Category: RT Newswire

Published on Sunday, October 12, 2008 by The Associated Press
Deal Could Open National Forests to Developers

A controversial deal between the federal government and the nation’s largest private
landowner could increase residential development of forests around the country,
according to congressional investigators.

The proposed agreement between the Forest Service and Plum Creek Timber Co. would
allow the company to use roads on national forests in Montana to develop its
adjacent private property for subdivisions. Such easements often allow the company
to use public roads only for logging or forest management.

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Published on Friday, October 10, 2008 by One World.net

Americans Increasingly Worried About Hunger
by Haider Rizvi

NEW YORK- People with low income in the United States are feeling increasingly insecure about their ability to buy food, according to a new study released by an independent research group.

“As the economy continues its downward trend, concerns about hunger will only intensify,” said Jim Weill, president of the Washington, DC-based Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), which published the study Thursday.

The research indicates that a substantial majority of working families have lost their trust in the federal government’s ability to address the issue of growing levels of hunger and that the next administration must pay close attention to it.

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Published on Friday, October 10, 2008 by Environmental News Service (ENS)

Supreme Court May Bar Groups From Contesting Federal Rules
by J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared sympathetic to a legal position held by the Bush administration that would limit environmentalists and other public interest groups from challenging federal regulations.

[The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared sympathetic to a legal position held by the Bush administration that would limit environmentalists and other public interest groups from challenging federal regulations.

The case centers on a dispute over rules imposed by the U.S. Forest Service, but legal experts contend the court’s ultimate decision could have far-reaching impacts and make it nearly impossible for many individuals and third parties to contest rules enacted by federal agencies.

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Spread the word-and watch for this! Bush cronies will-like George Sr. did-use these last months in office to throw as much of the public trust to the timber, mining, drilling, cattle, & building interests as possible. Couple that w/ McCain/Palin’s fetish for oil & gas, & Obama’s fascination w/ coal & nuke power-& we could have a big problem on our hands!

I got this from the Western Shoshone Defense Project-who battles nuke & mineral outfits constantly…

ASW

While we’re all watching the ads and debates and wall street woes —
what is really happening to our lands and resources?

News From Representative Raúl M. Grijalva
7th Congressional District of Arizona

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2008
Contact: Natalie Luna (520) 622-6788 office
(520) 904-0375 cell

Chairman Grijalva Denounces Bush Interior Department’s Last Minute Effort to Strip Congress of Power to Protect Public Lands

Tucson, AZ–Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced it will rescind a regulation that allows two congressional committees to withdraw public lands from mining and other extractive activities in
emergencies.

The BLM will published a notice tomorrow in the Federal Register to rescind the rule (43 C.F.R. 2310.5) that allows the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to notify the Secretary to withdraw certain lands in emergencies in order to give Congress the opportunity to determine whether permanent protection for the lands is warranted. The notice tomorrow will give the public only 15 days to comment and provides no environmental analysis of the impacts of the proposed action.

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