Search |
|
|
 |
 |
|
EARTHWORKS launches Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project
Simultaneously, the new watchdog group released its best practices platform: DRILL-RIGHT TEXAS: Best Oil & Gas Development Practices for Texas. For more information:
Leading Jewelry Retailers Act on Pledge To Shun "Dirty Gold"
Tarnished Gold: Assessing the Jewelry Industry's Progress on Ethical Sourcing of Metals, evaluates progress jewelers have made in pursuit of cleaner sources of precious metals -- and finds signs of hope as well as shortfalls. CORRECTION (2/11): The scorecard and grade for Jostens has been corrected to reflect their signing of the Bristol Bay Protection Pledge. For more information:
EARTHWORKS announces Jennifer Krill as new executive director January 13 -- Starting February 1st, Ms. Krill will lead EARTHWORKS in its third decade of achievement as the only national environmental advocacy organization focused exclusively on the environmental and social issues surrounding mineral extraction. Ms. Krill comes to EARTHWORKS from a distinguished eleven-year tenure at Rainforest Action Network (RAN), where she led several campaigns and served as Program Director. Her strengths as a strategist, corporate campaigner and fundraiser will reinforce and strengthen EARTHWORKS programs, such as the groundbreaking No Dirty Gold campaign and the pioneering Oil and Gas Accountability Project. For more information:
Industry self-certification system falls short December 21 -- A mining and jewelry industry trade association -- the Responsible Jewellery Council -- launched its certification scheme this week. The RJC is comprised of mining and jewelry companies -- the very entities the certification scheme would govern. Unfortunately, RJC's system primarily serves to illustrate the need for independent, third-party monitoring. Fortunately, an effort to develop truly independent monitoring and certification is underway: the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) -- a multi-sector initiative involving representatives from jewelry and mining industries, NGOs, trade unions and mining affected communities. For more information:
Community health survey shows shale gas threatens human health
EARTHWORKS, the Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project and the Town of DISH are calling on state regulators to immediately perform an in-depth health investigation, implement continuous 24-hour emissions monitoring, and establish a same-day community odor and symptom tracking system. For more information:
ASARCO Bankruptcy Shows Need for 1872 Mining Law Reform: Updated Mining Law Will Prevent Future Bankruptcies December 11-- Yesterday, the mining company ASARCO, a subsidiary of the Mexican corporation Grupo Mexico S.A. de C.V, paid the United States government $1.79 billion to help clean up hazardous waste pollution at ASARCO-owned mines and smelters in 19 states. This payment, the nation's largest environmental bankruptcy settlement, highlights the pressing need to reform the antiquated 1872 Mining Law, the law that governed many of ASARCO's mining properties.
60 Minutes reveals: TAKE ACTION: Tell Target, TJ Maxx and Harry Winston to commit to the Golden Rules of Responsible Mining -- and work to put an end to dirty gold. Learn more about how EARTHWORKS, through the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, is working with jewelry retailers and mining companies to try to establish meaningful, independently certified, standards to eliminate dirty gold. Sears/Kmart join other jewelers in pledging to avoid "dirty" gold November 18 -- Three major jewelry retailers today announced their decision to shun irresponsible gold mining and seek cleaner sources of gold and precious metals. Sears Holdings (parent company of Sears and Kmart), Ultra Stores, and Blue Nile all signed the No Dirty Gold campaign's Golden Rules for responsible sourcing of precious metals, bringing the total number of jewelry retail signatories up to 60. These jewelry retailers include 7 of the top 10 jewelry retail firms in the United States, and represent over $1.3 billion in annual US jewelry sales, or nearly a quarter of total sales.
Chesapeake Energy Concede Risks Inherent in Hydraulic Fracturing; Public's Desire Not to Risk Drinking Water November 2-- Last week, Chesapeake Energy Corporation stated that it will not drill for natural gas within the New York City watershed, a small area within the Marcellus Shale natural gas reserve which underlies some of the Appalachian regions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia. The watershed, which supplies untreated, clean water to nine million people, is under increasing pressure to drill. EARTHWORKS' Oil and Gas Accountability Project appreciates Chesapeake Energy's recognition that drilling is inherently risky, and that people don't want their drinking water at risk. Welcome and unenforceable declarations aside, the greater issues of permanent protection for the watershed and an under-regulated polluting technology with a checkered history remain.
Anglo American's Alaska Mine Poses High Risks for Investors October 29-- A new investor advisory released today raises significant questions about the risks associated with Anglo American plc's Pebble Mine Project. The advisory details the growing list of regulatory, legal, engineering and political challenges facing the London-based mining giant as its struggles to secure permits for the controversial gold-copper mine.
EARTHWORKS joins conservation and Native American groups in challenging Bush-era mining giveaways October 20-- A coalition of conservation and Native American organizations today filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. challenging two regulations issued by the Bush Administration that weakened the requirements for environmental and taxpayer protections on federal public land involved in mining operations. These Bush-era policies allow multinational mining companies unlimited amounts of public land to dump toxic mine waste and tailings from large-scale industrial mining operations.
EARTHWORKS Supports Abandoned Mine Initiative Introduced in the U.S. Senate October 14-- Today the U.S. Senate took a step forward in by introducing Good Samaritan abandoned mine legislation, S. 1777, the Good Samaritan Cleanup of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act. Attention on this pervasive source of water pollution is long overdue, and we applaud Senator Mark Udall for leading the effort.
EARTHWORKS Supports Rahall Plan to Make Uranium Leasable September 17-- Today a House Natural Resources Committee hearing was held on the Conslidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act. Section 511 of the act would convert uranium from a locatable mineral under under the General Mining Law of 1872 to a leasable mineral under the Mineral Leasing Act. Uranium mining has left behind a legacy of pollution in the West, and is currently taken for free by mining companies. Under the Mineral Leasing Act, uranium mining companies will have to pay a fair royalty to the taxpayer for the extraction of this valuable mineral from federal lands, unlike the current system under the 1872 Mining Law, where they take the minerals for free.
Efforts to Reform Natural Gas Development Gain Momentum September 16-- More than 160 community and national organizations signed onto a letter of support today calling for passage of legislation to protect drinking water from the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, a process used in most natural gas drilling projects. The letter calls on for Congressional co-sponsors for S. 1215/ H.R. 2766, The Fracturing Responsibility And Awareness Act, which would require public disclosure of the chemicals used in the fracking process.
EARTHWORKS Responds to Proposed Industry Certification Scheme. August 6-- EARTHWORKS and eight other nongovernmental organizations sent a letter to the mining and jewelery trade association, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), outlining serious concerns with the RJC's mining standards and process Among the criticisms from the NGOs are the absence of key environmental and social criteria, such as community consent, no-go areas for biodiversity conservation, and protection of natural water bodies from tailings disposal.
EARTHWORKS testifies in front of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee July 14-- Today, Cathy Carlson, Policy Advisor for EARTHWORKS, testified in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on S. 796, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act. The bill, introduced earlier this year by Senator Bingaman (D-NM) would reform the antiquated 1872 Mining Law. EARTHWORKS' testimony focused on the need to protect clean water and communities from the destructive impacts of mining.
Congress tries to close the oil & gas industry's "Halliburton Loophole" to the Safe Drinking Water Act June 09 -- Members of the House and Senate leadership have introduced a bill that would close the so-called "Halliburton Loophole" in the Safe Drinking Water Act that exempts hydraulic fracturing, and would require the public disclosure of hydraulic fracturing chemicals. The Halliburton loophole authorizes oil and gas drillers, exclusively, to inject known hazardous materials -- unchecked -- directly into or adjacent to underground drinking water supplies.. The exemption is known as the "Halliburton loophole" because former Vice President Dick Cheney, ex-CEO of Halliburton, is associated with its creation. Halliburton developed hydraulic fracturing in the 1940s, and remains one of the three largest manufacturers of fracturing fluids.
Fracking, EARTHWORKS' Oil & Gas Accountability Project
May 27 -- NPR's Morning Edition did a story on hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as "fracking"), its dangers, and efforts to overturn the "Halliburton loophole". The loophole is a Cheney-era exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act for fracking. There is strong evidence that the Environmental Protection Agency actively ignored sound science when it issued its report on fracking that is sometimes used to justify the loophole.
Flowers for cellphones April 20th, take your old phone to Farragut Sqaure for recycling -- win a prize
Apr 17 -- On Monday April 20th, Councilman Jack Evans and the Golden Triangle will host 'Flower for Phones' with the onsite support from DC Department of Public Works' Office of Recycling and the non-profit organization Earthworks (with a rain date on Tuesday, April 21) from 11:00am to 2:00pm in Farragut Square Park and Golden Triangle Park. The 'Flowers for Phones' project encourages people to drop off used cell phones to be recycled. In exchange, participants will receive a yellow flower to plant and a chance to win prizes from Golden Triangle BID merchants including Results Gym, the Quincy hotel, BLT Steak, the Melting Pot, and others.
Leading UK Jewelers Say *No* to Dirty Gold from Alaska Mine Apr 14 -- Six prestigious UK jewelry retailers and designers representing 260 stores today pledged their support for Bristol Bay, Alaska. They announced they won't buy gold from Anglo American's proposed "Pebble" mine -- a massive open-pit operation being considered in the bay's headwaters. The Bristol Bay watershed supports the world's most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery, which is critical to the state's economy and to the livelihoods of many Alaska Native communities. The UK is the largest consumer of Bristol Bay canned sockeye salmon.
New Bingaman Mining Legislation Would Bring Tens of Thousands of Jobs to Rural Communities Senate Mining Reform Initiative Would Bring Bring 19th Century Law into 21st Apr 02 -- For the first time in over a decade, the Senate is moving forward with reform of one of the most archaic policies governing our public lands. Senator Bingaman has introduced S. 796, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2009, to regulate the mining of hardrock minerals -- like gold, copper and uranium -- on public lands. This bill will create jobs and provide economic opportunities for rural communities while cleaning up a massive legacy of toxic mining pollution. The bills reclamation fee could create an estimated 55,000 new jobs over the next 10 years for rural western communities. .
Toxics Release Inventory Conceals Toxic Threat to Drinking Water TRI highlights need for regulation of nation's largest mercury polluter Mar 19 -- Published today, EPA's Toxics Release Inventory again shows metal mining to be the nation's largest polluter: of 4.09 billion lbs of toxics reported, 28% or 1.15 billion were released by mining. Unfortunately, one of the most serious threats to our nation's drinking water supply is left unknown. Oil & gas producers do not have to report their toxic releases. The TRI did reveal the extent of mercury mining pollution. According the TRI, metal mining accounted for 90% of all reported mercury releases, 6.22 million pounds. Despite this, no federal regulations require mines to reduce mercury air emissions.
Newmont's internal review confirms failure to properly engage with affected communities EARTHWORKS calls on Newmont to respect community rights, and their own report Mar 11 -- The world's second largest gold producer, Newmont Mining, now recognizes it has failed to properly engage with communities impacted by its operations. The Community Relations Review, funded and commissioned by Newmont, was written following a shareholder resolution pushed by Christian Brothers Investment Services and other faith-based investors. EARTHWORKS commends Newmont for undertaking a review of its community relations, and considers the review an important first step in addressing and repairing Newmont's checkered track record of conflicts with communities. What it does with this information will be the true test. |
Community VoicesAntrim County, MI"State Could Force Property Owners to Allow Drilling" is a story about how one Michigan landowner fought to avoid being force pooled. NewsHalliburton's Interests Assisted by White HouseLA Times: Vice President Dick Cheney's office has backed measures favoring hydraulic fracturing, a technique developed by Halliburton Co., Cheney's former employer. Behind Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed QuestionsThere has always been an element of madness to gold's allure. Golden Gamble in Grass Valley: A Legacy of RiskAt the Idaho-Maryland Mine, up to four tons of ore would have to be processed to produce one ounce of gold. But the steps taken to scrape together that ounce pose what scientists call two of the mining industry's biggest environmental risks: cyanide contamination and acid mine drainage. A High Regard for the EarthDavid Maisel's Aerial Photos Re-Survey the Boundaries Between Ugly and Beautiful PublicationsCivil Society Letter to the Responsible Jewellery CouncilPredicting Water Quality Problems at Hardrock Mines -- an EARTHWORKS white paperA Failure of Science, Oversight, and Good Practice Our Drinking Water at RiskWhat EPA and the Oil and Gas Industry Don't Want Us to Know About Hydraulic Fracturing. (Full Report) Oil and Gas at Your Door? (2005 Edition)A landowner's guide to oil and gas development. Preserving our Public LandsA citizen's guide to understanding and participating in oil and gas decisions affecting public lands. |
