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Fossil fuels from federal lands create one quarter of total U.S. carbon emissions, new report concludes
A newly released analysis by the Climate Accountability Institute concludes that fossil fuels extracted from federal lands release carbon equal to a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The rate has stayed roughly consistent from 2003 to 2014. When it comes to coal, the rate was even higher than… Read More
Obama administration approves Shells plan to drill in the Arctic
The Obama administration gave conditional approval today to Shell to start drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean this summer. Shell has been fighting for the right to drill in the Arctic for years, despite a number of botched forays in recent years, and it looks like they… Read More
Interior Department approves Shell’s Arctic oil exploration and drilling plan
After a process of about 2 years, and political wrangling dating back to at least 2008, the US Department of the Interior on Monday granted Shell “limited” permits to explore & drill selected parcels in the Chukchi Sea off the North Alaska coast. With this approval, the Obama administration is… Read More
150,000 Americans Call for less meat, more plants in U.S. dietary guidelines
More than 150,000 Americans signed a petition that was delivered today in front of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, urging Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to adopt the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations for less… Read More
Should the Green Climate Fund finance “less dirty” energy?
Originally posted on Reuters Many governments and financial institutions support the deployment of “less dirty” fossil fuels to fight climate change both domestically and internationally, and claim this is a sane, sensible approach. Let’s try applying this logic to smoking. A heavy smoker walks into her doctor’s office hacking… Read More
New graphic novel from Oakland Institute draws back the curtain on African land grabs
Our work to defend tropical forests against the expansion of the palm oil industry is rooted in a broader effort to fight land grabbing — the large scale acquisition of land by industries and governments that too often forces subsistence farmers, indigenous peoples and other land-based people off their land… Read More
Will a trade deal lead to more GMOs in your food?
Liberals fighting tooth and nail against White House efforts to finalize a sweeping global trade deal have found another hot-button issue to rally around—genetically modified foods. Rep. Peter DeFazio—a progressive Democrat and vocal critic of President Obama’s trade push and so-called “fast-track” legislation that would act as a blueprint for… Read More
Steyer expects Clinton to oppose Keystone XL, focus on climate
Last year, climate activist and mega-donor Tom Steyer said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would benefit from a Democratic primary challenger if she were to run for president. “Being forced to refine what you say and think is a good thing,” Steyer told MSNBC in September. That’s why the… Read More
US, Japan miss UN climate change fund deadline
A key U.N. climate fund hit a snag Thursday as major donors including the United States and Japan failed to meet a deadline for converting their pledges of climate aid into signed agreements. Green Climate Fund — intended to become the main international channel of climate finance for developing countries… Read More
Dirty energy financed by the Green Climate Fund? Should we worry?
Many governments and financial institutions support the deployment of “less dirty” fossil fuels to fight climate change both domestically and internationally, and claim this is a sane, sensible approach. Let’s try applying this logic to smoking. Here’s a scenario. A heavy smoker walks into her doctor’s office hacking up a… Read More