Following the rapid industrialization and population boom of the early 1900s, the environment stood as a casualty of society’s capitalistic growth. Rivers caught fire, DDT crashed bird populations, and scientists feared devastating harms caused by the escalating concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. These issues were exacerbated by the lack of federal regulation, as states led […]
As extreme weather disrupts planting and trade wars shrink the market available to farmers, American agriculture is struggling. One recent report from the American Farm Bureau Federation found that farm bankruptcies were up 24% from last year — one of the steepest rises in modern history. At the same time, farm debt is reaching levels […]
The chief cultural signifier of our times is this: Wearing a mask. Or not. These low-tech, low-cost, high-impact coverings are simple and effective at helping reduce the COVID-19 infection rate. Our top political leaders’ failure to produce, distribute, and require them en masse when the pandemic first spread ranks somewhere between stupid and criminal. By Jim […]
“Are they supposed to stab protesters?” That was Rep. Ted Lieu’s (D-Calif.) response Thursday to a letter by the highest-ranking military officer in the United States confirming that bayonets were issued to some of the troops deployed to the nation’s capital last month as part of the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on BLM demonstrators […]
July 4th will be quieter than usual this year, thanks to COVID-19. Many U.S. cities are canceling fireworks displays to avoid drawing large crowds that could promote the spread of coronavirus. But President Trump is planning to stage a celebration at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota on July 3. It’s easy to see why […]
In a time of belated monument removal—officially or by volunteers—it’s fitting that on Friday Donald Trump will be on hand for Independence Day fireworks in the Black Hills of South Dakota at the nation’s biggest statuary monument to white supremacy. The venue is Mount Rushmore, which carries the name of a man who donated a large sum to help sculpt the […]
Mind-boggling. Trump is doing everything he can to bail out the oil companies, never mind the rest of us. The latest: an upside-down version of Keep It In The Ground. By RL Miller His wish list started with topping off the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — a bailout to the oil industry. Congress refused to appropriate […]
It has become a familiar pattern: President Donald Trump says something that doesn’t line up with the facts held by scientists and other experts at government agencies. Then, instead of pushing back, federal officials scramble to reconcile the fiction with their own public statements. By Eric Umansky ProPublica It happened in March, when Trump pushed […]
Many environmental protections in the United States can be traced back to the first Earth Day in 1970, which generated support for creating the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the Clean Air and Water Acts. Environmental safeguards are critical to protecting Americans and ensuring sustainable economic growth. Unfortunately, over the last three and a half […]
Donald Trump has been using cover of COVID-19 and his wannabe strongman response to Black Lives Matter protests to continue his pro-polluter agenda, recently with an Executive Order tossing basic environmental protections out the window under guise of economic recovery. By Climate Denier Roundup Fortunately, this appears to be yet another pointless distraction., As Niina […]
Last week, Donald Trump took this country further down the road toward authoritarianism. He called on elected officials across the country to “dominate” and use violence against peaceful protestors. He called thousands of National Guard and members of unidentified militias into our nation’s capital. The National Guard used helicopters to intimidate and forcibly disperse protesters. […]
Yesterday we came across a tweet from the oil industry’s PR team, Energy in Depth, linking to a page from February accusing activists of “fear mongering” about the safety of a proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. EiD has two key rebuttals to the Texas Real Estate Advocacy and Defense Coalition’s warning that “Kinder Morgan is building a blast […]
While Navajo tribal leaders were focused on the coronavirus pandemic, Feds held virtual hearings on a proposal to permit new extractive operations near Native ancestral lands: The plan, if enacted, would allow fracking and mineral leasing around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, land that the Pueblo Indians consider their homeland. By Meteor Blades Navajo leaders and some New […]
Still bent on opting out of treaties and international programs that the United States initiated or in which it has been a key participant, Donald Trump plans to withdraw from the multilateral Treaty on Open Skies, according to senior White House officials. The treaty, which allows signatory nations to overfly each other for unarmed surveillance, was first proposed 65 years ago in […]
On May 11, a federal judge ruled that a federal Bureau of Reclamation water diversion and pumping plan, lethal to Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead and other fish species in the Central Valley and Delta, must temporarily restrict water pumping from the Delta. The order blocks the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation until May 31 from increasing […]