Liz Judge's Blog

April 15, 2015

11 Bee Facts That Will Have You Buzzing

Bees do more than just produce honey, which is why Earthjustice is in court fighting for the survival of the bees, the beekeeping industry—and our nation’s food supply.

January 26, 2015

Celebrate the Protection of Some of America's Greatest Wilderness

President proposes to put "The Sacred Place Where Life Begins" off limits to oil and gas drilling

July 21, 2014

Everything You Need To Know About The Pebble Mine

Earthjustice attorney Tom Waldo answers some basic questions and lays out the facts about Friday's big news on the Pebble mine in Alaska.

August 9, 2013

TIME Magazine Envisions a World Without Honeybees

The article by Bryan Walsh addresses a disastrous phenomenon that could tumble the basis of our food system: the widespread collapse of honeybee colonies nationwide known as "colony collapse disorder."

August 1, 2013

Gulf Residents Agree: Don’t Feel Bad for BP

Recently the oil giant BP placed full-page ads* in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal pitying itself as the real victim in the aftermath of the Gulf Spill. BP claims it is being targeted by “unscrupulous trial lawyers” representing “thousands of claimants that suffered no losses” that “smell big bucks and want a piece of the action.”

April 24, 2013

Victory: Court Upholds EPA Authority to Protect Appalachia

Unanimous panel of judges rule for EPA in coal industry lawsuit

April 3, 2013

EPA Shares Water Priorities, Action Timelines on Twitter

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency that 55 percent of U.S. streams and rivers are in “poor” condition, according to its most recent national rivers and streams assessment.

February 26, 2013

Looking Back at the Coal Tragedy At Buffalo Creek

Forty-one years ago, today, a dam holding 132 million gallons of toxic liquid coal waste ruptured high up in the mountains of West Virginia, loosing a tsunami-like death wave of coal waste and chemical sludge that destroyed 4,000 homes in 16 towns, injured more than 1,000 people, and killed 125. Seven bodies were never found. A remarkable <i>Charleston Gazette</i> series shares the stories of the people who were affected by this horrific tragedy.

November 16, 2012

Patriot Agrees To End Mountaintop Removal Mining

Yesterday, one of the nation’s top coal companies, Patriot Coal, announced that it is getting out of the business of mountaintop removal mining.

November 12, 2012

As Sandy Victims Shiver, America Must Stay Alert

While for many in the country, thoughts of Hurricane Sandy are being replaced by thoughts of the election, football, or the Thanksgiving holiday, for the tens of thousands of people in New York and New Jersey, survival and their families' well-being are still the urgent thoughts.

October 19, 2012

How Clean Are Your Local Waterways?

You know that creek in your backyard, or the river or lake near your town? Have any idea what kind of condition it is in, or how polluted it is?

Most people probably don't -- up until now, it hasn't been very easy to get this information. But to help people find out about the condition of their local waterways, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a supercool new app for your computer or mobile device that allows you to learn about the quality of the waters near you.

October 18, 2012

What the Clean Water Act Means To Me

Growing up just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, my siblings and cousins and I spent our summers swimming in Lake Erie. The water looked clear enough, and though I remember hearing about the invasion of zebra mussels, our greatest worries were the imagined creatures in the deep. We didn't know that just a few years before, the lake was popularly deemed “dead" because of the pollution it received from surrounding industries.

September 13, 2012

Stand With Appalachia Solidarity Day

Today's the day that we deliver our Mountain Heroes photo petition to the Obama administration! This massive photo petition is historic—it includes photos and personal messages and stories from more than 13,500 people across the country who wrote to President Obama and his administration for an end to mountaintop removal mining. It's the largest photo petition ever to be delivered to the president, and it's all about ending the nation's most destructive mining practice, protecting Appalachian families and communities, and standing up for clean water, healthy communities, environmental justice, and beautiful mountains and wildlife.

September 10, 2012

Mourning A Hero And A Friend

Larry Gibson, watching the sun set over a decimated Kayford Mountain.

Last night, we got devastating news. Larry Gibson, our close friend, partner, ally and comrade in the work to end mountaintop removal mining and secure justice for communities across Appalachia, had passed away of a heart attack. Larry was more than a friend and partner, he was our hero and our inspiration.

August 24, 2012

Musicians Join Hit Parade As Mountain Heroes

The next artist is My Morning Jacket, a band from Louisville, KY. They have been outspoken environmental advocates for many years, working hard with partners such as Rock The Earth to educate their fans and concert-goers about critical environmental issues, and have played at festivals such as the Forecastle Festival, which promotes sustainability and conservation. In 2010, lead singer and guitarist Jim James collaborated with other Kentucky musicians to release Dear Companion, an album that draws attention to the problems caused by mountaintop removal coal mining. It’s amazing to have him join our Mountain Hero cause!

August 8, 2012

Kayford Mountain, Prettiest Lady I've Ever Seen

This is the story of a man who fell in love with a mountain and his struggle to keep it and all mountains from being destroyed by coal mining.

July 24, 2012

Daryl Hannah Making Splash For Mountain Heroes

Daryl Hannah is best known as an actor in films such as Splash, Blade Runner, Roxanne, Wall Street, and Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2. But outside of the studio, she is a vocal environmental activist who dedicates herself to raising awareness of climate change, sustainable farming energy solutions, and of course, mountaintop removal.

July 20, 2012

Terry Tempest Williams Joins Mountain Hero Campaign

Fighting against mountaintop removal, this week we’re proud to announce the support of an incredibly strong woman: writer and activist Terry Tempest Williams. We know our supporters care deeply about the welfare of animals in the wild, and saw this vividly on our Facebook page when we highlighted the animals of Appalachia in a photo album on Facebook.

June 27, 2012

Love Story: Mother, Daughter, Community

Could there be a love more unconditional and more powerful than the love of a mother for her child? Most mothers I know would say, "No, not even possible." But if you've ever observed the adoring eyes of a child looking up to his or her mother, you might think twice.

Lisa Henderson's story is a remarkable tribute to this love and bond between mother and child.

June 25, 2012

Mountain Hero Gets Help from Author Wendell Berry

Junior Walk is not a celebrity. He grew up in Whitesville, West Virginia, born into a family of coal miners and workers. When he was just a kid, the water in his family's home became contaminated with coal slurry. Though it was blood-red and smelled like sulfur, Junior, who was just a child at the time, thought that was normal. Surrounded by neighbors who all eventually dealt with the same contamination.

"I thought that's what water did," said Junior, "It just went bad."

June 19, 2012

Bill Will Protect Communities, Families From Mountaintop Removal

Big news today in our fight to end destructive mountaintop removal mining: 13 congressional leaders joined to introduce legislation to protect communities and families from the dangerous health effects of our nation's most extreme form of coal mining—mountaintop removal mining.

June 7, 2012

The Many Humble Heroes of Appalachia

As we were working on our new campaign ("Mountain Heroes") to stop mountaintop removal coal mining, many of the folks who shared their stories told us they felt bashful about being called "heroes."

In our society today, when we talk about a hero many of us imagine a caped figure flying through the sky, lifting up buses, halting runaway trains, and saving the masses from crushing catastrophes or evil villains.

June 4, 2012

Introducing Our New Mountain Heroes Website and Campaign

Over our years of working to stop mountaintop removal mining, we at Earthjustice have met so many brave and dedicated people fighting for their communities, mountains and waters. In 2010, Earthjustice launched our “Mountain Heroes” campaign to share their inspiring stories and show that this is not just a fight for the environment—it’s a fight for justice and a fight to save communities, families and Appalachian culture.

Through this campaign, we shared the stories of a few true heroes and created a public photo petition, asking the public to share their own stories—and tell us why they want to save mountains, protect clean water, and fight for justice in Appalachia.

What we got back was astounding and inspiring.

March 26, 2012

Spruce Court Decision: A Sad Day in West Virginia

Citizens vow to fight harder against mountaintop removal mining

March 22, 2012

On World Water Day, Take a Sip, Take a Moment

It’s World Water Day, a day that reminds us of our most valuable resource of all: clean water.

February 28, 2012

Tennessee Standing Up For Its Mountains

A bipartisan bill is coming up for a vote in the Tennessee state legislature tomorrow (Feb. 29) that would ban surface mining and mountaintop removal mining at altitudes above 2,000 feet in the state.

This legislation would ensure that the most scenic vistas are protected for residents and visitors instead of being razed.

February 27, 2012

Remembering Buffalo Creek

Yesterday, Feb. 26, was the 40th anniversary of the tragic Buffalo Creek coal sludge (also known as “slurry”) dam failure that killed 126 people and left thousands injured and homeless.

February 2, 2012

World Wetlands Day: Happy Underrated Water Body Day!

In addition to being Groundhog Day, Feb. 2 is World Wetlands Day. Say what? An international day to celebrate swamps? If you’re scratching your head wondering why in the world we’d throw a party for swamps (and bogs and marshes and fens and floodplains and other wet, buggy places), here’s why:

January 27, 2012

Big News for Our National Forests

Today, the Obama administration’s Forest Service revealed final rules for managing of our national forests. These rules typically last 15-30 years, and they serve as the blueprint for how 193 million acres of our most important watersheds are managed. Their impact is sweeping.

January 19, 2012

Stand With Donna And All the People of Appalachia

The story of one woman's fight to save her homeland

January 6, 2012

Six Environmental Imperatives for Obama in 2012

President Obama won the White House on a platform of hope and change – promising an end to dirty corporate influence over our political system and a beginning to an era in which our energy choices lead us to a clean, sustainable future, or at least don’t kill us or make us sick.

So far, the president’s performance has been mixed – with some deliveries on the promise and some disappointments. His last year, whether in office or in his first term, will be crucial in righting his spotty record and making good on his campaign promises to the American people.

November 22, 2011

Appalachian Coal Jobs Reach 14-Year High

A little-covered news item from Nov. 18 bears much more attention. The Charleston Gazette's Ken Ward reported on some new data that blows the top off two years of coal industry lies and spin: Obama's so-called "job-killing regulations" and "war on coal" are not actually killing jobs, they are CREATING JOBS! We've been saying it all along, but here's the proof.

November 14, 2011

Creek Memories & Our Fight For Clean Water in America

From early morning tadpole pursuits to sunset creek walks, my summer days started and ended in the creek that ran behind my home. My dad built a bridge across the creek, but for our neighborhood gang of rascals, well, there was no use for such bridges when we could splash and wade right through that water. Whether we were forging the stream or sitting cross-legged in it with our heads above the water, exploding with impish giggles, this creek was as much our home as our bedrooms 50 yards away.

October 26, 2011

New Bureaucracy, Same Old Sad Story?

Today Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a major agency reshuffling that will affect how the government enforces laws on mountaintop removal and surface coal mining. He will fold the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) into another Department of Interior subdivision, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

October 21, 2011

Mountaintop Removal: A View From Up Above

Recently, thanks to a nonprofit flight operation called SouthWings, I had the opportunity to fly in a small airplane over a mountaintop removal coal mining site in West Virginia.

We flew over the Hobet mountaintop removal mining site, which measures to more than 20 square miles of demolition, and though I will try to put what I saw into words, it can only really be understood through the eyes. So I'm sharing a few photos that illustrate a scale of destruction that words cannot convey.

September 30, 2011

For Some in Congress, It's Easier To Censor Than Hear Americans

“They are blowing up my homeland,” said West Virginia coalfield resident Maria Gunnoe on Monday morning, in her sworn testimony on the impacts of mountaintop removal mining before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.

I feel the vibrations of the core driller in the floors of my home; and the impacts of the blasting near my home are horrendous. This is absolutely against everything that America stands for.

September 22, 2011

House Passes TRAIN Act/Wreck

We all deserve to breathe clean air, but the House of Representatives today acted as if our air doesn't need to be quite so clean.

July 14, 2011

Obama Promises Veto of Toxic-and-Dirty Water Bill

Yesterday evening, July 13, the full House of Representatives passed the Toxic-and-Dirty Water Bill that I warned about a couple weeks ago -- HR 2018, along with a number of amendments.

July 12, 2011

Save the Babies: Stop Mountaintop Removal Mining

A major new scientific study shows significantly higher rates of birth defects in areas of heavy mountaintop removal mining, even after controlling for a range of other contributing factors. The study found that living near a mountaintop removal site poses a much greater risk to unborn babies than smoking during pregnancy. More than double the risk!

July 6, 2011

House Appropriators Slash Environmental, Health Safeguards

The 112th Session of the House of Representatives is at it again, doing what they do best: writing legislation to strike and block the clean air and clean water laws that keep us alive and healthy.

June 22, 2011

Congress v Environment: House Committee OKs Dirty Water Bill

It was a dark day in the House of Representatives, today, as the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed a bill that would flush away decades of water safeguards and protections, along with our powerful federal system for ensuring that any waters in this country are safe to drink, fish, and swim in.

June 20, 2011

Court: Only EPA Can Regulate Climate Change Pollution

Today, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling once again affirmed the Environmental Protection Agency as the most rightful and authorized regulator of climate change pollution in the land.

June 4, 2011

The March Toward Justice Begins

This week more than 600 concerned citizens will participate in the largest mass mobilization against mountaintop removal mining that this country has ever seen, Appalachia Rising: The March on Blair Mountain.

June 2, 2011

The Revolution Is Coming to Movie Theaters Across America

The buzz is heightening. The Sundance official selection documentary The Last Mountain is arriving at theaters across America beginning this weekend in Washington, DC, and New York City. Throughout June, it will open in 18 other cities, bringing this film -- on the frightening effects of destructive mountaintop removal mining-- to the biggest metropolitan markets in the nation.

May 6, 2011

Voices of Silence: People Living With Mountaintop Removal Mining

Last Thursday, the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held an absurdly one-sided hearing entitled "EPA Mining Policies: Assault on Appalachian Jobs – Part I." I've never heard so much agreement in Congress -- but that was, of course, because the only people allowed to speak were chosen to speak because they were already in agreement.

May 4, 2011

Fair Congressional Hearing or Puppet Show: You Decide

On Thursday morning, the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, will begin a two-part hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) policies on mountaintop removal mining. The committee, chaired by Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) is calling the hearings “EPA Mining Policies: Assault on Appalachian Jobs – Part I and Part II.”

April 29, 2011

Mountain Heroes Come To The Streets of D.C.

The faces of Earthjustice's Mountain Heroes, those courageous people from the coalfields whose lives are afflicted by mountaintop removal mining and who are standing up against it, are now staring down politicians in Congress and their staffs, as well as White House and agency staff, reminding them that they are allowing this abuse to continue.

April 25, 2011

Oh Snap! Little Green Alien Takes Earthling To School

Well, it's true that here on a blog, the currency is words. We're supposed to tell stories through our prose. But today I'm going to go easy on the blog and yield the storytelling to a small collection of witty, beautiful, foot-stomping and surreal art by people who are mastering other mediums to talk about mountaintop removal mining:

April 14, 2011

NY Times Casts Light on Lindytown, WV, Harms of MTR

Yesterday The New York Times featured a sublimely written story by Dan Barry on the effects of mountaintop removal mining on a small town in West Virginia called Lindytown.

April 12, 2011

Why I Fight For Our Forests: Earthjustice's Tim Preso

Q & A with attorney Tim Preso, who works to protect our nation's forests and their critical natural resources and wildlife.

April 8, 2011

Why I Fight For Our Forests: Earthjustice's Rebecca Judd

National forests are the single largest source of clean drinking water in the United States, serving 124 million Americans. Rebecca Judd, legislative counsel for Earthjustice, based in Washington, D.C., discusses her work to protect forests.

April 8, 2011

Shut Down the Government So They Can Blow Up Mountains?

[Update: Amid hurried negotiations late Friday to avoid a government shutdown, House sources indicated that a possible deal has been reached to prevent weakening the government's regulation of mountaintop removal mining and climate change emissions. The uncertainty of this deal makes it all the more important for citizens to contact the White House and their congressional representatives to demand hands off of the Environmental Protection Agency.]

April 6, 2011

Senate Tramples Four Dirty Air Acts

The Senate just voted to reject four—count 'em 1-2-3-4—bad amendments that would strangle and block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from being able to limit dangerous carbon dioxide pollution from the nation's biggest polluters.

These Dirty Air Acts went down in the upper chamber today because enough of the Senate still obviously believes that the well-being, future and health of Americans are more important than corporate special interests.

April 6, 2011

Why I Fight for Our Forests: Earthjustice's Tom Waldo

Protecting our national forests is essential for the future of our nation. Tom Waldo, who joined Earthjustice in 1989 and is a staff attorney in the Juneau, Alaska office, discusses his work protecting our forests.

April 5, 2011

Why I Fight For Our Forests: Earthjustice's Kristen Boyles

Q & As with attorney Kristen Boyles, who works to protect our nation's forests and their critical natural resources and wildlife.

March 30, 2011

Care About Climate Change, Clean Air? Call Your Senators!

The Senate votes tomorrow on four pieces of legislation that all aim to block or delay Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action to reduce the carbon dioxide pollution of the nation's biggest polluters. These polluters have convinced their friends in Congress to author a wave of bills exempting them from strong air pollution limits—they are the Dirty Air Acts we've been warning you about for months.

March 16, 2011

Cleaning Up Biggest Polluters - Will Congress Have Our Backs?

As I write this, the Senate is debating an amendment to a small business bill that would block the Environmental Protection Agency from setting limits on carbon dioxide emissions from the nation's biggest polluters.

March 11, 2011

Our Climate Reality and Our Congressional Deniers

On Tuesday, in a hearing in the House, representatives wrestled over whether they should accept the volumes of science produced by every major U.S. scientific and research institution that say that climate change is happening and our industrial carbon dioxide emissions are contributing to it.

March 3, 2011

The New Majority: We Can't Go Backwards Fast Enough!

"Doh!" should be the motto of the new majority in the House, but here's one from House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that might work as well: "The New Majority - Plasticware Is Back."

February 18, 2011

Congress v. The Environment: The House Is On Fire

As I write this, members of the House of Representatives continue to debate and move their way through votes on hundreds of amendments to the chamber's government spending bill. The voting and debate has been a marathon process, stretching from morning through late at night for the last three days, and looks to carry on until late tonight or tomorrow.

February 11, 2011

Are National Forests and Drinking Water Supplies in Peril?

President Obama's draft plan for national forests and grasslands is well-intentioned, but lacks real protective measures that will guarantee accountability.

February 3, 2011

Congress V. The Environment: Who Can We Trust?

Early last evening, Reps. Fred Upton and Ed Whitfield, along with Sen. James Inhofe, released a draft of the latest bill in Congress taking aim at air pollution protections.

January 28, 2011

Congress v. The Environment: The Attack Begins

(A powerful faction in the new Congress has allied with industry to weaken our nation’s most basic environmental laws. Earthjustice will report on this expected barrage of legislative attacks as they occur.)

<<<Update 6 p.m., Monday, Jan. 31: Sen. John D. "Jay" Rockefeller has introduced his own “Dirty Air Act.” Like Sen. Barrasso's bill (see below), Sen. Rockefeller's bill blocks the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit carbon dioxide emissions for two more years.

January 26, 2011

State of the Union: President Promises A Clean Energy Future

Last night in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama rightly spoke about the importance of growing a clean energy economy. Dedicating a chunk of his speech to the promise of the clean energy sector of the economy and the necessity for us as a nation to invest in this sector, the president issued a promise to America's scientists and engineers: If they innovate and come up with clean energy solutions, our government will invest in them and scale them up.

January 21, 2011

MTR Mining Update: Watching the Groundswell for Change

Movement to stop the destruction picks up after historic EPA action on MTR

January 13, 2011

Biggest Mountaintop Removal Mine Vetoed - A Win for Appalachia

Coal mine finally stopped as EPA rejects Spruce No. 1 Mine

January 6, 2011

Day Three of Congress: Public Health Under Attack By Polluters

Only three days after Republicans took over the House of Representatives, Americans are at risk of losing critical, life-saving pollution protections. Since they took their seats in the 112th Congress, some elected representatives have made shooting down or slowing down these protective pollution controls their top priority.

January 5, 2011

When the Lights Go Out in Congress

Energy efficient light bulbs have come to symbolize the promise of smarter, greener, cost-saving technologies. The image of the coiled CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) reminds us that we can save money while saving energy.

January 4, 2011

Saying Goodbye to a Hero and Pledging to Fight Harder

Last night we lost a true hero, Judy Bonds of Marfork, West Virginia. Judy—the executive director of Coal River Mountain Watch, Goldman Prize recipient, and friend and partner of Earthjustice—was a courageous leader in the fight to protect Americans and future generations from the poisonous pollution and destruction of mountaintop removal mining.

December 16, 2010

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Liz Judge's Blog