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Remembering Nelson Mandela
Around the world, people are pausing to remember and honor Nelson Mandela, who passed away today. My memory is traveling in South Africa during apartheid; hiding in the back of cars to go into “coloured only” and “black only” areas; meeting with lawyers in the anti-apartheid struggle who had been banned from law practice and…
Read More"Pure Michigan" Might Not be So Pure
Every year in Michigan coal plants produce more than 1.7 million tons of coal ash. In addition to the threats posed by unchecked coal ash storage sites, “beneficial reuse” provisions of Michigan law allow for coal ash to be used in trenches as construction fill or spread on agricultural fields.
Read MoreIn Remembrance: Jan Nona
“You have the right to safe drinking water in this country. They took that right away from us.” Jan Nona, 1939–2014 This Thanksgiving the world lost a great woman. With unequaled intelligence and tenacity, Jan Nona fought for clean water in her small Indiana town after toxic coal ash from the Northern Indiana Public Service…
Read MoreThe Insanity of Pennsylvania Coal Ash
How is coal ash dumped at one site hazardous, but beneficial at another? The Little Blue Run coal ash impoundment has poisoned nearby waters with arsenic, selenium, boron and more. Residents tell of murky sludge oozing from the ground around their homes.
Read MoreCalif. Ends Rule That Poisoned Us with Flame Retardants
Chemical flame retardants, which are present in a wide array of household products, have been linked to cancer and developmental, neurological and reproductive problems. And chances are, if you are sitting on a padded chair or couch, it contains these noxious chemicals.
Read MoreGiving Thanks for the End of Catfish Stuffing
Five years ago, fish biologists scooped up a catfish full of toxic ash from the Kingston coal ash disaster. Last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia brought us one step closer to ensuring such a disaster will never happen again. The court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must set federal…
Read MoreThanksgiving: A Time to Consider Our Food Harvesters
Farmworkers are continually exposed to dangerous pesticides
Read MoreA Thanksgiving Flood of Salmon
More salmon have returned to the Elwha River over the past two months than at any time in at least 20 years.
Read MoreDirtying America’s Land of the Midnight Sun
Alaska—a place of untamed American wilderness. Unfortunately, it’s also home to dirty coal. The second part of our ongoing series about communities dealing with coal ash problems takes us far north where in Fairbanks four coal-fired power plants generate coal ash used as fill for nearby lowlands.
Read MoreChampions of the Endangered Species Act in Congress
Last week, Earthjustice and 20+ partner organizations hosted an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act and honor some of the most important champions of this visionary law. On Dec. 28, 1973, Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together to pass the ESA—one of the most effective environmental laws ever enacted—with…
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