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This Land is OUR Land
Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. During the inaugural opening ceremony, among the many themes of American greatness that were touched was the American invention of preserving wilderness and majestic places for all of the people, not…
Read MoreDancing and Cheering in D.C.
Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. The very cold weather this morning doesn’t seem to bother anyone—crowd dancing, waving, cheering, hugging. Everyone is part of something much bigger than they ever expected. The city is crackling with…
Read MoreThe Magic of this Inauguration
Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen is blogging from Washington, D.C., where he is attending the inauguration of Barack Obama and events surrounding the inauguration. This inauguration coincides with the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s 80th birthday, and the connections between his work and vision and the election of Obama are everywhere: an opening ceremony…
Read MoreAt the Inauguration …
I am in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration of Barack Obama and will be making blog reports once the ceremonies begin. This is an historic occasion for the nation and for anyone who cares about the environment, and it has special significance for me because of my early career in North Carolina, defending African-Americans against…
Read MoreMineral King to Become a Wilderness. Again.
Full circle time, in a sense. The establishment of this organization was sparked, in part, by a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club in 1969, challenging a ski resort proposed for a valley in the Sierra Nevada called Mineral King. The club had no objection to skiing per se, but this was to be a…
Read MoreAmerica's Waterways At Stake Today
This morning, the US. Supreme Court heard arguments from Earthjustice about why the Clean Water Act should not be interpreted to allow mining companies to dump mine wastes into our nation’s streams, rivers and lakes. A mining company attorney told the court that an Alaskan lake would be better off in the long run after…
Read MoreEarthjustice Defends Nation's Waterways at Supreme Court
Earthjustice press secretary Raviya Ismail was at today’s (Jan. 12) U.S. Supreme Court hearing on whether the Clean Water Act allows Coeur Alaska’s Kensington Mine to fill Lower Slate Lake in Alaska with mining waste – killing all aquatic life. Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo argued to protect the lake. The high court decision, expected by…
Read MoreBush Interior Department's Legacy: Down the Toilet?
With the end of the Bush Administration, the President’s faithful servants are putting a smiley face on their "accomplishments." Before we look at the praises the Interior Department sang of itself, let’s do our own quick review, starting with the out-and-out sleaze. There’s the convinction (for lying to Congress) of Jack Abrahamoff protege Steven Griles (Deputy Secretary of…
Read MoreNation's Waterways in Hands of Supreme Court
On this coming Monday – while the media are riveted by the upcoming inauguration – the fate of our nation’s waters will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court will hear arguments in an Earthjustice case that has implications for rivers, lakes, and streams across the country. The case concerns a gold…
Read MoreDon't Ask, Don't Tell
When a chemical maker or user gets new information about the possible health hazards of one of its products, it’s supposed to tell the EPA. The EPA maintains a website that is supposed to make this information available to the public. But when reporters for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel took a look at some of…
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