Blog
Petitioning EPA to Regulate Global Warming Pollution from Factory Farms
The Humane Society of the United States, with Friends of the Earth and others, petitioned EPA to regulate global warming pollution and other air pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), or factor farms. The petition outlines the Read More
Comments to Draft EPA Regulations on Biofuels Mandate (RFS2)
The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), as passed in the 2007 Energy Bill, is one more step closer to being finalized. Comments to EPA's draft regulation, released in the Spring 2009, were due September the 25th of 2009. Read More
Close Call for Biofuel Climate Safeguards in Senate Appropriations
Senator Harkin, along with Senators Grassley and Nelson, attempted to scrape funding for EPA to finish their lifecycle analysis of global warming pollution in the 2010 Senate Appropriations Bill. The target of their fury was the inclusion of emissions from deforestation and other forms of land use change that occurs indirectly from increased biofuels production in the lifecycle assessment of biofuels for the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). The RFS is a policy that was passed in 2007 which mandates the blendi Read More
Global Civil Society Calls for Greater U.S. Leadership in Solving the Climate Crisis
As world leaders gather today at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, more than 125 groups representing constituents in over 100 countries delivered an urgent letter to President Obama requesting bold action to fight climate change. The letter asks President Obama to set ‘a vastly higher level of ambition for the United States’ contribution to both greenhouse gas emission cuts and a package of finance and technology for developing countries.' Read More
A Call for World Wide Solidarity Against the Repression in Honduras
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) applauds the return to Honduras of its legitimate president, Manuel Zelaya, who has taken refuge in the Embassy of Brazil in Tegucigalpa. At the same time we note with grave concern the siege on the Brazilian Embassy and the increase in repression following the return of President Zelaya. Read More
Ship Shape: Obama Ocean Policy Task Force Hearings
President Obama wants your ideas on how to protect our Oceans, Coasts and Great Lakes! Our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes are places of wonder and beauty, and they are also economic engines that provide valuable jobs, food, recreation, energy resources, and tourism. However, these essential resources are currently managed by more than 140 different, and often conflicting, laws which can lead to poor management and even worse problems. Read More
300+ Groups Ask Senate for Stronger Climate Bill
AUGUST 26, 2009 -- A broad coalition of more than 300 faith, human rights, social justice, and environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, has composed and sent a letter to U.S. senators calling for energy and climate legislation that's much stronger than the Waxman-Markey bill that passed the House of Representatives June 26. That bill contained massive giveaways to polluting special interests and would fail to ensure a rapid transition to clean energy. The full text of the letter follows. Read More
Nano-Sunscreens: Not Worth the Risk
Friends of the Earth teamed up with Consumers Union and the International Center for Technology Assessment to compile the latest info about nanomaterials in sunscreens (pdf) and their potential hazards. Read More
Our Recommendations to Obama’s Ocean Task Force
Friends of the Earth submitted comments to President Barack Obama’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. We commend President Obama for addressing the critical need for a national policy unifying ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes protections and we make recommendations for improving regulation of the significant air and water pollution from the shipping industry. Read More
Friends of the Earth Opposes Obama Nominee for Office of Surface Mining
Friends of the Earth opposes the nomination of Joseph G. Pizarchik to become Director of the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. This office, located in the Department of the Interior, holds important regulatory authority over the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining, in which mountaintops are blown to pieces, filling valleys, polluting rivers and streams, and harming local economies. Read More