Articles by Kate Sheppard

Environmental justice groups gathered in Seattle this weekend

Unfortunately, I only got to catch the tail end of the Environmental Justice for All solidarity event up here in Seattle on Saturday. I missed the tour though ... 'cause I got lost. Hey, I'm new here, OK? But as the national tour drew to a close, it was good to see activity up in our corner as well.

The event, hosted by the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, led folks on a tour of some of the most polluted areas here in the generally-conceived-of-as-green city of Seattle. South Seattle neighborhoods deal with a disproportionate number of environmental woes, including 22 facilities that have been found to release air pollutants, six hazardous waste treatment facilities, and 35 facilities that have reported toxic releases.

Smells like election season

Thanks to Matt over at TPM's Election Central for pointing this one out. Check out this recent ad from the Tennessee senatorial race:

Weaving all over the U.S. to draw attention to environmental justice

The Environmental Justice for All tour plugs onward at a breakneck pace, weaving through Albany and Hartford yesterday and up to Boston today. More videos online today.

Almost extinct in the ’70s, black-footed ferrets celebrate 25 years since their rediscovery

We get all sorts of interesting press releases here. Some informative, some less-informative, others amusing and random. According to this one, today marks the 25th anniversary of the rediscovery of the black-footed ferret. It came with a complete history of the ferret, as well as charts, graphs, and contact information for prominent ferret experts.

The black-footed ferret, which is the only species of ferret native to the United States, was believed to be extinct back in 1979, after the last known ferret died in captivity. But on September 26, 1981, a fortuitous run-in with a ranch dog led investigators to the last remaining ferret colony in the United States.