Erin Brockovich Joins Vets to Rally Against DOJ’s Position in Supreme Court Water Pollution Case

Consumer advocate Erin Brockovich, dozens of military veterans and watchdog groups rallied yesterday to voice frustration over the federal government’s support of a known polluter in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken the side of electronics manufacturer CTS Corporation in a court case yesterday that could strip legal rights from military families poisoned by toxic drinking water at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, NC, and others harmed by industrial pollution across the country.
The case, CTS Corporation v. Waldburger, will decide if federal environmental law preempts North Carolina’s statute of repose, which imposes a 10-year limit to file a lawsuit. A ruling in favor of CTS Corporation would void injury claims of Asheville, NC, residents who, for decades, were exposed to trichloroethlylene—a known carcinogen—on land contaminated by the company.
“Whether it’s Marines at Camp Lejeune, families in Asheville, or residents of any community located near a Superfund site, we cannot allow this case to set a precedent giving polluters a free pass,” said Brockovich, who attended the rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. “It is unconscionable and egregious to deny victims of industrial pollution their day in court.”
Rather than defending the victims, DOJ filed a brief on behalf of CTS Corporation, specifically noting the government’s interest in the case and how it could affect ongoing litigation from those sickened at Camp Lejeune.
“DOJ is purposely supporting a known polluter to set a legal precedent which would deny Marines, veterans and their families of the very constitutional rights we all served and sacrificed to protect,” said retired Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, who uncovered the contamination at Camp Lejeune after losing his 9-year old daughter Janey to leukemia. "We just want the opportunity to present our cases in court and allow the merits of our cases to be the determining factor. DOJ has instead resorted to last ditch ‘legal gymnastics’ to kill all of our claims in their cribs.”
“It is preposterous that DOJ is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reward corporate and government irresponsibility and condone the poisoning of up to one million Marines and their families who faithfully served this country,” said Mike Partain, a breast cancer survivor who lived at Camp Lejeune.
DOJ’s position conflicts with the Obama Administration’s commitment to protect public health and the environment. In Aug. 2012, President Obama signed the Janey Ensminger Act into law, which offers health benefits to those contaminated at Camp Lejeune.
“Instead of fulfilling its obligation to take care of the military veterans and families sickened at Camp Lejeune, the U.S. government has turned its back on them,” said Heather White, Environmental Working Group’s executive director. “It is truly disappointing for not only the victims of Camp Lejeune, but for all of the men and women who serve our country.”
“Today we stand with the estimated one million Marines, their families, and the civilians of Camp Lejeune,” said Angela Canterbury, Project On Government Oversight’s director of public policy. “It's time to finally protect those who protect us.”
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Migratory beekeeping involves trucking millions of bees across the U.S. to pollinate different crops, including avocados and almonds. Timothy Paule II / Pexels / CC0
<p>According to <a href="https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/beekeeping-how-to-keep-bees" target="_blank">From the Grapevine</a>, American avocados also fully depend on bees' pollination to produce fruit, so farmers have turned to migratory beekeeping as well to fill the void left by wild populations.</p><p>U.S. farmers have become reliant upon the practice, but migratory beekeeping has been called exploitative and harmful to bees. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/health/avocado-almond-vegan-partner/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported that commercial beekeeping may injure or kill bees and that transporting them to pollinate crops appears to negatively affect their health and lifespan. Because the honeybees are forced to gather pollen and nectar from a single, monoculture crop — the one they've been brought in to pollinate — they are deprived of their normal diet, which is more diverse and nourishing as it's comprised of a variety of pollens and nectars, Scientific American reported.</p><p>Scientific American added how getting shuttled from crop to crop and field to field across the country boomerangs the bees between feast and famine, especially once the blooms they were brought in to fertilize end.</p><p>Plus, the artificial mass influx of bees guarantees spreading viruses, mites and fungi between the insects as they collide in midair and crawl over each other in their hives, Scientific American reported. According to CNN, some researchers argue that this explains why so many bees die each winter, and even why entire hives suddenly die off in a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.</p>Avocado and almond crops depend on bees for proper pollination. FRANK MERIÑO / Pexels / CC0
<p>Salazar and other Columbian beekeepers described "scooping up piles of dead bees" year after year since the avocado and citrus booms began, according to Phys.org. Many have opted to salvage what partial colonies survive and move away from agricultural areas.</p><p>The future of pollinators and the crops they help create is uncertain. According to the United Nations, nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction, Phys.org reported. Their decline already has cascading consequences for the economy and beyond. Roughly 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world depend on bees and other pollinators for free fertilization services worth billions of dollars, Phys.org noted. Losing wild and native bees could <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wild-bees-crop-shortage-2646849232.html" target="_self">trigger food security issues</a>.</p><p>Salazar, the beekeeper, warned Phys.org, "The bee is a bioindicator. If bees are dying, what other insects beneficial to the environment... are dying?"</p>EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
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