Blog
Friends of the Earth and 62 other US groups urge Secretary Clinton to support – not disparage – Robin Hood Tax
Yesterday, Friends of the Earth sent a letter signed by 63 U.S. organizations, to Secretary of State Clinton regarding misinformation spread internationally by State Department representatives about financial transaction taxes (also known as the Robin Hood Tax). The Robin Hood Tax is a widely-supported, promising source of new revenue… Read More
Greens need to advocate in all relevant fora to protect the Arctic from increasing shipping
Arctic summer sea ice extent reached an all-time record low on September 16. The rapid nature of the changes in the region has many scientists concerned, and the implications on weather systems and marine ecosystems could be profound. The shipping sector, though, sees the effect of climate change… Read More
Dems capitulate on Keystone XL while activists organize in Texas and Oklahoma
The dog days of summer haven’t done much to slow down TransCanada’s propulsion towards construction of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. The Canadian oil corporation last week unveiled its “new” proposed route through Nebraska. Spoiler alert: it’s almost exactly the same as the old one. They… Read More
Obama’s EPA forced to consider effects of using food for fuel
Since my last post on the stupidity of using food for fuel, almost 300 members of Congress, state governors, organizations and private citizens have written to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson about our federal biofuels mandate — the Renewable Fuel Standard. The vast majority of these… Read More
Protest Trans Pacific trade negotiations in Leesburg Virginia
For 10 days, the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a colossal, job-destroying free trade agreement — will be negotiated in secret in Leesburg, Virginia. This massive trade agreement would threaten essential environmental protections as a favor to exploitative corporate interests. Backed by hundreds of corporate lobbyists, the TPP negotiators are… Read More
Arctic sea ice at lowest levels in history
This week the extent of Arctic sea ice is at an unprecedented historic low, the smallest amount of ice cover since satellite measurement began in 1979. According to scientists, dramatic summer sea ice losses in five of the past six years, continuously thinning ice, and warm air temperatures… Read More
The burden of apple eating: or how I learned to stop worrying and love genetically engineered apples
Here is the biggest problem I face every day: I want to eat an apple as a healthy snack to get me through the afternoon, but eating a whole apple is really too much for me given my busy schedule. I mean, who has time to eat a whole… Read More
Starting off right: Making climate finance publicly accountable at the Green Climate Fund
On the eve of the first board meeting of the UN’s Green Climate Fund, Friends of the Earth U.S. — along with GAIA and the Institute for Policy Studies — has released a report that begins to tackle the conundrum faced by just about every development… Read More
Tar Sands Blockade flies into action as ground breaks on southern leg of Keystone XL
Today, Tar Sands Blockade kicked off a sustained, direct action campaign to stop the construction of the southern section of the Keystone XL pipeline through Oklahoma and Texas. The grassroots organization, comprised of concerned landowners, farmers, climate activists and community members who run the gamut from Tea Party… Read More
Gross reminder that cruise ships need to shape up
A cruise ship room tag from a Holland America vessel was found washed up with a concentrated amount of sewage and various plastic on Pond Beach in Nahant, Massachusetts last Saturday. The washed up waste was described as a “mass of rubber gloves, dental floss, contraceptive and personal… Read More