A dangerous gamble with the safety of Southern California
If you have ever been to Las Vegas, you’ve seen it: People so caught up in the excitement of the casino that they just can’t resist the lure of the next bet or the thought that maybe this time they’ll win.
Unfortunately, it seems that San Onofre nuclear operator, Southern California Edison, has the same weak spot for a high-stakes gamble. In a stunning announcement…
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 to address the climate crisis, healthcare, education, and other public goods -- both in the US and globally. Endorsers of the letter include National Organization…
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 on the Arctic including sea ice loss as a potential boon, enabling greater access to natural resources and opening shorter trade routes between commercial hubs…
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 also haven’t diminished the Obama administration’s willingness to facilitate approval for a project that would carry the world’s dirtiest oil across our heartland.
Either Press…
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 letters are requests for a waiver of the RFS. Section 211(o)(7) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) authorizes the EPA to reduce the mandate for…
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 cutting deals in private, away from the eyes of the public they are supposed to represent. From September 6 through 16, trade negotiators from around…
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 are a pattern that can only be explained by climate change. In addition, the ice in the Arctic isn’t done melting and will continue…
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 apple in today’s fast-paced modern world?!
So I cut an apple into slices and put half the slices in the fridge for the next day.…
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 finance institution: how to design and operate a large-scale fund that actually meets the needs of ordinary people in developing countries in an ecologically sustainable…
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 members to Occupy activists, unfurled banners in opposition to this reckless project at numerous construction sites across East Texas and Cushing, Oklahoma. Coordinated solidarity events…