PERREAULT Magazine January 2015 | Page 37

Two, they can encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect coral reefs. Healthy coral reefs are crucial to places like the U.S. Caribbean. They provide a home for hundreds of species, as well as provide food and tourist

dollars. They even protect local coastlines from the full force of storm waves. Unfortunately, populations of elkhorn and staghorn corals have dwindled by as much as 99 percent since the 1970’s due to disease, increasing hurricane damage and overfishing. Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service is considering changing the status of the species from threatened to endangered, and listing a number of new coral species under the Endangered Species Act due to the same threats.

Three, they can tell the EPA to save bees from a highly toxic pesticide.

Nearly one-third of our crops—including many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds—depend on bees for pollination. But bees in our country are dying at unprecedented rates, and scientists are pointing to highly toxic pesticides as a cause. Despite the die-offs, the EPA recently approved a new bee-killing pesticide called sulfoxaflor, and now the EPA is considering expanding the number of crops this pesticide can be sprayed on to include corn, alfalfa, oats and several other significant and widely grown crops.

Earthjustice pursues three key goals to secure a just and flourishing world.

1.Preserving the Wild

2. Fighting for the Healthy Communities

3. Advancing Clean Energy and Combatting Climate Change

Perreault Magazine - 33 -