We All Live Downstream

Risking arrest to stop the pipeline

And all they got was a mug shot ticket (and an earthquake).

The largest environmental civil disobedience action in a generation is happening right now in front of the White House.  Hundreds of people have been arrested already and hundreds more will be arrested over the next week.  It’s all aimed at getting President Obama to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline.

The proposed pipeline is an extension of an existing line, which currently stops somewhere in Oklahoma.  The new line would allow oil companies to transport tar sands all the way from the destroyed Boreal forests of northern Alberta to Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, passing under essential farm land and vital aquifers in the mid-west. This brings us to reason#951 (find some other reasons here and here) why this line should not be built: spills.  The current line has already leaked dozens of times in one year.  Read the rest of this entry »

By Gary Wockner, Colorado Program Director

Protestors outside Rep Gardner's office - by Micah Parkin

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen elected officials act as irresponsibly as the members of the 112th Congress have.  This year we’ve seen everything from attempts to de-fund the EPA to H.R. 2018 to scores of Representatives sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting “La, la, la…can’t hear you science – Climate change is a hoax!”  The worst part is that these Representatives aren’t even trying to hide it.  Case in point – we compiled a 17-page report that documents the anti-environment riders attached to one spending bill.

We’re not alone in our astonishment.  This summer Reps Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) analyzed 110 votes in the U.S. House since January 2011.  They came to the conclusion that the U.S. House of Representatives in the 112th Congress — led by Colorado’s 4th Congressional District Congressman Cory Gardner —is the “Most Anti-Environmental Congress in U.S. History”.  Read the rest of this entry »

Moms for a toxic free tomorrow

By Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts Legislative Director

“Who says politics has to be dull?” asks Kristi Marsh of Easton, who came with her 3 children to yesterday’s “stroller brigade for safer chemicals” in Boston.  All four Marshes, along with about 30 other moms and kids, donned superhero capes and visited the offices of Senators Brown and Kerry to urge them to be heroes by co-sponsoring the Safe Chemicals Act.

The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S.847), introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ) would increase chemical safety, inform consumers and the marketplace on chemical hazardous and protect vulnerable populations like pregnant women and children. Yesterday’s event was one of 17 around the country.

Enjoy these photos of super-moms and -kids from the day! You can see more pictures on our facebook page.  For more information read our press release about the event. Read the rest of this entry »

Let's make sure we know what Chemicals we're dealing with

By Mary Brune, Clean Water Action supporter

Tomorrow, August 11th, is my daughter Olivia’s birthday. My almost second-grader, who just finished reading “Harry Potter” book, is turning seven. It’s hard to believe. Tomorrow we’ll celebrate this milestone in the presence of family, give her gifts, and enjoy the Brune birthday staple: ice cream cake.

But today, while the rest of our family frolics in the sand at the Jersey shore, my daughter and I will travel two and a half hours by train to New York City to join other mothers and children in celebrating another important event: The National Stroller Brigade Day of Action in support of The Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. The New York event is one of several taking place across the country, to either thank senators for being ­or encourage them to become­ a co-sponsor of this important chemical reform legislation.  In New York, we will be thanking both Senators Gillibrand and Schumer for their early formal support for these common sense reforms.  Senator Gillibrand, as another concerned mom, has been increasingly active around the need to better protect our children and has played a leading role in this effort.  Read the rest of this entry »

Let's stop fracking in New Jersey

By Jenny Vickers, Communications Coordinator, New Jersey Environmental Federation

Is fracking coming to New Jersey? Not if S2576 has anything to say about.  S2576 will ban fracking in New Jersey.  The fracking industry is growing at exponential rates all over the country.  Unfortunately, we don’t know all of the risks associated with fracking.  What we do know is that fracking takes a huge amount of water out of the aquifer and mixes it with sand and nasty chemicals.  It also involves shooting this mixture into the ground with tremendous pressure to break up rock and release the natural gas stored there. Read the rest of this entry »

By Susan Harley, Michigan Policy Director

Who says “yes, please, toxic pollution is just the thing I’d like to breathe”?  No one.  Except, apparently, for Big Coal.  Their lobbyists are saying (and telling Congress) that the EPA shouldn’t be able to do its job and protect us from toxic air pollution like mercury.

Today’s the day to do something about it.  Literally.  Today is the last day to submit comments to make sure that the EPA stands tough and moves forward with the strongest possible protections from air toxics!

The EPA has already heard from over 800,000 concerned Americans supporting their move to finally put a limit on the amount of toxic air pollution like mercury that can be released from power plants.  People like anglers and mothers have spoken out in the press and at the EPA hearings across the country; they are standing up for strong health protections from air toxics. Read the rest of this entry »

Let's keep our lakes clean

By Jonathan Scott

Most people have at least one special “water place” in their lives.

For me, it’s a big lake in New Hampshire.

Sometimes it’s noisy, with three or four generations screaming and splashing together from morning until well past sunset.

Sometimes it’s the quietest place on earth, so quiet you can almost hear the pine needles falling, over the gentle lapping of the water. Every so often a loon might call out to remind you that you are not alone, after all.

The water is always clear, always cold, and runs straight from the lake to our drinking water tap with only a sediment filter in between.

So, that’s my special water place. Read the rest of this entry »

Will the Gas Commission loosen the rules?

Colorado is in the midst of a major boom in oil and gas drilling, including fracking.  A few years ago, Colorado passed strong rules to protect the environment from the impact of drilling — these rules passed with support of the legislature and former Governor Bill Ritter.  As political winds have shifted, those rules may now be changed to be more friendly to industry.

Recently, newly elected Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper — a former oil geologist — appointed a new Oil and Gas Commission.  Environmentalists have concerns about the new appointees because Governor Hickenlooper has made statements in the past 12 months that suggested the rules are too strict in their environmental protections.  The Colorado environmental community will be closely watching the Oil and Gas Commission in the coming months to hold them accountable for protecting Colorado’s sensitive environment and the recreational and sportsmen activities that depend on clean air, clean water, and healthy open lands and habitat.

For more, check out this story