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The Australian Crystal Ball
Anyone concerned about the consequences of climate disruption (my term-of-choice for global warming) might want to pay close attention to what’s happening "down under." Julie Cart’s must-read recent article in the L.A. Times, which paints an unsettling picture of a possible global future already underway in Australia, is a good place to start. Australia is…
Read MoreDefending False Killer Whales from Commercial Fishing in Hawai'i
A new scientific study (pdf) paints a bleak picture for Hawai’i’s false killer whales. For nearly a decade, the National Marine Fisheries Service’s data(pdf) have shown the Hawai’i longline fishery is killing these rare marine mammals at rates far beyond what the population can sustain. The latest data show the number of false killer whales in…
Read MoreNo California Salmon Season, Again
Salmon in the Sacramento River, which produces most of the king salmon caught in California and Oregon, are struggling. As a result, for the second time in two years, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to ban almost all ocean salmon fishing off California in 2009. There’s good news: Major portions of the Sacramento River…
Read MoreBeyond Petroleum? Beyond Belief.
You’ve seen the ads by BP (formerly British Petroleum), Chevron and other oil companies, bragging about their commitment to move "beyond petroleum" by developing new sources of clean, renewable energy. With its enormous financial assets, record profits and technological expertise, could Big Oil lead us to a clean energy future? Don’t hold your breath (unless…
Read MoreCleaning Up Your Dry Cleaning
Question: When is dry cleaning actually dry? Answer: Never. When you send your dry-clean-only clothes to the local dry cleaner (and believe me, I’m the first to admit I’m a stickler for nicely pressed shirts and pants) they use special machines and a toxic solvent called perchloroethylene to get your clothes clean. That sickly sweet…
Read MoreHope Prevails in Our Nation's Capital
Spring is in the air in Washington, DC and hope seems to permeate every corner of this storied city. Along with the promise of longer days and warmer weather, there’s hope that the new congress and administration can help us return to a true participatory democracy. As a member of Earthjustice’s legislative team, my biggest…
Read MoreWatery Rant
The blaring headline to the San Francisco Chronicle April 3 was all about our continuing drought and upcoming water rationing. This is not exactly news — we’ve been warned for months. What I wrestle with is how to spread the hardship fairly. The remedy the utility company will impose is across-the-board reductions of 15 percent…
Read MoreKansas Legislature Passes Coal Plant Bill
The Kansas state legislature today gave final passage to a bill authorizing massive expansion of the Sunflower coal-fired power plant — but there is unexpected good news in the vote … it’s 10 votes short of being veto-proof in the House. This means that the promised veto from Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is more likely than…
Read MoreClean Water Restoration Act Provides Hope
On February 17, Earthjustice called on Congress to introduce and pass legislation that would fix a glaring loophole punched in the Clean Water Act during the Bush years. The Supreme Court, with Bush administration backing, held that only "navigable" waterways could enjoy protections of this law. Today, I am glad to report, the Clean Water…
Read MoreOn the Right Path to Roadless
Two million acres of new wilderness, miles of new scenic rivers, the withdrawal of land in the Wyoming Range and elsewhere, all signed into law by President Obama (it still feels really good to type that) just in time for my birthday. The bill, a so-called omnibus, was a patchwork of nearly 170 separate bills,…
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