Massive forest fires have engulfed Indonesia for several months, and produce more daily CO2 emissions than the entire U.S. economy. The fires are responsible for as many as 500,000 cases of respiratory infections, and are directly threatening the world's last orangutans; for all of this, the fires are being referred to as a crime against humanity. This particular crime against humanity can be directly traced to the palm oil and pulp and…
Understanding The Story of Climate Finance is fundamental to understanding climate chaos, its high cost for poor countries and the role that the U.S. plays.
To help us all out, Friends of the Earth U.S. created an infographic which visualizes who is most responsible for climate change on a global scale (spoiler alert – the U.S.!); who gets hurt the most, what needs to be done, who should pay, where the money can come…
In light of the recent release of the OECD report, “Climate Finance in 2013-14 and the USD 100 billion goal,” and the finance ministerial that took place in Lima, Peru on Oct. 9 on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund annual meetings, 112 groups from around the world sent a letter to those developed country governments that last month issued the Joint Statement on Tracking Progress Towards the $100 billion Goal. The…
Every year during the dry season, rural Indonesia literally goes up in smoke due to the illegal burning of forests for palm oil plantations. This year's fire season is one of the worst ever. During a field visit to Central Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo, last month, I visited the heart of the fires, and witnessed apocalyptic scenes like the one in the photo at the left. Today, WALHI/Friends of the Earth Indonesia has put out…
Last week, the US and China announced a “common vision” for tackling climate change, an announcement that was intended to generate political momentum in the run-up to the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change talks in Paris this December. One of the most notable portions of China’s commitment is an agreement “to work towards strictly controlling public investment flowing into projects with high pollution and carbon emissions both domestically and internationally.” This announcement…
New scorecard shows most chain restaurants failing to address antibiotics crisis
From chicken nuggets to bacon double cheeseburgers, most meat served by leading chain restaurants comes from animals raised on industrial farms, where excessive use of antibiotics in their feed is routine. This rampant misuse of antibiotics on factory farms reduces the drugs’ effectiveness when we need them most: when our parents get a life-threatening pneumonia or our kids get a staph infection.
America’s top…
To help ensure that leaders understand what’s at stake, and to encourage citizens to raise their voices in a call for meaningful, global action on climate change. In the midst of this momentous occasion, Friends of the Earth U.S., the UN Foundation, Natasha Bedingfield, Sir Paul McCartney and a host of artists and performers have teamed up to release “Love Song to the Earth.”
A trio of recent studies, one conducted in the U.S. and the others in Europe, are highlighting some alarming facts regarding the daunting realities of neonicotinoid pesticides and their prevalence in industrial agriculture. The timing of this research coincides with the closing of the public comment period for EPA’s proposal, which is part of the White House Pollinator Strategy and once again emphasizes why the administration’s policies should focus more heavily on eliminating neonicotinoid pesticides…
The below is an abridged version of the Medium article "TPP in Trouble." Read the full version here.
On Wednesday, July 29 almost 400 Hawaiians and visitors from around the globe gathered on the beach in Kaanapali on the island of Maui. They came for a rally, which Friends of the Earth co-sponsored, calling for a stop to negotiations between 12 Pacific countries led by the United States that opened that day with…
Climate change poses an unprecedented threat to our future and future generations. In the U.S., federal leasing of publicly owned fossil fuels contributes significantly to domestic and global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for nearly a quarter of U.S. energy-related emissions and nearly 4 percent of global emissions over the past decade. Despite this pollution and the looming climate threat, the Obama administration continues to lease publicly owned fossil fuels, endangering the health and welfare…