These organizations use tactics varying from direct action to job training, but they all are working to protect the planet in a substantial way. [social_buttons] Through twitter, anyone can stay up to date with their latest efforts to restore and protect habitats, influence environmental policy, and curb climate change. Take the opportunity to tap into
In a demonstration of increased surveillance on protest groups in Britain, police arrested 114 people for alleged conspiracy to commit criminal damage and aggravated trespass at a coal-fired power plant. [social_buttons] Huh? What kind of protest involves 114 people “conspiring” to enter and vandalize a power plant? Sounds like a few dozen were involved in
Nine monkeys escaped from an Oregon Health & Science University animal testing lab after a cage was left unlocked. Four were shortly re-captured and four others have been spotted on campus — but one has entirely eluded authorities. [social_buttons] “One of our cage cleaners accidentally left a lock off a cage,” said Jim Newman, a
With the recent successes in stopping the further expansion of coal-based energy, activists direly need a complete list of proposed mining projects. While SourceWatch.org already hosts the CoalSwarm database with all sorts of information about coal plants across different states, it’s lacking information on proposed coal mines. Legal opposition and community protests have been shown
Boston police treated a mannequin chained to the front door of a Bank of America branch as a potential bomb threat, shutting down the bank while they investigated. [social_buttons] The mannequin wore a shirt with the message “THE REAL DUMMIES EVICT PEOPLE & FUND CLIMATE CHAOS.” Police were astute enough to realize that the mannequin
When a new coal preparation plant decided to begin construction without first securing a permit, Plains Justice with the Dakota Resource Council and local residents jumped at the opportunity to file a complaint against the company. With the complaint challenging the plant’s construction, Great Northern Power Development withdrew its application for a new coal mine
When researchers from the Syrian Society for Conservation of Wildlife and RSPB noticed that hunters were shooting down sociable lapwings, one of the world’s rarest bird species, they immediately reached out to the government for protection. [social_buttons] Syria sent rangers out to discuss the plight of the lapwings and apparently they have agreed to stop
Baard Energy withdrew an application for federal loans for a $6 billion coal-to-liquids plant in Illiinois last week. The company cited lawsuits by the Sierra Club and National Resource Defense Council for blocking the project. [social_buttons] “Baard keeps claiming this is a clean coal facility and nothing could be further from the truth,” said Nachy
Did you hear about KFC’s offer to fill the potholes in Louisville and four other US cities? Well, they’ve asked to be allowed to stencil an ad onto the pavement in exchange. Predictably, PETA and their KFC Cruelthy campaign now want some of the action. [social_buttons] “KFC might concentrate instead on improving conditions for the
The Humane Society of the United States has returned to court in attempt to stop the sea lion cull near the Bonneville Dam in Washington and Oregon. [social_buttons] Hundreds of sea lions may be trapped and killed in a program aiming to increase the salmon population in the river. The animal welfare group argues that
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/5P8mlF8KT6I&hl=en&fs=1] Peter Sinclair is back again with a new installment of his always-insightful podcast “The Climate Denial Crock of the Week.” This time, he tackles the common claim climate change deniers make that thousands of reputable scientists dispute global warming. Check it out!
A rare species of sheep discovered by Marco Polo in the 13th century is edging closer to extinction due to increased trophy hunting in Central Asian countries, new research reports. The species, once prominent in the Pamir Mountains on the border of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, now numbers around 10,000, according to George Schaller
Residents of Centerville, Virginia have sued Dominion Virginia Power to the tune of $1 billion for supplying 1.5 million tons of toxic fly ash to fill the hills of a nearby golf course. [social_buttons] The attorneys representing 400 Centerville residents claim that Dominion knew that the substance they supplied to the Battlefield Golf Club would
An undercover investigation by Endangered Species International has disclosed the horrific scale of the endangered species market in the Republic of Congo. [social_buttons] The nonprofit found that hunters source 95% of bushmeat around the Kouilou region, one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. In additon to gorilla meat, the investigation discovered the sale
A South Korean woman living in Los Angeles has been charged with importing bear bile from China to illegally sell as an aphrodisiac. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. [social_buttons] Investigators intercepted a package addressed the Seongja Hyun while waiting for transport to Los Angeles from a San Francisco sorting facility.
In a huge break for the United States’ anti-GMO movement, a federal judge ruled that the US Fish & Wildlife Service should not have allowed genetically modified crops to be planted within a Prime Hook, a national wildlife refuge in Delaware. [social_buttons] The suit, filed by the Center for Food Safety, Public Employees for Environmental
With the help of conservation groups, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining launched the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative to attempt to rescue the thousands forest acres left barren by mountaintop coal mining. [social_buttons] The volunteer-based initiative, which hopes to eventually plant 38 million trees in Appalachia, received the endorsement of the United Nations Environment Program
A while back we posted about a bomb threat against the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s ship, the Steve Irwin. Well, the mystery has been solved: a drunk fisherman called in the threat on his cell phone from his ship across the harbor. [social_buttons] Kenneth James Archer admitted to calling in the threat because of a
If you have a dog who likes to run, taking him along for a bike ride isn’t a bad idea. But when a man in Oklahoma decided to drag his pit bull behind the bike, after a while the dog didn’t want to run along. [social_buttons] Instead of stopping, the man continued to pedal his
Five activists managed to shut down a coal mine before being arrested and charged with “breach of the peace” for standing on a piece of equipment with a sign reading “No New Coal.” “We’re here to send a message to [mining company] ATH Resources that mining the dirtiest fossil fuel and fuelling climate change is
Today seven activists are facing a crowd of some of the world’s biggest proponents of coal-based energy at the World Coal-to-Liquids Conference 2009 in Washington, DC. [social_buttons] The group, acting as Rising Tide DC, interrupted the planned panel discussion to interject some ideas of their own about the environmental detestation caused by coal technologies. The
BP originally planned to celebrate its 100th year as a company on April 1st, but when the news went public and protests were planned, the company backed down and has rescheduled to an undetermined date. [social_buttons] “Whenever and wherever BP attempts to hold a party to celebrate its tarnished centenary, we will be there to
Where does your bottled water originate? Is the company bottling public water and selling it for profit? [social_buttons] Most water companies try their hardest to hide this information, but if a new bill that just was approved by committee today in the California state assembly takes hold, the companies would be forced to sing a
Just days after news leaked that Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency will designate CO2 as a pollutant, the EPA has announced that hundreds of mountaintop removal coal mining permits will be put on hold while their impact on streams and waterways is evaluated. [social_buttons] Mountaintop removal is a controversial method of extracting coal that literally blows
A coalition of environmental groups emerged victorious today when Patriot Coal agreed to test a new way to remove selenium from coal mine run-off. [social_buttons] The West Virginia-based coal company agreed to the deal to settle a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and West Virginia Highlands Conservancy which made allegations that the
While my post earlier this week about police spraying water cannons at World Water Forum protesters was intended to point out the irony, the truth is that the situation in Turkey was out of control, with unprovoked police attacks on peaceful protesters. In addition to water cannons, police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and
Humane Society Canada has sent a representative to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to document and broadcast the commercial killing of over 300,000 young seals beginning today. Rebecca Aldworth, who has attended the seal hunt for 11 years in a row, has arrived in the area. She will photograph the scene and send live updates
The G20 will meet next week in London, and while police are bracing for clamoring anti-globalization and climate change protests, organizers say all the planned events will be peaceful. [social_buttons] While the failures of the banking system will take the forefront (get used to hearing the phrase “Bankers are wankers”), organizers have also planned protests
The Nature Conservancy announced this week that they have purchased ranchland in Shasta, California and hope to return Big Springs Creek to its former glory as a major salmon run. [social_buttons] The organization noticed the creek’s consistent, glacier-fed flowing water supply should make it the perfect spawning area for the embattled Pacific salmon, but it
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has announced their own plans for March 28th from 8:30 to 9:30 pm: instead of shutting of lights with millions of people across the globe for Earth Hour, they’ll be celebrating Human Achievement Hour. [social_buttons] CEI is a libertarian organization that advocates for human innovation. Interestingly, green innovation doesn’t ever seem
Despite evidence that increasing the seal hunt quota could bring the harp seal population down the dangerous levels, the Canadian government has approved a 55,000 seal increase to quota for the upcoming commercial seal hunt. [social_buttons] The increase brings the total to 338,000 young seals scheduled to be brutally killed. Canada’s Humane Society said the
About 500 activists blocked coal shipments into Australia’s Hunter harbour yesterday by paddling kayaks and homemade rafts made from milk crates and innertubes into the water. [social_buttons] The action, which lasted 11 hours, is the fourth successful blockade against shipments of coal into Australia. More coal is received at that particular harbor than any other
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/YhHoCb6OBiI&hl=en&fs=1] I meet all kinds of interesting people through my position as editor of this blog, many of whom are actively fighting to protect the planet. I was lucky enough yesterday to receive an email from one such man: Peter Sinclair, the creator of a weekly YouTube series called “Climate Denial Crock of the Week.”
Apparently Turkish police have a biting sense of irony: they’ve sprayed protesters at the World Water Forum with high-pressured water cannons. [social_buttons] The forum, which occurs every three years, is supposed to focus on ways to eliminate water poverty across the globe, but protesters believe the forum takes a heavy-handed approach and supports construction of
Weeks before the planned start to the hunting season, Russia’s natural resources minister announced a ban on hunting seals under 1 year old today. The move spares up to 35,000 seals. [social_buttons] “The bloody sight of the hunting of seals, the slaughter of these defenseless animals, which you cannot even call a real hunt, is
While 58 wolves have already been killed since Saturday, there’s hope that Alaska’s Department of Fish & Game will not reach their enormous quota. Defenders of Wildlife has taken legal action that could stop the hunt immediately. “The Board of Game did not authorize the use of helicopters by state agency personnel as part of
Alaska abruptly resumed shooting wolves from helicopters this weekend in hopes that shooting the wolves will increase the population of caribou for hunters to kill. The state plans to kill up to 328 wolves, sparing under 100 in the Yukon area. [social_buttons] Not everyone in Alaska is gung-ho about the plan. The National Park Service
Two peaceful protestors with the environmental nonprofit International Rivers were deported from Turkey today after revealing a banner reading “No Risky Dams” just before the conference was set to begin. [social_buttons] The forum, held every three years, discusses global challenges and solutions to the water crisis. International Rivers advocates alternatives to large dams, which flood
Spanish animal rights group EquAnimal takes the prize for the most epic protest for the International Day of Action Against the Canadian Seal Hunt with about 100 activists stripping nude for the cause. The sprawling mass of nude painted-red bodies seemed to cause quite a stir in Madrid yesterday. While the effectiveness of nude
Around $10,000-worth of timber was confiscated from a lumber company after their illegal activities were exposed on their very own reality TV show on the History Channel. [social_buttons] Before we get into the details, let this sink in for a second: there’s a reality TV show that documents people competing to cut down trees. We’ve
A well-respected Indian scientist nearly died after a 38-day hunger strike in protest of construction on a hydropower dam on a tributary of the Ganges river. [social_buttons] AD Agarwal, a 77-year-old former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi at Kanpur, began his strike last month when the Indian government refused to study the
HBO will premier a new documentary titled “Death on a Factory Farm” tomorrow at 10 pm EST. [social_buttons] The film is a sequel to 2006’s Emmy-nominated “Dealing Dogs,” which exposed the illegal market for dogs sold to research labs through an undercover investigation by a man going by “Pete.” Well, Pete is back again and
An Arizona man who was caught by police in August 2008 after tying his horse to the back of his truck will face charges for animal cruelty in federal court this Tuesday. [social_buttons] Gorden Allen Bates tied a horse to the back of his truck and then proceeded to stop the vehicle and beat the
In the ongoing worldwide revolt of non-human captive primates, a circus monkey in central Florida made an escape into the woods after his captor forgot to attach a leash. Today, workers at the Liebling Family Circus are attempting to lure Reggie the spider monkey out of the forest by waiting at the edge of the
Within a matter of months, activists have succeeded in changing a store from a puppy mill vendor to an animal rescue venture. A pet store in the small town of Elyria, Ohio was the target of intense protests by animal rights activists for months before deciding to close down. Now, a new owner is opening
The first two sea lions were captured today in the joint Oregon and Washintgon sea lion killing program, with one being euthenized shortly after capture. The sea lions are being targeted because they eat salmon. [social_buttons] The animal was given a health exam when a veterenarian noticed a potentially contagious wound and decided to euthanize
Following the news of a 31-year-old chimp who evidently likes to plot out attacks on his Swedish zoo visitors, a monkey in Thailand became tired of his owner beating him and forcing him up trees to collect coconuts — so he threw one straight at the owner’s head.
Fishing nets often inadvertantly become entangled around whales, and while that is a crime under the Endangered Species Act, hardly anyone ever faces charges. But one unlucky fisherman has been caught in the act. Robert J. Eldridge Jr. faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted of three felony charges.
