Category: RT Newswire

USE ME! Essentially, this is a catch all for everything. This is probably the ONLY category where things that are not directly related to Rising Tide affiliates/allies should go. For example if a coal company goes out of business (and we didn’t directly cause it) it should probably only go here.

Will Obama bite the hand that feeds

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Obama is talking tough on holding BP accountable for the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf, but is he really willing to bite the hand that feeds him. According to an article on Common Dreams, Obama received more money from BP than any other candidate in the 2008 elections, raking in $71,000 of their oily money.  Obama is  playing his cards in typical politician fashion, assuring us that his new drilling plans are on hold while the government reviews safety protocol. Which of  course means that Obama will put a few more weak regulations in place, assure us everything is OK, and then drill baby drill! Think I’m being cynical? The Associated Press reports, “A White House spokesman said this week that President Barack Obama remains committed, at least for now, to plans to expand drilling to new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf.”

We cannot allow offshore drilling to continue. For our oceans, deltas, marshes, and coastal communities that depend on these ecosystems for their sustenance, not to mention a stable climate, we must leave that oil in the ground. BP, state and federal politicians, must be held accountable for this disaster. Unfortunately we must add to the list of the usual suspects in environmental disasters such as these, some unusual ones: environmental groups like Environmental Defense Fund who have recklessly supported a climate bill that would open up more of our coasts to offshore drilling. Let me get this straight, we are going to reign in carbon emissions by drilling for more oil. Brilliant!

Grassroots climate groups are gearing up for a day of action against offshore drilling on May 14, stay posted for more details. We must ensure that Obama’s offshore drilling plans are stopped dead in their tracks, coastal communities are fully compensated for the devastation unleashed on them, and that BP, not tax payers, foot the bill.

Historic Earth Day Climate Change Conference

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Indigenous Peoples of North America Join President Evo Morales in Bolivia for Historic Earth Day Climate Change Conference

“Respect Indigenous Rights & the Rights of ‘Pachamama’ in UN Climate negotiations”

Pictures and more at: http://pitch.pe/58935

Cochabamba, Bolivia- Indigenous Peoples from across North America and their allies from around the world gathered at the invitation of Bolivian President Evo Morales in Cochabamba this morning for the kick-off of an historic conference on climate change and the “rights of Mother Earth.” Morales called this conference in the wake of failed climate talks in Copenhagen last year. Over 15,000 delegates from 126 countries heard President Morales speak at the soccer stadium in the village of Tiquipaya today, and are meeting in working group sessions this week to develop strategies and make policy proposals on issues such as forests, water, climate debt, and finance, which President Morales pledges to bring to the international negotiations of the COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico later this year.

The convocation this morning included a multi-cultural blessing ceremony by Indigenous Peoples from across the Americas, and speeches by representatives of social movements from five continents on the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for bold action that protects both human rights and the environment.

“Indigenous rights and knowledge are crucial to addressing climate change, but the United States and Canada have not signed on to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIPs), and are pushing corporate climate policy agendas that threaten our homelands and livelihoods,” said Jihan Gearon of the Navajo Nation (AZ), Native Energy Organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network. “We have traveled to Bolivia because President Morales has committed to bring our voices to the global stage at the next round of talks in Cancun.”

“President Morales has asked our recommendations on issues such as REDDs (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation),” said Alberto Saldamando, legal counsel for the International Indian Treaty Council. “REDD is branded as a friendly forest conservation program, yet it is backed by big polluters. REDD is a dangerous distraction from the root issue of fossil fuel pollution, and could mean disaster for forest-dependent Indigenous Peoples the world over.”

“We are here from the far north to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters of the South” said Faith Gemmill, Executive Director of Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL), who spoke from the stage at the invitation of President Morales. “We have a choice as human kind – a path of life, or a path of destruction. The people who can change the world are here!”

The Indigenous Environmental Network is in Cochabamba for the duration of the Climate Conference (April 20-24). Onsite cell: +591 740 28531 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +591 740 28531 end_of_the_skype_highlighting###

Indigenous Environmental Network: Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. www.ienearth.org

Fred Krupp, president of Environment Defense Fund, defends EDF’s cozy corporate partnerships

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By Chris Lang, 2nd April 2010

Fred Krupp, president of Environment Defense Fund, defends EDF’s cozy corporate partnerships

Rising Tide North America has launched an online campaign, demanding an end to financial and political relationships between big NGOs and Corporate America. The response (posted below) from Fred Krupp, the President of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), one of the targetted NGOs, arrogantly shrugs off the accusations. Continue reading

Get in the action with Portland Rising Tide

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We’re currently working on two big issues:

  1. the Columbia River Crossing mega-bridge of craziness and
  2. Liquefied Natural Gas, as aggressively pursued by big-money energy speculators looking to destroy Oregon.

Learn more below and get involved in these issues by signing up to receive updates. Click here to join our e-mail list to hear about upcoming actions.

Sign up to attend NW Natural Shareholders Meeting: click here.

Columbia River Crossing

The CRC is an I-5 Highway expansion planned for Portland and Vancouver. Current plans for the I-5 expansion are designed to enable a 34% increase in passenger vehicle traffic at a price tag of up to $ 4 billion.

With vehicle traffic responsible for 40% of our regional global warming pollution, the Columbia River Crossing would lock us into a carbon intensive transportation policy.  Furthermore, North Portland has the highest rates of asthma in the region, with diesel particulate from I-5 the leading cause. Meanwhile, people on both sides of the Columbia River living where new feeder roads are planned are threatened with relocation and permanent damage to their communities. $3 to 4 billion would be the most expensive project in regional history. Let’s use that money to build communities we want to live in: for health care, for education, and to create permanent jobs supporting a local, sustainable economy with world class rail, buses, street cars, and bike lanes.

We need your support to stop the CRC. Our grassroots effort is entirely volunteer run! Portland Rising Tide is a founding member of the Coalition to Stop the CRC – check out www.stopthecrc.org for all the details. There you’ll find background information and information about how to get involved.

Liquefied Natural Gas

There are currently three proposals to build LNG importation terminals in Oregon, two on the Columbia River and one in Coos Bay. Each of the pipelines come with hundreds of miles of pipelines proposed, which would rip through hundreds of local farms, watersheds, state forests, and event clear-cut through Mt. Hood National Forest. LNG is very every intensive because it is natural gas that would be extracted from other countries and is condensed and shipped across the ocean. LNG is up to %30 more greenhouse gas intensive then the gas we currently use, and the is the biggest fossil fuel project on the West Coast.

Sign the petition by clicking here.

One of the biggest companies pushing the projects is NW Natural Gas, of which many of us are customers. While NW Natural aggressively pursues the Palomar Pipeline through Mt. Hood and LNG, they also spend millions of dollars on public relations building their green image.

There are a lot of opportunities to hold this corporation accountable, and participate in some fun actions. Stay updated and learn more at www.HeyNwNatural.org.