Why is Obama prosecuting Tim DeChristopher, the gas-lease pranker?

dechristopher

You may have heard the story: In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Interior Department tried to rush through a bunch of gas leases on public land. They knew the Obama admin wouldn’t allow them, so they tried to get them locked down, contractually, by holding an auction. Update: The jury found Tim [...]

Monsanto’s risky Roundup – Reuters runs with the report

roundup

We reported last week that a top scientist had expressed serious doubts about the safety of Monsanto’s gene-modified (GMO) plants and its Roundup weedkiller: Dr. Don M. Huber, who coordinates the Emergent Diseases and Pathogens committee of the American Phytopathological Society, as part of the USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System, warned Agriculture Secretary Tom [...]

Coming this fall: Direct campaign cash from the American Petroleum Institute

US Capital Building

When it ruled in the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court said it was unlikely that allowing a tsunami of corporate cash to inundate the electoral system would be a problem. Corruption? What Corruption? Surprisingly, while the Chamber of Commerce spent millions electing right-wing politicians who are now busily pushing the Chamber’s agenda across the [...]

Action alert: Tell Secretary Salazar not to trash Joshua Tree

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(From Working Assets’ Credo Action) Developers are trying to put the nation’s largest garbage dump right next to Joshua Tree National Park. The proposed Eagle Mountain landfill would cover 3,500 acres of federal land, bordered on three sides by Joshua Tree’s unique beauty, and fragile ecosystem. The proposal by developers Kaiser Ventures has been struck [...]

California: New bill introduced to protect the Delta from the Peripheral Canal

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Two Delta legislators, Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis) and Assemblyman Bill Berryhill (R-Ceres), have introduced legislation to ensure that the imperiled Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is protected from potential conveyance projects to export water to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and southern California. Wolk’s legislation, coauthored by Berryhill, establishes specific criteria and assurances that will enable the [...]

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Scientist urges USDA to rescind approval of Monsanto’s GMO alfalfa

gmo free farm

By Rady Ananda Food Freedom A plant pathologist experienced in protecting against biological warfare recently warned the USDA of a new, self-replicating, micro-fungal virus-sized organism which may be causing spontaneous abortions in livestock, sudden death syndrome in Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soy, and wilt in Monsanto’s RR corn. Dr. Don M. Huber, who coordinates the Emergent [...]

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High speed rail not dead yet in Florida

Florida-High-Speed-Rail-Map

The pandering and posturing continue on high-speed rail. In Florida, Tea Party-backed governor Rick Scott ended weeks of dithering Wednesday and outright rejected the $2.4 billion in Federal funding for the Orlando to Tampa line, calling it a “boondoggle” the state couldn’t afford in these tough times. He follows in the footsteps of GOP anti-rail [...]

Tracing the big money behind Cali’s questionable marine protection program

California's Seacoast

In a groundbreaking investigative piece in the Laguna Beach Independent on February 11, Ted Reckas exposed the private money that is behind the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, a widely-contested program to create a network of “marine protected areas” on the California coast. “Five non-profits, including one based in Laguna Beach, donated a total [...]

BLM agrees to protect old growth forest in Oregon

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As everything melts down in Washington, there’s a little good news from the West Coast. The Bureau of Land Management, which supervises our nation’s forests, has settled a lawsuit by agreeing to more protections for old growth forest. Here’s the scoop from the Western Environmental Law Center: Conservation organizations Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center, Oregon Wild, and [...]

Chevron found guilty! But will they pay?

chevron guilty

After 18 years of arduous legal battles, Chevron has finally been found guilty. An Ecuadoran court ruled that oil operations had led to massive contamination in the Amazon rainforest, and Chevron is responsible. But the giant oil company continues to play games to avoid paying to clean up its mess. The New York Times notes [...]

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