As someone who has clicked YES in the past three years to every “sign this petition” offer regarding climate change regulation, I’m a little confused. There are too many groups, alliances, and coalitions to keep straight, and I’m not sure what they’re all really doing. I’ve signed many an online petition aimed to pressure congress into passing legislation that will create “green collar” jobs and stricter gas mileage standards, but the voice in my head has started to ask, fearfully: Does an online petition with 500,000 signatures even cause a ripple anymore? I still reluctantly open emails and click SIGN if it seems important, but in order to get a grip on how I can be involved online, I figured I’d do a little research about who’s who and what’s what:

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