West Virginia recently adopted new education standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards, which were developed to provide comprehensive, research-based science education that includes climate change -- but not before sneaking in some shocking alterations. The new standards, altered last minute at Board member Wade Linger’s request, cast doubt on climate change as a settled science. If the Board goes through with the new standards, West Virginia kids will get a dose of climate denial in their classrooms -- all because one Board member doesn’t believe in human-induced climate change. All West Virginia kids deserve an accurate, 21st-century education, and they shouldn’t have to learn false science based on standards that contain blatant errors and misrepresent the scientific consensus on climate change. There’s still time for the Board of Education to fix its errors, because the new standards won’t go into effect until next year. Sign this petition to tell the Board to correct all information related to climate change in the new standards for K-12 students in West Virginia -- and give kids the education they deserve. For more info: Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Huffington Post: http://buff.ly/1x4Zsph Climate-Change Education Advocates Denounce 'The False Science From West Virginia' | Salon: http://buff.ly/1x4ZkpN

Coal generates 70 percent of electricity in Ohio -- while polluting the air, harming human health, and contributing to climate change. It's time to phase out dirty, outdated power plants that run on coal. But Ohio’s largest electric utilities — AEP, Duke, and FirstEnergy — want to lock in this dirty source of energy for years to come. In pending cases before the Public Utilities Commission, they’re trying raise customers’ electric bills to pay for coal plants that are no longer competitive in today’s market. Earlier this year, AEP alone requested to charge Ohio citizens $117 million to keep two coal plants built in the early fifties up and running. Now, AEP has upped its request to cover six coal plants. Duke Energy is asking for a similar amount, but for an even longer period of time. Meanwhile, FirstEnergy is trying to force customers to pay for all generation and maintenance costs of its 55-year old Sammis coal-burning power plant and the Davis-Besse nuclear plant (guilty of numerous accidents and violations over its 35-year lifespan), just to name a couple. The proposal covers 15 years. At the same time, FirstEnergy is also cutting its customer energy efficiency programs. It’s wrong to ask people in Ohio to pay more for dirty energy they don’t want, especially when it harms public health and the climate. If the Public Utilities Commission approves these requests, it would block progress on clean, renewable energy sources by forcing them to compete in a market skewed toward propping up outdated, dirty energy. It would lock in dirty coal in Ohio for years to come, when the state should be transitioning to clean, renewable sources of energy. Now is an especially important time to speak up, because some of these decisions are expected by the end of 2014. If you live in Ohio, sign this petition to urge state leaders to stand strong against dirty coal and defend our rights to a clean, safe, and livable future.

BP is an official partner of this year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games. For a small contribution, BP paint themselves as generous, socially responsible and "green" - when nothing could be further from the truth. - BP will 'donate a tree' for each participant in its carbon offsetting scheme, but the amount of CO2 they will absorb is almost nothing when compared to BP's emissions worldwide. - BP have set up a 'Young Leaders' scheme but it is young people who will have to deal with their legacy of runaway climate change and oil spills. - The US has brought in sanctions against the Russian-owned oil company, Rosneft, but BP have clung to its 19.75% share in the company. - BP have nestled its brand alongside our elite athletes in order to keep their toxic legacy in the Gulf of Mexico and attempts to drill in the Arctic out of people's minds. It's time to stop the greenwash and deny BP the role of 'corporate partner' at all future sporting events!

Our electric utility, SDG&E, plans to replace the shut down San Onofre nuclear power plant with massive amounts of new gas power – through an insider deal that doesn’t allow clean energy options to compete. This rush for more fossil power would come at a major cost to energy customers, public health and our climate. Help us urge state regulators to reject this reckless plan and send a clear message to all the utilities that California is committed to clean energy. We can meet California’s energy needs reliably and affordably with clean energy, yet SDG&E is pushing a proposal that would lock in huge amounts of unnecessary, expensive and polluting fossil power for years to come. This natural gas bonanza carries a big price tag for our climate. We've already seen an increase in climate pollution from natural gas generation in the wake of San Onofre closing. Permanently increasing our dependence on fossil power would put California even father behind on our carbon reduction and clean energy targets. Sign the petition to stop this dirty energy proposal in its tracks, and send a clear message to all California utilities that energy consumers demand clean affordable energy options.

The World Bank has not yet addressed climate issues systematically. Most notably, its Safeguard Policy framework does not require climate change risk assessments for Bank projects with climate-related impacts. This gap in policy has allowed the World Bank to continue financing projects with serious implications for our climate and to essentially ignore the issue completely. According to a recent study by the World Resources Institute, 75% of World Bank projects do not incorporate assessments related to climate change risks into their design, while 88% of the projects do not assess GHG emissions from project activities, relative to a baseline. It is no wonder that with such an approach, the Bank continues to finance projects like the coal-fired Medupi power plant in South Africa, and possibly an even dirtier coal plant in Kosovo. The Bank is currently reviewing its policies, for the first time in its history. This review presents an important opportunity for the Bank to adopt best practices for promoting low-carbon and resilient development by establishing a safeguard policy on climate change. Over 100 Non-Governmental Organizations from over 60 countries submitted to the World Bank a proposal for a Policy on Climate Change as part of this review process. This Policy proposal outlines some of the main priorities that the Bank should adopt as part of a safeguard policy on climate change, including introducing a ban on financing any coal projects in the future. President Kim of the World Bank himself said last year that, “…the world needs a bold global approach to help avoid the climate catastrophe it faces today”. The signatories of the climate submission want to see Dr. Kim and the Board members of the World Bank start to walk the talk on climate by establishing a climate safeguard policy that would ensure the World Bank no longer supports projects that contribute to climate change. As each country of the world has a representative at the World Bank Group Board of Directors, your voice is very important to be heard. One of the Board Committees of the Bank will convene on July 30th to discuss the first draft of the new World Bank policies. Let us together deliver a strong message to them before this meeting that introduction of a Climate assessment policy for the World Bank projects is a must and that we stand united in asking them to act on climate, now! Study by the World Resources Institute: http://goo.gl/nGCULH Coal-fired power plant in South Africa: http://goo.gl/0d2tas Coal-fired power plant in Kosovo.: http://goo.gl/jxTt7c Climate Change Assessment (CCA) Safeguard Policy: http://www.bicusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Climate-Change-Safeguard-Model-Policy-for-the-World-Bank.pdf

The escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia should not be used as an excuse for increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Gas exports cannot help the current situation in Ukraine, because it would take years for our export facilities to be able to process the volumes of gas proposed for overseas sales. And S. 2083 and H.R. 6 would fast track exports of U.S. LNG to 158 World Trade Organization member countries, not just Ukraine. Increasing U.S. oil and gas exports to other nations will only accelerate fracking at home, transforming rural and impoverished communities into sacrifice zones and endangering public health, natural resources and local economies. The oil and gas industry claims that fracking for gas can lead to energy independence, but that is simply not the case, especially if we're exporting that resource abroad. Ultimately, approving and building infrastructure is a lengthy, expensive process, and the limited oil and gas reserves available under U.S. soil will not support the money and energy needed to ship it overseas. Instead, we should invest in renewable energy.

Three years ago Governor John Kasich approved new state legislation that would permit hydraulic fracturing in Ohio's State parks. 3300 acres of park property have already been set aside for Natural Gas and Oil wells. These wells endanger thousands of residents every day while operating, not to mention the lasting impact for years after the well has been drilled. We must stand together to prevent the destruction of our state parks.

We, the people of Oregon, recognize that we face a climate crisis that threatens the well-being of the people and nature of the state we love. The decisions we make today will dictate the quality of our lives together and those of generations to come. Divestment will help to protect not only a safe future for our children and grandchildren, but also our state’s financial portfolio. Carbon pricing will encourage energy efficiency in transportation, businesses and homes. From the Bottle Bill and Land Use Planning to Public Beach Access and the Eight-Hour Work Day, Oregon has been a national leader. We call on Oregon to lead once again on this critical issue. It’s good for the climate, it’s good for the economy, it’s good for our families.

Neil Young continues to make national headlines with his cross-Canada concert tour this week, and Canadians are responding in droves, crowdfunding almost $60,000 for ACFN’s legal defence at www.HonourTheACFN.ca. Young’s response to the Prime Minister’s attacks was brilliant: “... to the thousands of hard-working Canadians… we have respect for all working people. The quandary we face is the job they are working on. They are digging a hole that our grandchildren will have great trouble digging their way out of. … There are better jobs to be developing, with clean energy industries to help make the world a safer place for our grandchildren.” Canada must clean up its act in the oil sands, and stop denying the significant downside to out of control resource exploitation that only benefits a few yet leaves such a great cost for the rest of us. Now is the time to push: thanks to Neil’s concerts this week, the media's attention is finally on the reality of tar sands impacts, and his message is reaching ordinary Canadians across the country. Let's show the Athabasca Chipewyan and other First Nations that Canadians acknowledge their reality and want solutions for the tar sands disaster, not more denial and empty talking points. Please sign and share. Let’s do this, Jason P.S. 100% of the funds from Neil’s tour are going to the legal defence fund of the ACFN, and over 1,000 generous supporters have donated to their crowdfunding website! They are ¾ of the way to their goal of $75,000. Can you chip in $10? www.HonourTheACFN.ca Sources: Neil Young Comments get massive support in Alberta: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/01/14/neil-young-oilsands-comments_n_4597793.html Neil Young Responds to PMO’s Defence of Oilsands: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/neil-young-responds-to-pmo-s-defence-of-oilsands-1.2494950

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a highly secretive and expansive free trade agreement between the United States and twelve Pacific Rim countries, including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. Leaked text reveals that the TPP would empower corporations to directly sue governments in private and non-transparent trade tribunals over laws and policies that corporations allege reduce their profits. Legislation designed to address climate change, curb fossil fuel expansion and reduce air pollution could all be subject to attack by corporations as a result of TPP. Additionally, the deal could criminalize internet use, undermine workers’ and human rights, manipulate copyright laws, restrict government regulation of food labeling and adversely impact subsidized healthcare. The movement we are building locally, nationally and globally to move beyond fossil fuels and create a safe climate future is growing by the day and the fossil fuel industry is getting scared of the uncertainty ahead. The TPP is a symptom of this fear – a massive bid to overthrow any restrictions we might throw at them. But we can stop this. The might of our movement is greater than their money or manipulation. Sign this petition to show our governments that we won’t stand for foreign corporations disabling our sovereignty, democratic processes or the right to a safe future. https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.350.org/images/TPP-relaced.png

Australia should set an international example by implementing the plan designed and fully costed by Beyond Zero Emissions environmental organisation and The University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute. In the absence of any agreed plan to rapidly phase out the burning of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions are set to go on increasing for decades. This will prevent any chance of restricting global temperature rise to two degrees Celsius. As James Hansen of NASA bluntly states "The target that has been talked about in international negotiations for two degrees of warming is actually a prescription for long-term disaster." The current Australian target of 5% reduction of emissions by 2020 is dangerously inadequate. A target of 40-60% by 2030 is needed and may still be within reach if we begin construction of a national renewable energy grid over a ten year time frame without more loss of time. With accelerating release of methane from permafrost and the ocean floor, a positive feedback effect we could do nothing to slow could lead to runaway and irreversible warming, causing temperature rises of three to four degrees or more above pre-industrial. This would be disastrous for all life on the planet. We must stop burning fossil fuels. A national and international wind and solar transition scheme is urgently needed, technically achievable, and humanly possible. Ref: Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan – http://bze.org.au/ I believe Australia’s great resource of sunlight should be the opportunity for the country to lead the world in exploiting this renewable energy. – David Suzuki “The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean-energy future.” - Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, June 2010 Image: SOLUCAR PS10 afloresm

Our environment is unprotected from the misuse of its abundant assets. Damaging it ultimately damages all living organisms of which Humans are just one. Perils such as climate change, toxification of land, river systems and oceans, loss of tropical and temperate rain forests with all their dependent species and loss of polar and mountain glacial deposits are some of the well known consequences of Ecocide in action, unchallenged by an unaware populace in who's name the destruction is excused. This must stop and we all must say it. The world already has produced 4 laws that protect peace that can be enforced in the International Criminal Court including the crime of Genocide. An additional law, Ecocide would protect all species that enjoy an ecosystem from deliberate harm to the system. This would disincentivise investments in corporations who damage our environment and would make CEO's of them liable to criminal charges if they break the law. This legal process has already been proved to work in a mock trial in 2011 in London, UK. Please will you also sign the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) which has a legal standing? www.endecocide.eu