The ecologically-sensitive Galapagos Islands, home to many species not found anywhere else in the world and made famous by scientist Charles Darwin in his seminal work on evolution, “On the Origin of Species,” will soon be the location of yet another US military base. Under Donald Trump, the Pentagon is expanding its network of overseas bases to include some of the world’s most pristine regions. Based on prior actions, a US military presence leaves a permanent footprint of hazardous materials, plain garbage, and petroleum and its by-products in and around air and naval bases. Continue reading →
Food is not a commodity, it is not “stuff” put together mechanically and artificially in labs and factories. Food is life. Food holds the contributions of all beings that make the food web, and it holds the potential of maintaining and regenerating the web of life. Food also holds the potential for health and disease, depending on how it was grown and processed. Food is therefore the living currency of the web of life. Continue reading →
‘It's no surprise that Trump is once again taking an action championed by climate deniers and fossil fuel companies.’
Just a week after a chemical plant explosion killed one worker and spewed thousands of pounds of dangerous pollutants into the air in Crosby, Texas, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to visit that city Wednesday to sign executive orders to speed up approval of pipelines and other fossil fuel projects. Continue reading →
The deeply unpopular plan would benefit a few rich oil companies while threatening people, wildlife and the climate.
The Trump administration is barreling ahead with plans to drill for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge in the country and an area of global ecological importance. Continue reading →
As I knew would happen, my review of the very serious and heavily documented book, “Unprecedented Crime” resulted in condemnations from the fossil fuel industry’s trolls and from libertarians who think that global warming is a scheme for government to seize more power over private industry. Personally, I wish the fossil fuel trolls and libertarians were correct, but there is scant, if any, evidence on their side. I must say that I am discouraged that the oligarchs’ disinformation campaigns are again taking precedence over fact. Continue reading →
The prospect of drastic climate change is back in the news. But, for all too many people it is just that, a news item. It is like other eye-grabbing stories: a bit scary, but also happening somewhere else and at some other time. Of course, if you happen to be at that other place or approximate to that time (the latest examples would be the Florida Panhandle in mid-October and Mexico’s southwestern coast in late October), things get more immediate, more real. But otherwise it is theory. Examine your own sense of urgency as you read on. Continue reading →
The tobacco companies’ response to the US Surgeon General’s report in 1964 linking smoking to lung cancer was countered by the tobacco companies setting up propaganda organizations to create a controversy by generating doubt over the link. This strategy staved off the inevitable for more than two decades. Continue reading →
Frequent oil spills, GMO seeds, chemical, and other toxins poison planet earth worldwide—humanity’s survival threatened by ecocide or nuclear war. Continue reading →
As dead marine animals continue to wash up on Florida’s coasts, a campaign event for the state’s term-limited Republican Gov. Rick Scott—who is attempting to unseat Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson—was “besieged” by a crowd of protesters angry about his role in exacerbating the ongoing red tide crisis by systematically attacking the state’s environmental protection laws. Continue reading →
Shocking as this sounds, the U.S. government is—by its own admission—willing to murder up to 1,600 Americans a year to enrich a few coal billionaires.
In August 1921, sheriff’s deputies in West Virginia—later joined by federal troops—massacred striking mineworkers using machine guns and aerial bombardment, in what’s now known as the Battle of Blair Mountain. Continue reading →
Ahead of President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night rally in West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled a highly anticipated new rule that would roll back restrictions targeting greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, and enable states to set their own standards. Continue reading →
Offering a stark warning to the world, a new report out Monday argues that the reticence of the world’s scientific community—trapped in otherwise healthy habits of caution and due diligence—to downplay the potentially irreversible and cataclysmic impacts of climate change is itself a threat that should no longer be tolerated if humanity is to be motivated to make the rapid and far-reaching transition away from fossil fuels and other emissions-generating industries. Continue reading →
‘Air pollution is one of the unseen dangers of the storm.’
As the catastrophic flooding brought about by Hurricane Harvey continues to devastate Texas, reports of “unbearable” smells are beginning to emerge from the state, sparking growing concerns of the long-term health effects that could result from toxic waste and fumes being spewed from temporarily closed oil refineries. Continue reading →
Tuesday’s announcement that the Three Mile Island Unit One nuclear plant will close unless it gets massive subsidies has vastly strengthened the case for a totally renewable energy future. Continue reading →
Independent evidence shows GM foods and ingredients harm human health. All nations should ban them. Continue reading →
The corporate media silence on Fukushima has been deafening even though the melted down nuclear power plant’s seaborne radiation is now washing up on American beaches. Continue reading →
Ecological economists such as Herman Daly write that the more full the world becomes, the higher are the social or external costs of production. Continue reading →
The authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has left zero doubt that we humans are wrecking our climate. Continue reading →
The 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster has brought critical new evidence that petro-pollution is destroying our global ecosystem. Continue reading →
In the 35 years since the March 28, 1979, explosion and meltdown at Three Mile Island, fierce debate has raged over whether humans were killed there. In 1986 and 2011, Chernobyl and Fukushima joined the argument. Whenever these disasters happen, there are those who claim that the workers, residents and military personnel exposed to radiation will be just fine. Continue reading →
Can it ever be treated? Is it even possible?
SAN FRANCISCO—It is time to call it what it is: It’s a Scam. It’s a Con Job. There is no solution, never was and never will be. That’s the whole Con and you, like most people, probably fell for the notion hook, line and sinker that radioactivity can be removed from water. Continue reading →
The oil and gas industry, the nation’s Chambers of Commerce, and politicians, who are dependent upon campaign contributions from the industry and the chambers, claim fracking is safe. Continue reading →
If corporations have rights, so does nature
A whopping 61 percent of Toledo’s voters said ‘yes’ to recognizing legally enforceable rights for the natural world.
Posted on June 6, 2019 by Jim Hightower
From the very start of our nation, the most popular forum for debating and shaping our democratic rights was not stately legislative halls, but rowdy beer halls. Continue reading →