The U.S. State Dept. has declared: "We remain resolute in our opposition to commercial whaling, including so-called ‘scientific’ whaling, in particular in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary established by the International Whaling Commission. In this context we wish to emphasize that lethal techniques are not required in modern whale conservation and management." Tell President Obama to take strong action to stop the Japanese from killing whales in the Southern Ocean Antarctic Whale Sanctuary

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Sign the Humane Society International pledge to "not buy items made with or from wild animal parts, to not purchase live wild animals as pets for any other purpose, and to not patronize facilities that keep animals captive under inhumane conditions"

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Public Citizen, a national nonprofit organization that has been standing up to corporate power and holding government accountable since 1971, wants to know the issues that matter most to you for grassroots organizing and pressuring lawmakers in 2013

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Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Marsh Supermarkets, Aldi and PCC Natural Markets have all committed to not sell genetically engineered salmon and other seafood. Sign Friends of the Earth's petition asking grocery stores, restaurants, chefs and other food companies to take the Pledge for GE-Free Seafood

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Join us in thanking U.S. Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, chief of U.S. Pacific forces, for stating that climate change is a serious threat to the Pacific region. Finally, a high-ranking and respected official acknowledging the defining danger of our time

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The Philippine cockatoo is near the top of the IUCN Red List of threatened species, with only around a thousand still living in the wild. The largest remaining population—around 250—live on Rasa, a small coral island separated from the much larger island of Palawan by a strait only 500 meters wide. Tell Governor Abraham Kahlil Mitra to stop plans to build a coal-fired power plant that would block the birds' route to their feeding grounds on Palawan

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With fewer than 500 individuals remaining, the North Atlantic right whale is on the brink of extinction. The biggest threat to these animals was—and still is—man. Historically, right whale populations were depleted to near extinction by whaling. Today, their survival is impeded by ship strikes, entanglements, habitat destruction and other man-made dangers. These cumulative effects diminish the chances of recovery for this species. In the past five years, at least 23 right whales have died, of which only five deaths were confirmed by natural causes

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"Fifty years from now, no one will care at all about the fiscal cliff, or the other things that consume our op-ed pages and think tanks," writes Bill McKibben in a recent Dallas News op-ed piece. "They'll look back at this year and say: 'The Arctic melted. What did you do?'"

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Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and David Vitter (R-La.), along with Reps. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Sam Farr, (D-Calif.), Bill Young, (R-Fla.) and Lois Capps (D-Calif.), reintroduced the PUPS Act, S. 395 and H.R. 847, to close a legal loophole in the federal Animal Welfare Act, allowing the owners of cruel puppy mills (like the one shown below) to evade basic oversight required by the federal Animal Welfare Act. The PUPS Act—which has received the public support of nearly 350,000 signatures and comments—would require direct sellers of 50 or more puppies to be federally licensed and inspected for basic humane standards of care and let dogs out of their cages for at least an hour a day

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Did you know that Coca-Cola, the largest beverage company in the world, is fighting a global battle against recycling? The company is funding campaigns around the globe to oppose public programs that make it easier to recycle plastic bottles, claiming that such programs are taxes that hurt its sales. Sign the SumOfUs petition telling Coca-Cola to stop fighting valuable container deposit programs that promote recycling and help prevent more plastic from ending up in landfill and oceans

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Thanks in part to those of you who stood up for animals tested by the cosmetics industry, the EU ban on animal-tested cosmetics officially went into effect on March 11, 2013, proof that compassion, reason and action can sometimes win the day. When it works, it's a thing of beauty. It's clear it isn't necessary to torture animals to produce eyeliner. For the gold standard list of cruelty-free products, visit leapingbunny.org

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Join the more than 1 million people who have told Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa Delgado to prevent the opening up of 4 million hectares of the nation's pristine rainforest and jaguar habitat to oil exploitation. The region's Sani Isla Kichwa people have signed a pledge never to sell their land as part of their struggle to resist the oil companies

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"Gender-based violence – including domestic abuse, rape, forced prostitution, and other forms of abuse – is one of the most widespread but least recognized human rights abuses in the world. It is a leading cause of mental health problems, social alienation, injury and death for women and girls. Take action with CARE and demand that violence against women and girls becomes an international priority under our new Secretary of State, John Kerry." -- Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, President and CEO, CARE

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Conflict minerals are mined by prisoners of war and child slaves. But Nintendo doesn't seem to think this matters. Walk Free, a non-profit anti-slavery group, has started a petition telling the videogame maker that slavery—keeps more than 21 million people in bondage—isn't a game

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After a summer of record breaking Arctic sea ice melt in 2012, scientists now predict that Arctic summers will be ice free by when?

a) 2050
b) 2040
c) 2030
d) 2020

Click for the answer...

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Notch one up for clean energy activism: Three dirty coal-fired power plants are calling it quits in a landmark settlement agreement that New York mayor Mike Bloomberg called "a major victory in the effort to build a clean, sustainable energy future"

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Even though more than 90% of Americans favor labeling genetically engineered food, the "Big 6" pesticide and GE seed corporations are trying to stop labeling efforts. Sign the Pesticide Action Network pledge showing your support of GE labeling

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Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to leave a lasting legacy for all Americans by adopting the proposed Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Arctic Refuge. At stake is the biological heart of the Arctic Refuge, the coastal plain that harbors polar bears, wolves, Arctic foxes and millions of migratory birds. Unlike the rest of the original Refuge, the coastal plain lacks formal wilderness status

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Since the race began in 1973, over 130 dogs have died during the annual, corporate-sponsored Iditarod, "in which teams of dogs are forced to pull a sled over 1,100 miles across the Alaska wilderness, often running at a grueling pace of over 100 miles per day for ten straight days," writes ALDF's Jennifer Molidor. Sign their petition to take a stand against the cruelty of the dog-sledding industry

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This mystery person became a vegetarian in 1974 after seeing a stockyard in Texas and experiencing the "smell, terror and anxiety." In February 2013, this person was arrested for interrupting a University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting while showing a graphic photo of a cat to protest the school's feline experimentation program. This person has been nominated for an Oscar, three Emmy Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. Do you know who it is? Click to find out

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After the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary school, members of the Nation Builders drafted an open letter to demand immediate action to enact sane and effective gun control policy. Add your name to the petition calling for enactment of strict measures to reduce the lethality of guns, including the immediate reinstatement of the federal assault weapons ban, the establishment of large scale buy-back programs for all firearms, strict regulation of ammunition sales and requirements for background checks and ATF-approved safety certification for anyone seeking to purchase a gun of any kind anywhere

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Join the worldwide movement calling for justice in Brazil by signing a petition urging a definitive ruling on lawsuits against the Belo Monte Dam, which would dam the mighty Xingu River and create a disaster for the region's ecosystem and the communities who depend on the river for their survival

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Sign MoveOn.org's petition urging Congress to end overseas tax loopholes for US corporations in places like the Cayman Islands

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U.S. Senators Landrieu (D-La.), Graham (R-S.C.), and Representatives Meehan (R-Pa.) and Schakowsky (D-Ill.) recently introduced the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, which would ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and the exportation of horses to other countries to be slaughtered for human consumption. Every year, some 100,000 American horses are shipped to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico. Tell your senators and representatives to support the SAFE Act

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This short video by Conservation International explains how critical it is to create a network of protected areas in the Pacific, as 15 island nations have committed to create Pacific Oceanscape, the largest protected area on Earth

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed providing wind companies permits that would legally allow wind turbines to kill bald and golden eagles across the nation for up to three decades. Tell Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to give his replacement time to reject this ill-advised proposal, which comes just three years after the agency concluded that long-term permits could jeopardize the survival of eagles

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Better healthcare? Access to clean water? Freedom from discrimination and persecution? A good education? Action on climate change? What are your priorities for a better world? The United Nations wants to know. So take a few moments to fill out the My World Global Survey. The results will be shared with world leaders in setting the next global development agenda

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"I was 3 years old—to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one fish was caught, he was writhing, then he was thrown against the side of the boat. You couldn't disguise what it was. This was what we did to animals to eat them. The animal went from a living, vibrant creature fighting for life to a violent death. I recognized it, as did my brothers and sisters. — Joaquin Phoenix, who thrashes underwater in a provocative new PETA video that asks people to try to relate to frightened and panicked fish who die a painful death after being pulled from the water. Fish don't want to suffocate on land any more than we want to drown in water. Take the pledge. Stop fish from suffering

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"Every day, wild elephants, rhinos and tigers are killed for their skins, bones, tusks, horns and other body parts," writes actor and elephant activist Leonardo DiCaprio, who is also a board member of WWF. "The scale of illicit activity is staggering, especially in places like Thailand. Poachers and organized crime syndicates there make millions of dollars a year in what is the largest unregulated ivory market in the world. But we can change that, and our time is now." Raise your voice for elephants and sign the WWF pledge supporting a stronger CITES treaty to stop wildlife crime

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"I urge this Congress to get together, pursue a bipartisan market-based solution to climate change," said President Obama in his State of the Union. "But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will." Tell Congress to back standards that would set limits on industrial carbon pollution from power plants and to reject destructive projects like the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline that would spew more carbon pollution

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The military veteran and Academy Award-winning director in signing a petition urging the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to replace the unnecessary shooting, stabbing, dismemberment and killing of innocent animals in trauma training exercises with superior human-patient simulators and other humane methods. It's time to stop the senseless cruelty and needless slaughter

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For a decade, Global Exchange has been celebrating the achievements of individuals and organizations working towards making meaningful, lasting change. By participating in the selection of the People’s Choice Honoree, you can take part in their effort to recognize the hardworking people who uphold the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You nominate. You vote. You decide...

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"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is deliberating the proposed removal of nearly all Endangered Species Act protection for gray wolves in the Lower 48 states, with the possible exception of the Mexican gray wolf. This delisting would be a conservation nightmare," writes Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife, which has launched a petition urging Congress to sign on to a letter to the USFWS to stop the delisting

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Bees are dying in the billions around the world. And crops, which need bees to be pollinated, are suffering along with them. The European Commission is currently considering a ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, a known toxin that kills bees. Four EU nations have already installed a ban, resulting in the recovery of some bee populations. Join the over 2.5 million people who have shown their support to this vital measure, which could pave the way toward a global ban of these dangerous toxins to prevent the extinction of bees

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"Space is a frontier, and there are frontiers all around us," said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, whose innovative photography work aboard the International Space Station ushered in a new era of space imagery. This incredible 16-minute time-lapse video was created as a tribute to Pettit and the ISS program by Austrian videographer Christoph Malin, who said, that Dr. Pettit’s innovative photographic work "changed the way we see Earth from space."

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Chevron has been ordered to pay $19 billion to clean up its toxic mess in the Ecuadorian Amazon and help affected communities. Yet the Big Oil company refuses to pay. Join the more than 22,000 people from 141 countries who have taken action to hold Chevron accountable for destroying the environment

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Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its environmental assessment of genetically engineered (GE) salmon, bringing the fish one step closer to being the first GE animal on the market. The assessment relies on limited data from 2010 and does not thoroughly evaluate the public health and environmental risks of GE salmon. Furthermore, it might not even be labeled, preventing eaters from making informed choices. Tell the FDA to say no to GE salmon before the public comment period ends on April 26

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"That assault weapons ban will not pass the Congress of the United States," said Senator John McCain at a recent town hall. Sign the CREDO petition telling Senator McCain that the ban will pass "if Senators like you vote with the will of their constituents, not NRA lobbyists"

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She is a former television journalist who was one of the few critics of Syria keeping troops stationed in Lebanon after the end of the Lebanese Civil War. She survived a 2005 assasssination attempt, but lost her left leg and arm when a bomb detonated as she entered her car. The following year, the International Women's Media Foundation awarded her the Courage in Journalism Award. In 2010, she was named one of the International Press Institute's World Press Freedom Heroes. Do you know who she is? Click to find out

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Two white-tailed eagles vie for dominance in this NatGeo Photo of the Day

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Support ign the Physicians for Social Responsibility petition to President Obama supporting a robust Arms Trade Treaty "as vitally necessary to the creation of a safer and healthier global community"

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"Ignorance, or avidya, is a root cause of suffering, according to Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (II.5). But the ignorance Patanjali refers to is less a lack of knowledge than an almost willful ignoring of reality. Today we call it denial." -- Frank Jude Boccio, Yoga Journal

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$45 Million in Lies and Dirty Tricks Killed Prop 37 - It's Payback Time!

Please sign the pledge to let the following companies know you're joining the boycott. These companies make billions of dollars selling organic and "natural" brands, yet they spent millions to defeat Prop 37, CA Right to Know's ballot initiative to label genetically modified food. Click the hyperlinks to contact specific brands.

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A new WhiteHouse.gov petition wants to make it compulsory for US senators and representatives to wear the names or logos of their financial backers on their clothing, just like NASCAR drivers do

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"A white-tipped shark has died of apparent stress while being used for a Kmart advertisement in Van Nuys, CA (a suburb of Los Angeles)," reports Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International. "Though the American Humane Association (AHA) certified the shoot and had a representative present, the shark showed signs of stress as actors jumped in and out of the pool where the shark was being held. Despite receiving adrenaline injections and oxygen, the shark died after being removed from the outdoor pool. Kmart reportedly requested another shark after the first one died; the production company refused." Tell Kmart's parent company Sears that animals don't belong in ads

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If the aviation industry's growing carbon footprint isn't reduced, its emissions will almost double by 2030. But a meeting next week of climate envoys from the US, Europe, China and India, could make much needed progress towards a carbon pollution cap on international aviation. Tell Secretary of State John Kerry to secure a global agreement to make serious reductions in a main contributor to climate change: aviation emissions

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"There is nothing a mother elephant will not do for her infant, but even she cannot protect it from bullets," write Samantha Strindberg and Fiona Maisels, conservation scientists at the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a recent New York Times op-ed. "About a year ago, poachers attacked a family of forest elephants in central Africa. The biologist who witnessed the attack told us that wildlife guards were completely outgunned. In the end, an elephant mother, riddled with bullets and trumpeting with pain and fear, was left to use her enormous body to shield her baby. Her sacrifice was for naught; the baby was also killed." Stand up for elephants today and sign the WCS petition urging the U.S. Senate to block cuts to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which the WCS describes as "instrumental in funding anti-poaching measures in elephants in some of the most endangered elephant habitats in the world, including South Sudan. The impact on threatened species such as elephants and tigers from this funding elimination could be devastating...and irreversible"

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"You don't have a choice when you're 8 years old and an AK-47 is forced into your hands at gun point. Not a day goes by where I do not think of the horrors I witnessed as a child soldier in South Sudan. The irresponsible and unregulated flow of weapons made the killing and rape of millions of my people not only possible, but all too easy. In Sudan, everyone had been touched by gun violence. We all knew a loved one whose life was cut short by a bullet from a gun." -- Emmanuel Jal, musician, activist and supporter of Amnesty International's petition to President Obama calling for his support of a strong Arms Trade Treaty. From March 18-28, world leaders convene in New York to negotiate the first-ever treaty to human rights abusers. Amnesty's petition aims to ensure that the treaty includes the "Golden Rule" on human rights, which stipulates that "arms transfers shall not be permitted where there is a substantial risk the arms are likely to be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law"

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Do you know how many people in the United States lack access to clean water? Or how many people worldwide lack access to a toilet or basic sanitation? Watch Water.org co-founder Matt Damon's press conference and find out the answers to these questions—and why the actor is going on strike. Then join Water.org's mission to solve the water crisis and support Matt's strike by spreading the word

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Journalist Paul Salopek is taking a seven-year-long journey on foot, retracing the early human migration out of Ethiopia's Great Rift Valley and to the southern tip of South America. In the process, he hopes to show "how the great global stories of our day—whether they be climate change, conflict, poverty, mass migration—are interconnected"

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Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots community campaigner fighting for agricultural reform, reports that "biotech lobbyists succeeded in slipping the dangerous biotech rider (Sec. 735) into the Senate Continuing Resolution spending bill in an effort to strip federal courts of their authority to halt the sale and planting of any illegally, potentially hazardous GMO crop." The so-called Monsanto Protection Act (named after the multinational biotech corporation that is supporting this legislation) "would strip judges of their constitutional mandate to protect consumer rights and the environment, while opening up the floodgates for the planting of new untested genetically engineered crops, endangering farmers, consumers and the environment." Tell your senator to block this dangerous backdoor rider

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We know that turtles, fish and birds all die in untold vast numbers due to ingesting our plastic trash that ends up in the world's oceans. But a sperm whale? The Guardian reports: "A dead sperm whale that washed up on Spain's south coast had swallowed 17kg of plastic waste dumped into the sea by farmers tending greenhouses that produce tomatoes and other vegetables for British supermarkets." We have reached a new level of unintended wildlife destruction. Sign Surfrider Foundation's "Rise Above Plastics" pledge to commit to reducing your plastic use today. We must stop killing marine wildlife with our plastic trash

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"LG Electronics, a giant overseas maker of TVs and other products, is planning to build an enormous 143-foot office tower on the Hudson River Palisades that would rise high above the ridgeline and spoil the dramatic natural beauty of this iconic American landmark. If built, the tower would undo a century's worth of conservation efforts and violate a longtime public trust that has preserved the Palisades Interstate Park's unspoiled vistas sweeping northward from the George Washington Bridge. To protect a heritage enjoyed by millions and the integrity of a National Natural Landmark, LG could build a low-rise alternative on its 27-acre lot that would provide the same amount of office space and the same number of jobs, while respecting this treasured park landscape. But so far LG has refused to pursue such an option. Tell LG to redesign its office plans so that a building does not tower above the Palisades ridgeline and spoil this extraordinary scenic and historic landmark." -- National Resources Defense Council

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China's booming economy and demand for ivory is causing an upsurge of illegal elephant poaching in Kenya. On January 16, 2013, the Washington Post reported that 638 pieces of elephant ivory were seized at Kenya's main port. At the current poaching rates, conservationists wonder if there is any hope for saving elephants as a species. A new study released by the Wildlife Conservation Society has found that over 60% of forest elephants have been slaughtered in the past decade. Kenya attempted to expand anti-ivory measures to other countries at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sign this petition urging the Kenyan government to also create new legislation to stop elephant poaching in their country

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"Strip mining of oil from Alberta's tar sands, which will be transported by Keystone XL, is already destroying tens of thousands of acres of boreal forest and polluting hundreds of millions of gallons of water from the Athabasca River—in the process creating toxic ponds so large they can be seen from space." -- Center for Biological Diversity, which has launched a petition urging President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline...again

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"Do we have the courage to face the realities of our time and allow ourselves to feel deeply enough that it transforms us and our future?" asks photographer Chris Jordan in his short film Midway: A Love Story for Our Time from the Heart of the Pacific, which tells the tragic story of untold numbers of baby albatrosses who continue to die from ingesting plastic trash from the ever-growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch

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...would you rather have wild horses or oil rigs? In Wyoming, that's what's at stake. "Right now, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting public comments on its plan to increase drilling on public lands in Wyoming," writes Suzanne Roy of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign. "We need to send them a message: no more drilling, no more industrialization of our public lands, and no more destruction of the natural habitat for wild horses...It's another example of how the BLM refuses to place public interests above the commercial interests"

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Unlike the U.S., more than 160 countries—including Russia, China, Taiwan and the 27 members of the European Union—ban or strictly limit the use of ractopamine, a controversial drug linked with serious health and behavioral problems in animals that is used widely in animal feed that promotes growth in pigs, cows and turkeys. Sign the Center for Food Safety's petition to the Top Ten pork producers in the U.S. urging them to stop using ractopamine in pork production

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...closely-knit families of wild monkeys are being torn apart, kidnapped by humans and sold to the global laboratory research industry, where they will experience extreme physical and emotional pain and suffering—and eventually death—at the hands of their human captors. Every year, an estimated 10,000 wild animals are taken from the jungles of Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean 1,200 miles off Africa's southeastern coast. Avaaz.org is seeking the signatures of 1,000,000 people for an appeal to the Government of Mauritius to immediately ban the capture and export of primates. Will you be one of them?

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By a vote of 286-138, the House passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act Thursday, expanding protections for Native American women, LGBT individuals, and immigrants. It passed through the Senate earlier this month, by a vote of 78 to 22. Every female senator supported the bill. Of the senators opposing the legislation, all 22 were Republican men. Click here to find out who they are

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