Social Action Snapshot: March 26

The passage of the historic healthcare legislation by President Obama yesterday will offer significant changes to the country's social infrastructure and landscape. There were many lesser known items hiding in the bill whose impact extends beyond medical coverage to addressing other health and social issues such as obesity.

With all of the buzz in Washington on healthcare, it might have been easy to miss other major events coming from that city, including Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's visit and positive steps forward in nuclear weapons negotiations between the US and Russia. Read on for ways to get involved with all of this week's news headlines.

Food, Inc.

Menu labeling will soon becoming to a restaurant near you. This important public health policy was included in the landmark healthcare legislation and will require chain restaurants to post calories of all of their products to consumers. It is another effective tool in the battle of the bulge nationwide. Learn more from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which had fought for this important legislation for seven years.

Oceans

This wasn't a good week for sharks and Blue Fin tuna. Nations gathered at a UN meeting on endangered species, CITES, in Qatar failed to support three of four proposals to regulate the trade in several times of endangered sharks. The effort against these initiatives were led by Japan and China, the largest consumers of shark worldwide. Blue Fin tuna didn't fare any better as US-led proposals to ban the trade in the fish were resoundly defeated. Despite this depressing news, there's much that consumers can do to make a difference. Learn more with our Save My Oceans campaign.

Jimmy Carter Man From Plains

Relations between Israel and the US have been a bit frosty lately after some ill-timed and controversial announcements were made during Vice President Biden's trip to the Mid-East last week. Israel incited a condemnation and dismissal of an embassy employee from Great Britain after passports were illegally used for a Mossad operation. The tensions were capped with a limited meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and President Obama at the White House. It's not time to give up hope. Get involved today to learn more about organizations working towards peace in the Middle East.

Countdown to Zero

Nuclear weapons: what kept our parents up at night should be keeping us up at night. It used to be US vs. USSR. Hopefully, we're moving towards US = Russia on the weapons front. The two countries, the largest stockpilers of nuclear weapons, are moving forward in negotiations to reduce their stockpile levels to the lowest levels in 50 years. While this would be a historic development, it won't end the movement until we're at zero. Learn how you can get involved today to make zero a reality.