Three years after an explosion at British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers, injured dozens, and set off the worst oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, the waters along Gulf Coast seem almost back to normal. Much of the oil is gone. New Orleans-based photographer Julie Dermansky says there’s still a lot left. The oil, she says, is often hard to locate because it has a tendency to play hide and seek. Dermansky, who photographed the spill in 2010 “pretty much non-stop for four months," has been doggedly following the… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

(2) Comments

Proposed Copper Mine in Arizona Highlights Weakness of Federal Mining Laws – April 11, 2013

Rosemont mine would impact ecology of Arizona’s unique “sky islands”

An ongoing battle between local residents and environmentalists and a Canadian mining company eager to dig for copper in the spectacular Santa Rita Mountains in southern Arizona’s Coronado National Forest has become the poster child for the need to reform a 141-year-old law that governs hard rock mining on federal lands.

Photo by Tom Vezo/Save the Scenic Santa Ritas
A state fish and game department report says the mine would render the northern parts of the Santa Rita Mountains "almost useless.”

Vancouver-based speculative mining company, Augusta Resource Corporation and its Arizona subsidiary, Rosemont Copper Company, plan to blast a mile-wide, half-mile deep copper… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

(1) Comments

The Return of Ag-Gag Laws – March 25, 2013

Bills seeking to criminalize undercover investigations of factory farms have been introduced in 10 states

Like zombies, a series of “ag-gag” bills are back to haunt our food system again. At least 10 bills that seek to criminalize independent, undercover investigations of factory farming facilities have been introduced in state legislatures this year. More might be in the offing.

Photo by Farm Sanctuary
Egg-laying hens crammed in battery cages at a factory farm. Big Ag doesn't want the public to see images like these.

In California, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Nebraska and Tennessee the bills require that anyone recording abuse in agricultural or industrial operations turn the evidence over to law enforcement within 24 to 48 hours or… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

(2) Comments

Fight Against Fracking in California Gathers Steam – March 18, 2013

Environmentalists file a slew of lawsuits and lawmakers propose bills to regulate the controversial drilling practice

Armed with a slew of lawsuits and proposed regulatory bills, environmentalists and lawmakers are mustering forces to fight an expected fracking boom in California.

Photo by Don Barrett
An oilfield in Kern County, California. A 2011 federal report that identified the Monterey Shale as containing two-thirds of the United States’ oil reserves has renewed oilmen’s interest in tapping the shale.

In recent months, the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), which regulates drilling in the state, has been slapped with two lawsuits. The first, filed by a coalition of green groups including the Center… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

(0) Comments

Activists Dismayed by State Dept’s Environmental Assessment of Keystone XL – March 1, 2013

Draft report released today says pipleline will have little impact on tar sands oil extraction

In a standard beltway move to duck the weekday news cycle when it comes to controversial reports, the US State Department released its draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline’s route late on Friday — on a day when most media outlets are focusing on the sequestration cuts.

Photo by tarsandsactionThe report comes just weeks after some 35,000 people converged in Washington, D.C.
to urge President Obama to reject the controversial pipeline.

The report evaluates the new application for Keystone XL submitted by TransCanada in May 2012, after President Obama denied the original application following immense pressure from… more

by: Maureen Nandini Mitra

(0) Comments

← Recent   Older →

View Posts by Date View Posts by Author