Latin America’s Eco-Activists Struggle Against Corporate Feudalism, Colonialism & Resource Scarcity

For Latin America’s environmental activists, the threat of death is always in the air — either in the form of the slow poisoning of the earth or assassination. For many, inaction simply isn’t an option.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Ecuador Amazon Oil

TEMUCO, Chile --- On Jan. 12, Isidro Baldenegro López traveled to his hometown for the first time in years to visit his aunt who had fallen gravely ill. As he lay down to sleep that Saturday night in Coloradas de la Virgen, a small community in the western Sierra Madre mountains of Chihuahua, Mexico, he heard a man call his name repeatedly. When

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300 Premature Deaths Linked To UK Air Pollution

In 2014 David Cameron dismissed the pollution event as a “naturally occurring weather phenomenon”, prompting a scathing critique from the European Commission.

Emma Howard
By Emma Howard
Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, are just visible through the haze and smog in London, Friday, April 10, 2015. (AP/Alastair Grant)

(REPORT) --- An estimated 300 premature deaths were associated with a serious UK air pollution episode in 2014, parliament has been told. The figure represents twice the deaths attributed to particulate pollution when it is at typical spring levels. It is theoretical and does not equate to the deaths of specific people but is a way of

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Abandoned Texas Oil Wells Seen As “Ticking Time Bombs” Of Contamination

Texas is among several states grappling with a surge of abandoned drilling sites and dwindling funds to clean them up.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz
Ty Edwards, assistant general manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, points to brackish water flowing from one of several flowing abandoned wells— originally drilled for oil, but later used for irrigation — that no state agency plans to plug. Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune

IMPERIAL (REPORT) — Peculiar things can happen after folks drill deep into the earth — looking for oil, water or whatever — and leave a bunch of holes in the ground. Fluids can gurgle and leak, migrating where they don’t belong. In rare instances, land could even sink or collapse. The oddest unintended consequences tend to bubble up in this

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EPA Finally Admits Fracking Can Harm Drinking Water

Ordered by Congress in 2010, the report reaches a somewhat stronger conclusion than a draft version unveiled last year that said the agency had found no evidence that fracking has “widespread, systemic impacts” on the nation’s drinking water.

Kiah Collier
By Kiah Collier
In this Nov. 26, 2012 photo, Steve Lipsky demonstrates how his well water ignites when he puts a flame to the flowing well spigot outside his family's home near a fracking operation in rural Parker County near Weatherford, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The controversial oil and gas extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing can contaminate drinking water under certain circumstances, according to a long-anticipated U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report released Tuesday. Ordered by Congress in 2010, the report reaches a somewhat stronger conclusion than a draft version unveiled

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Following Decades Of High Cancer Rates & Birth Defects, EPA Begins Cleanup Of Uranium Mines On Navajo Reservation

The EPA and Navajo Nation have identified 523 abandoned uranium mines scattered throughout Arizona and New Mexico, including dozens located dangerously close to homes or water sources.

MintPress News Desk
By MintPress News Desk
An EPA employee takes a radiation level reading at an abandoned mine in, Nev. After decades of complaints, the EPA has began work to reverse the devastating effects of uranium mine pollution on the Navajo Nation.

MINNEAPOLIS --- A cleanup effort funded by a $1 billion bankruptcy settlement is underway to reverse the devastating effects of uranium mine pollution on the Navajo Nation. Hundreds of abandoned mines are scattered across their territory in Arizona and New Mexico, and on Aug. 31 the Environmental Protection Agency issued a request for bids,

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Texas Found 276 Cases Of Groundwater Contamination Last Year

Texas regulators have allowed energy companies in recent years to inject toxic materials into at least a “handful” of underground sources of drinking water, records show.

Jim Malewitz
By Jim Malewitz

State regulators last year documented 276 new cases of groundwater contamination across Texas, a slight increase compared to 2014 but far fewer than in years past. That’s according to the annual “Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report” published last week by the Texas Groundwater Projection Committee, a collection of nine state

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