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.

An Epidemic of Extinctions: Decimation of Life on Earth

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Published on Friday, May 16, 2008 by The Independent/UK 

An Epidemic of Extinctions: Decimation of Life on Earth

 

The world’s species are declining at a rate “unprecedented since the extinction of the dinosaurs”, a census of the animal kingdom has revealed. The Living Planet Index out today shows the devastating impact of humanity as biodiversity has plummeted by almost a third in the 35 years to 2005.

 

The report, produced by WWF, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network, says land species have declined by 25 per cent, marine life by 28 per cent, and freshwater species by 29 per cent.

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Earth First! blocks I-69 construction in Indiana

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i-69, otherwise known as the NAFTA superhighway, is a proposed interstate that would link Canada, the US, and Mexico. The road is being built to facilitate the movement of goods out of Mexico to the markets of the US and Canada. This will only lead to the further destruction of ecosystems and poor indigenous and campesino coummunities in Mexcio. Meanwhile thousands of acres of farmland, forests, and wetlands will be lost to pavement in the US while continuing the ceaseless expansion of car culture.

In the Wee hours of May 18th, fading into the early morning of May 19th, a small group of activists braved the pre-dawn chill (and the threat of arrest and imprisonment!) and slipped into the trees alongside a country road about 25 miles north of Evansville, Indiana. They went in loaded with ropes, tarps, platforms, and guts. By the time the sun had risen full up in the sky, two brave Earth First!ers–Grant Reynolds and Harriet Ray–were gently swaying thirty-five feet above the ground. Below them, banners reading “I-69 and NAFTA: Destroying Communities Here Through Mexico,” “Resist Construction,” and “Defend Farms” announced this act of physical defense to the Monday morning commuters along State Road 68. Continue reading

10 National Parks Most Threatened by New Coal-Fired Power Plants

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2008
2:00 PM

CONTACT: National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
Andrea Keller Helsel, National Parks Conservation Association,
202.454.3332
 
 
National Parks Conservation Association Names 10 National Parks Most Threatened by New Coal-Fired Power Plants
Parks Group Calls on Administration to Abandon Effort to Permit More Power Plant Pollution Near National Parks By Weakening Clean Air Regulations
 
WASHINGTON, DC – May 15 – The nation’s leading voice for the national parks, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), today called on the Administration to halt its efforts to rollback clean air protections for national parks, citing 10 national parks at risk from pollution from new coal-fired power plants.

“Americans expect and deserve clean air when they visit our national parks,” said NPCA Clean Air and Climate Programs Director Mark Wenzler. “Instead of opening the door to more pollution in national parks such as Shenandoah, Great Basin, and Zion, the Administration should be working to secure a legacy that preserves America’s national treasures for our children and grandchildren.”

NPCA’s new report, Dark Horizons, identifies the 10 national parks most at risk from pollution from new coal-fired power plants as Shenandoah (Va.), Great Smoky Mountains (Tenn./ N.C.), Mammoth Cave (Ky.), Theodore Roosevelt (N.D.), Mesa Verde (Co.), Capitol Reef (Utah), Zion (Utah), Great Basin (Nev.), Wind Cave (S.D.), and Badlands (S.D.).

NPCA is calling on the Administration to halt its efforts to weaken clean air protections for national parks. Despite objections from its own scientists and the National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to finalize a rule that weakens pollution standards and makes it easier to build new coal-fired power plants near national parks. NPCA warns that national parks such as Shenandoah will suffer greater pollution, and wildlife and scenic views in national parks such as Great Basin, which is largely unaffected by air pollution, will be harmed.

Echoing NPCA’s concerns, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA-30th), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has written several letters to EPA Administrator Johnson about this rulemaking and its potential affect on national parks, calling for it to be withdrawn.

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Heavy Rains Plague Myanmar; Casualty Toll Jumps

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Rain deepens Myanmar misery; casualty tolls jump
Fri May 16, 2008 12:34pm EDT

YANGON (Reuters) – Torrential tropical downpours lashed Myanmar’s cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta on Friday as thousands of destitute victims took to roadsides to beg for help to supplement the meager trickle of aid flowing in.

The official death toll has jumped sharply, to 77,738 from a previous figure of 43,328 according to a Myanmar state television report late on Friday.

Independent experts have said the actual number is probably far higher, with British officials saying the total dead and missing could be more than 200,000.

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