From Occupy to Climate Justice: Merging Economic Justice and Climate Activism
This article was originally published in the February 24th issue of The Nation and is republished with permission. by Wen Stephenson It’s an odd thing, really. in certain precincts of the left, especially across a broad spectrum of what could be called the economic left, our (by which I mean humanity’s) accelerating trajectory toward the […]
New Study Shows Total North American Methane Leaks Far Worse than EPA Estimates
Just how bad is natural gas for the climate? A lot worse than previously thought, new research on methane leaks concludes. Far more natural gas is leaking into the atmosphere nationwide than the Environmental Protection Agency currently estimates, researchers concluded after reviewing more than 200 different studies of natural gas leaks across North America. The ground-breaking study, published […]
Oil Industry Profited Off Polluting Oil Spills, Fraud Investigation Underway
When an oil company’s negligence leads to an oil spill, the financial costs incurred by the company can be crippling. They have to pay clean up costs, federal fines, and, in many cases, settlements to victims who have been affected by the spill. Since these costs can be such a burden to the multi-billion dollar […]
Why Nothing Is Being Done to Improve Oil by Rail Safety
Since the oil train explosion in Lac-Megantic in July of 2013, we have learned that there are some obvious safety issues that need to be addressed regarding transportation of crude oil by rail. The first is that the majority of the rail cars transporting this oil are DOT-111’s which have been deemed unsafe due to […]
Australia Appoints Climate Science Denier As Top New York Official
ONE block east of Grand Central station, in a skyscraper on 42nd St, is the office of Australia’s Consul-General. It’s a high profile diplomatic role and one that gives business leaders, thinkers and politicians the chance to see what drives the Australian Government of the day. In April, Australia will have a new Consul-General taking up that […]
Maryland At High Risk of Water Contamination From Fracking, Independent Assessment Finds
An independent assessment commissioned by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and Citizen Shale, two Maryland environmental groups, warns hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state would pose a “high risk” to Maryland air and water. The assessment, titled, “Shale Gas Risk Assessment for Maryland,” was conducted by Ricardo-AEA, the same United Kingdom-based independent environmental consulting firm that […]
St. Louis Judge Cites Citizens United to Protect Tax Breaks for Peabody Energy
With the quick stroke of a pen, a circuit court judge in St. Louis has singlehandedly silenced more than 22,000 city residents, who had sought to bring a ballot initiative to end tax breaks to fossil fuel companies to a citywide vote in April. Last summer, volunteers with the Take Back St. Louis coalition gathered over […]
The NSA and Climate Change Spying: What We Know So Far
This is a guest post by Joshua Eaton. The carbon footprint for the new data center the National Security Agency (NSA) is building in the middle of the Utah desert must be massive. Despite its planned LEED Silver certification, the one-million-square-foot, $2-billion facility will draw 65 megawatts of power and use some 1.7 million gallons […]
CCS Series: Alberta’s Carbon Capture and Storage Plans Stagnate as Carbon Price Lags
This is the first installment of a two-part series on carbon capture and storage. Read Part 2, Government Subsidies Keep Alberta’s CCS Dream Afloat. Alberta is falling behind on its goal to capture 30 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year by 2020 — and growth in the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry will […]
CCS Series: Government Subsidies Keep Alberta’s CCS Pipe Dream Afloat
This is the second installment of a two-part series on carbon capture and storage. Read Part 1, Alberta’s Carbon Capture and Storage Plan Stagnate as Carbon Price Lags. As Alberta falls behind on its goal to capture 30 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year by 2020, hundreds of millions of dollars in government subsidies […]