Author Archive
Setting the Record Straight on Tar Sands and Water Use
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 24th, 2013
EcoWatch: Big Oil is spending millions of dollars to try to greenwash the tar sands, Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas pollution. A new report, Reality Check: Water and the Tar Sands, sets the record straight on industry claims that misrepresent the tar sands industry’s use of the Athabasca River.
The report counters claims by industry and industry-affiliated groups about the use of freshwater from the Athabasca River, the toxicity of tailings, the amount of tailings leaking into the watershed...
5,250 Gallons of Oil Spill into Colorado’s South Platte River
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 19th, 2013
EcoWatch: A damaged oil tank has dumped 5,250 gallons of oil into the South Platte River south of Milliken, CO, yesterday.
Gary Wockner of Clean Water Action said in a statement Wednesday night that the spill "exemplifies the danger" of drilling and fracking in floodplains.
"This state of Colorado and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must force Anadarko [the owner of the oil tank], to clean it up--no matter the cost--and make reparations to the public, including paying fines and enforcing the...
Will Fracking Go Bust in Pennsylvania?
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: In 2012, journalists began warning of an impending bust in Pennsylvania’s fracking boom. Since 2010, experts found, drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation--one of the largest in North America--has seen a 50 percent decline in natural gas production, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. The number of drilling rigs skyrocketed from 20 in 2009 to 120 in 2011, making the state the de facto ground zero for the fracking revolution. Now that number has dropped to 90--though the total number of wells...
Indigenous Rights Controversies Around Belo Monte Dam Tie Up Brazil’s Courts
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 13th, 2013
EcoWatch: Recent lawsuits by Brazil`s Federal Public Prosecutors (MPF) concerning the Belo Monte dam are demanding accountability from the dam-building Norte Energia consortium, Brazil`s National Development Bank (BNDES) and the state environmental agency IBAMA for noncompliance with mandated mitigation measures concerning the Juruna and Xikrin Kayapó, two indigenous groups affected by the mega-project.
The lawsuits demonstrate that conditions placed upon the dam`s environmental licensing have not been...
Organic Leaders Support Washington GE Food Labeling and Your Right to Know
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 13th, 2013
EcoWatch: Proposition I-522, a citizen’s initiative on the ballot on Nov. 5 in Washington state, would mandate clear labeling of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients on food packages. It has become the latest battleground pitting consumer and farmer advocates against multi-billion-dollar agribusiness corporations.
Recent polling indicates strong support for the Washington state informational labeling measure. But a flood of money to fight the ballot initiative has rolled in from Monsanto, DuPont and...
Flawed Fracking Bill Passes California Assembly
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 11th, 2013
EcoWatch: Senate Bill 4, which undermines existing environmental law and leaves Californians unprotected from fracking and other dangerous and extreme fossil fuel extraction techniques, passed the California Assembly today and will likely head to Governor Brown’s desk after a concurrent vote in the Senate.
"This legislation does nothing to stop fracking or protect communities across the state from its harmful effects and last minute changes to the bill made it even worse," said Adam Scow, California campaigns...
Grandparents Tell Gov. Hickenlooper Not to Frack Their Grandchildren’s Future
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 10th, 2013
EcoWatch: Concerned grandparents from across Colorado delivered a letter yesterday to tell Gov. Hickenlooper (D-CO) and other governors from across the country to say no to fracking and yes to a renewable energy future in celebration of National Grandparents’ Day. The delivery took place before Gov. Hickenlooper’s keynote address to the Western Governor’s Association Policy Forum on Shale Energy Development in Broomfield.
Kaye Fissinger of Longmont, Joan Muranata of Broomfield, Merrily Mazza of Lafayette...
What Media Left Out: Pro-Fracking Report Funded By Gas Industry
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 6th, 2013
EcoWatch: Multiple mainstream media outlets have covered a new report touting the economic benefits from fracking without disclosing the report`s industry funding.
The recently released study, America`s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil & Gas Revolution and the U.S. Economy, received widespread media attention on Thursday. The report, conducted by consulting group IHS CERA, was commissioned by multiple fossil fuel organizations that stand to benefit from growth in the oil and gas industry.
According...
Defending Indigenous Rights Against Dam Project in Panama
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on September 3rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Civil society organizations filed an amicus brief last week in Panama’s Supreme Court of Justice in support of a challenge by indigenous people to the environmental review of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam.
Supporting a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Advocacy Center, Panamá (CIAM), the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and Earthjustice argue that the Panamanian government violated international law by approving...
EPA Sued for Abandoning Critical Factory Farm Rule Under Clean Water Act
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on August 28th, 2013
EcoWatch: A coalition of community, animal welfare and environmental organizations is filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging the agency’s withdrawal of a proposed rule that would have allowed the EPA to collect basic information, like locations and animal population sizes, from factory farms.
The Center for Food Safety, Environmental Integrity Project, Food & Water Watch, The Humane Society of the United States and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement filed...