e.Brief

The results are in! Was it King Coal? Big Oil? The Bali Brigade?
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Trip era begins at Earthjustice Earthjustice's new President, Trip Van Noppen, emerged from his childhood in North Carolina enchanted and repulsed by what he had experienced. In his own words, Trip describes how those early days shaped his character and may shape the future of Earthjustice. ...In his footsteps Patti Goldman, who for nine years led the Seattle office, has taken over Trip's vacated position of Vice President for Litigation. She will now guide litigation efforts for the entire group of 10 regional offices. The Polar Bear: more threat than threatened? The U.S. Department of Interior was supposed to decide this month whether the polar bear is an endangered species, but -- amid ominous political rumblings -- the agency is taking an extra month. It appears the real question isn't whether global warming threatens polar bears, but whether the bear threatens U.S. economic interests. The answer may come even as the Bush administration offers millions of acres of prime polar bear habitat in the Arctic Ocean to oil and gas development. Greenflash: Tuesdays are Tom's days Environmental miscreants are on the run now that Tom Turner is writing every week. Read Tom every Tuesday. Today he celebrates another's retirement and explores how the green wool gets pulled over our eyes.

Coal keeps killing long after it poisons the air Coal ash is the nation's second largest industrial waste stream, with more than 129 million tons generated each year. It's full of arsenic, lead, and other toxins. And unsafe disposal practices have poisoned water supplies across the country. Tell the Environmental Protection Agency we need safe disposal standards for coal ash now!

New Earthjustice office targets Northeast Earthjustice is expanding into four more states with the opening of its Northeast Office this month. Attorneys Abigail Dillen and Keri Powell are staffing the office. Long-planned, the office will target environmental issues in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, with special focus on human health and global warming. Active cases are toxic brownfields in NY, mercury emission from cement kilns, and pollution control of coal-fired power plants. Twain would be hopping glad An Earthjustice suit aims to protect the frog made famous by Mark Twain. The suit is one of dozens challenging Bush administration interference in management of endangered species and public lands. Bush gives in -- won't axe forest rules Pressured by Earthjustice and its allies, the Bush administration has abandoned its attempts to gut some rules protecting 191 million acres of national forests. Mine threatens grizzlies, bull trout A proposed mine that would harvest metals, at the expense of grizzly bears and bull trout in northwest Montana, is being challenged by a powerful coalition of conservation groups led by Earthjustice. Utah drops one of many "highway" grabs The state of Utah dropped one lawsuit claiming highway rights over federal land, but is holding on to thousands more claims. "Huge threats remain" because of the state's attempts to use a Civil War-era law to open National Park streams and other sensitive lands to bulldozers and off-road uses, warns Earthjustice attorney Ted Zukoski. Challenging a gaseous mine Seven million cubic feet per day of methane -- one of the most potent greenhouse gases -- would spew from drainage wells linked to a coal mining project authorized by the U.S. Forest Service in West Elk roadless areas of Colorado. Earthjustice and the law firm Jenner & Block have filed an administrative appeal on behalf of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, Natural Resources Defense Council, and others, alleging the project violates the Forest Service's Roadless Rule and that the agency failed to take the required hard look at burning or capturing the methane. Corralling the slaughter ships New England's commercial herring industry is rapidly being dominated by high-volume ships. Midwater trawlers use small-mesh nets to kill all forms of sea life in their path. They're the biggest fishing vessels on the East Coast. But they're subject to some of the weakest rules. It defies logic that these industrial ships face less regulation than small, family-owned operations, says Earthjustice attorney Roger Fleming,who represents New England fishermen interested in preserving their livelihoods with sustainable fishing regulations.