Action Alerts
Work for Peace
On 2007 February 5 legislation to establish a U.S. Department of Peace was reintroduced. To see what you can do to support this effort, visit The Peace Alliance.Stop Torture
Amnesty International campaign against torture suggests ways you can make a difference.
Work to Save Darfur from Genocide
Join a local group, read Darfur news, send a message to President Bush and UN Secretary-General at savedarfur.org. Learn about the background to the conflict and see Human Rights Watch questions and answers regarding the current situation.
Since 2003, Janjaweed militias supported by the Sudanese government have forced millions of civilians from their homes. Aid workers are also attacked. The Janjaweed continue to murder and rape, pursuing refugees when they must leave their camps for such things as gathering firewood, in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Janjaweed troops are mainly Arab, whereas the targets of their ethnic cleansing are non-Arab, black Darfurians. Not all Arab tribes in Darfur are involved in the fighting, however. Rebels and other groups are also committing abuses. Civilians are caught in the middle. Food is needed, because the conflict has destroyed the local economy.
African Union forces have had some success in moderating the carnage, but do not have the resources to adequately control the situation. Human Rights Watch is calling for a much greater international response.
Ask Hardware Stores to Offer Alternative Products for Rodent Control
In winter, mice and other rodents look for warm, cozy shelter, often in human shelters. Poisons and glue traps cause horrible suffering and threaten children and pets as well as wildlife. Poisons also affect other animals who eat the poisoned animals. Glue traps keep animals in agony for hours. Safe, humane products are available to control rodents (for example, search Google). Please ask your local hardware store to carry these alternative products and discontinue poisons and cruel traps.
Verified Voting
Fair, honest, accurate elections are essential to everything ResponsibleConsumer.net works for: human rights, animal rights and welfare, and environmental protection. For any electoral system to be valid, the process and results must be transparent, and voters must have confidence their votes will be counted accurately. Such a situation does not exist when electronic voting machines are used that produce no paper trail and whose manufacturers will not allow inspection by independent experts. VerifiedVoting.org summarizes the issue, and provides information about what you can do to ensure your vote counts.
Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to enforce the Humane Slaughter Act
There have been many allegations that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does a poor job of enforcing the Humane Slaughter Act. An article by the Humane Farming Association says rabbits have been reclassified as "poultry" so that they are not covered by the Act. The ad cites USDA inspectors describing atrocities that rabbits suffer in the slaughterhouse and being told by their supervisors the Humane Slaughter Act would not be enforced because rabbits were classified as poultry. To protest, contact the Secretary of Agriculture: Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture, Room 200-A, United States Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250. Phone: (202) 720-3631. Fax: (202) 720-2166.
Birds, mice, and poultry are not covered by the Humane Slaughter Act. Apparently they are not considered capable of suffering, or at any rate their suffering is not considered worth bothering about. Even animals that are covered, such as cattle, too often suffer the same kinds of abuse described in the ad. The Humane Farming Association's Stop Slaughterhouse Abuse page links to more information.