Latest Articles
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More evidence that we’re exporting massive carbon emissions
Last month, President Bush signed into law an energy bill most remarkable for its timidity with regard to climate change. According to sometime Gristmill contributor Peter Montague of Rachel’s Democracy & Health News, the 2007 Energy Act will reduce U.S. carbon emissions by just 4.7 percent by 2030 — clearly not nearly enough to avoid […]
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Two thirds of likely caucus voters in Iowa think conservation more important than coal
Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, the Iowa Farmers Union, and Plains Justice have just completed a survey (PDF) in advance of tomorrow's caucuses.
Short version: Iowans think that we've squandered chances to do something meaningful about energy, and that it's time we started to do so before building new coal plants.
The executive summary is below the fold, but it's worth having a look at the whole presentation.
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California, 15 other states, and five nonprofits sue EPA over waiver decision
California has made good on its promise to sue the U.S. EPA over the agency’s refusal to allow the state to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, and 15 other states have made good on their promise to join in on the litigation. The swarm of states, along with five nonprofit groups, filed suit today in […]
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The movement’s greatest challenge is its own lack of diversity
The following is a guest essay by Marcelo Bonta. Marcelo is founder and director of the Center for Diversity & the Environment and the Young Environmental Professionals of Color. He is also a senior fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program and a member of the advisory board of the Orion Grassroots Network.
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How Do We Diversify?Diversifying the environmental movement is one of the greatest challenges we face this century. Not only is it the right thing to do, but the movement needs to keep up with the rapidly changing demographics of the U.S. if it is to remain effective. Today, people of color in the U.S. amount to over 100 million people (about one third of the population), and by 2050, their numbers will more than double, growing to almost 220 million (over 50 percent of the population). People of color already constitute a majority of the population in California, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas.
The political and social implications of an increasingly diverse population and nation are vast. Communities of color have a mounting influence on society and politics, including the distribution of public finances, the way cities develop and grow, and the strength and creation of environmental laws and policies. Diversifying is not only a great challenge but also a great opportunity.
Can you imagine if the environmental movement was effective at engaging people of color and leveraging their substantial support and talents? Millions of new supporters would surely translate into more political victories for the environment, more public support, more members, a larger volunteer base, richer partnerships and more financial support. In other words, the movement would be potentially more successful and influential than it ever has been before.
Furthermore, people of color support environmental issues at a higher level than their white counterparts.
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Landowner hopes to mine mother lode of uranium in Virginia
A 200-acre plot of earth in Virginia is not the unassuming farmland it appears. It harbors what is thought to be the largest deposit of uranium in the U.S. — 110 million pounds of the stuff, worth almost $10 billion and able to supply every U.S. nuclear power plant for two years. Unfortunately for drooling […]
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Darth Nader endorses Edwards instead of Green Party candidate
Ralph Nader’s endorsement of Edwards sure sounds more like an undorsement of Clinton. Questions: Is Nader’s endorsal opposition to Clinton more irrelevant to her chances than another Nader presidential run would be, or the same amount of irrelevant? Will this cause Edwards to lose support, as Dem primary voters deploy the sensible heuristic that the […]
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Cheney and Johnson probably conspired, ho hum
On this business with the EPA giving Waxman all its papers: I doubt it will turn up anything actionably illegal. We’ll see a great deal of circumstantial evidence pointing to already obvious conclusions: the White House, probably Cheney’s office, urged Johnson to reject the waiver. Messaging was coordinated. The Bush administration cut a deal with […]
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Cargo ship to use massive kite-like sail on trans-Atlantic voyage
A huge cargo ship is set to cross the Atlantic Ocean this month with some help from a massive kite-like sail that could offset up to 15 percent of its fuel use on the journey. It’s hardly a return to purely wind-powered shipping, but it’s a start for the hugely polluting maritime shipping industry. “This […]
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Charitable foundations move to align investments with philanthropic goals
Charitable foundations have historically considered their philanthropic goals to be separate from their investments, often fearing that socially responsible investing could harm their returns. Recently, though, many foundations are moving to harmonize the social and environmental effects of their investments with their charitable missions. The Ford Foundation, the second-largest in the U.S., and some smaller […]
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