Our Stories

The Latest by Sarah Burt

Managing Attorney

September 10, 2013

Airlines Ranked by Amount of Fuel Used

By Sarah Burt  /  Headquarters Office

A new report by the International Council on Clean Transportation ranks the major airlines according to their fuel efficiency—and for the first time reveals the major gaps that exist between airlines in their fuel use. For a long time, green consumers have known that air travel is the biggest part of the average individual’s carbon …

June 28, 2012

Court Lets California Keep Clean Fuel Rule

By Sarah Burt  /  California Office

Twenty seven million Californians—80 percent of the state’s population—are exposed to emissions from ocean-going vessels, resulting in serious health impacts such as cancer, respiratory illnesses like asthma, as well as increasing the risk of heart disease. California estimates that the ships’ direct particulate emissions cause 300 premature deaths across the state every single year, even …

October 5, 2010

The Latest Yin and Yank Over World Carbon Emissions

By Sarah Burt

“Flag of convenience” helps shipping dodge pollution controls

June 4, 2009

Tar Sands Create Pipeline To The Past

By Sarah Burt

Canada’s vast boreal forest (named for Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind) covers more than a third of the country’s total landmass and is a larger ecosystem than the Amazon. In addition to providing habitat for a diverse range of species including moose, lynx, grizzly bears and over 3 billion birds, the peat …

October 10, 2008

Costs of Forest Loss “Dwarfs Bank Crisis”

By Sarah Burt  /  International Program

Attention has been focused on the financial crisis recently. Yet a study headed by a Deutsche Bank economist concludes that the annual costs of forest destruction is between $2 trillion and $5 trillion. So while Wall Street has lost between $1-$1.5 trillion, we are losing "natural capital" at a rate of $2 to $5 trillion …

July 15, 2008

EPA Devalues Life

By Sarah Burt

As has been often observed here on unEarthed, the Bush EPA has taken regulatory avoidance to unprecedented levels.(See Martin Wagner’s July 11 post A subtle, but nonetheless nefarious new tactic for avoiding regulation to protect human health and the environment is EPA’s recent statistical devaluation of an American life. For purposes of evaluating the costs …

June 20, 2008

Silver Lining in the Stratospheric Price of Oil?

By Sarah Burt

The Wall Street Journal reports that the rising cost of shipping everything from industrial parts to living-room sofas is forcing some manufacturers to bring production back to North America and freeze plans to send even more work overseas. This could stem the loss of domestic manufacturing jobs, if not result in a job increase at …

June 9, 2008

Obama Weighs In to Support Flathead Protection

By Sarah Burt

This may have been a political no-brainer: Campaigning in Montana on the eve of the primary, Obama stated his opposition to a proposed open-pit coal mine 40km north of the Canada-US border in the headwaters of the Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of Glacier National Park, declaring that "the Flathead River and Glacier …

May 22, 2008

U.S. Risks Losing Vote in International Negotiations

By Sarah Burt

The U.S.may lose its right to vote on international ship pollution standards because Congress has failed to implement a treaty setting limits on ship pollution. At risk is a vote in upcoming negotiations on stricter standards proposed by the U.S. delegation to the International Maritime Organization. House and Senate lawmakers are trying to resolve differences …