When you throw a piece of trash from your car window, or get rid of your old computer in the woods anywhere in the United States, you’re violating littering or dumping laws, and chances are that you’d have to pay a fine if caught red-handed. But when it comes to the Arctic, our representatives think it’s okay to let … Read more
I was hopeful that some real progress would be made when the Department of the Interior suspended Shell’s drilling program in the Arctic because of the company’s chain of embarrassing failures and near-disasters in 2012. But last week, the government’s 60-day investigation of Shell’s Arctic drilling program mainly confirmed what we already knew: Shell is … Read more
When I arrived at 1 Market Plaza in San Francisco this past Sunday, I saw an entire city block filled with people demanding that President Obama block the Keystone XL pipeline and take action on climate change. This was the largest environmental rally in San Francisco history, with 5,000 participants, and the largest nation-wide environmental … Read more
As a 19-year old, Kevin Harun adored actress Mary Tyler Moore; he was convinced that it would be a great adventure to track her down in Minnesota. When he told his grandmother, she thought he might as well be heading to Timbuktu—or Alaska. And when she said, “I dare you,” he promptly took off, carrying … Read more
In a letter sent to Interior’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Tommy Beaudreau today, thirteen conservation groups ask that a review of Shell’s 2012-2013 Arctic drilling examine the entire system of Arctic Ocean drilling.
Today CEOs from Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environment America, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, League of Conservation Voters, National Audubon Society, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana, Ocean Conservancy, Pacific Environment, Sierra Club and The Wilderness Society called on Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to suspend offshore oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean.
Shell ended its 2012 Arctic drilling season with a bang. On New Year’s Eve, one of its drill rigs—the Kulluk— ran aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska, in a severe winter storm while carrying 143,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of other petroleum products. Tow vessels were moving the Kulluk, which has no propulsion … Read more
We lost a great soul last week when Rebecca Tarbotton died. Becky was the inspiring leader of the Rainforest Action Network, and the progressive community is widely mourning her death. I count myself very lucky to have known Becky. We first met in the very early 2000’s when her organization and mine were fumbling toward … Read more
Did you know that the U.S. government is slated to finance a massive dirty fossil fuel project that will damage Australia’s world-famous Great Barrier Reef—home to sea turtles, dugongs, and many other protected marine species? I think this is outrageous, and that’s why Pacific Environment and our partners have filed a lawsuit to challenge a … Read more
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s nearly $3 billion in financing for a massive Australian fossil fuel facility in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Construction and operation of the liquefied natural gas facility will threaten sea turtles, dugongs and many other protected marine species, as well as the Great Barrier Reef itself.
One of the U.S.’s largest export promotion agencies, the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), recently announced that its New York office is shuttered until further notice due to flooding and power loss from deadly Superstorm Sandy. To help those recovering from the storm, Ex-Im Bank extended its Mid-Atlantic and Northeast clients various deadline extensions. “As the nation … Read more
The Obama Administration is supporting skyrocketing export subsidies for dirty fossil fuels through the United States Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank). The subsidies, revealed in the newly released Ex-Im Bank 2012 Annual Report, are significantly larger than ever before and dwarf the U.S. funds provided for developing countries to address climate change.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer my nature wild, not behind Plexiglas. Sadly, not everyone agrees. In early October, the U.S. Government’s export promotion agency, Export-Import Bank, issued a press release boasting its approval of a $105 million loan to the Brazilian state of Ceará to support U.S. exports for the construction of … Read more
San Francisco just took a huge step to lower its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. The city’s board of supervisors green-lighted Clean Power SF, San Francisco’s version of a Community Choice Aggregation program. It will allow San Franciscans to pool their purchasing power and buy electricity from 100 percent renewable energy sources. This is exactly … Read more
Today is a good day: Shell announced that it is cancelling its 2012 Arctic drilling program! From asking to exceed air pollution limits to a damaged oil spill containment dome, Shell showed that it is not prepared to drill in the Arctic safely. Let’s savor the moment. This is a huge day for millions of … Read more
Three conservation groups initiated a legal challenge today to the U.S. Export-Import Bank’s nearly $3 billion in financing for two massive fossil-fuel facilities in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Construction and operation of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities will threaten dugongs, sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles and numerous other protected marine species within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Despite protests from Pacific Environment and a coalition of conservation organizations, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) went ahead and granted Royal Dutch Shell special treatment. In response to Shell’s request for a waiver from current air pollution regulations, the EPA issued a one-year air pollution permit that will allow Shell to violate the Clean Air Act and exceed air pollution limits in the Arctic. This only increases the likelihood that Shell will receive the final permit it needs to start drilling for oil in America’s Arctic. Take action now.
“We have been forced into court to make sure the Arctic Ocean is protected and Shell is prepared, as mandated by law. The Federal Government rubber-stamped plans that rely on unbelievable assumptions, include equipment that has never been tested in Arctic conditions, and ignore the very real possibility that a spill could continue through the winter. The agency has not met minimum legal standards to be sure that Shell’s plans could be effective and that Shell has sufficient boats, resources, and spill responders to remove a ‘worst-case’ oil spill in the Arctic Ocean to the ‘maximum extent practicable.’ Even after Deepwater Horizon, Interior Secretary Salazar brushed aside concerns about Shell’s spill response capabilities, stating recently that ‘there is not going to be an oil spill.’
WASHINGTON, DC – The Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), a federal government trade promotion agency, voted to provide $90 million in financing to the top U.S. coal exporter, Xcoal Energy & Resources, to export coal to China and other Asian countries. The vote to subsidize coal exports follows a decrease in U.S. demand … Read more
Today the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 2072, a bill to reauthorize the federal government’s Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank), which provides billions of dollars in public financing for harmful fossil fuel projects worldwide.[1] Passage of the bill will allow the agency to increase its portfolio cap from $100 billion to $140 billion., and it now moves to President Obama’s desk to sign into law.