The Inuit sitting on billions of barrels of oil
(November 29th, 2012) After a decade of legal wrangling and spending $4.5bn (£2.8bn), this year Shell Oil was given permission to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska. But many in the local Inuit community are concerned it could have a devastating impact on one of their main sources of food – the bowhead whale.
Marie Casados shows me the contents on her freezer. Inside there’s whale meat, muktuk – frozen whale skin and blubber – a selection of fish and a polar bear foot, which looks like a human hand. She describes it as a real delicacy. But it’s more than that – this is her food supply for the winter. Read more from BBC News…
KENYA: Disquiet over Lamu port project
(October 31st 2012) A fledgling project to build a huge new port, oil refinery and transport hub on Kenya’s northern coastline promises to deliver thousands of jobs and is a pillar of the government’s long-term development agenda. But critics fear the project will displace tens of thousands of people in Lamu District, exacerbate decades of marginalization, degrade marine environments essential to local livelihoods and increase the risk of conflict as the country gears up for elections in March 2013. Read more from IRIN News…
A new investigation accuses HSBC of ignoring its own sustainability policies
(November 3, 2012) Can a right make up for a company’s wrongs? The Economist highlights some of HSBC’s, a British multinational bank, business practices. HSBC boasts environmental initiatives, including a “Climate Partnership” with the World Wildlife Fund. Working with “corporate bad guys” has become common practice these large environmental NGOs. In these partnerships, the NGO helps companies develop more sustainable business strategies. Despite this commitment to environmental good, HSBC is connected to some of the most unsustainable logging operations in Malaysia. These unsustainable logging practices threaten Borneo’s rainforest, have led to abuses against indigenous groups, and have been connected to political corruption. This might suggest that HSBC is benefits from being able to market themselves as an environmentally and socially conscious business without having to actually be one. To the bank’s credit, their forest policy is well-developed and they support other well-established environmental NGOs, including the Forest Stewardship Council. Perhaps they are transitioning to a truly sustainable business strategy and this is an area they are working to improve. Read more from The Economist…
Rehabilitated Orangutans in Danger if Development Proceeds in Borneo
(October 22,2012) The proposed extension of an industrial area in East Kalimantan, Indonesia will likely mean the end of a population of rehabilitated orangutans who reside there, according to the Indonesian environmental group Peduli Teluk Balikpapan. The Kariangau Industrial Area (KIK) will comprise 5,130 hectares of land currently covered by hardwood forests and mangroves when completed, including one third of orangutan habitat in Sungai Wain forest—a crucial portion that is not within the boundaries of the Sungai Wain Protection Forest and therefore not under any governmental protection. Though the expansion has not yet been finalized, two companies—PT Dermaga Kencana Indonesia (Kencana Agri Ltd. Group) and PT Mekar Bumi Andalas (Wilmar Group)—have proceeded to clear forest and reclaim mangrove swamps in areas still classified as protected in order to build crude palm oil mills near Upper Balikpapan Bay. Read more from mongabay…
Industrial “Park” to Enhance Southeast Chicago Neighborhoods
(October 10, 2012) The Environmental Justice Alliance of Greater Southeast Chicago has been opposing development of new non-renewable energy projects in the 10th Ward. Their efforts gained support of Gov. Pat Quinn, and were successful in chasing away private interests. The group expressed interest in a project proposed by Calumet Genesis Energy Park that uses anaerobic digestions to create gas from organic waste. In New York, reconstructed green spaces are being used to improve problems in communities linked to historical industrial uses. The Waterfront Justice Project was launched in 2010, and will hopefully be a model of how to improve once industrial areas. Similarly, Chicago activists believe that their plan for the space will provide habitat for wildlife, improve ecosystem health, and build a stronger community. Some argue that there are monetary benefits to sustainable urban planning. Specifically, the project will require development of some wetland areas, but will not have the high cleanup costs, often exceeding the value of the property, common to traditional development projects. Read more from nwi.com…
The Nuclear Industry Continues To Makes Its Mark On Native American Lives
(October 11, 2012) Short clip on Democracy Now! illustrates the history of uranium mining on Native American communities in New Mexico. The mine tailings and the radioactive waste contaminate the land and water on the reservation. This problemis not unique to the New Mexico area. For decades, private companies have targeted Native American tribes in Nevada and Utah as sites for atomic waste dumps. Many of these tribes have lost hope for improving the environmental health of their communities. Pro-dump tribal chairman Leon Bear summed up his feelings: “We can’t do anything here that’s green or environmental. Would you buy a tomato from us if you knew what’s out here? Of course not. In order to attract any kind of development, we have to be consistent with what surrounds us.” Read more from Nuclear Information and Resource Service…
As Arctic Melts, Inuit Face Tensions with Outside World
(October 1, 2012) Sakiasiq Qanaq has seen a lot of changes on the north coast of Baffin Island in recent years as the retreat of summer sea ice has continued unabated. But the Inuit hunter has never seen anything quite like this year, when sea ice loss in the Arctic hit a record low.
First, the community’s spring narwhal hunt, which usually yields roughly 60 of the tusked whales, produced only three. The sea ice was so thin that the Inuit couldn’t safely stand on it and shoot the narwhal as they migrated into Arctic Bay from Greenland through channels in the ice. Then an unprecedented number of killer whales, or orcas — rarely seen in heavy ice — showed up in the largely ice-free water, with Inuit hunters in nearby Pond Inlet observing three pods of orcas that reportedly killed some of the narwhals and scared off the others. Read more from e360…
Mongolia: World Bank and Others Poised to Invest in Rio Tinto’s Flawed Mongolian Mining Project
(September 24, 2012) The World Bank, along with other investors such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the U.S. Export Import Bank, and the Export Development Canada, has announced its intent to invest in Rio Tinto’s Oyu Tolgoi mine. The copper and gold mine is located in the southern Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It would dramatically boost domestic economic growth. But in this water scarce region, it threatens the livelihoods of herder communities. The company has only released an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the construction phase of the project, already 94% complete. This report may have failed to include information on the effects fo river diversion, pastureland destruction, and impacts of the mine’s affiliated facilities. Also, the company may not have taken the appropriate steps to inform and involve the affected herder communities in the decision-making process. Rio Tinto has not published assessments for other phases, including operations and decommissioning of the mine. Read more from Bank Information Center…
Peru: Talisman Energy Withdraws From Peruvian Amazon – Achuar People Celebrate Victory For Indigenous Rights
September 13, 2012) Indigenous communities residing in Block 64 in the Peruvian Amazon rain forest celebrated when Talisman Energy (TLM) announced it was halting oil exploration. Since 2004, Achuar communities have been resisting the company’s efforts to develop this bio diverse region. The company had been operating without consent of the majority of indigenous communities, but is now the fifth company to leave Block 64. Drilling and oil exploration is not new to the area, and has threatened the integrity of indigenous water sources and fishing grounds. The indigenous community looks forward to regaining control of its natural resources and having the opportunity to develop their forest in a sustainable manner. Read Full Article.
West Virginia Man Who Fought Coal Mining Practice Passes Away
A massive dragline, dwarfed by the huge scale of the operation, at work on a mountaintop removal operation near Kayford Mountain, W.Va
Photo by Vivian Stockman, Oct. 19, 2003
(September 10, 2012) Yesterday, environmental activist Larry Gibson, creator of the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, passed away at age 66. Devoting his life to saving the mountains he loved, beginning with Kayford Mountain. Gibson worked to protect mountain tops throughout Appalachia.
Mountain top removal is a practice that involves dynamiting away top soil and rock to expose coal seams. This method of surface mining leads to stream burial, contamination of watersheds, fish kills in freshwater systems, and possibly, increased local incidences of cancer and birth defect rates. Five percent of land surface area in the Central Appalachians have already been converted from forests into active and reclaimed surface mines. The Obama administration has taken steps to halt this habitat destruction, but more needs to be done in order to preserve the mountain ecosystems and the communities that live among them.
Gibson was not alone in his efforts to end this industrial practice: many activists groups are doing what they can to stop mining and effect policy. However, there are other groups, such as Friends of Coal, devoted to protecting the status quo, arguing that the industry is a critical economic contributor in West Virginia. Often times the debate pins groups concerned about environmental and human health against those concerned with jobs and local economies. This debate forces individuals to examine two sides, both concerned with the welfare of the coal mining communities. Read more about mountain top removal.
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