Oil, and remind our elected representatives that they work for us, not ExxonMobil. Click here to sign our petition:
The petition reads: “Congress should stop the giveaways and tax loopholes for oil and gas companies–and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead.”
President Obama has a bold vision for switching America to a clean-energy economy and putting millions of people back to work in good, green jobs.
His proposed budget is full of important provisions to make it happen: investing in wind and solar power, retrofitting buildings to make them more energy-efficient, and helping working families cope with rising energy costs.4
To help pay for it, oil and gas companies need to start paying their fair share in taxes. For years, they’ve been receiving generous subsidies–and taking advantage of loopholes that let them avoid paying royalties from drilling on federal lands and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Unsurprisingly, the industries that make their profits from producing and burning oil, coal, and natural gas are spending millions of dollars working to undermine the president’s plans for a clean-energy economy.
So we’re organizing a massive grassroots campaign to get his back and take them on. Can you help out by signing our petition? Click here:
Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 5 million members–no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here. ________________ PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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