Blog
Global Warming Provisions in Biofuels Policy Threatened
The biofuels lobby is, yet again, urging the EPA to ignore emissions from indirect land use change in EPA's accounting of global warming pollution from biofuels. And corn-state Senators have sent their own plea to EPA in support of the industry, asking EPA to ignore the law and remove these emissions from their calculations. Read More
Cruise Ship Safety Bill
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA) today introduced the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009. Nearly 10 million passengers took cruises from the United States in 2007 and that figure is expected to grow to more than 12 million passengers in 2009. Read More
Obama Budget Repeals $30 Billion in Oil and Gas Giveaways
President Obama’s first budget did away with over $30 billion in giveaways to oil and gas companies. Friends of the Earth has been working for years to end these give aways to multi-national companies that are earning record profits. Congress should follow the President's lead and act immediately to return this money to taxpayers. Click here to join us in sending this message to Congress. Read More
Obama’s Budget Makes Commitment to Clean Transportation
President Obama’s budget proposal for the Department of Transportation begins the process of transitioning to a more efficient, lower-carbon transportation system. The President’s budget increases funding for public transit which will give more families and commuters clean, affordable transportation options, improve air and water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution. Read More
George Will Uses Washington Post Column to Lie about Global Warming
Conservative writer George Will provoked a firestorm after he deliberately sowed confusion over climate science in an erroneous February 15, 2009 Washington Post column. The column was riddled with factual inaccuracies but Will and his editors refused to issue a correction. Read More
Changing the Course of Biofuels Policy
Friends of the Earth has been working with a small coalition of fellow environmental organizations to change the direction that biofuels policy is going. Our biofuels policy platform provides specific policy recommendations that would incentivise only biofuels that have a proven environmental benefit. Platform (PDF) | Press Release (PDF) Read More
New Roads = New Pollution
Transportation in the U.S. is responsible for 30 percent of our global warming pollution and 70 percent of our oil consumption. We cannot solve the energy and climate challenge without making our transportation system far cleaner and more efficient. Read More
World Social Forum IV comes to a close
Today we saw the World Social Forum IV come to a close under rainy skies. The rain united with many tears from the public and from the assembly groups who said their goodbyes and who once more lifted their hopes for change in the world. Read More
Nanotechnology, Public Engagement and Human Intent
Today we held our final workshop on nantechnology. This workshop was dedicated to the issue of nanotechnology and public engagement. We talked about how important it is for the public to discuss and have decision making power in the development of nanotechnology, which is currently not a priority for many governments worldwide. The very few nanotech public engagement activities we’ve witnessed in the past have mostly been focused on marketing nanotechnology products and new applications. Spaces to discuss the societal and ethical risks of nanotechnology are rare. Read More
Nanotechnology and Worker Safety
Today our World Social Forum workshop focused on nanotechnology and worker safety. We listened to Brazilian worker union representatives and worker safety specialist who talked to the audience about the many risks involved in working with nanoparticles. Carbon nanotubes, for example, have been shown to cause similar damage to asbestos in the lungs -- asbestos causes Mesothelioma and leads to deadly cancer. Read More