CAP: Government Resources

Government Resources

Are we really powerless about what goes on in our communities and our world?

Citizens in the United States have rights that people here and in other countries have been willing to die for. Have we really fully used these rights to participate in the creation of our world? Whenever we do participate - as we did with the proposed organic rules - we can be surprised at the power we have to change the direction of politicians and government agencies.

What if we participated that way all the time?

Problems that can seem overwhelming when we approach them individually can become actually solvable when we join together and approach them at a community level. In fact, some problems can only be solved in this way. And - we get to see the world and our lives get better, and be optimistic about the future for ourselves and future generations.

This page contains links to help you get information on, and take back your power in, our democratic system.

The next step is up to you!

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES INVOLVED IN PESTICIDES, TOXICS, ORGANICS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

* US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <www.epa.gov>
The US EPA is supposed to create and enforce laws to protect our environment (air, water, etc.). They register pesticides for use in the United States.

* California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA) <www.calepa.ca.gov>
The California equivalent of the federal EPA. Cal-EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is responsible for registering pesticides for sale in California, and for enforcing pesticide use laws. <www.cdpr.ca.gov>.

* US Department of Agriculture (USDA) <www.usda.gov>
You can do keyword searches across the site - for instance, for (US Agriculture Secretary) "Dan Glickman."

* California Department of Agriculture (USDA) <www.cdfa.ca.gov>
Lots of great links, including government links (of course, mostly with the mainstream point of view). One interesting item - under nutrition, they have just a few links, and one goes directly to the "Dole 5 a day" site. Is it appropriate to have even the appearance of government sanctioning of a particular corporation? Doesn't our government have sufficient mainstream nutrition information on their own?

* US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <www.fda.gov>
You can do keyword searches across the site - for instance, for "Monsanto" or "genetic engineering".
You might also want to see their summary of the roles that different agencies are supposed to play in protecting our foods, including those listed above and more <http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/foodteam.html>

* US Pesticide Law <http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/7/ch6.html>

* State environmental laws governing agriculture

For some states, this information is on the website of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture <www.nasda.org/nasda/nasda/index1.htm>. (Click on the What's New button on the left. Almost at the end of this page is the Environmental Laws option.)
For Washington state pesticide label information, see <http://picol.cahe.wsu.edu/~plirs/pl-logscreen.html>
You can look for this information on the webpage of the desired state's Department of Agriculture; for information on and links to each state's page, see <www.nasda.org/nasda/nasda/member_information/usmap.htm>

OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

* Association of Bay Area Governments <www.abag.ca.gov>
Includes directory of a wide range of San Francisco Bay Area government websites (cities, counties, school districts, etc.) at <www.abag.ca.gov/abag/local_gov>

* Sonoma County Government and Resources. Lots of links and information on our webpage <www.healthyworld.org/sonomacounty.html>

* Mendocino County Government <www.co.mendocino.ca.us>

* Napa County Government <www.co.napa.ca.us/internet>

* California State Government <www.ca.gov>. Lots of links at <www.piperinfo.com/state/state_detail.cfm?state=California>

* Official California Legislative Information <www.leginfo.ca.gov>
Includes information on the state Assembly and Senate, grouped in these categories:

Today's events;
Bill information. (The full text of bills, resolutions, and constitutional amendments, and their status, history, votes, analyses, and veto messages. You can search by bill number, keywords and/or author name(s), or look at the index list.)
California law. (Codes, State Constitution, and Statutes. For instance, one might look up Fish & Game Code; Food and Agriculture Code; etc.)
Legislative publications.

* California State Senate <www.senate.ca.gov>

* California State Assembly <www.assembly.ca.gov>. For instance, to find the status of a current bill, you can click on Legislation (on the left) then enter the bill number. Or enter in key words and see all current bills regarding that topic. You can also look at completed bills, as far back as 1993.

* Index of State Websites. For legal and political information on a specific state, see <www.washlaw.edu/uslaw/statelaw.html > and <www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/state.html#legweb>

* Official Federal Government Information <http://thomas.loc.gov>
Searchable information from the Library of Congress about the U.S. Congress and the legislative process. Search bills, by topic, bill number, or title. Search for and read the Congressional Record for the 104th, 105th, and 106th Congresses. Search and find committee reports by topic or committee name.

* U.S. Senate <www.senate.gov>

* U.S. House of Representatives <www.house.gov>

* The White House <www.whitehouse.gov>

* Project Vote Smart <www.vote-smart.org>
Basic information on government, representatives, and candidates, to support citizen participation.

* Government Resources on the Web <www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center>
Extensive information on all three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial). Includes links to government agencies, contact names and information, biographies, official laws and documents, international and state information, and much more.

EMAIL ADDRESSES
Email is often an easy way to communicate your goals and concerns to your elected representatives. For a convenient list of some of the addresses that we know, see our Email Address for Political Action page. Please let us know about any others that you know about! (We've also included websites for many of the representatives.)

We hope these resources are of value to you.

Information courtesy of:

"Information Empowering Action for a Healthier World"

We hope this information (and our work) is valuable to you,
and supports the health and well-being of yourself,
your family, our community, and our world.
If it is, please let us know. It makes us happy to hear!

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to our community, for our planet!