Blog
Could this lawsuit force Obama to fix his ridiculous coal-leasing program?
A new lawsuit filed in federal court may force President Obama to stop treating public land as if he were George W. Bush. Obama’s Bureau of Land Management hands out leases for coal mining on federal lands at bargain basement prices. Selling coal at a steep discount amounts to a… Read More
Stop Fast Track: Reject Pacific & Atlantic trade deals
The activists and campaigners of Friends of the Earth are having considerable success this year in beating back Fast Track trade promotion legislation in Congress. The bill would grant President Obama power to sign two sweeping trade deals that threaten people and the planet — even before Congress… Read More
John Kerry Makes Plea For Climate Deal in Lima
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made an impassioned plea on Thursday for all nations to work for an ambitious U.N. deal next year to fight climate change, saying time was running out to reverse a course “leading to tragedy”. He also took aim at domestic U.S. critics of President… Read More
Large-scale sustainable beef is still an empty promise
Earlier this month, an international coalition of beef-producing megacorporations put forth a document they say will guide their industry towards raising more sustainable beef. But though the language of the document is lofty, industry experts accuse it of being all talk and no game. In August, MUNCHIES took a look at… Read More
Friends of the Earth gives thanks
Here at Friends of the Earth, we spend a lot of time fighting destructive projects and policies. But sometimes we forget to say thank you for the people we love and the practices we admire. There are many reasons we give thanks today, and we wanted to share a few… Read More
Going out, but going green?
Chinese banks are the largest lenders to development projects in the world. As Chinese banks increasingly invest in development projects overseas, will they also invest in environmental and social sustainability? Our new report, Going out, But Going Green? Assessing the Implementation of China’s Green Credit Guidelines Overseas, examines the extent of bank compliance with China’s landmark, green finance policy. Read More
Greens sue BLM seeking to force environmental review of coal leasing
Friends of the Earth and the Western Organization of Resource Councils, with backing from philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will sue the Bureau of Land Management today to force the agency to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for Interior’s coal leasing program. Greens sue BLM seeking to… Read More
Microsoft co-founder sues feds over coal lease program
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen is suing the federal government over the environmental impacts of its coal-leasing program. Allen said Tuesday that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hasn’t properly studied the effect of greenhouse gases caused by the coal rights it leases. Microsoft co-founder sues feds over coal… Read More
I-Team: Source of lead contamination found flying under the radar
Over the past several decades it was banned from paint, plumbing and automobile fuel. However, the one place where lead still flies high, is in aviation fuel — specifically the fuel used in small aircrafts. The lack of regulation, when it comes to leaded aviation gasoline, or AVGAS, has caught… Read More
Ebola and extractivism: An interview with Silas Siakor, director of Friends of the Earth Liberia
NOTE: An edited version of this interview has been published on Truthout under the title “Deforestation, ‘Development’ Connected to Spread of Ebola in West Africa”, and a full version has been published on Medium.com. It is clear that the spread of ebola in West Africa is directly linked to… Read More