by Freddy de Freitas | Mar 30, 2019 | Environment, Law, Weather
Federal Court Rejects Trump Plans to Withdraw Protections from Arctic, Atlantic Oceans for Drilling
Fairbanks, AK — Last night, the United States District Court for the District of Alaska ruled that Donald Trump acted unlawfully in his attempt to undo permanent protections for the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from offshore drilling. The ruling restores protections to 98% of the Arctic Ocean and millions of acres in the Atlantic. It will also force the administration to reconsider its radical proposed offshore drilling program, which would have expanded drilling into nearly every corner of America’s public waters, including these protected areas.
This ruling follows two other federal court decisions in the last two weeks that have rejected the administration’s plans to auction off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Wyoming and Colorado for oil and gas drilling without considering the climate impact.
In response, Sierra Club Our Wild America Campaign Director Lena Moffitt released the following statement:
“Once again, the courts are reminding Donald Trump that he is not above the law, and he can’t just sell off America’s public lands and waters with no regard for the climate or the public interest. We will continue to fight back against this administration’s destructive, pro-polluter agenda at every turn.”
by Freddy De Freitas | Nov 16, 2017 | Business & Money, Environment, Lifestyle & Health, Weather
Washington, D.C. – House Republicans have passed a deeply regressive tax plan that will result in outrageous and painful cuts to the core domestic programs that help protect public health, the environment, and so much more in America. More on the bill can be found below.
In Response, Sierra Club Legislative Director Melinda Pierce released the following statement:
“This scam to give billionaires and corporate polluters tax cuts while making American families pay the price with dirtier air, scarred lands, and higher bills is a shameful show of the broken priorities of Congressional Republicans. The GOP’s plan manages to raise taxes on the middle class, while creating a path to open up the pristine Arctic Refuge for destructive drilling. The American public’s staunch opposition to this bill shows they see through the rhetoric and recognize this bill as a disaster for our country. Congressional Republicans should brace themselves for a backlash that should serve as a warning to Senators as they consider their own disgraceful tax legislation.”
AMONG THE WORST PROVISIONS OF THE BILL:
SETS UP CUTS TO CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMS:
If this plan becomes law, people across the country will see the safeguards that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the places we play, and the communities where we live face dramatic and dangerous cuts.
That’s because this plan balloons the federal deficit by over $1.5 trillion by giving hangouts to the wealthiest individuals and corporations. Cutting taxes for the rich now means cuts to the federal budget and entitlements later.
UNDERMINES RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WHILE KEEPING BIG OIL TAX BONANZAS:
The House bill hampers the booming clean energy economy, which is leading new job creation nationwide, by ending tax credits for the purchase of electric vehicles and interfering with tax credits for wind and solar energy.
As reported by Bloomberg: “the bill would cut the benefit from the wind provision by a third, and wipe out another 10 percent tax credit for commercial-scale solar and geothermal projects after 2027.”
The clearest evidence that the GOP’s highest priority is polluters and not people is that Big Oil is already bragging about how their favorite massive tax loopholes and subsidies are almost entirely untouched in the House GOP plan. Bloomberg reports that the bill “keeps most of the oil industry’s most cherished tax breaks intact” worth many billions of dollars.
PLUNDERS THE ARCTIC REFUGE:
One of the ways Congressional Republicans want to fund tax cuts for the wealthy is by creating a path to open up the Arctic Refuge to drilling
This is a thinly veiled giveaway to the fossil fuel industry, reducing one of our last great wild places, the Arctic Refuge, and the Gwich’in nation who rely on it for their livelihood, to nothing more than a line item.
by Freddy De Freitas | Nov 15, 2017 | Business & Money, International, Lifestyle & Health, USA, Weather, White House
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by Freddy De Freitas | Nov 15, 2017 | Business & Money, Environment, International, Lifestyle & Health, USA, Weather, White House
Little Rock, Ark. – Rock icon Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe has sent a letter urging the mayor of Yellville, Arkansas, to put an end to the city’s cruel annual “turkey drop,” in which live turkeys are thrown out of planes during the Turkey Trot festival.
“I’ve met some wild Arkansans over the years while touring there with Mötley Crüe, and I thought I’d heard it all,” writes Lee. “But I just heard from my friends at PETA about a twisted Ozark ritual that even the most deranged headbanger couldn’t invent: dropping live turkeys from a plane as the ‘entertainment’ at the ‘family-friendly’ Turkey Trot festival. I’m writing to add my voice to the thousands of others asking you to help deep-six this sick stunt.”
Lee’s full letter is available here and appears below.
November 15, 2017
The Honorable Shawn Lane
Mayor of Yellville
Dear Mayor Lane,
I’ve met some wild Arkansans over the years while touring there with Mötley Crüe, and I thought I’d heard it all. But I just heard from my friends at PETA about a twisted Ozark ritual that even the most deranged headbanger couldn’t invent: dropping live turkeys from a plane as the “entertainment” at the “family-friendly” Turkey Trot festival. I’m writing to add my voice to the thousands of others asking you to help deep-six this sick stunt.
Arkansas offers plenty of cool outdoor gatherings that don’t rely on sadism, from the Lights of the Ozarks and the Mountain View Bluegrass Festival to my favorite: Wild Women Wednesday at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. If those attending the Turkey Trot want blood and guts, they can hit the Sun Valley Cinema afterward and see the newest slasher movie.
Yellville’s event was just dubbed a “festival of cruelty” by a conservative columnist and a “horrific act of abuse” by a poultry science professor at the University of Arkansas.
As a longtime fan of the Ozarks, I respectfully ask you and the Chamber of Commerce to use your power to drop the turkey drop.
Sincerely,
Tommy Lee
cc: Yellville Chamber of Commerce
by Freddy De Freitas | Nov 15, 2017 | Business & Money, Environment, International, Lifestyle & Health, USA, Weather, White House
At COP23, Center for American Progress, US Climate Action Network, 350.org, NextGen America, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and SustainUS deliver over 1 million petition signatures supporting international climate commitments
Bonn, Germany – Today, members of the U.S. People’s Delegation delivered over 1 million signatures from the
“I am still in” petition, signaling to the international community that people across America will lead on climate regardless of federal inaction.
The event featured speakers sharing their stories about why they are #Stillin, connecting their presence at COP23 to the powerful work happening at home, and handing over more than 1 million petition signatures to the UNFCCC Secretariat. In coordination with actions in the U.S., the signatures were placed in a time capsule to be opened 50 years from now, in 2067.
Yesterday, the Center for American Progress, Organizing for Action,
350.org, the League of Conservation Voters, Second Nature, Sierra Club, NextGen America, the Climate Reality Project, Climate Nexus, and more hosted 38 #Stillin events in 17 states and Washington, D.C., to support local climate action in the face of federal inaction.
“While world leaders convene in Germany, Americans across the country are making their voices heard,” said Christy Goldfuss, vice president of Energy and Environment Policy at the Center for American Progress. “The United States will continue to stand up for climate action in the absence of federal leadership. Today, we are bringing those voices to the international community and we will continue to support the governors, mayors, and tribal and local officials who are leading the way.”
“The Trump Administration’s corruption and dishonesty has no limits — despite the strongest scientific evidence to the contrary, they continue to lie to the American people for benefit of fossil fuel interests,” said NextGen America President Tom Steyer. “The American people are fed up with this administration, and every day more and more Americans are standing up to hold corporate polluters accountable and protect our clean air and water.”
Thanu Yakupitiyage, U.S. Communications Manager with 350.org and coordinator of the U.S. People’s Delegation said, “With the backing of over one million people, communities across America are sending a clear signal that the fossil-fueled Trump administration does not represent us. As Trump and his billionaire cronies deliberately neglect the needs of communities, ignore global climate commitments, and continue with their divisive schemes, we are getting to work from the ground-up to create powerful and lasting change. With regression at the federal level, elected officials at all levels must stand with the people calling a world free of fossil fuels with 100% renewable energy for all. From Bonn to New York to Portland and beyond, we are rising united to demand a fast and just transition to a fossil free world that puts people and our planet first.”
“The one million signatures on behalf of Americans who have pledged to uphold the Paris agreement are reflective of our determination and commitment to ensure that we always place people above politics and protection of our planet over profit,” said Kathy Egland, Chair of the NAACP National Board ECJ Committee. “The signatures are a repudiation of the callous, reckless and broken leadership of the United States government and a testament that we remain a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
“The solutions to climate change are here and ready to go, and we can generate millions of jobs updating our infrastructure, building solar panels on rooftops, and retrofitting homes. Every person who needs a job should have one doing the good work of cleaning up our climate. Donald Trump attempts to draw our country backwards with his fossil fueled agenda, but the American people are still in. If anything drives our country to increase commitments, it’ll be millions of everyday people coming together in the streets and at the ballot box to guarantee a society that works for all of us,” said Varshini Prakash, Action Coordinator and Spokeswoman with Sunrise Movement.
“Donald Trump and fossil fuel CEOs believe this world belongs to the few who look, live, and think like them,” said Anthony Torres, Associate Campaign Representative with Sierra Club. “They attempt to divide and deceive Americans with hate and denial. But, we, the people, see right through their greed. We demand that the US government fully achieve the Paris climate goals and ensure health, justice, and livelihoods for all.”
