Green Options

Conservationists in Australia are claiming that the postponement of the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam is actually a sign that the dam will never be constructed. The dam, set to be built on the Mary River in Queensland, Australia, faces fierce criticism from local activists, residents, and councils.

A major hurdle for the dam’s construction has been the slew of environmental precautions and protections that Queensland Water Infrastructure Pty Ltd. has had to take care of. In order to perform the required community projects, such as local trail enhancement and habitat restoration, QWI is indefinitely postponing the construction.

Brandon Darby, co-founder of Common Grounds, has publicly admitted to working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and being responsible for the arrest of two activists from Austin, Texas. On Monday he wrote an open letter in explanation of his actions, though the letter does not disclose many details.

In the letter, Darby defends his choice to work for the FBI, admitting that he was not approached by them, but that he actually took the initiative himself when he began disagreeing with his affinity group’s tactics and increased militancy. He wrote that the government is not out to silence dissent or take down activists, but that they merely intend to stop crimes from taking place.

Following a slew of environmental failures by Bayer CropScience, the EPA has issued a punishment that some say does not go nearly far enough. While the chemical giant will be required to pay about one million dollars in fines and safeguards against future disasters, the punishment will hardly put a dent in their profits, which were reported at nearly $5 billion in 2007.

The agreement was made possible from a deal between the EPA and Bayer, and the bulk of the fines are in the form of Bayer buying pollution control devices for the city of Charleston, West Virginia. But the local group People Concerned About MIC says that the punishments don’t go nearly far enough.

The group is calling on the EPA to require Bayer to buy gas masks for everyone in the Kanawha Valley, as well as fund a community health study.

Two environmental activists were detained by the Tennessee Valley Authority police for photographing the site of last weeks ash spill. While it does not appear that they will be charged with crimes, they were unable to document the ash spill’s effects on the area and its water supply.

The men, who are from the Knoxville based United Mountain Defense, say that TVA has yet to release the water toxicity results. They say they have the right to take their own measurements and photographs unless TVA shows their results. “This is an issue of national importance,” said David Cooper. “People need to know if the water is safe or not.”

Despite activists’ efforts earlier in the month to stop the Bush administration’s 11th hour changes to environmental regulations, the EPA has gone ahead with undoing some rules. Specifically, they have signed off on loosening 1983’s coal dumping regulation, which prevent dumping within 100 feet of a river.

Fortunately, environmental groups are taking the ruling to court, saying that the already lax enforcement of the law has led to environmental destruction. Over 500 miles of rivers and streams have been adversely affected by dumping since 2001, and further weakening of the law could be devastating.

British activists may receive up to 14-year jail sentences for blackmail and conspiracy to blackmail executives of and suppliers to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a company notorious for testing on animals. Three of them pled guilty to conspiracy charges, while four others denied the charges and were found guilty of conspiracy. One person was cleared.

They were all members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, an organization known for using radical tactics and threats. The organization has been known to send fake bombs and needles claiming to be contaminated with AIDS to employees of HLS and companies that do business with them.

Cruelty against cats is increasing in Guangdong, China, where over 10,000 domesticated cats are eaten daily. The cats, some of which are apparently being stolen from people’s houses, are transported in small cages to restaurants in the town where they are then cooked, often while they are still alive.

Activists in China are taking a stronger stance against this cruelty, and have begun demonstrating in Beijing against the treatment of cats used for food. 40 people, many of them elders who care for orphaned cats, protested outside of the Guangdong office in Beijing.

On March 2nd, 2009, over 1,000 activists are poised to take part in a mass sit-in in Washington DC at one of the nation’s most prominent coal plants. The action will coincide with PowerShift 2009, a demonstration and conference being put on by Energy Action Coalition, which is expected to draw over 10,000 people in an effort to make climate action a priority of the incoming administration.

The act of civil disobedience will take part at The Capital Coal Plant, which provides power to the Dictrict’s Capitol Complex and to Congress. The House of Representatives has resolved to get their power from cleaner sources, but the Senate continues to obtain their power from the coal plant.

Friendly words from the police last week have done nothing to dissuade Tasmanian activists from continuing their nonviolent protests in the island’s forests. Seven protesters were arrested each on Tuesday and today, while one activist remains in a tree despite the warrant that has been issued for her arrest.

One week ago, Tasmanian police caused an outcry from conservation groups when they publicly named anti-forestry protesters as a make-believe terrorist group threatening the airport in an otherwise typical drill. The Wilderness Fund complained to the police that forestry protests in the country have always been nothing but peaceful in their opposition to clear cutting.

President-elect Barack Obama has rounded off his energy and environment Cabinet, to almost entirely positive remarks from conservation and environmental groups. Drawing from diverse backgrounds, Obama has picked a team that seems to reinforce his promises to reach across aisles while making huge strides towards protecting the earth.

The line-up:

Secretary of Interior: Ken Salazar (Democratic Senator from Colorado)
Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack (Former Democratic Governor of Iowa)
Secretary of Energy: Stephen Chu (Nobel Prize winning physicist)
EPA Administrator: Lisa Jackson (Former New Jersey environmental protection commissioner)