Tag Archives: Energy

Texas GOP Invents Corporate Courts Ready to Do Industry’s Bidding

“Why bother judge-shopping when you can just invent a new court?” asked one watchdog.

By Jake Johnson. Published 9-4-2024 by Common Dreams

*Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Photo: World Travel & Tourism Council/flickr/CC*

In recent months, corporate groups such as the powerful U.S. Chamber of Commerce have faced growing backlash over “judge-shopping,” a tactic whereby plaintiffs deliberately select legal venues they believe will produce favorable outcomes.

But as of the beginning of this month, corporations have access to nearly a dozen Texas courts created specifically for the purpose of settling major business cases as well as a statewide panel that will hear appeals from the newly established courts.

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Tribes Celebrate as Dam Removals Set Klamath River ‘Free’ for First Time in a Century

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“The biggest thing for me, the significance of the dam removal project, is just hope—understanding that change can be made,” a Yoruk activist said as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history neared completion.

By Edward Carver. Published 8-29-2024 by Common Dreams

*The Klamath River. Photo: Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington/flickr/CC*

Crews breached the final of four dams on a key stretch of the Klamath River on Wednesday, letting salmon run freely there for the first time in over a century and garnering tears from Indigenous activists who had campaigned for the dam removals for decades.

Together the four demolitions mark the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

The Klamath, which runs from south-central Oregon into northwestern California, has long been bordered by Native American tribes—”Salmon People,” as they call themselves—that once relied on the protein-rich fish for about half of their caloric intake but were impoverished by the institution of the dams, among other white settler colonialist initiatives.

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‘Historic Victory’ as Biden BLM Restores Protections for 28 Million Acres in Alaska

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“Tribal consultation must be treated as a requirement—not an option—when the federal government is making decisions that could irrevocably affect tribal communities,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

By Julia Conley. Published 8-27-2024 by Common Dreams

*Moose visiting the coast, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Reserve. Photo: Michele Kuter/Public domain*

Indigenous tribes and conservation groups applauded the Biden administration on Tuesday for listening to the demands of Alaska Natives, who have called on the federal government to protect 28 million acres of land in the state from mining—warning that failing to do so would threaten food security and cultural identity for tens of thousands of people.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s announcement that the land would be protected from mining interests—reversing a decision by former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee—”is a big deal for the communities and wildlife who call Alaska home,” said Dan Ritzman of the Sierra Club.

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Federal Judge Gives Louisiana Polluters a ‘Free Pass’ to Harm Communities of Color

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“Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations,” and the new ruling from a Trump-appointed judge will only magnify the problem, a campaigner said.

By Edward Carver. Published 8-23-2024 by Common Dreams

*Cancer Alley. Photo: Gines A. Sanchez/flickr/CC*

A right-wing federal judge in Louisiana on Thursday permanently blocked two federal agencies from enforcing civil rights legislation that could protect Black communities from disproportionate pollution in the state, drawing condemnation from environmental justice advocates.

The two-page ruling, issued by U.S. District Court Judge James Cain, who was appointed to the federal bench in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump, is a setback in the push for accountability for corporate polluters, most notably in “Cancer Alley,” a roughly 85-mile stretch that runs along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

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Allies Vow to Fight Off Big Oil Lawsuit Aimed at Ending ‘Existence’ of Greenpeace

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“No matter who you are, no matter what your politics are, this is one of the most important issues in America right now,” one Greenpeace spokesperson said.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 8-2-2024 by Common Dreams

Protesters against the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL Pipeline hold a sit-in in the street next to the San Francisco Federal Building. in January 2017. Photo: Pax Ahimsa Gethen/Wikimedia Commons/CC

Nearly 300 organizations and tens of thousands of individuals have signed an open letter supporting Greenpeace USA against a $300 million lawsuit brought against the environmental group by Energy Transfer—a company with a majority stake in the Dakota Access pipeline.

The corporation is falsely accusing Greenpeace of being the driving force behind Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) in 2016 and 2017.

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Indigenous Land Defender Named Amnesty’s First ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ in Canada

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“This fight has been going on for 240 years,” said Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. “Now, we are all ‘prisoners of conscience’ because of what the colonizers have done to us.”

By Brett Wilkins. Published 8-1-2024 by Common Dreams

Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, shown here in an undated photo, has been named Amnesty International’s first-ever prisoner of conscience in Canada. (Photo: Chief Dsta’hyl’s family/Amnesty International/X)

Amnesty International on Wednesday made what it called the “unprecedented decision” to designate as Canada’s first-ever “prisoner of conscience” an Indigenous leader convicted for actions taken while defending his people’s land against a fracked gas pipeline.

Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation was arrested in 2021 for violating a court order to not obstruct the construction of TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline. The hereditary chief is currently under house arrest for contempt of court.

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Critics Warn Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Bill ‘Is Taken Straight From Project 2025’

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“You thought Project 2025 was just a threat after the election? It’s actually happening right now,” said one climate campaigner.

By Brett Wilkins Published 7-26-2024 by Common Dreams

*The Chevron refinery in North Salt Lake, Utah Photo: arbyreed/flickr/CC*

Climate and environmental defenders on this week implored U.S. senators to block a permitting reform bill introduced this week by Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso that campaigners linked to Project 2025, a conservative coalition’s agenda for a far-right overhaul of the federal government.

Common Dreams reported Monday that Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Barrasso (R-Wyo.)—respectively the chair and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee—introduced the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.

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Biden Proposes New Protections From Oil and Gas Drilling in Western Arctic

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While applauding the proposal, climate advocates said they would “keep fighting to ensure there’s no new oil extraction on a single acre” of the region.

By Julia Conley. Published 7-13-2024 by Common Dreams

*Teshekpuk Caribou in the National Petroleum Reserve in northwest Alaska. Photo: Bureau of Land Management/flickr/CC*

Indigenous groups in Alaska were joined by climate advocates on Friday in welcoming the Biden administration’s proposal to expand protections from oil and gas drilling in the Western Arctic, though some groups emphasized that the federal government should not stop with the newly announced effort.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it was opening a 60-day comment period regarding a potential expansion of areas protected from drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), also known as the Western Arctic.

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Milei’s ‘twin extractivism’ reforms threaten Argentina and the planet

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Argentina’s debt will grow as Big Tech extracts data and knowledge, forcing state to abuse nature to pay it off

By Cecilia Rikap. Published 6-28-2024 by openDemocracy

*Javier Milei, President of Argentina speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2024. Photo: World Economic Forum/flickr/CC*

Argentina’s far-right president Javier Milei secured early this morning his first major win in office, with the country’s lower chamber passing the first of his landmark regressive reforms. Congress’s approval of the so-called Ley Bases, or the Bases Law, came weeks after the bill prompted a 13-hour debate in the upper chamber and a peaceful demonstration outside Parliament that was met with fierce police repression.

The legislation – which is a key part of Milei’s anarcho-liberal government plan – promotes investment in extractive industries, such as forestry, construction, mining, energy and technology. It includes a Large Investment Incentive Scheme (RIGI, by its Spanish acronym) that will grant extractive investment projects worth at least $200m lower income tax, authorise them to import fixed capital and tax only their exports in the first three years.

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‘Unprecedented’ and ‘Very Dangerous,’ Hurricane Beryl Explodes Into Category 4 Storm

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“The climate crisis is here. This is an emergency. Politicians need to start acting like it.”

By Jon Queally. Published 6-30-2024 by Common Dreams

*A satellite image of Hurricane Beryl as churns toward the southeast Caribbean on Sunday, June 20, 2024. (Image: NOAA)*

Meteorologists, climate campaigners, and extreme weather experts expressed shock and horror Sunday as Hurricane Beryl exploded into an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm as it headed into the warm waters of the southern Caribbean with a level of intensification characterized as unprecedented.

The National Hurricane Center on Sunday morning called it a “very dangerous situation” due to “potentially catastrophic hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves” for the numerous mainland and island nations in Beryl’s path.

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Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Energy

Texas GOP Invents Corporate Courts Ready to Do Industry’s Bidding

“Why bother judge-shopping when you can just invent a new court?” asked one watchdog.

Federal Judge Gives Louisiana Polluters a ‘Free Pass’ to Harm Communities of Color

“Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations,” and the new ruling from a Trump-appointed judge will only magnify the problem, a campaigner said.

Milei’s ‘twin extractivism’ reforms threaten Argentina and the planet

Argentina’s debt will grow as Big Tech extracts data and knowledge, forcing state to abuse nature to pay it off

“Why bother judge-shopping when you can just invent a new court?” asked one watchdog.

“The biggest thing for me, the significance of the dam removal project, is just hope—understanding that change can be made,” a Yoruk activist said as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history neared completion.

“Tribal consultation must be treated as a requirement—not an option—when the federal government is making decisions that could irrevocably affect tribal communities,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

“Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations,” and the new ruling from a Trump-appointed judge will only magnify the problem, a campaigner said.

“No matter who you are, no matter what your politics are, this is one of the most important issues in America right now,” one Greenpeace spokesperson said.

“This fight has been going on for 240 years,” said Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. “Now, we are all ‘prisoners of conscience’ because of what the colonizers have done to us.”

“You thought Project 2025 was just a threat after the election? It’s actually happening *right now,*” said one climate campaigner.

While applauding the proposal, climate advocates said they would “keep fighting to ensure there’s no new oil extraction on a single acre” of the region.

Argentina’s debt will grow as Big Tech extracts data and knowledge, forcing state to abuse nature to pay it off

“The climate crisis is here. This is an emergency. Politicians need to start acting like it.”

“You thought Project 2025 was just a threat after the election? It’s actually happening right now,” said one climate campaigner.