Blog
How are orangutans protected from the peril of palm?
Last month, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed the Bornean orangutan as critically endangered — joining its cousin the Sumatran orangutan in that classification. Immediately following, the IUCN World Conservation Congress agreed to take action to halt the expansion of the palm oil industry, for its role as a… Read More
Villagers suffer at the hands of Mozambique’s LNG gas development
Everyone gathered underneath the central banyan tree that provided shade from the heat of the day. Not far from the city of Pemba, Mozambique, villagers clamored to tell us their stories of threats and lost land and livelihoods. This stop was the first of… Read More
The willpower of women in Nigeria leads to victory
In Nigeria, as elsewhere across the world, women are disproportionately affected by corporate land grabs and deforestation. Two recent victories by Nigerian women reclaiming 13,750 hectares of land from a palm oil company (Okomu Oil Palms Plc/Socfin Group) and a rubber company (Iyayi Group) demonstrate how women are organizing… Read More
Vote for the environment
Dear Friends, I am an eternal optimist. I have to be. Every day, Friends of the Earth confronts some of the largest national and global environmental problems. Our game plan typically strikes at the heart of the problem: Pesticides are killing bees and pollinators – so we go directly to… Read More
Study supports Keep It in the Ground call to President Obama
Our public lands and water are “over-leased” according a new study from EcoShift Consulting, for the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth. The study – Over-Leased: How Production Horizons of Already Leased Federal Fossil Fuels Outlast Global Carbon Budgets – suggests that avoiding the worst… Read More
Getting the GCF We Fought For
I’ve just returned from attending the 13th meeting of the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). Many of us GCF old-timers[1] can’t help but feel a sense of sincere disappointment. How can anyone who, perhaps naively, looked to the GCF as a people’s alternative to the World Bank… Read More
Can Organic Farming Feed the World?
Compared with industrial agriculture, organic farming is less energy intensive, helps pollinators and other beneficial insects flourish and promotes biodiversity. Read More
500,000 petitions to Congress demand rejection of TPP
Today, June 29, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch and other environmental advocates delivered more than 500,000 petitions to Congress demanding the rejection of a Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal that promises to ramp up fossil fuel exports, accelerate climate change and encourage deregulation… Read More
Despite protests, Japan gives lifeline to dangerous fossil fuel projects
As other countries move away from coal and increase their renewable energy capacity, Japan is doubling down on fossil fuels, and continues to heavily finance coal and gas projects both domestically and all over the world. Japan is doing this at a time when… Read More
TransCanada sues U.S. taxpayers for $15 billion over KXL
Late last week, the tar sands pipeline company TransCanada officially filed suit against the United States under the North American Free Trade Agreement investment chapter, claiming $15 billion in damages in compensation for President Obama’s decision to block construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. This follows on their threat… Read More