fighting for the future of food

VOLUME 44 NUMBER 3 | FALL 2014

WWWFOEORG

2 Fall 2014 Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine WWWFOEORG

Friends

Letrsquos be frank The results of the 2014 elections were a major blow to our efforts on climate change and environmental protection and to our work to create a more socially and economically just society While congressional progress on many of our priorities was mediocre at best we now have Sen Jim Inhofe (R-Okla) an outspoken climate denier leading the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) a coal-state Republican leading the majority This duo coupled with

one of the most anti-environmental Houses of Representatives in recent memory will systematically target our bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency This might be the best Congress special interest polluters like the Koch brothers could ever buy

Irsquoll be honest with you the attacks on our environmental laws will come fast and furiously We must constantly remind Senate Democrats of the need to remain united in defense of environmental protections More importantly we must remind President Obama mdash early and often mdash that he cannot compromise on efforts to protect our health and environment

In all this there is cause for optimism President Obama has shown an increased willingness to use executive orders to push for change On climate change his administration has several pending rules that will regulate greenhouse gas emmissions He brokered an important political deal with China and has created several new national monuments His actions are not nearly strong or aggressive enough but they are making progress We also passed an important first test when Senate Democrats blocked a bill sponsored by one of their own Sen Mary Landrieu (D-La) to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline

I am hopeful too about the grassroots energy we are helping create In September I had the privilege and honor of marching with more than 400000 students activists teachers grandmothers indigenous people LGBT advocates and others who ventured to New York City for the Peoples Climate March In Oregon Friends of the Earth and our sister group Friends of the Earth Action knocked on more 60000 doors to fight for Oregoniansrsquo rights to know if their food contains genetically modified organisms And activists around the country and world are challenging cities countries universities and other institutions to divest from their fossil fuel holdings The energy is building

As we enter the New Year I encourage you to take stock of what we have accomplished together mourn our losses and steel ourselves for the tremendous fights before us Ultimately the individual and collective power we hold will create the drive energy and circumstances to leave a better legacy for our children and grandchildren

Warm regards

Erich Pica President Friends of the Earth

PS I deeply believe that the fight for a healthy environment is intimately connected with social economic and racial justice I am outraged and stunned that two recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson Missouri and New York City failed to indict the police officers responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner Indictments would have allowed the facts to be adjudicated in a court of law and provided some assurances that our justice system works My only solace is that these decisions will hopefully dispel the myth that we live in a post-racial America and will force each of us to (re)commit ourselves to fighting for a society free of these injustices

THE FIGHT AHEAD

Erich Pica

presidentrsquos message

Image credit Project Survival Media

Get involved in issues and debates affecting human health and the planet by signing up for Friends of the Earth action alerts Visit wwwfoeorg today

CUTTING HARMFUL SPENDINGBillions of taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize Big Oil and other environmentally destructive industries annually Over the last 20 years Friends of the Earth has worked on the Green Scissors project to identify and push for the elimination of these harmful giveaways The 2014 Green Scissors database dissects tax and spending provisions in the federal budget that benefit polluters and offers money- and environment-saving solutions If the Green Scissors recommendations on wasteful and polluting agriculture water energy and transportation subsidies were implemented the US would save $259 billion dollars over the next 10 years

Read more at wwwgreenscissorscom

MAKING HEADLINESPBS Newshour featured food and technology campaigner Dana Perls in a segment on synthetic biology organisms during which she cautioned ldquoIf and when these organisms escape into the environment we wonrsquot know how to recall them or clean them up This is a very new field of technology about which we know very littlerdquo In Fortune climate and energy campaigner Kate DeAngelis likened President Obamarsquos favoring of natural gas projects to ldquotreating climate change like a game of of peek-a-boordquo by ignoring the climate effects of natural gas extraction Building on this Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica appeared on Al Jazeera to discuss the US-China climate agreement noting that the ldquoUS plays three card Monty with energy calling for reductions while still exporting [fossil fuels]rdquo As the new more environmentally-hostile Congress takes session Friends of the Earth will remain an outspoken proponent of environmental protections in the media See more of Friends of the Earth in the press at wwwfoeorgin-the-news

DRIVING NEWS AND RESEARCHThis fall Friends of the Earth released a new report on the worldrsquos most progressive environmental banking regulation Chinarsquos Green Credit Guidelines ldquoGoing out but going greenrdquo examines seven case studies from around the world in a variety of sectors such as mining dam-building coal and palm oil The report found that although China has the best environmental banking policy in the world Chinese banks are failing to implement it and have financed projects that jeopardized the livelihoods and well-being of several indigenous communities

Read more at wwwfoeorgecon

WWWFOEORG Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine Fall 2014 3

VOLUME 44 NUMBER 3 FALL 2014

THE FIGHT AHEAD

2 PRESIDENTrsquoS LETTER ldquoThe Fight Ahead rdquo

3 ECOBITES Bite-sized campaign updates

4 FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE OF FOOD

Big agriculturersquos toxic treadmill vs farming wtih nature

7 ECONOMIC POLICY How trade deals threaten people

and the planet

8 LIQUID NATURAL GAS Fracking for natural gas stunts

climate efforts

10 INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE Whatrsquos next for global climate

action

12 CRUISE SHIP REPORT CARD Annual report card highlights

greener cruises but industry decides against transparency

14 BOOK INTERVIEW Mark Schapirorsquos Carbon Shock

A Tale of Risk and Calculus on the Front Lines of the Disrupted Global Economy

15 WHOrsquoS INSPIRING US A look at whorsquos inspiring us

ecobites

contents

A merican agriculture took a giant toxic leap backward

in October when the Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of a new pesticide Enlist Duo This chemical is a dangerous mix of glyphosate the chief ingredient in Roundupreg and 24-D a key component in the Vietnam War-era defo-liant Agent Orange emspEnlist Duo manufactured by Dow AgroSciences is designed for use with recently-approved soybean and corn crops that are genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of this particular herbicide mix While the use of Enlist Duo has initially been restricted to six Midwestern states the EPA is already considering expanding its use in ten more states emspAccording to the US Department of Agriculturersquos analysis its decision could lead to the use of an additional 150 million pounds of 24-D annually on soy and corn fields About half those crops will be fed to animals in factory farms eventually landing on your plate in the form of a hamburger pork chop or cheese pizza

Farmers and communities downwind of sprayed fields are at high risk of inhaling this volatile herbicide that is linked to cancer Parkinsonrsquos disease hormone disruption reproductive harm and other serious health problems Organic and non-GMO farm crops planted nearby could also be damaged from pesticide drift or genetic cross-contamination poten-tially threatening farmers with losing their organic or non-GMO certification

Approving Enlist Duo is the latest in a series of bad decisions by the EPA and USDA It confirms the need for a massive overhaul of a broken regulatory system which prioritizes corporate profits over the health of people and the planet

In the light of the current corporate stranglehold over Washington we must intensify our political pressure and continue to force change through market-place actions that companies and policy makers alike cannot ignoreA chemical arms race in the name of weed control

With an epidemic of Roundup-resistant ldquosuper-weedsrdquo growing on more than 70 million acres agro-chemical companies like Dow and Monsanto argue

that farmers need more toxic chemicals to fight them The same companies helped create this mess by introducing ldquoRoundup Readyrdquo GMO seeds which allow farmers to spray massive quantities of Roundup on their fields

There is no doubt that farmers need help to combat unrelenting weeds that affect their costs and yields However throwing more toxic chemicals on the problem is not the answer Even the USDA and a growing number of scientists agree that extensive herbicide use will breed new herbicide-resistant ldquosuper-weedsrdquo Ultimately more herbicides will be required creating more profit oppor-tunities for agrochemical companies Meanwhile the rampant use of their agro-chemicals will continue to cause grave harm to our soil water birds fish bees butterflies and other essential organisms with potentially disastrous consequences for human health

There is a better wayThe organic revolution Growing crops without toxic chemicalsemsp A small and increasing number of farmers have found a more productive way to produce food without the use of

Fighting for the Future of Food


BY KARI HAMERSCHLAG

SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER AND

TIFFANY FINCK-HAYNES

FOOD FUTURES CAMPAIGNER

BIG AGrsquoS TOXIC TREADMILL VS FARMING WITH NATUREexpensive toxic inputsemspWhat is the secret for naturally keeping pests and weeds at bay that eludes so many large-scale soy and corn monoculture farmsemspFor Iowa farmers Tom and Irene Frantzen that secret is in the way they rotate their crops build soil health and incorporate animals into the farm The Frantzens run a 385-acre diversified and integrated organic farm in northeastern Iowa where they raise corn soybeans small grains hay and pasture along with grass- fed cattle and pigs that spend about half their year on pastureBattling weeds naturallyemspldquoConventional farmers are terrified of Palmer amaranthrdquo said fourth-generation farmer Tom Frantzen referring to a weed problematic for cotton and soy cropsldquoWe donrsquot have it on our farm Crop rotation disrupts palmer amaranthrdquoemspIn contrast to conventional corn-soybean rotation which Frantzen says is not very effective for weed control the Frantzens rotate four or five crops mdasheither a corn-soybean-barley-hay-pasture or corn-soybean-barley-hay rotation The forages provide feed for cattle while the grains most of which are not grown for

human consumption are fed to the hogs Composted manure from the livestock is applied to the cropland to fertilize the soil emspldquoWe try to create soil conditions that weeds donrsquot do well with Sometimes we use cover crops like rye after corn silage but in general weeds are kept in check from the crop rotation and the diversified biological integrated approach That fosters a complex underground world in the soil with lots of tiny creatures that eat the weed seedrdquo said FrantzenemspThe integration of the animals with the crops is key to the Frantzensrsquo farm ldquoThe beef cow herd is extraordinarily impor-tantrdquo noted Frantzen ldquoThe cows consume hay and pasture 365 days a year recycling the biomass on the farm and returning the nutrients back to soil Without that ecological link we are in a lot of troublerdquo emspAnimals also play a critical role in weed control Besides nourishing the soil with their manure the Frantzensrsquo hogs and herd of Angus cows will happily eat weeds on the farm converting what is a problem for most farmers into cheap nutritional food emspThe cow herd will eat even the most difficult of weeds mdash the giant ragweed This broad leaf giant weed emerges in early spring has proven to be one of their most

difficult challenges Frantzen has found that the most effective way to deal with the weeds that donrsquot get eaten by the animals is to strategically delay planting of crops since the weed does not thrive after JuneWhile later planting has resulted in slightly smaller yields than his neighbors he says itrsquos worth the slightly smaller yields to maintain the farmrsquos ldquoecological balancerdquoemspFarming with nature pays off Higher net returns from organic farmsemspFrantzen isnrsquot as concerned about high yield as he is about his net returns which he says are doing just fine thanks to a steady market provided by one of his most import-

INSET Iowa farmers Tom and Irene Frantzen MAIN The sign in front of the Frantzenrsquos 385-acre organic farm

FAR LEFT Crop duster sprays pesticide over wheat field ABOVE Scenes from Frantzen Organic Farm


tant buyers mdash Organic Valley Cooperative Since he is able to get an organic premium his returns are higher than his conven-tional neighbors According to the USDA organic farmers are doing better finan-cially due to lower input costs and higher price premiums In contrast industrial farms face increasing input prices (such as chemical fertilizers pesticides and GMO seeds) while bumper crops and overpro-duction especially this year are causing corn and soybean prices to plummet Barriers to getting off pesticidesemspThere are many reasons mdash but banks and federal policy figure prominently Every year taxpayers spend upwards of $12 billion dollars in crop insurance and other price guarantee subsidies to prop up chemical-intensive GMO monocultures

rather than creating incentives for diverse ecologically sound operations like the Frantzen farm While Frantzen will make a good living this year selling his crops and animals most industrial farmers will rely on taxpayer subsidies for all the chemical fertilizer pesticides and GMO seed and fuel costs that the market will not cover emspWhy would anyone shift production practices when he or she has a guaranteed revenue stream emspLaVon Griffieon raises non-GMO crops on the Griffieon Family Farm in Iowa and offers some answers ldquoMost Iowa grain farms are owned by farmers whose average age is 63 They arenrsquot open to change And even if they want to change there is very limited technical support available Thirty years ago we had many extension agents mdash linked to land grant colleges mdash sharing the best research with farmers Now corpora-tions fund the colleges extension funding has been cut and itrsquos the reps for the local co-op or chemical companies that are promoting solutions based on the product they are selling be it seed chemicals etcrdquo She also highlighted the challenges with the enormous debt and capitalization of large-scale industrial farmsShelter from the crop duster stormsemspLike many organic and non-GMO farmers in the Midwest Frantzen is concerned with the potential of small amounts of pesticides from his neighborrsquos landing on his farm mdash poten-tially harming his crops his familyrsquos

health and his organic certification He is also concerned with the pesticide dicamba ldquoThese are herbicides from hell with health risks possible even from very low dose exposuresrdquo emspFrantzen hopes that his farmrsquos 66 foot-wide shelter belt of trees and nut-bearing bushes will provide some protection from the herbicides This buffer area is part of the system that helps to keep the farm in ecological balance It creates a rich habitat for many living creatures while controlling erosion conserving water and protecting the farm from flooding According to a 2014 meta study by Oxford University organic farms like the Frantzensrsquo support 34 percent more plant insect and animal species and 50 percent more pollinator species than chemical-intensive industrial monoculturesBuilding a sustainable food future Policy shifts and consumer poweremspClearly a major overhaul is needed in the way that the EPA and USDA regulate and evaluate the long-term cumulative impacts of new GMOs and pesticides The US must also make major shifts in policy to help move farmers away from chemical intensive GMO monoculture towards more diversified resilient ecological and organic agriculture systems that build healthier soils enhance biodiversity and manage pests and weeds without so many chemicalsemspPolicy change is key But in the near term we can make a difference by care-fully choosing what we put on our plates and in our shopping baskets We can reject GMO corn and soy by saying no to factory farmed meat and dairy We can also do good for the environment and our own heath by eating less meat overall and asking for organic grass-fed and non-GMO-fed meat and dairy and other food products wherever we shop and eat Together we can rapidly grow the market for sustainable healthy agriculture and shrink the market for the chemical-inten-sive GMO industrial agriculture that hurts our health the bees the environment and rural communities across this countryemsp emspJoin us Learn more and help build a sustainable just and healthy food system for the future at GoodFoodCampaignorg and BeeActionorg

Photo Dan Mullen Flickr Creative Commons

Giant Ragweed


emsp emspIn 2011 thousands of protesters in Montreal took to the streets demanding a 20-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the province of Quebec At stake were some of Canadarsquos most majestic and precious wilderness areas as well as important water sources that were at risk of being contaminated by toxic fracking chemicals After years of pressure as well as elections that ushered in new pro-environment policymakers the Quebec National Assembly in 2013 passed a five-year moratorium on fracking for shale gas in the St Lawrence River valley Now the polluter is demanding that Canada pay for its lost future profits emspIn 2013 the energy company Lone Pine sued Canada for $250 million claiming that it should be compensated for the financial impacts of the moratorium and for oil and gas drilling permits (to drill under the St Laurence River no less) that were allegedly revoked by the govern-ment Lone Pine a Canadian company which has offices in Delaware was able to use a provision of the North American Free Trade Agreement to lodge this suit in special investment ldquocourtsrdquo NAFTA allows companies to sue countries for monetary damages ndash which can sometimes amount to billions of dollars ndash for the cost of complying with environmental or public health regulations like the ones in QuebecemspSadly this development was not so unusual for groups like Friends of the Earth US and our Canadian allies who

have followed international trade deals Since NAFTA trade deals come to be about a lot more than trade they have become blueprints for environmental deregulation and as illustrated in the Lone Pine case ways that corpora-tions can increase their power and protect their profits at the expense of people and the planetemspToday we face a veritabletsunami of new trade deals

The US is currently negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership a huge regional trade pact with Asia the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership a trade deal with Europe and the Trade in Services Agreement which involves some 50 countries emspAll these trade deals are negotiated behind closed doors but TiSA takes the secrecy prize the American public learned about its provisions only after it was exposed by Wikileaks in June 2014 And although trade in services sound benign TiSA could have enormous environmental impacts It could lead to not just the deregulation of information technology the finance sector and other traditional services sectors as well as environmen-tally-sensitive sectors such as water services oil drilling services and other energy services emspThe European and Asian deals have provisions similar to the investment chapter of NAFTA which would allow foreign investors to bypass domestic courts and bring suit before biased international tribunals If they pass we will likely see more cases similar to the Lone Pine suit with corporations seeking damages in compensation for their lost future profits resulting from environ-mental clean up orders denial of permits for mining or oil drilling or any number of reasonable environmental measures Countries would be penalized for laws established to protect their natural resources and the health of their citizens

emspBoth deals also would protect corpo-rate patents on plants animals and other life forms ndash our common genetic heri-tage ndash and promote trade in unsafe food nanotechnology and dangerous chemicals They could even restrict GMO and other consumer product labeling regulations emspThe European deal TTIP could even thwart US and European efforts to curb neonicotinoid pesticides which scien-tists say are a likely leading cause of bee declines across the globe Europe has already banned three neonicotinoid insec-ticides but much more needs to be done especially in the US Under TTIP such pesticide regulations and other measures to protect bees could be seen as ldquobarriers to traderdquo Already European countries have begun to abandon the EUrsquos Fuel Quality Directive which would restrict the use of dirty tar sands oil in an effort to better ready themselves for the deregula-tory aims of TTIPemspThere is a way to stop these deals Every time the White House wants to get approval for a new trade deal they first seek ldquoFast Trackrdquo trade negotiating authority from Congress Fast Track legislation would strip Congressrsquo capacity to intervene on trade deals and force the deals through both houses on a quick up-or-down vote with no amendments even when the US trade representative ignores congressional negotiating objec-tives Essentially the Fast Track authority sidesteps the democratic safeguards the Constitution established allowing the USTR to rush deals past our representa-tives Despite the fact that new Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell House Speaker Boehner and US Trade Representative Mike Froman want to push Fast Track ndash and thus these trade deals ndash through Congress many members from both the left and right do not support suspending their Constitutional rights and obligations emspWe must not trade away democracy and the future of the planetemspFor more on stopping Fast Track and these trade deals see foeorgtrade

TRADE DEALS THREATEN PEOPLE AND THE PLANET BY WILLIAM WAREN SENIOR TRADE POLICY ANALYST

AND MICHELLE CHAN ECONOMIC POLICY PROGRAM MANAGER

economic policy

Photo Parti Quebecois Flickr Creative CommonsProtesters march against shale gas fracking in Monreal


FRACKING FOR NATURAL GAS STUNTS CLIMATE EFFORTSBY LUISA ABBOTT GALVAO CLIMATE AND ENERGY CAMPAIGNER WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM FRIENDS OF THE EARTH EUROPE

The United States has contributed many technological wonders to the world but it has also created horrors One that has horrified

humankind is fracking emspFracking short for hydraulic fracturing is a process that can be used for extract-ing natural gas mdash a fossil fuel found deep underground in rock formations and under the ocean floor Fracking involves injecting thousands of gallons of water sand and a slurry of toxic chemicals at high pressure deep underground fracturing shale rock and releasing trapped natural gas emspFracking has fundamentally changed the US energy mix over the last decade sup-planting staple fuels like coal and harming American wind and solar energy indus-tries As the cost of natural gas production decreased demand for it increased and the natural gas industry began looking to over-come transportation difficulties to reach overseas markets emspIn order to be stored and transported

overseas natural gas must be converted to liquid form and then regasified for use in receiving countries Natural gas producers mdash with the support of the Obama adminis-tration mdash are seeking to expand American liquefied natural gas export capacity This move however would lead to more frack-ing more greenhouse gas emissions and more pollution It would also involve build-ing new gas pipelines compressor stations and export facilities as well as weakening the current regulatory process to expedite the permitting of LNG export projects emspBillions in investment going towards this dirty energy source would leave us depen-dent on this fossil fuel for decades and dis-tract from our commitment to legitimately clean energy sources emspBut Americans arenrsquot taking this sitting down and activists abroad are already resisting the ldquonatural gas revolutionrdquo

An environmental disaster in progressemspScientists have told us that we must keep

two-thirds of proven fossil fuel reserves in the ground if we are to avert climate catastrophe Meanwhile President Obama is pursuing an ldquoall of the aboverdquo energy strategy and touts natural gas as a ldquobridge fuelrdquo despite the fact that its production releases methane a potent greenhouse gas that contributes 86 times more to climate change than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period When we consider lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG exports it is worse for climate change than burning coal emspIn addition to its greenhouse gas foot-print fracking is incredibly polluting The process requires hundreds of thousands of barrels of water per well Water used for fracking is contaminated with a slew of toxic chemicals many carcinogenic which leach into groundwater and aquifers Fracking activists or ldquofracktivistsrdquo such as Pennsylvania resident Ray Kemble have become famous for amplifying public health and accountability issues by carry-

liquid natural gas

Photo LNG tanker Paul Johnston Flickr Creatuve Commons


ing samples of their brown contaminated tap water in plastic gallon jugs and demand-ing natural gas proponents to drink the water they deem so safe emspMethane is a highly combustible gas and since natural gas is predominately methane it is an inherently dangerous energy source and LNG facilities are a danger to the local communities in which they are placed An explosion at the Williams LNG plant in Washington State this past August injured workers and forced hundreds of people to evacuateemspDangerous volatile organic compounds like benzene and methanol have been found in the air near wells Recent studies also link fracking with an increase in seismic activity in areas with known faults Fracking is also poorly regulated at federal and state levels and is exempt from various environ-mental laws In many states companies are

not required to disclose what chemicals they are pumping into the ground In some states it is even illegal to disclose what these chemicals are despite the clear threat they present a threat to public health emspFrontline communities across the United States are fighting back against the reckless pollution of their land In November two counties in California passed anti-fracking initiatives by large margins The city of DentonTexas also voted to ban fracking permits These victories build on the work of fracktivists like Goldman Environmental Prize-winner Helen Slottje a lawyer in New York who mobilized the effort to ban frack-ing in more than 175 towns across the state

Activism against LNG exportsemspFortunately there is strong momentum to stop natural gas from being exported Re-sistance to a proposed LNG export facility

in Cove Point on Marylandrsquos Chesa-peake Bay for ex-ample has elevated the fight over the future of fracking and natural gas exports This past July nearly 2000 activists marched in Washington DC to call on the Obama administra-tion to stop rubber-stamping projects like Cove Point And over a week of action this Novem-

ber dozens of environmentalists students veterans and other activists were arrested for nonviolent sit-ins and protests at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the agency that has been rubber-stamping natural gas projects across the US Strong resistances such as these demonstrates that Americans are mobilized to fight to block these senseless proposals

Another way is possibleemspFriends of the Earthrsquos counterparts in Friends of the Earth Europe have become some of the most important leaders influ-encing the tone of the European debate The environmental impacts have been acknowledged by the three main European institutions the European Parliament the European Commission and the Council of the RegionsemspFrance and Bulgaria have banned frack-ing and Switzerland is discussing a similar proposal The Netherlands Belgium and Ireland have passed moratoriums Austria and Lithuania have improved their legisla-tion to discourage fracking companies from investing in the country and Germany is about to follow the same path Mobilization in Spain and the Netherlands has been so overwhelming that fracking-free municipal-ities and regions now cover a major part of the possible shale basins inhibiting govern-mentsrsquo ability to start explorations emspOne day this summer Germany met 75 percent of its domestic electricity demand with wind and solar energy A clean renew-able path is possible The United States must mdash and can mdash follow suit it is only a matter of political will

ldquoNo Fracking in EUrdquo Photo Credit Friends of the Earth Europe

Craig Stevens a Penn landowner with a jug of groundwater from Dimock


international climate

The world is building towards a new global deal on climate change Decemberrsquos high-level United Nations nego-tiations in Lima Peru ndash known as the Lima

Conference of Parties or COPmdashstarted the countdown for a year-long process culminating in Paris The 2015 Paris COP is being hailed as the most impor-tant global opportunity at least in the near future to solve the climate crisis a moment when nearly 200 countries will come together to negotiate a new climate agreement The agreement is expected to cover the transfer of climate-saving technologies and funds to help developing countries and of course greenhouse gas reductions

But come January the Senate will be filled with even more card-carrying members of the Flat Earth Society They will be in control of the

Senatemdashthe body responsible for treaty ratificationmdashwhen the Paris COP takes place

What does this mean for the inter-national climate talks

From the perspective of UN climate negotiations and ratification of a new climate treaty the prospects for the Senate following the midterm elections are not drastically different from that before the election It does now have a few more members who will attack anything they see bearing words like ldquoclimate changerdquo ldquointernational lawrdquo or ldquomultilateralrdquo But the Senate is just as unlikely post-election to ratify a climate treaty as it was pre-election After all the current Senate would not even ratify an international disability rights treaty based on US law

Further while the climate change announcement in November by the US and China has created important international momentum it falls

significantly short of the aggressive reductions needed to prevent climate disruption The announced US emissions reduction target ndash 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025 ndash is grounded in neither the physical reality of climate science nor the lived reality of hundreds of millions of people in developing countries whose lives and livelihoods are in jeopardy due to drought flooding fire and other extreme weather events Simply stated the nonbinding target falls miserably short of what science justice and equity demand emspWith the Senatersquos purse strings now controlled by Republicans in 2015 it will be more difficult to convince Congress to appropriate money for the UN Green Climate Fund to which President Obama recently pledged $3 billion Friends of the Earth US has long advocated for the Green Climate Fund as a multilateral resource to

WHATrsquoS NEXT FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTIONBY KAREN ORENSTEIN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYST


help developing countries which are disproportionately affected by climate disruption despite having contributed the least to it If things go as planned the Green Climate Fund will be the premier multilateral channel for ldquoclimate financerdquo That is money transferred from developed to developing countries to help enable them to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change cut green-house gas emissions and embark on clean development pathways Climate finance is a fundamental component of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and thus a legal not to mention ethical obligation for the United States Indeed without climate finance there cannot be an agreement in Paris

The UN climate negotiations are undeniably important Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution But in the same way that change will not come from Washington ndash it must go to Washington ndash we cannot put all of our hope in an international climate agreement If change will not come from Paris or Washington whence will it come

Change comes the way it always has ndash from the bottom up Last September as government leaders gathered for the UN Climate Summit convened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon more than a few ndash 400000 in fact ndash activists flooded the streets of Manhattan for the Peoplersquos Climate March (below and left) the largest of its kind Appropriately youth from frontline communities and

Indigenous Peoples led the way Friends of the Earth was present and connected with allies like National Nurses United VOCAL NY and Health GAP in our call for a tax on Wall Street Known as a Robin Hood tax or financial transaction tax it would help pay for climate finance for developing countries Indeed Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn) ndash who introduced legisla-tion to establish a Robin Hood tax ndash spoke at our pre-march rally

From the sprouting of grass-roots advocacy and ideas can come a cascade of change that makes its way up to the national and international levels When we see Little Village Environmental Justice Organization shutting down dirty coal plants in lower-income Latino neighborhoods in Chicago or Indigenous Peoples leading the fight against the Keystone XL pipeline therein lie the roots of broader social change

As students clergy and ordinary folks around the country convince their colleges faith-based institu-tions and local governments to divest from fossil fuels we see hope for an increasingly powerful base of people whose voices raised together will drown out the clink of cash from the fossil fuel industry On that day we can be confident that the US presi-dent will head to UN climate negotia-tions with marching orders dictated not by the fossilized thinking of dirty energyrsquos proponents but by science and justice

Since Friends of the Earth has renewed its campaign to close central Californiarsquos aging Dia-blo Canyon nuclear reactors and replace them with clean renewable energy much has hap-pened Herersquos a run-through on the major devel-opments

bull On August 25 the Associated Press broke the story that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had suppressed a formal ldquoDiffering professional opinionrdquo of former senior resident inspector Dr Michael Peck in which he concludes that the Diablo Canyon reactors are operating outside of their license because of identified earthquake risks Peck says that the reactors should be shut down unless they can be shown to be operating within their license On the same day Friends of the Earth released Dr Peckrsquos DPO in its entiretybull One day later on August 26 Friends of the Earth filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission asking that the plant be shut down pending an adjudicated public license reviewbull In September Friends of the Earth filed a re-quest with the California Public Utilities Commis-sion calling for a ratemaking investigation into whether or not the expensive and aging Diablo Canyon reactors should be closed and replaced by cheaper renewable energy and efficiency measures Former Tennesee Valley Authority head David Freeman a senior advisor to Friends of the Earthrsquos campaign called for an end to the ldquobenefits of a sweetheart deal that forces con-sumers to pay whatever [Pacific Gas amp Electric] spends plus a guaranteed return on investmentrdquobull Prompted by the release of a state-mandated PGampE seismic report which reveals that Diablo Canyon is surrounded by interconnected faults which are far more powerful than was previously understood Friends of the Earth filed a petition to the NRC on October 10 against PGampErsquos request that their license be extended to allow the Diablo Canyon reactors to run for 20 years beyond their current licenses (which ends in 20242025)bull On October 28 Friends of the Earth petitioned the US Court of Appeals to overturn the NRCrsquos secret illegal decision to alter the Diablo Canyon reactorsrsquo license a move revealed one month earlier in the agencyrsquos rejection of Dr Peckrsquos DPO The change made without public notice in Sep-tember 2013 altered the way the NRC and PGampE assesses earthquake risks at the plant without following the agencyrsquos own rules or the federal law

Visit nukefreefoeorg for the latest develop-ments on the Diablo Canyon campaign

Developments at Diablo Canyon

Photo Diablo Canyon Power Plant Marya Figueroa Flickr Creative Commons


oceans and vessels

A MURKY WAKEANNUAL REPORT CARD HIGHLIGHTS GREENER CRUISES BUT INDUSTRY DECIDES AGAINST TRANSPARENCY

By Marcie Keever Oceans and vessels program director

Itrsquos that time of year as temperatures drop people daydream of warm weather and the lucky ones schedule tropical getaways For those consid-

ering a cruise vacation while keeping their impact on the environment in mind Friends of the Earth has a great tool for choosing a greener cruise The 2014 Cruise Ship Report Card ranks 16 major cruise lines and 167 cruise ships for their air and water pollution footprint

When most people think of cruises they conjure images of blue skies and clear blue water But behind the image lies a record of polluted wastewater and clouds of soot and smoke With more than 200 cruise ships at sea itrsquos no secret that the cruise industry is one of the largest polluters in our oceans Behind the clean and green image the industry presents is a river of polluted wastewater and a cloud of soot and smoke Most cruise ships burn extremely dirty fuel and generate more than one billion gallons of sewage each year Sadly there are minimal sewage treatment requirements so it is dumped carelessly into our oceans But the cruise industry glosses over its dirty record

For this reason the issue of account-ability is paramount for this fifth report card All 16 major cruise lines refusedmdashthrough their industry associationmdashto respond to Friends of the Earthrsquos requests for informa-tion on their pollution-reduction technolo-gies a complete reversal from the past two years of cooperation and transparency By working to stifle the Cruise Ship Report Card the industry attempts to shield itself from continued scrutiny of its environmental practices and obscure data from conscien-tious consumers who would make different choices based on how a cruise ship or line performs on our report card Industry claims that it provides all the information neces-sary for consumers to make determinations about its environmental responsibility are specious In addition to the established criteria a new category ldquoTransparencyrdquo was added to the report to reflect this practice of obfuscation Accordingly all 16 cruise lines received an ldquoFrdquo in this category

While Disney Cruise Line topped our rankings this year its overall grade of ldquoArdquo was reduced to a ldquoC+rdquo because it refused to respond to our requests for information

With 24 vessels Carnival Cruise Lines has the worldrsquos largest fleet of cruise ships But Carnival received an ldquoFrdquo in the sewage treatment category for the fifth year since only two of its 24 ships use advanced sewage treatment Carnivalrsquos parent company Carnival Corporation also owns six other cruise lines evaluated on this report card and half of the Carnival Corp fleet still uses outdated technology that pollutes our oceans and threatens sea life our health and that of our marine ecosystems emspAir pollution reduction remains an enor-mous oversight in the cruise industry Ten of the 16 lines reviewed received an ldquoFrdquo in this category Of those 16 Disney and Princess Cruises provide a good example for other

Photo Young spotted seal Jomilo75 Flickr Creative Commons


lines By lagging in their efforts to reduce their air pollution cruise lines are contrib-uting to high rates of respiratory diseases in the cities and towns near ports

Though many cruise lines tempt us with images of pristine natural views their efforts to reduce air and water pollution impacts are half-hearted Many cruise lines refuse to make the necessary upgrades that would protect the ecosystems they traverse some actively work to oppose stronger shipping regulations Coupled with a new resistance to transparency and oversight the industry is now hiding information that would allow consumers to make informed choices that would help protect public health and the environment

So while people continue to take cruise voyages our oceans airsheds the destina-tions and communities that host cruise ships continue to suffer The cruise industry will only shape up if passengers insist on cleaner ships and the Cruise Ship Report Card is the tool to do that

For more information visit wwwfoeorgcruise-report-card

CRUISE INDUSTRY POLLUTION FACTS

bull Cruise ships are floating cities that produce staggering amount of sewage mdash much of it raw or poorly treated mdash that they dump into our oceans

bull According to the US EPA an average cruise ship gener-ates more than seven million gallons of sewage a year For the global cruise ship fleet that adds up to well over a billion gallons

bull Under US law cruise ships can dump raw sewage if they are more than three nautical miles from shore

bull More than 40 percent of cruise ships surveyed by Friends of the Earth still rely on 35-year-old waste treat-ment technology which discharges sewage with high levels of fecal matter bacteria heavy metals and other contaminants harmful to aquatic life and people bull Cruise lines could install the most advanced sewage treatment technology available for less than the cost of a can of Coke per passenger


I In his latest book Carbon Shock A Tale of Risk and Calculus on the Front Lines of the Disrupted Global Economy (available at ChelseaGreencom) author and

environmental journalist Mark Schapiro examines the ways in which the large-scale impacts of climate change are already affecting the global economy and how those costs are already being incorporated in markets Friends of the Earth spoke with him on the book

Q What were your main motivations for writing Carbon ShockAI realized that there was this huge elephant in the room when people were talking about climate change There was this really fundamental question which was not being addressed a way to under-stand the actual nature of the financial decisions that we as a society face in moving away from fossil fuels So if wersquore making decision about whether to invest in renewable energy sources or move away from fossil fuels or making comparisons of what the current status quo economics there is an enormous blind spot and that blind spot is the actual cost of fossil fuelsemspThe other reason I wrote the book in the way of this is this notion of externalities hellip the economic realities of environmental abuse While the polluter earns the profits society bears the cost But this is to some extent an abstract concept for most people and one of the things I wanted to do with this book is to give that concept a real basis in how itrsquos being experienced in how you can give it places people situ-ations circumstances that are grappling with these externalized costs

Q How did you pick those particular narrative examples for the on-the-ground casesA Well I was looking for the essential places where there is tension occurring And the tension is not just simply ldquoOh you got a wind farm here versus and oil thing thererdquo Itrsquos never that simple It comes down to individual places and individual locations and individual struggles as we begin to give rise to a new basis to orga-nize our society I chose places like the Brazilian rain forest where therersquos huge

questions over the role of trees in sucking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which brings us to tensions around who lives in the forests today which moves you to the fundamental issues facing Brazil which is one of the biggest greenhouse gas contributors in the world but is one of the leaders in the developing world to deal with climate change And so in each case I wanted to basically start small and tight and to expand into this larger segment Q On agriculture you write of these financial pressures pushing industry toward sustainable practices even though just a couple years ago the USDA was barely even talking about climate change Could you elaborate on thisA You have those huge pressures that farmers are facing all across the Midwest and California these huge shifts in growing conditions And if you want a classic example of externalized costs itrsquos right there staring right in front of us in the huge payouts from the federally subsi-dized crop insurance systems to farmers who are facing the impacts of climate change every single day That is the publicwho is taking on those burdensemspThe other part of it that was so inter-esting was the USDArsquos response which was to begin to start seeing the value of more sustainable agriculture emspAnd the reason was the huge financial burden being caused by climate change to the crop insurance system which began forcing the agency to acknowledge the impacts of climate change and start addressing them in their guidelines to farmers You see the interplay between the experiences of individual farmers which

leads you to the financial pressures on the government-supported crop insurance system to the response of the policy-makers who say ldquoOh my god it turns out that those smaller more diverse farms are actually much more able to resist these huge shifts in the climaterdquo more than the chemically-dependant farms which the USDA has been promoting

Q Therersquos been much discussion lately on the US-China climate agreement What do you think this means for the prospects for a price on carbonA Well first of all the China-US agree-ment is historic but itrsquos nonbinding And you can battle over the details and the pace at which theyrsquore doing it as you could for the United States in terms of what wersquore doing but the very principle of this huge important powerful devel-oping country is taking on some burden for reducing its emissions is huge Itrsquos a mistake I think to totally see this as the result of Americarsquos badgering and the Chinese throwing up their hands going ldquoOK OK OKrdquo The Chinese scientific establishment has for years been writing of the enormous economic consequences of environmental destruction and climate change in China We are beginning to see a sporadic and highly uneven and not harmonious at all carbon price -- but it is emerging And why the carbon price matters mdash and not because itrsquos a symbolic penalty to fossil fuel companies but a price that actually reflects more honest accounting

CARBON SHOCK


books

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Twittercomfoe_us

Flickrcomphotosfoeaction

YouTubecomuserFriendsoftheEarthUS

STAY IN THE KNOW

A GREENER lsquoZINEWant to help Friends of the Earth save trees and energy mdash not to mention campaign funds Choose to receive the Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine online and each season we will send you the new issue via email

Visit wwwfoeorgnewsmag-online

WHOrsquoS INSPIRING USJanet Thew Upon hearing of the destructive impacts that palm oil plantations wreak on rainforests and indigenous commu-nities across the world Friends of the Earth member Janet Thew chose to divest her familyrsquos retirement funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors which finances and profits from such devastation emspIn an open letter to CEO David Booth Thew called for DFA to use its financial influence to bring an end to palm oil companiesrsquo environmental and social abuses and for others to divest from the company until it did so ldquoUntil DFA takes these steps Irsquom going to put my familyrsquos money elsewhererdquo she wrote ldquoAnd Irsquom looking forward to seeing hellip DFArsquos biggest clients do the samerdquo

DFA has investments in more than 80 palm oil companies more than any other US financial institution and helps fund an industry that illegally displaces communities imperils orangutans and other animals and releases massive amounts of carbon pollu-tion in the atmosphere ldquoHow many of these celebrities how many of these endowments how many of these individuals know what their money is doingrdquo wrote Thew ldquoI donrsquot want anything to do with these companies I doubt that other people do eitherrdquo

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijner reportedly brought tears to the eyes of world leaders when she took to the podium at the September UN Climate Summit in New York City to recite a poem calling for global action on climate before itrsquos too late At six feet above sea level Jetnil-Kijnerrsquos home of the Marshall Islands are already feeling the impacts of climate change through sea level rise

The poem entitled ldquoDear Matafele Peinemrdquo and addressed to Jetnil-Kijnerrsquos young daughter recognizes the plight of the first climate refugees fleeing Pacific island nations as well as the ongoing grassroots campaigns ldquochanting for change nowrdquo Low-lying island countries such as the Marshall Islands are currently plagued by erosion from rising seas and the increasing sali-nization of fresh water resources causing many to flee their homes

Palm oil destruction in Indonesia Photo Credit Jason Taylor The Source Image

ldquoand even though there are thosehidden behind platinum titleswho like to pretendthat we donrsquot existthat the marshall islandstuvalukiribatimaldivesand typhoon haiyan in the philippinesand floods of pakistan algeria colombiaand all the hurricanes earthquakes and tidalwavesdidnrsquot exist stillthere are those who see usrdquo

-Excerpt from ldquoDear Matafele Peinemrdquo jkijinerwordpresscomPeinemrdquo

Kathy Jetnil-Kijner Photo credit- United Nations


whorsquos inspiring us

Volume 44 Number 3 ∙ Fall 20141100 15th Street NW 11th FloorWashington DC 20005

PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WASHINGTON DC AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES

Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine (ISSN 1054-1829) is published quarterly by Friends of the Earth 1100 15th St NW 11th Floor Washington DC 20005 phone 202-783-7400 fax 202-783-0444 e-mail foefoeorg website wwwfoeorg Annual membership dues are $25 which includes a subscription to the Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine The words ldquoFriends of the Earthrdquo and the Friends of the Earth logo are exclusive trademarks of Friends of the Earth all rights reserved Requests to reprint articles should be submitted to Adam Russell at ARussellfoeorg Periodicals postage paid at Washington DC

A copy of the latest Financial Report and Registration filed by this organization may be obtained by contacting us at Friends of the Earth 1100 15th St NW 11th Floor Washington DC 20005 Toll-free number 877-843-8687 Or for residents of the following states by contacting any of the state agencies CALIFORNIA - A copy of the Official Financial Statement may be obtained from the Attorney Generalrsquos Registry of Charitable Trusts Department of Justice PO Box 903447 Sacramento CA 94203-4470 or by calling 916-445-2021 FLORIDA - A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE 1-800-435-7352 REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE Florida registration CH960 KANSAS - Annual financial report is filed with Secretary of State 258-204-7 MARYLAND - For the cost of copies and postage Office of the Secretary of State State House Annapolis MD 21401 MICHIGAN - MICS 10926 MISSISSIPPI - The official registration and financial information of Friends of the Earth Inc may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of Statersquos office by calling 1-888-236-6167 Registration by the Secretary of the State does not imply endorsement by the Secretary of State NEW JERSEY - INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT NEW YORK - Office of the Attorney General Department of Law Charities Bureau 120 Broadway New York NY 10271 NORTH CAROLINA - FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION AND A COPY OF ITS LICENSE ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE STATE SOLICITATION LICENSING BRANCH AT 1-888-830-4989 THE LICENSE IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT BY THE STATE PENNSYLVANIA - The official registration and financial information of Friends of the Earth may be obtained from Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free within the state 1-800-732-0999 Registration does not imply endorsement UTAH - Permit C495 VIRGINIA - State Division of Consumer Affairs Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services PO Box 1163 Richmond VA 23218 1-800-552-9963 WASHINGTON - Charities Division Office of the Secretary of the State State of Washington Olympia WA 98504-0422 1-800-332-4483 WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents for the Secretary of State State Capitol Charleston WV 25305 Registration does not imply endorsement Postmaster Send address changes to Friends of the Earth 1100 15th St NW 11th Floor Washington DC 20005

OUR MISSION Friends of the Earth defends the environment and champions a healthy and just world CFC 12067

The Friends of the Earth Newsmagazine is printed on 100 recycled paper with 100 post-consumer content and processed without chlorine

Board of DirectorsArlie Schardt Chair Soroush Shehabi Vice chair Jeffrey Glueck Treasurer Harriett Crosby Secretary Whitey Bluestein Jayni Chase Cecil D Corbin-Mark Clarence Ditlow Dan Gabel Jeffrey Glueck Mike Herz Russell Long Avis Ogilvy Moore Stephen Nemeth Chris Paine Doria Steedman Peyton West Chris Pabon Brent Blackwelder Advisor President emeritus and ex-officio

StaffErich Pica PresidentLisa Archer Food and technology program directorJudith Bourzutschky BookkeeperMichelle Chan Economic policy program directorKate Colwell Rapid response communications specialistJeff Conant Senior international forests campaignerKate DeAngelis Climate and energy campaignerJulie Dyer Executive assistantEA Dyson Communications directorTiffany Finck-Haynes Food futures campaignerLuiacutesa Abbott Galvatildeo Climate and energy associateKari Hamerschlag Senior program managerJohn Kaltenstein Marine policy analystMarcie Keever Oceans and vessels program directorMarissa Knodel Climate change campaignerAdam Lugg Donor services managerKatharine Lu China sustainable finance campaigner

Carrie Mann Digital membership coordinatorJosette Matoto Graphic designerDamon Moglen Senior strategic advisorErica Mutschler Operations associateDoug Norlen Senior program managerKaren Orenstein Senior international policy analystDana Perls Food and technology campaignerLukas Ross Climate and energy campaignerAdam Russell Associate editor and content specialistMadelyn Rygg Chief financial officerKathy Sawyer Director of foundation relationsBen Schreiber Climate and energy program directorSharon Smith Senior accountantPeter Stocker Director of developmentSemhal Tekeste Senior digital communications strategist William Waren Senior trade analyst

ConsultantsAdvisorsAyres Law GroupBeehive Research IncCapitol Nonprofit Solutions LLCColin CarterCitrixCliftonLarsonAllenColleen CordesContent Worx

Direct Mail Processors IncEarthJusticeJoanna ElliottSamuel EvansFairewinds Associates IncFenton Communications IncFred Felleman Wildlife amp Visual EntFree Range StudiosDavid FreemanRobert GuildHarmon Curran Spielberg amp EisenbergJoram HopenfeldHumanautIan IlluminatoKeyes Fox amp Wiedman LLPDoug Koplow EarthTrackLarge and AssociatesLiberty ConceptsDevine Mulvey Longabaugh Wild Bunch MediaStacy MalkanManagement Assistance GroupMcGuireWoods LLPKate McMahonMellman GroupMovement Strategy CenterBrihannala Morgan

Richelle MorganDiane MossSteven Moss MCubedNetwork AlliancePalmer Group MediaPathar Communications LLCPesticide Research InstitutePowers EngineeringProfundo BVSalsaLabs IncGary SteinbergThe Sharpe GroupBill Walker dba Deadline Now


Friends

Letrsquos be frank The results of the 2014 elections were a major blow to our efforts on climate change and environmental protection and to our work to create a more socially and economically just society While congressional progress on many of our priorities was mediocre at best we now have Sen Jim Inhofe (R-Okla) an outspoken climate denier leading the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) a coal-state Republican leading the majority This duo coupled with

one of the most anti-environmental Houses of Representatives in recent memory will systematically target our bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency This might be the best Congress special interest polluters like the Koch brothers could ever buy

Irsquoll be honest with you the attacks on our environmental laws will come fast and furiously We must constantly remind Senate Democrats of the need to remain united in defense of environmental protections More importantly we must remind President Obama mdash early and often mdash that he cannot compromise on efforts to protect our health and environment

In all this there is cause for optimism President Obama has shown an increased willingness to use executive orders to push for change On climate change his administration has several pending rules that will regulate greenhouse gas emmissions He brokered an important political deal with China and has created several new national monuments His actions are not nearly strong or aggressive enough but they are making progress We also passed an important first test when Senate Democrats blocked a bill sponsored by one of their own Sen Mary Landrieu (D-La) to force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline

I am hopeful too about the grassroots energy we are helping create In September I had the privilege and honor of marching with more than 400000 students activists teachers grandmothers indigenous people LGBT advocates and others who ventured to New York City for the Peoples Climate March In Oregon Friends of the Earth and our sister group Friends of the Earth Action knocked on more 60000 doors to fight for Oregoniansrsquo rights to know if their food contains genetically modified organisms And activists around the country and world are challenging cities countries universities and other institutions to divest from their fossil fuel holdings The energy is building

As we enter the New Year I encourage you to take stock of what we have accomplished together mourn our losses and steel ourselves for the tremendous fights before us Ultimately the individual and collective power we hold will create the drive energy and circumstances to leave a better legacy for our children and grandchildren

Warm regards

Erich Pica President Friends of the Earth

PS I deeply believe that the fight for a healthy environment is intimately connected with social economic and racial justice I am outraged and stunned that two recent grand jury decisions in Ferguson Missouri and New York City failed to indict the police officers responsible for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner Indictments would have allowed the facts to be adjudicated in a court of law and provided some assurances that our justice system works My only solace is that these decisions will hopefully dispel the myth that we live in a post-racial America and will force each of us to (re)commit ourselves to fighting for a society free of these injustices

THE FIGHT AHEAD

Erich Pica

presidentrsquos message

Image credit Project Survival Media









THE FIGHT AHEAD






and the planet


climate efforts


action






ecobites

contents












BY KARI HAMERSCHLAG














Giant Ragweed








economic policy









liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW

































THE FIGHT AHEAD






and the planet


climate efforts


action






ecobites

contents












BY KARI HAMERSCHLAG














Giant Ragweed








economic policy









liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW




































BY KARI HAMERSCHLAG














Giant Ragweed








economic policy









liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW





























Giant Ragweed








economic policy









liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW































economic policy









liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW































liquid natural gas



































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW

























































oceans and vessels




























CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW










































CARBON SHOCK


books

CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW

























CONNECT

Facebookcomfoeus

Twittercomfoe_us



STAY IN THE KNOW

























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