In the past year, examples abounded of forests being protected or restored on a grand scale. But those successes put the colossal failures and the corrupting forces behind them in stark relief: For too many forests, some combination of rapacious corporate greed, rising global population and consumption (particularly in Asia), local corruption, ignorant or careless political leadership and a lack of a strong grassroots environmental movement overwhelmed forest defenders -- leading to destruction of some of the most biodiverse, carbon-dense forests in the world. The bright contrast showed that deforestation is no ways inevitable -- in many cases, the same …

Photo: Tar Sands ActionThe Obama administration has decided to delay a decision on the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline until after the 2012 election. This is only a temporary, inadequate victory, but an extraordinary achievement for the thousands of grassroots activists who put ourselves on the line. It's also clear evidence for the environmental movement that directly targeting President Obama works, and probably works better than any other strategy. (Kudos especially to 350.org, Bill McKibben, Friends of the Earth, and Bold Nebraska’s Jane Kleeb.) As amazing as this progress is, however, let’s not delude ourselves: President Obama is just kicking the …

If you thought President Obama’s expressions of sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement meant he was suddenly going to stand up for "the 99 percent" and their planet, think again. Obama has just submitted to Congress the Chamber of Commerce-backed Colombia, Panama, and Korea Free Trade Agreements, which are opposed by pretty much every constituency involved in the OWS movement, from environmentalists to labor unions and human rights activits. It's a rare trifecta of hippie punching. And now, thanks to maneuvering by Obama and his business-friendly Chief of Staff William Daley and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, they’re on …

This is the final story in a four-part series about how Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and foreign timber companies have turned illegal logging into the Tea Party's cause célèbre. Read part 1, part 2, and part 3. Faced with accusations that his company had illegally imported wood from Asia, Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz launched a media campaign bashing the federal government's action and criticizing aspects of the law he had allegedly broken -- the Lacey Act, which bans the import of illegally logged forest products. "We've been severely harassed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), no charges have been filed, …

This is the third story in a four-part series about how Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz and foreign timber companies have turned illegal logging into the Tea Party's cause célèbre. Read part 1, part 2, and part 4. When the Fish and Wildlife Service carried out a search warrant against Gibson Guitar last month, CEO Henry Juszkiewicz went on the offensive. His company was suspected of illegally importing precious wood from Madagascar and India. In response, he launched a PR campaign aimed at mobilizing right wing groups and media in defense of his company's alleged illegal activities. Juszkiewicz started by going …

Gibson's logging miles on a highway to hell.This is the second story in a four-part series about how foreign timber companies, Tea Party groups, and Gibson Guitar have turned illegal logging into a Republican cause célèbre. Read part 1, part 3, and part 4. On August 24, federal agents knocked on the doors of Gibson Guitar headquarters and factories in Nashville, Tenn., and seized large quantities of imported wood. The company, famous for its Les Paul guitars, had apparently aroused suspicion for importing guitar fingerboards from India under false pretences -- claiming the wood was "veneer" when it was allegedly …

Juszkiewicz photo: shannonpatrick17 This is the first story in a four-part series about how foreign timber companies, Tea Party groups, and Gibson Guitar have turned illegal logging into Republicans' new cause célèbre. Read part 2, part 3, and part 4. If you've tuned into any of the major jobs speeches recently or the conservative media's political coverage surrounding them, you've heard about newly minted Tea Party hero, Gibson Guitar CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. He was sitting in House Speaker John Boehner's box during President Obama's jobs speech. Boehner cited him in his own jobs speech a few days later. According to a …

Smog, schmog -- that's what gas masks are for.Photo: Alex CarmichalIn his latest attack on the environment, President Barack Obama today announced that he is directing the EPA to withdraw standards that would have cut smog pollution from automobiles, power plants, and refineries. Obama might want to consider that wheezing kids, no jobs, and caving to Big Oil do not a reelection make. The standards Obama blocked could have saved up to 12,000 lives by 2020, according to the EPA, and slashed tens of thousands of children's asthma attacks and other respiratory problems. The environmental justice organization Green for All …

If there’s a single idea that the oil industry has peddled to persuade the Obama administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline, it’s this: Tar-sands oil might be more polluting than even dirty old regular oil, but it’s better to get our energy from our ally Canada than from unstable oil suppliers in the Middle East or elsewhere. In practice, the opposite is true: Drilling in North America is the single greatest threat to our nation’s energy security. Here’s the reality: Protecting the United States’ energy security means keeping our continent’s oil in the ground for when we …

Photo: Tom MaglieryAmerican Airlines just announced a huge $38 billion commitment to fuel efficient, climate-friendly airplanes with the purchase of 460 new aircraft. American hopes that this purchase will help get it out of its current financial troubles: In the second quarter, parent company AMR lost a whopping $286 million as increased fuel prices overwhelmed a boost in revenue. American is getting the majority of its new planes from European manufacturer Airbus, which has taken a commanding lead in production of the fuel efficient, climate-friendly aircraft the aviation industry is demanding. The move is a further blow to Boeing, the …