Shasta dam and lake near Redding, California. Kelly M. Grow / California Department of Water Resources
By Tara Lohan
In the aftermath of the Nov. 3 election, President Donald Trump has tried every trick in the book to avoid facing the reality of his loss. A barrage of lawsuits accompanied by disinformation campaigns has attempted to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election.
<p>But a close look at regulatory actions and executive moves shows that, even as Trump makes a show of refusing to concede or transition power to the incoming Biden administration, his team is pushing through a slew of last-minute rules and regulations.</p><p>Many of these changes will harm the environment and public health.</p><p>It isn't surprising that an administration that has attempted to roll back more than <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html" target="_blank">100 environmental protections</a> in the past four years would step up its assault in its waning months. But that doesn't make the continued attacks any less important. Here's some of what's at risk:</p>
<h3>1. Tribal Lands</h3><p>Tribes and environmental groups have fought for decades against a proposed copper mine in an area of Arizona known as Oak Flat, which is a sacred site for a dozen tribes, including the San Carlos Apache.</p><p>Now the Trump administration is pushing to fast-track a deal that would transfer ownership of the land, which is in the Tonto National Forest, to Resolution Copper, a firm owned by mining companies Rio Tinto and Billiton BHP.</p><p>"Last month tribes discovered that the date for the completion of a crucial environmental review process has suddenly been moved forward by a full year, to December 2020, even as the tribes are struggling with a COVID outbreak that has stifled their ability to respond," <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/24/trump-mining-arizona-holy-land-oak-flat-tribes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an investigation</a> by The Guardian found. "If the environmental review is completed before Trump leaves office, the tribes may be unable to stop the mine."</p>
<h3>2. FERC Shakeup</h3><p>Just days after the election, Trump switched up the leadership of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has a hand in regulating hydroelectric projects, as well as interstate transmission of electricity, oil and natural gas.</p><p>Chairman Neil Chatterjee was replaced by fellow Republican James Danly, who has a <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/trump-replaces-ferc-chairman-neil-chatterjee-with-commissioner-james-danly" target="_blank">more conservative view</a> on federal energy policy. <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/neil-chatterjee-ferc-energy-transition" target="_blank">Chatterjee</a>, once known as a "coal guy," had recently advocated for policies supporting distributed energy and for regional grid operators to embrace carbon pricing as a market-based solution for addressing climate change.</p>
<h3>3. Hamstringing LWCF</h3><p>The Great American Outdoors Act, a major <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> bill signed into law in August, allocated $9.5 billion to help fix national park infrastructure and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund.</p><p>But despite (falsely) hailing himself as a conservation hero at the law's signing, Trump has already begun undermining the legislation's effectiveness. An order signed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Nov. 9 allows state and local governments to veto any land or water acquisitions made through the fund.</p><p>Chris D'Angelo at HuffPost <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-undercuts-public-lands-law_n_5fb81630c5b6cf1e0f07fc6d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">called the move</a> a "parting gift to the anti-federal land movement." Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who advocated for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, <a href="https://www.tester.senate.gov/files/Letters/2020-11-13%20Interior%20LWCF%20letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote a letter</a> to Bernhardt urging him to rescind the order. "This undercuts what a landowner can do with their own private property, and creates unnecessary, additional levels of bureaucracy that will hamstring future land acquisition through the Land and Water Conservation Fund," he wrote.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk1Njg0OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzIzNDYzMH0.qY-l-4Cw-EcxGh5DPTV-GVzlaQLfs5t5RVbheEaTZhk/img.jpg?width=980" id="d73c1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0eff7410b6bce6c900e1f04c6e74c3c2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="799" data-height="534" />
Senator Jon Tester at a press conference to discuss the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 2018. Public domain
<p>In another blow, officials and conservation groups in New Mexico were surprised to learn that <a href="https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2020/12/03/political-retribution-the-doi-rejected-100-of-new-mexicos-proposed-lwcf-projects/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">none of their projects</a> proposed to receive funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund were selected by the Department of the Interior. Some believe the move is political retribution for being critical of the Trump administration and its policies.</p>
<h3>4. Dam Raising</h3><p>On Nov. 20 the Trump administration<a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2020/11/20/stories/1063719067?utm_campaign=edition&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eenews%3Agreenwire" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> finalized a plan</a> to raise the height of Northern California's 600-foot Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet, which would allow for more water storage. The reservoir feeds the federally run Central Valley Project, which funnels water hundreds of miles south to cities and farms. That includes the politically connected Westlands Water District in the San Joaquin Valley, which formerly employed Interior Secretary David Bernhardt as a lawyer and lobbyist.</p><p>The state of California has strongly opposed the effort to raise the dam's height because it would flood the McCloud River, protected as wild and scenic. Conservation groups also say the plan would threaten endangered species such as Chinook salmon, delta smelt and Shasta salamanders.</p><p>California Rep. Jared Huffman <a href="https://www.eenews.net/greenwire/2020/12/03/stories/1063719719" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">called</a> it the "QAnon of water projects, meaning it's laughably infeasible and just not real."</p><p>The staunchest opposition has come from the <a href="https://www.winnememwintu.us/journey-to-justice/shasta-dam-raise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Winnemem Wintu</a> Tribe, which lost 90% of its sacred sites with the construction of the dam and faces the loss of its remaining sites and burial grounds if the reservoir is expanded.</p>
<h3>5. Pesticide Changes</h3><p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) announced on Nov. 20 it was taking away a tool states can use to control how pesticides are deployed. The action could further <a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/11/20/trump-epa-removes-tool-states-use-to-protect-farmworkers-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">endanger farmworkers and wildlife</a>.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/guidance-fifra-24c-registrations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Section 24 provision</a> of the Federal, Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act lets states set stricter restrictions on federally regulated pesticides in response to local needs and conditions. But after numerous states sought to limit the use of the weed killer dicamba, the agency will now no longer allow states to set more protective rules for any pesticides.</p>
<h3>6. Migratory Birds</h3><p>A gutting of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 took a big step forward at the end of November, clearing the way for the administration to finalize the rule change by the end of Trump's term.</p><p>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/527735-trump-administration-proceeds-with-rollback-of-bird-protections?" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">released its Final Environmental Impact Statement</a> to redefine the scope of the law to no longer penalize the energy industry or developers for "incidentally" killing migratory birds.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk1Njg2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzgwNjU5NX0.YmWS3FpbEfdow2E1sfNKCCZctkp4gSsIStTu8Mo9wVw/img.jpg?width=980" id="060b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4605240abe50bf6e322195cf512208be" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="800" data-height="600" />
Pied-billed grebe on an oil-covered evaporation pond at a commercial oilfield wastewater disposal facility. Pedro Ramirez Jr. / USFWS
<p>The agency's own analysis found that the rule change would "likely result in increased bird mortality" because — without penalties — companies wouldn't take additional precautions to help make sure birds aren't killed by their operations.</p><p>That's already proving true. "Since the administration began pursuing its looser interpretation of the law in April 2018, hundreds of birds have perished without penalty, according to documents compiled by conservation groups this year," The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/11/27/migratory-bird-treaty-act/" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>
<h3>7. ANWR Auction</h3><p>The Bureau of Land Management announced on Dec. 3 that oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would go on sale on Jan. 6, following a shortened time frame for the nomination and evaluation of potential tracts to be drilled.</p><p>"Once the sale is held, the bureau has to review and approve the leases, a process that typically takes months," The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/03/climate/arctic-refuge-lease-sales.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>. "But holding the sale on Jan. 6 potentially gives the bureau opportunity to finalize the leases before Inauguration Day. That would make it more difficult for the Biden administration to undo them."</p><p>Despite the fact that the Trump administration is intent on opening the door to drilling in the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain — one of the wildest places left in the United States — it's still unclear how interested the oil industry will be. Or how readily they'll be able to finance their operations. All the <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/every-major-bank-has-now-ruled-out-funding-arctic-drill-1845782346" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">major U.S. banks</a> have said they'll no longer fund new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.</p>
<h3>8. Dirty Air</h3><p>One week into December, the administration finalized its decision <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/epa-overrides-scientists-calls-for-tougher-pollutant-limit/2020/12/07/c21bdf0e-38d7-11eb-aad9-8959227280c4_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">declining to enact stricter standards for regulating industrial soot</a> emissions.</p><p>This came despite the fact that the administration's own scientists found that maintaining the current limits on tiny particles, known as PM 2.5, results in tens of thousands of early deaths each year. And despite the fact Harvard researchers found that those who have lived for decades with high levels of PM 2.5 pollution are at a<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/07/climate/trump-epa-soot-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> greater risk of dying from COVID-19</a>.</p>
<h3>9. Border Wall</h3><p>The incoming Biden administration has vowed to not build another foot of the border wall, but the borderlands ecosystem remains under threat as the Trump administration is continuing to push ahead.</p><p>In some cases wall builders are even attempting to speed up the work.</p><p>"That's happening from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Arizona's stunning Coronado National Memorial and Guadalupe Canyon, a wildlife corridor for Mexican gray wolves and endangered jaguars," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/16/934784015/trumps-border-wall-builders-carry-on-even-though-projects-may-never-be-completed" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NPR reported</a>. "At $41 million a mile, the Arizona sections are the most expensive projects of the entire border wall."</p><p>In Arizona they're needlessly razing vegetation and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-mountains-blasted-for-trump-wall-no-time-build-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blasting mountains</a> for roads in remote areas to help enable construction that likely won't even take place.</p>
<h3>10. Harming Whales and Dolphins</h3><p>Trump may be leaving office, but marine mammals won't be able to rest easy. NOAA Fisheries issued a rule on Dec. 9 allowing the oil and gas industry to harm Atlantic spotted dolphins, pygmy whales, dwarf sperm whales, Bryde's whales and other marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico while using seismic and acoustic mapping, including air guns, to gather data on resources on or below the ocean floor.</p><p>In an effort to further efforts for oil and gas drilling, nearly 200,000 beaked whales and more than 600,000 bottlenose dolphins could be "disturbed." And "pygmy and dwarf sperm whales are expected to be harassed to the point of potential injury, with a mean of 308 whales potentially harmed per year, according to the final rule," E&E News <a href="https://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2020/12/09/stories/1063720311" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk1Njg3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTQwNjc0NX0.pN11eW0akk0qeDUOjrcTXZZgEktLkRv4QP7lYP3DSZ8/img.jpg?width=980" id="fa50b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="34515b25bbefa366cc39a268ae5062a5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="799" data-height="559" />
Dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. Carey Akin / CC BY-SA 2.0
<h3>11. More Lease Sales</h3><p>The Arctic isn't the only place where the rush is on to exploit public lands. On Dec. 9 the Bureau of Land Management <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/70767/510" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">updated </a>an environmental assessment for a <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/12/10/feds-fast-track-plan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2013 plan for leases</a> to extract climate- and water-polluting tar sands on 2,100 acres in northeastern Utah. But then just days late it hit the pause button on the effort.</p><p>While that one may be on hold, the administration <em>did</em> kick off the sale of leases for oil drilling on <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-12-09/trump-california-oil-leases-sale" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4,100 acres of federal land in California's Kern County</a> on Dec. 10. The first such sale in the state in eight years could be canceled by the Biden administration and if not, would face legal challenges from environmental groups.</p>
<h3>12. Cost-Benefit Rule</h3><p>One of the administration's biggest parting gifts to industry — the "cost-benefit" rule — was finalized on Dec. 9. It would require the EPA to weigh the economic costs of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollution</a> regulations but not many of the health benefits that would arise from better protections.</p><p>"In other words, if reducing emissions from power plants also saves tens of thousands of lives each year by cutting soot, those 'co-benefits' should be not be counted," in the EPA's new analysis, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/12/09/trump-air-pollution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">explained</a>.</p><p>The rule would be a big blow to efforts to improve public health and curb pollution.</p><p>"The only purpose in making this a regulation seems to be to provide a basis for future lawsuits to slow down or prevent future administrations from regulating," Roy Gamse, an economist and former EPA deputy assistant administrator for planning and evaluation, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-costs/trumps-epa-to-finalize-rule-making-it-harder-to-issue-new-curbs-on-air-pollution-source-idUSKBN28I36K" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told Reuters</a>.</p><p>Slowing down the Biden administration will continue to be a big part of Trump's last month in office — along with the finalization of more rule changes to add insult to injury.</p><p><a href="https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/reversing-environmental-rollbacks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Legal experts</a> have begun mapping which rollbacks will be quick and easy to undo and those that will take sustained effort. But one thing is certain: There's a long road ahead to reverse dangerous regulations, restore scientific integrity and make up for lost ground on climate change, extinction and other cascading crises.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/trump-attacks-election/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
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The mountains above Paradise Valley at the gateway to Yellowstone National Park are now protected from gold mining. Walt Snover / Getty Images
The gateway to Yellowstone National Park is now safe from mining.
<p>A <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54919e5ae4b057e73fb9016d/t/5fd11f7fa907cd28a345a888/1607540608412/MTSupremeCourt_Decision_12082020.pdf" target="_blank">ruling</a> issued by the Montana Supreme Court Wednesday has effectively squashed a plan by Canadian company Lucky Minerals to search for gold in the mountains above Paradise Valley, the northern entryway to the iconic national park.</p><p>"Never underestimate the power of a community united to preserve its values to move mountains — and to protect them," Michelle Uberuaga, executive director of the <a href="https://www.pcecmt.org/" target="_blank">Park County Environmental Council</a>, one of two <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> groups behind the winning lawsuit, told <a href="https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/montana-supreme-court-upholds-decision-to-block-mining-north-of-yellowstone/article_8fe4b13a-eff9-5d09-99a1-55b55c4e7058.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Bozeman Daily Chronicle</a>.</p><p>For the Park County Environmental Council, co-plaintiff <a href="http://greateryellowstone.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Greater Yellowstone Coalition</a> (GYC) and their legal representatives <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>, Wednesday's victory was a long time coming. Here is a brief timeline of key events.</p>
<ul><li>2011: The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) was amended to stop district judges from halting projects approved by state agencies while new environmental reviews were being conducted, even if the approval was ruled to be illegal.</li><li>2017: Environmental groups sued after Montana's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a drilling permit for Lucky Minerals to look for gold near Emigrant Peak, north of Yellowstone.</li><li>2018: A Park County District Court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and said the permit was illegal because the DEQ did not fully consider the environmental impacts of the project. However, the judge could not block the exploratory drilling from taking place because of the 2011 amendment. The conservation groups then asked the judge to rule the amendment unconstitutional.</li><li>2019: The district judge <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/montana-court-blocks-gold-mining-yellowstone-2634854258.html" target="_self">ruled</a> in favor of the conservation groups and tossed out the amendment.</li><li>2020: The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision that the amendment was unconstitutional after the DEQ and the company brought an appeal.</li></ul>
<p>"Years in the making, this is a momentous win for GYC, our partners and the people of Montana who know the Greater Yellowstone is more valuable than gold," GYC Senior Montana Conservation Associate Joe Josephson wrote in a <a href="http://greateryellowstone.org/blog/2020/mtsupremecourtwin?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mtcourtwin_120920" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">press release</a>. </p><p>"By closing this loophole, the Court has substantially strengthened protections against irresponsible mining practices, and has affirmed that Montana laws enacted to protect places like Emigrant Gulch are a critical part of protecting our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment."</p><p>Mining opponents argued that Lucky Minerals' exploration and mining plans would pollute the Yellowstone River with acid runoff and toxic metals; interrupt essential habitat for species like grizzly bears, lynx, elk and wolverines; and harm the local community by disrupting recreation areas and ruining views of Emigrant Peak from Yellowstone National Park itself, <a href="https://earthjustice.org/blog/2018-may/montana-court-agrees-yellowstone-gateway-more-valuable-than-gold?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=page&fbclid=IwAR2vlP0K61z45STTk2TUUy4UpzlD6wBsGAQbRtV6DWzaCNxcggM-d8sBLbY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Earthjustice explained</a>.</p><p>In Wednesday's decision, the Supreme Court also upheld the District Court's decision that the project required an updated environmental review from the DEQ, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. It agreed that the initial review did not consider the project's impacts on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> or develop an adequate plan for capturing polluted water during the drilling process. It disagreed that the original approval did not do enough to consider the project's impact on water quality or nearby public lands.</p>
<p>Lucky Minerals' lawyer KD Feeback declined to comment on their behalf, but did say that the ruling on the MEPA amendment would be disappointing to the mining and timber industries.</p><p>"As the Legislature indicated at the time of the subject amendment, meritless and continual litigation over every project proposal is inefficient and uneconomic," he told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. "The Court's decision otherwise will continue that inefficiency to the detriment of Montana's economic well-being and work force."</p><p>If Lucky Minerals wants to continue with its mining plans, it will have to submit a new proposal, according to GYC. But Earthjustice attorney Jenny Harbine thinks the gig is up.</p><p>"This latest ruling ensures that Lucky Minerals can't harm clean water and native wildlife at the gateway into Yellowstone National Park under cover of a license that was never legally issued in the first place," Harbine said in a press release. "Lucky Minerals should have read the writing on the wall a long time ago."</p>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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Global Treaty Needed to Halt Deep Sea Mining, Greenpeace Investigation Concludes
09 December 2020
Oceans
Cayman vent shrimp at a hydrothermal vent, under threat from deep sea mining. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Deep sea mining is leading private mining firms and arms companies to carve up the seabed in plans that should be halted by an international ocean treaty, argues a new report from Greenpeace.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The investigation, <em>Deep Trouble: The murky world of the deep sea mining industry</em>, decries the increasing use of the ocean floor by large corporations, such as U.S. arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, to mine metals and minerals. Only several private sector companies with shell-organizations, or "operating through complex and opaque structures of sub-contractors, partnerships or subsidiaries," received 30 contracts to mine from the International Seabed Authority, a consortium with no environmental or assessment process that acts as the overseeing organization on seabed mining contracts. The ISA has never rejected a bid for mining.</p><p>For every contract the ISA issues, it receives $500,000. Greenpeace finds the setup to be a potential conflict of interest that undermines environmental regulation at the state and national level. It also unfairly allocates the natural resources of the ocean, to the point where some corporations partner with small island states such as the Micronesian country of Nauru, but the companies reap the benefits of extraction, while the nation-states are left with all the liability.</p>
<p>In 2019 deep sea mining and shipping firm Nautilus went <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/nautilusholdings-bankruptcy/shipping-company-nautilus-files-for-u-s-bankruptcy-idUKL2N0P50LI20140624" target="_blank">bankrupt</a>, leaving its partner state, Papua New Guinea on the hook for cleanup expenses. Now, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/09/secretive-gold-rush-for-deep-sea-mining-dominated-by-handful-of-firms" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, Papua New Guinea is one of many nations calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining.</p><p>And the potential for environmental destruction is evident, says Greenpeace.</p><p>"Deep sea mining will cause serious and irreversible damage to the ocean biome, risks driving <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> loss and could potentially damage an important carbon sink: the deep ocean," the executive summary of the report notes. Dumbo octopuses, deep-sea corals, and the endangered <a href="https://idp.nature.com/authorize?response_type=cookie&client_id=grover&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-019-02231-1" target="_blank">scaly-foot snail</a> are all potentially at risk of extinction.</p>
<p>In some areas the ocean floor contains poly-metallic <a href="https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/May-2013/Treasures-from-the-abyss" target="_blank">nodules</a>, which contain within them manganese peroxide, a substance used in bleaching powder, and cobalt, nickel, copper, titanium — metals commonly used in smartphones.</p><p>Just like a rocky garden, the life around the nodules is more abundant. And deep sea mining leaves tracks on the ocean floor that stay in place for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201202-deep-sea-mining-tracks-on-the-ocean-floor" target="_blank">decades</a>, disrupting the area's natural processes, and are harmful to the few species of life that survive on the abyssal plain.</p><p>DeepGreen Metals Inc., one of the companies with an ISA approved mining contract, told The Guardian in a response to Greenpeace that deep sea mining could supply "critical minerals for the global transition off fossil fuels at a fraction of environmental and social costs associated with metal production from conventional land ores."</p>
<p>Greenpeace is calling for an international ocean treaty, where nations reuse and recycle the existing supply of minerals and metals, instead of opening the ocean floor to extraction.</p><p>"We think the deep sea ocean should be off limits because it is not possible to have good enough environmental rules," Louisa Cannon, lead author of the report told The Guardian.</p><p>"Scientists are warning of irreversible harm and potential extinctions. The ISA is supposed to be protecting the oceans and it's not doing its job."</p>
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Trending
A pair of bears perch atop Brooks Falls in Alaska's Katmai National Park, about 100 miles from the proposed Pebble Mine site. Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Environmental campaigners stressed the need for the incoming Biden White House to put in place permanent protections for Alaska's Bristol Bay after the Trump administration on Wednesday denied a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine that threatened "lasting harm to this phenomenally productive ecosystem" and death to the area's Indigenous culture.
<div id="da98c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="478a197b7c59c92787c92bec92f1ac39"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1331662923710693376" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bristol Bay forever, Pebble mine never. #NoPebbleMine #SaveBristolBay https://t.co/CBQ9zuy8A5</div> — Save Bristol Bay (@Save Bristol Bay)<a href="https://twitter.com/SaveBristolBay/statuses/1331662923710693376">1606328156.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In its record of decision on the long-fought industrial gold and copper mining project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cited "Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act," the <em>Anchorage Daily News</em> <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020/11/25/trump-administration-denies-permit-for-pebble-mine/" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p><p>"USACE determined that the applicant's plan for the discharge of fill material does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines and concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest."</p><p>The decision was hailed by a chorus of conservation groups. "Sometimes a project is so bad, so indefensible, that the politics fall to the wayside and we get the right decision," said SalmonState executive director Tim Bristol. "That is what happened today."</p><p>"The Pebble Mine was always the wrong mine in the wrong place," said Adam Kolton, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League. "The fact that President Trump resurrected and promoted it prior to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ultimately denying the permit isn't worth dwelling on," he said, referring to the president's <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/08/10/gold-over-life-literally-how-trump-forced-reversal-mining-project-epa-scientists" target="_blank">intervention</a> in the matter.</p>
<p>"What matters today," Kolton continued, "is that the world's most productive salmon fisheries are safer and the tribes, fishermen, and communities that depend on a healthy Bristol Bay can breathe a sigh of relief."</p><p>World Wildlife Fund previously released a video explaining "why the proposed mine doesn't stand up to a fact check." The group described Bristol Bay as "the lifeblood that sustains every species calling the region home," including harbor seals, hundreds of bird species, and brown bear. The watershed is also critically important to tribes and the salmon upon which they've relied for millennium. Bristol Bay also hosts the planet's most productive salmon fishery.</p><p>With such impacts at stake, Marc Fink, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the rejection "a huge victory for wild salmon, the Iliamna, lake seal, and other imperiled wildlife that call this spectacular place home."</p><p>The administration's rejection follows the September <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/22/secretly-recorded-pebble-tapes-mining-execs-reveal-true-scope-200-year-project" target="_blank">release</a> of secret recordings between Tom Collier, CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership, and Ronald Thiessen, president and CEO of Northern Dynasty Minerals, which owns Pebble, that revealed the goal was not a 20-year project the 20-year operation publicly promised by the developers, but instead to create a project of "unstoppable" growth with a timeline of possibly 200 years. The executives instead were looking at "unstoppable" growth and a timeline of possibly 200 years.</p>
<p>The recordings elicited concern from the House Transportation Committee chair Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Chair of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment Grace F. Napolitano (D-Calif.), who <a href="https://transportation.house.gov/news/press-releases/tandi-chairs-press-pebble-limited-partnership-and-army-corps-for-records-after-secret-pebble-tapes-reveal-companys-contradictory-claims-about-the-mine-projects-size-and-duration" target="_blank">wrote</a> last week to Pebble Limited Partnership and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.</p><p>"From the private discussions revealed by the 'Pebble Tapes,' it seems as though Pebble was dealing with two sets of facts," wrote DeFazio and Napolitano,"one to lure potential investors to the Pebble project and one to alleviate fears of Alaskan Natives, the U.S. Congress, and federal agencies of potential adverse environmental impacts from the mine."</p><p>In his statement on Wednesday, Kolton added, "The credit for this victory belongs not to any politician but to Alaskans and Bristol Bay's Indigenous peoples, as well as to hunters, anglers, and wildlife enthusiasts from all across the country who spoke out in opposition to this dangerous and ill-conceived project. We can be thankful that their voices were heard, that science counted, and that people prevailed over short-term profiteering."</p><p>Bonnie Gestring, Northwest Program director at Earthworks, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/11/25/earthworks-statement-denial-pebble-mine" target="_blank">accused</a> Pebble of having "tried every trick in the book to push this project through, but the crystal clear science prevailed."</p>
<p>President-elect Joe Biden, for his part, has <a href="https://medium.com/@JoeBiden/statement-by-vice-president-joe-biden-on-bristol-bay-1a83d60a2986" target="_blank">promised</a> to reject the Pebble Mine.</p><p>Gestring urged the incoming administration to "take the next step and use the Clean Water Act to place permanent limits on mining in Bristol Bay to protect the salmon fishery and the communities that depend on it."</p><p>Her demand was echoed by Joel Reynolds, senior attorney with the Nature Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).</p><p>"The next step is for the Environmental Protection Agency to use section 404c of the Clean Water Act to permanently protect this national treasure from large scale mining for all time," <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2020/11/25/major-reversal-trump-administration-denies-permit-pebble-" target="_blank">said</a> Reynolds.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/25/victory-tribes-waterways-and-planet-pebble-mine-denied-permit" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p><a href="https://commons.commondreams.org/t/victory-for-tribes-waterways-and-planet-as-pebble-mine-denied-permit/84496" target="_blank"></a>From Your Site Articles
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Members of the San Carlos Apache Nation protest to protect parts of Oak Flat from a copper mining company on July 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images
In yet another attack on the environment before leaving office, the Trump administration is seeking to transfer ownership of San Carlos Apache holy ground in Oak Flat, Arizona, to a copper mining company.
<p>The administration pushed to finish the environmental review process, a necessary step to transfer ownership to copper mining company Resolution Copper, and its two parent companies Rio Tinto and BHP, to December 2020, almost a full year ahead of the planned completion. </p><p>"The Trump administration is cutting corners and doing a rushed job just to take care of Rio Tinto," Democratic Arizona representative Raúl Grijalva told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/24/trump-mining-arizona-holy-land-oak-flat-tribes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. Grijalva has been outspoken in his <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2020/11/16/rio-tinto-copper-mine-not-protect-oak-flat-look-australia/6245846002/" target="_blank">opposition</a> to the mine plans.<br></p><p>"And the fact they are doing it during Covid makes it even more disgusting. Trump and Rio Tinto know the tribes' reaction would be very strong and public under normal circumstances but the tribes are trying to save their people right now," Grijalva said.</p>
<p>Oak Flat is a high desert wonderland full of rock spires, choppy hills, ancient oaks, medicinal plants and long stretches of desert flatland. It contains many Indigenous archaeological sites dating back 1,500 years, and is near Tonto National Forest, the largest of six national forests in Arizona. For centuries, the Apache have considered the site holy, using the area for ceremonies. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p><p>However, what is estimated to be one of the world's largest copper deposits resides 7,000 feet underneath the site. If mining proceeds, more than 11 miles of Indigenous sacred sites, burial grounds and petroglyphs would be destroyed, The Guardian reported. Not only that, but Resolution Copper intends to extract 1.4 metric tons of ore, which would create a crater stretching almost two miles wide and 1,000 feet deep. </p><p>Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company, is no stranger to controversy. The Anglo-Australian company was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/top-rio-tinto-executive-says-iron-ore-boom-unravelled-indigenous-ties-20201125-p56hwk.html" target="_blank">recently involved</a> in destroying a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site in order to mine iron ore, against the wishes of the land's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people. </p>
<p>In 2014, a proposal called the Southeastern Arizona Land Exchange was tacked onto the end of a spending bill to exchange federal land for privately owned land for Resolution Copper. Several Arizona legislators supported it, despite<a href="https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/bd432593-9e7c-4f18-8a61-4e74bc6edb34" target="_blank"> opposition from regional Arizona tribes</a>.<span></span></p><p>Currently there is no federal law that allows control of ancestral lands outside of Native reservation boundaries. </p><p>After the environmental review process is complete, the transfer must occur within 60 days, potentially before President-elect Joe Biden's Jan. 20 inauguration. </p>
<p>The move marks one of many attempts by the outgoing administration to keep pushing for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-environmental-rollbacks-election-2648378494.html" target="_blank">environmental rollbacks</a> as it leaves office, including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-leases-2648954756.html" target="_blank">opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge </a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-leases-2648954756.html"> the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge </a>for drilling and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-migratory-bird-killing-protection-2644987725.html" target="_blank">weakening migratory bird protections</a>.</p><p>"We are looking at the destruction of some of the Apache's most significant cultural and historic sites with this project," Kathryn Leonard, an Arizona state historic preservation officer, told The Guardian. </p><p>"Our preservation laws are not set up to prevent this level of loss. It weighs heavily on me."</p>
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On September 4, 2019, a tree house with solar collectors has been rebuilt by the residents in the Hambach forest. Roland Weihrauch / picture alliance / Getty Images
By Jeannette Cwienk
Shubham Mani Tripathi, newspaper reporter, India: shot dead in June 2020 for exposing illegal sand mining. Maria Efigenia Vasquez Astudillo, radio reporter, Colombia: struck and killed by a projectile in October 2017 while covering clashes between the Indigenous community and local police. Joseph Oduha, journalist, South Sudan: fled the country in 2019 after imprisonment and torture for uncovering environmental destruction by international oil companies.
<p>These are just three of the individuals highlighted by Reporters without Borders (RSF). According to the press freedom group, at least 20 journalists have died over the past decade as a result of their reporting on cases of environmental destruction.</p>
Indigenous Communities Threatened
<p>Environmental journalists in Europe also face intimidation and harassment, said RSF spokesperson Christoph Dreyer, pointing to cases connected to the destruction of the Hambach Forest in northwestern Germany or unsustainable agriculture practices in Brittany, France. But most of these attacks, more than 65%, are recorded in Asia and the Americas.</p><p><span></span>"These cases exist in places where raw materials are being mined or where land is being seized for agriculture, in countries where the government is on the side of industry," said Dreyer.</p><p>It's in these areas, where Indigenous communities often live amid untapped natural resources and unspoiled forest, where local journalists are usually the first to report on the conflicts. Often, they're the only ones on the scene."</p><p>In some Latin American countries, the dominant traditional media are heavily controlled by the economic and political elites," said Dreyer. "They often hold back from critical reporting on environmental issues, because it clashes with their interests." As a result, when local media decide to take a closer look they're put under extreme pressure, he added.</p>Local Journalists Under Pressure
<p>The work of local journalists is extremely important for Indigenous communities, said Kathrin Wessendorf, head of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA). "Each Indigenous community has its own language, and only community reporters can report in that language," she told DW. "They also know how best to approach the community to spread the message."</p><p>Patricia Gualinga, who fights for Indigenous rights in Ecuador, told DW that large national media networks are often slow to report on environmental and human rights issues. "It's really very difficult to get coverage on TV. And if an issue isn't reported by the media, it doesn't exist," she said.</p><p>Gualinga belongs to the Sarayaku Indigenous group who, in 2002, sued the state of Ecuador at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for giving the go-ahead to oil drilling ventures on their land without consulting them. Numerous attempts to intimidate the group were made during the litigation process — especially against Gualinga, who represented the Sarayaku in court. But in 2012, judges ruled in their favor and awarded the community $1.3 million (€1.1 million) in damages.</p><p>Violence against environmental activists has increased significantly in recent years, as shown in <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defending-tomorrow/" target="_blank">a report</a> released by the environmental and human rights organization Global Witness in July. According to Global Witness, 212 environmentalists were murdered worldwide in 2019 — the highest number the group has recorded in a single year.</p>
Media Coverage Provides Protection
<p>Journalism is needed to bring such crimes to light, said Wessendorf, adding that international media have a particularly important responsibility.</p><p>"Journalists can bring the human rights violations often associated with environmental destruction to the attention of the wider public," she said. "This, in turn, can lead to international solidarity and put pressure on governments or companies."</p><p>Media coverage of the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/amazon-rainforest-fire-deforestation-mining-slash-and-burn-brazil/a-54486689" target="_blank">widespread fires in the Amazon region</a> in 2019 and 2020, for example, brought the issue to a global audience, highlighting the destructive practice of slash-and-burn agriculture and the treatment of Indigenous peoples. This has led to support from many international campaigns.</p><p>"International solidarity is very important for the local population," said Gualinga. "When they realize they're no longer alone, that they're visible and supported by others, it also helps ease their fear."</p>
Documenting Violence and Intimidation Across Borders
<p>Gualinga and other media workers from Latin America discussed the role of journalism in the fight for environmental protection and human rights during a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/gmf-digital-session-tierra-de-resistentes-defending-the-planet/a-55397748" target="_blank">a recent panel discussion</a>at DW's Global Media Forum. Also taking part was Andres Bermudez Lievano, a Colombian journalist and one of the editors of <a href="https://tierraderesistentes.com/en/" target="_blank"><em>Tierra de Resistentes ("Land of Resistants"</em>)</a>. The investigative data journalism project, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, was launched by Colombian Journalists' Association, Consejo de Redaccion, with the support of the DW Akademie.</p><p>In the project, journalists from 10 different countries documented the fates of hundreds of environmental activists in Latin America who have been threatened and killed for their work. Nearly 2,400 cases have been compiled to date, with some now taken up by UN organizations.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3b09babc35e312a3abf9c71bc089d4fa"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=376216886918307" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>"It was only with this transnational project that we were able to realize how big the problem of violence and intimidation really is, and that ethnic minorities are particularly affected," said Lievano.</p><p>What also became clear was how little authorities were doing to address the problem. Of all the documented cases, only 12% made it to court — and just 10 victims saw justice. Bermudez highlighted a particularly shocking detail: in more than half of the cases, authorities were informed ahead of time of planned efforts to silence environmentalists.</p>
<p>Protecting sources, therefore, is a top priority for the <em>Tierra de Resistentes</em> project, and the reporters are very careful in their work. "In certain regions, we report back to the editorial office every hour, so that everyone knows where we are and whether everything is okay," said Bermudez. "We announce our route ahead of time, detail who we're meeting with and if anything has changed."</p><p>Using international associations, networks and public visibility, journalists can continue to report on environmental efforts. Without them, warns Reporters Without Borders, these stories will go untold — and the environmental destruction will continue.</p><p><em>This article has been adapted from German.</em></p><p><em></em><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/environmental-justice-reporters-face-deadly-threats-intimidation/a-55593140" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2648953447#/" target="_self"></a></p>
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Mining Company CEO Forced to Resign After Blasting of 46,000-Year-Old Aboriginal Site
11 September 2020
Popular
Western Australia's Juukan Gorge has been home to a sacred site to local Indigenous peoples for over 46,000 years. In May of 2020, the site was destroyed in an explosion designed to expand a nearby iron ore mine. About the House: the official channel of the Australian House of Representatives
The chief executive officer and two senior executives are being forced out of the mining giant Rio Tinto several months after investors started to revolt over the company's destruction of an ancient aboriginal rock shelter, according to CNN.
<p>CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques will leave in March 2021, while two senior executives, Chris Salisbury, iron ore chief executive, and Simone Nieven, head of corporate relations who had the responsibility of handling relations with Indigenous communities, will leave at the end of 2020, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/09/11/ceo-of-one-of-the-worlds-largest-mining-companies-forced-to-resign-over-destruction-of-sacred-indigenous-site/#790943ed412a" target="_blank">Forbes</a>.</p><p>The 48-year-old chief executive is being forced out after investors listened to a continuing outcry from the Indigenous people of Australia who were horrified that Rio Tinto would trounce upon their sacred ground and blast away the ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters, two culturally significant rock shelters in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Despite knowing the importance of the grounds to the the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, Rio Tinto blasted the site in order to mine a better quality of iron ore, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/11/rio-tinto-ceo-senior-executives-resign-juukan-gorge-debacle-caves" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The company's board responded to the move by cutting executive pay and stripping the three executives of $7 million in bonuses, but investors lined up to denounce that penalty as inadequate.</p><p>"There were certainly some shareholders who felt strongly that the accountability was inappropriate and that this was an issue that needed to be addressed to rebuild trust," said Rio Tinto Chairman Simon Thompson to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/rio-tinto-ceo-top-executives-resign-amid-cave-blast-crisis-20200910-p55uf8.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>.</p><p>"While there is general recognition of the transparency of the board review and support for the changes recommended, significant stakeholders have expressed concerns about executive accountability for the failings identified," the company said in a statement, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>The wanton destruction of the site has shed light on the remarkable power the mining industry has over sacred, traditional lands. It has shown the need for greater legal guarantees to make sure heritage sites are protected.</p><p>A spokesperson for the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people told The Sydney Morning Herald, "Our focus continues to rest heavily on preserving Aboriginal heritage and advocating for wide-ranging changes to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. We cannot and will not allow this type of devastation to occur ever again."</p><p>Among the prominent shareholders to express their misgivings were several large Australian investment funds and a group of 81 British pension funds. Also, the National Native Title Council in Australia said the board was divorced from reality in thinking that the pay cuts were somehow just punishment for destroying a 46,000-year-old site, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.</p>
<p>"There is more work to be done," said Jamie Lowe, chief executive for the National Native Title Council, as The Guardian reported. "The law needs to be strengthened. We can't rely on the goodwill of mining companies, we need the law strengthened. We can't rely on their word that things will get better."</p><p>"What happened at Juukan was wrong," Thompson said Friday to The Sydney Morning Herald. "We are determined to ensure the destruction of a heritage site of such exceptional archaeological and cultural significance never occurs again at a Rio Tinto operation."</p><p>Ian Silk, the chief executive of Australia's biggest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper, said that he was "satisfied that appropriate responsibility has now been taken by executives at Rio Tinto," according to The Guardian,</p><p>"Rio can now work with traditional owners to guarantee that its processes are appropriate for the protection of culturally important sites and that it has the right internal accountabilities," he added, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>Additionally, the Australian Center for Corporate Responsibility applauded Friday's announcement as an end to the "dishonest malaise of Rio Tinto's board and senior management," according to The Guardian.</p><p>While the news of the executives departing is welcome, the institutional investors who have the clout to spur action within the company said the company would have to take steps to repair its relationship with Australia's Indigenous people.</p><p>"Rio Tinto now has the opportunity to address the necessary remediation, cultural heritage and risk processes with fresh eyes," said Louise Davidson, chief executive of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, which advises 38 large super funds on governance issues, to The Guardian.</p><p>"Rio Tinto must prioritise working with traditional owners the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people to rebuild their relationship. It is critical that this is not delayed," she added.</p>
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Manganese nodules on the Atlantic Ocean floor off the southeastern United States, discovered in 2019 during the Deep Sea Ventures pilot test. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
By Elizabeth M. De Santo, Elizabeth Mendenhall and Elizabeth Nyman
Mining the ocean floor for submerged minerals is a little-known, experimental industry. But soon it will take place on the deep seabed, which belongs to everyone, according to international law.
<p>Seabed mining for valuable materials like copper, zinc and lithium already takes place <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/pcmsc/science/global-ocean-mineral-resources?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects" target="_blank">within countries' marine territories</a>. <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/seabed-mining-foes-press-u-n-to-weigh-climate-impacts/" target="_blank">As soon as 2025</a>, larger projects could start in international waters – areas more than 200 nautical miles from shore, beyond national jurisdictions.</p><p>We study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=wB-EYosAAAAJ" target="_blank">ocean policy</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cURq4KsAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">marine resource management</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=y_yqq1oAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">international ocean governance</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iZkMOjYAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" target="_blank">environmental regimes</a>, and are researching <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103957" target="_blank">political processes that govern deep seabed mining</a>. Our main interests are the environmental impacts of seabed mining, ways of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110809" target="_blank">sharing marine resources equitably</a> and the use of tools like <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/OBO/9780199363445-0123" target="_blank">marine protected areas</a> to protect rare, vulnerable and fragile species and ecosystems.</p><p>Today countries are working together on rules for seabed mining. In our opinion, there is still time to develop a framework that will enable nations to share resources and prevent permanent damage to the deep sea. But that will happen only if countries are willing to cooperate and make sacrifices for the greater good.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8ede225024f2f781d3551193e5e16267"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lwq1j3nOODA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
An Old Treaty With a New Purpose
<p>Countries regulate seabed mining within their marine territories. Farther out, in areas beyond national jurisdiction, they cooperate through the <a href="https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm" target="_blank">Law of the Sea Convention</a>, which has been ratified by 167 countries and the European Union, but not the U.S.</p><p>The treaty created the <a href="https://www.isa.org.jm/" target="_blank">International Seabed Authority</a>, headquartered in Jamaica, to manage seabed mining in international waters. This organization's workload is about to balloon.</p><p>Under the treaty, activities conducted in areas beyond national jurisdiction must be for "<a href="https://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/part11-2.htm" target="_blank">the benefit of mankind as a whole</a>." These benefits could include economic profit, scientific research findings, specialized technology and recovery of historical objects. The convention calls on governments to share them fairly, with special attention to developing countries' interests and needs.</p><p>The United States was involved in negotiating the convention and signed it but <a href="https://sites.tufts.edu/lawofthesea/chapter-eleven/" target="_blank">has not ratified it</a>, due to concerns that it puts too many limits on exploitation of deep sea resources. As a result, the U.S. is not bound by the treaty, although it follows most of its rules independently. Recent administrations, including those of Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, sought to ratify the treaty, but <a href="https://www.voanews.com/usa/why-hasnt-us-signed-law-sea-treaty" target="_blank">failed to muster a two-thirds majority</a> in the Senate to support it.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NDQzMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2ODIxNDc2M30.5seFINIjeVaEceJyeCTtCrqouxpWQngpRQtzDgKtubk/img.jpg?width=980" id="dbe16" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f7039a9022d40a0d0c093ea7dcfeb21c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="600" data-height="324" />
Locations of three main types of marine mineral deposits: polymetallic nodules (blue); polymetallic or seafloor massive sulfides (orange); and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts (yellow). Miller et al., 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00418, CC BY 4.0
Powering Digital Devices
<p>Scientists and industry leaders have known that there are valuable minerals on the seafloor for over a century, but it hasn't been technologically or economically feasible to go after them until the past decade. Widespread growth of battery-driven technologies such as smartphones, computers, wind turbines and solar panels is <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-these-six-metals-are-key-to-a-low-carbon-future" target="_blank">changing this calculation</a> as the world runs low on land-based deposits of copper, nickel, aluminum, manganese, zinc, lithium and cobalt.</p><p>These minerals are found in potato-shaped "nodules" on the seafloor, as well as in and around <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vents.html" target="_blank">hydrothermal vents</a>, seamounts and midocean ridges. Energy companies and their governments are also interested in extracting <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-world-eyes-yet-another-unconventional-source-of-fossil-fuels-methane-hydrates%3Cu" target="_blank">methane hydrates</a> – frozen deposits of natural gas on the seafloor.</p><p>Scientists still have a lot to learn about these habitats and the species that live there. Research expeditions are continually <a href="https://newatlas.com/science/expedition-30-new-species-longest-known-animal/" target="_blank">discovering new species in deep-sea habitats</a>.</p>Korea and China Seek the Most Contracts
<p>Mining the deep ocean requires permission from the International Seabed Authority. Exploration contracts provide the right to explore a specific part of the seabed for 15 years. As of mid-2020, <a href="https://www.isa.org.jm/deep-seabed-minerals-contractors" target="_blank">30 mining groups have signed exploration contracts</a>, including governments, public-private partnerships, international consortiums and private multinational companies.</p><p>Two entities hold the most exploration contracts (three each): the government of Korea and the <a href="http://www.comra.org/en/index.htm" target="_blank">China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association</a>, a state-owned company. Since the U.S. is not a member of the Law of the Sea treaty, it cannot apply for contracts. But U.S. companies are investing in others' projects. For example, the American defense company Lockheed Martin owns <a href="https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-gb/products/uk-seabed-resources.html" target="_blank">UK Seabed Resources</a>, which holds two exploration contracts.</p><p>Once an exploration contract expires, as several have since 2015, mining companies must broker an exploitation contract with the International Seabed Authority to allow for commercial-scale extraction. The agency is working on <a href="https://www.isa.org.jm/mining-code" target="_blank">rules for mining</a>, which will shape individual contracts.</p><div id="b8810" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f8fd5d76de470763d957ee7ea725432c"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1259892031935123462" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It was meant to be a pivotal year for deep-seabed mining. But the coronavirus pandemic is threatening the drafting… https://t.co/sI7NZ6VGhW</div> — China Dialogue (@China Dialogue)<a href="https://twitter.com/chinadialogue/statuses/1259892031935123462">1589216642.0</a></blockquote></div>
Unknown Ecological Impacts
<p>Deep-sea mining technology is still in development but will probably include vacuuming nodules from the seafloor. Scraping and vacuuming the seafloor can destroy habitats and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2019.02.014" target="_blank">release plumes of sediment</a> that blanket or choke filter-feeding species on the seafloor and fish swimming in the water column.</p><p>Mining also introduces <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2017.00418" target="_blank">noise, vibration and light pollution</a> in a zone that normally is silent, still and dark. And depending on the type of mining taking place, it could lead to chemical leaks and spills.</p><p>Many deep-sea species are <a href="https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-2851-2010" target="_blank">unique and found nowhere else</a>. We agree with the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz5922" target="_blank">scientific community</a> and <a href="http://www.deepseaminingoutofourdepth.org/" target="_blank">environmental advocates</a> that it is critically important to analyze the potential effects of seabed mining thoroughly. Studies also should inform decision-makers about how to manage the process.</p><p>This is a key moment for the International Seabed Authority. It is currently writing the rules for environmental protection but doesn't have enough information about the deep ocean and the impacts of mining. Today the agency relies on seabed mining companies to report on and monitor themselves, and on academic researchers to provide baseline ecosystem data.</p><p>We believe that national governments acting through the International Seabed Authority should <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.103823" target="_blank">require more scientific research and monitoring</a>, and better support the agency's efforts to analyze and act on that information. Such action would make it possible to slow the process down and make better decisions about when, where and how to mine the deep seabed.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c592277e25f5db46b484940d3697e9c6"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jnJE37twrzk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Balancing Risks and Benefits
<p>The <a href="https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2018/03/19/race-to-the-bottom" target="_blank">race for deep-sea minerals is imminent</a>. There are compelling arguments for mining the seabed, such as <a href="https://www.mining-technology.com/features/deepsea-mining-the-environmental-debate/" target="_blank">supporting the transition to renewable energy</a>, which some companies assert will be a <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/deep-sea-mining-an-environmental-solution-or-impending-catastrophe/" target="_blank">net gain for the environment</a>. But balancing benefits and impacts will require proactive and thorough study before the industry takes off.</p><p>We also believe that the U.S. should ratify the Law of the Sea treaty so that it can help to lead on this issue. The oceans <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/why-care-about-ocean.html" target="_blank">provide humans with food and oxygen and regulate Earth's climate</a>. Choices being made now could affect them far into the future in ways that aren't yet understood.</p><p><em>Dr. Rachel Tiller, Senior Research Scientist with SINTEF Ocean, Norway, contributed to this article.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A floral offering for the Mexican environmental activist Samir Flores Soberanes on Feb. 22, 2019 in Mexico City, Mexico. The activist was found dead in his home before a controversial thermal-electric plant and pipeline referendum that he opposed. Carlos Tischler / Getty Images
While 2019 saw a massive uptick in environmental activism around the world, with climate strikes and the Extinction Rebellion campaign surging in popularity, the work of defending the environment on the front lines became more deadly than ever.
<p>In 2019, a record number of environmental activists were killed for trying to protect land and water resources from mining, agribusiness and fossil fuel interests, according to a <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defending-tomorrow/" target="_blank">report</a> released Wednesday by <a href="https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defending-tomorrow/" target="_blank">Global Witness</a>, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/world/global-witness-2019-defenders-report-scli-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The number of activist deaths that Global Witness recorded was 212, a nearly 30 percent increase from 2018, when the organization recorded 164 deaths linked to environmental activism. The NGO also warned that the true number is likely higher since many deaths go unreported, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/29/record-212-land-and-environment-activists-killed-last-year" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Global Witness says the problem has continued during 2020, as the COVID-19 lockdowns have left environmental activists as "sitting ducks" inside their own homes, as The Guardian reported.</p>
<p>"Agribusiness and oil, gas and mining have been consistently the biggest drivers of attacks against land and environmental defenders – and they are also the industries pushing us further into runaway climate change through <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation">deforestation</a> and increasing carbon emissions," said Rachel Cox, a campaigner at Global Witness, as The Guardian reported.</p><p>"Many of the world's worst environmental and human rights abuses are driven by the exploitation of natural resources and corruption in the global political and economic system. Land and environmental defenders are the people who take a stand against this," she added.</p>
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<p>Colombia replaced the Philippines as the deadliest spot for environmental activists. The report found 64 land rights activists were killed in Colombia last year – up from 25 in 2018 – the highest level Global Witness has ever recorded in the country, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-colombia-violence-environment/colombia-was-deadliest-country-for-land-rights-activists-in-2019-idUSKCN24U16G#:~:text=BOGOTA%20(Reuters)%20%2D%20Colombia%20was,group%20Global%20Witness%20on%20Wednesday." target="_blank">Reuters</a>. The Philippines had 43 killings. Brazil was third on the list with 24 murders. Ninety percent of them took place in the Amazon region, according to CNN. More than two-thirds of the 2019 killings took place in Latin America.</p><p>A change in the power dynamics after the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC rebels has been pinpointed as a potential driver of the rising violence, especially in rural areas, where criminal gangs are repositioning themselves in formerly guerrilla-held regions, according to The Guardian.</p><p>Colombia's Cauca province saw the highest number of killings last year, with 24 land defenders murdered. A report from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre this year found 44 percent of attacks from 2015 to 2019 linked to operations in Colombia were against defenders who raised concerns about five companies including Cerrejón, which is jointly owned by BHP, Anglo American and Glencore, as Reuters reported.</p>
<p>The Philippines was the deadliest country in Asia, and the second deadliest worldwide, according to the report. The policies of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte criminalize environmental activism as a terrorist act against the country, making it increasingly difficult for people to protect forests and waterways.</p><p>"[The Philippines] has been consistently named as one of the worst places in Asia for attacks against defenders," the report says, as <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/criminalizing-dissent-martial-law-fuel-attacks-on-philippine-environmental-defenders/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a> reported. "The relentless vilification of defenders by the government and widespread impunity for their attackers may well be driving the increase."</p><p>Europe remains the least affected region, with two killings in Romania related to illegal logging. Seven killings were recorded in Africa, but verifying cases is a problem in the region, said Global Witness, as CNN reported.</p><p>"If we really want to make plans for a green recovery that puts the safety, health and well-being of people at its heart, we must tackle the root causes of attacks on defenders, and follow their lead in protecting the environment and halting climate breakdown," said Cox in a press release, according to CNN.</p>
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Trump Admin Reverses Obama-Era Restrictions on Pebble Mine Near Alaska's Largest Salmon Nursery
27 July 2020
Politics
The Bristol Bay watershed supports the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery. World Wildlife Fund / YouTube
Officials from the Trump administration announced last week that a plan to open a copper and gold mine that threatens Alaska's largest salmon nursery would not pose a serious environmental threat.
<p>This is a sharp about-face for the U.S. government, after <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-alaska-mining-salmon-2646141959.html" target="_self">the Obama-administration cited environmental concerns</a> and the threat to the spawning ground of the region's prized sockeye salmon when it put the brakes on the project in 2012, and again when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) expressed concerns about the salmon in 2014.</p><p>This new move represents the latest salvo in the Trump administration's thorough and systematic dismantling of environmental efforts and regulations from the previous administration. When it comes to the Pebble Mine, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/07/24/pebble-mine-alaska-trump/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported, a <a href="https://pebbleprojecteis.com/documents/finaleis" target="_blank">final environmental analysis</a> issued Friday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the mine — which targets a deposit of gold, copper and other minerals worth up to $500 billion — "would not be expected to have a measurable effect on fish numbers" in the Bristol Bay watershed, which supports the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery.</p><p>Opponents of Pebble Mine criticized the review process as rushed, flawed, and favorable to the mine developer, as the <a href="https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2020/07/23/as-a-major-federal-environmental-review-comes-to-a-close-six-things-to-know-about-the-pebble-mine-proposal/" target="_blank">Anchorage Daily News</a> reported.</p>
<p>In a joint statement, Alannah Hurley with United Tribes of Bristol Bay, Norm Van Vactor with Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., Ralph Andersen with Bristol Bay Native Association and Katherine Carscallen with Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay said the final review "completely fails to adequately assess the impacts of Pebble on Bristol Bay's waters, salmon, and people," according to the Anchorage Daily News.</p><p>The mine will be located in two watersheds that feed fish-spawning rivers. Opponents say traces of heavy metals and other contaminants left from the mining operation pose risks if they leach into groundwater or if dams holding back the tailings fail in an earthquake, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/climate/pebble-mine-alaska-environment.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>Opposition to the mine has been widespread, both in the region and statewide, for nearly two decades, with concerns about environmental damage and the potential harm to the area's salmon, which are the main traditional subsistence food for many of the Native Alaskans in the region and the crux of both sport-fishing and commercial fishing in the area, according to The New York Times.</p><p>The open-pit mine calls for a large dammed area to trap the tailings from mining operations that would be toxic to the fish. It also calls for the 80 new miles of road to carry the concentrated tailings away to Cook Inlet. Additionally, the mining company wants to build a 165-mile natural gas pipeline for a generating plant to power the operation.</p>
<p>According to the Corps, the operations would permanently destroy more than 2,200 acres of wetlands and waters, and 105 miles of streams. The EPA indicated earlier this year that it would not block the project at this point, as The Washington Post reported.</p><p>Opponents have argued that the environmental impact statement was not rigorous enough, as they highlighted hazardous risks, including the potential for a tailings dam failure that could contaminate waterways used by spawning fish and harm the Bristol Bay fishery, which employs about 15,000 people. They also note that Alaska is the most seismically active state in the nation, and critics said the Corps had not taken sufficient account of the risk of earthquakes or volcanic activity, and that its analysis of the dam designs was inadequate, particularly since a few of the dams would be hundreds of feet high, as The New York Times reported.</p>
<p>Taryn Kiekow Heimer, who leads the the Natural Resources Defense Council's effort to stop the project, told The Washington Post that the administration's push to greenlight a massive project that is opposed by neighboring <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous-peoples">Indigenous</a> communities amounts to environmental injustice.</p><p>"It's especially embarrassing for the government and appalling given the current social context we are in," she said of the accelerated approval process. "It's just another example of the entrenched and systemic racism that this government is showing to people of color and indigenous people in particular."</p><p>The Pebble Mine, like logging in Alaska' <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amazon-wildfires-trump-alaska-exploitation-2640082295.html" target="_self">Tongass forest</a>, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline, and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dakota-access-pipeline-shut-down-2646355663.html" target="_self">Dakota Access</a> pipeline, is a gift to industry that the Trump administration has tried to fast track. All those projects could be reversed if a Democratic administration takes office in January, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/07/24/pebble-mine-alaska-trump/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>.</p>
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An aerial view shows the pollution in a river outside Norilsk, Russia following an oil spill, on June 6, 2020. IRINA YARINSKAYA / AFP via Getty Images
Russia's Norilsk Nickel ran into trouble earlier this month when one of its subsidiaries accidentally spilled 21,000 tons of diesel that ended up polluting a pristine Arctic lake. Now the company admits that it has been dumping wastewater into the Arctic tundra, as Agence-France Press, (AFP) reported.
<p>The metallurgical giant said on Sunday that it had taken steps to suspend the workers who dumped the wastewater, saying that their actions were in "flagrant violation of operating rules," according to AFP.</p><p>Independent newspaper <a href="https://novayagazeta.ru/news/2020/06/28/162616-novaya-grinpis-i-eks-sotrudnik-rosprirodnadzora-norilskoy-oblasti-nornikel-prodolzhaet-sbrasyvat-proizvodstvennye-othody-v-ozero-pyasino-foto" target="_blank">Novaya Gazeta published videos</a> from the scene showing large metal pipes carrying wastewater from the reservoir and dumping foaming liquid among nearby trees.</p><p>The company issued the statement just hours after the Novaya Gazeta video surfaced that showed water tainted with heavy metals from the tailings at a nickel-processing plant were being pumped into a river, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/bb823ae09f205fe32d0cd5b83d11b9e7" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/russian-nickel-mining-firm-admits-pollution-in-arctic/a-53976282" target="_blank">Deutsche-Welle</a> reported, when investigators arrived at the scene, the pipes were "hastily" removed, and a car that had delivered officials to the scene was partly squashed by a heavy earthmoving machine. Nobody was injured in the accident that crushed part of the car.</p><p>Before the time when investigators arrived, 6,000 cubic meters of liquid had been dumped over "several hours," reported the Russian news agency Interfax, according to Deutsche-Welle. It was impossible to tell how far the wastewater had dispersed.</p>
<p>The incident occurred at the Talnakh enrichment plant near the Arctic city of Norilsk, the company said, as <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/russian-metal-giant-admits-pollution-arctic-tundra-200628181846954.html" target="_blank">Al-Jazeera</a> reported. This incident is just one month after the unprecedented fuel leak led President Vladimir Putin to declare a state of emergency.</p><p>The journalists who investigated the area claimed the factory deliberately sent the wastewater into <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> areas and then hastily removed their pipes when they caught wind of investigators and emergency services arrived on the scene. That hasty removal led to the accident that dropped machinery on an investigator's car, according to Al-Jazeera.</p><p>The Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said it had received reports of "unauthorized dumping of liquid waste into the tundra" on the site of the facility, and had opened an inquiry.</p>
<p>According to the AFP, Russia's natural resources agency said the decision to remove water from the reservoir was taken to avoid an emergency after heavy rains and recent tests had caused water levels to increase dramatically. The local emergency services in a statement said the wastewater was unlikely to reach the nearby Kharayelakh River.</p><p>A similar statement was made by Norilsk Nickel spokeswoman Tatiana Egorova who said on Sunday that employees at the factory had pumped out "clarified water" and that an internal investigation was under way.</p>
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Cook Islands to Allow Seabed Mining Licenses Despite Negative Environmental Impact
29 June 2020
Oceans
The ROV Deep Discoverer grabs a manganese-crusted rock sample near a brisingid sea star at about 7,900 feet during a 2017 expedition at Te Tukunga o Fakahotu dive site near the Cook Islands. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin
By Monica Evans
This article has been updated to reflect corrected information in the original version.
The Cook Islands government plans to license seabed mining operators to prospect its exclusive economic zone for manganese and cobalt nodules within the coming financial year, Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown told the Cook Islands News.
<p><br/></p>
<p>Brown's comments, reported in a May 23 <a href="https://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/environment/item/77127-govt-pushing-forward-with-deep-sea-prospecting-plan" target="_blank">article</a>, came in response to a new <a href="https://miningwatch.ca/publications/2020/5/19/predicting-impacts-mining-deep-sea-polymetallic-nodules-pacific-ocean-review?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=4f8321adf50db3207820dedbc6443662c3bf9171-1591583823-0-ATot-BHRboGFqf1BuXO_n6osvK1smUhDAAqB5O9zmRXfQW3B5wwEFjNvdw_nFg2z-Y-7VRhvyL17W9R-UA_VHH-mLp3-swKclZHTkCkizxR-zP5_5Iequau-DY3PFqzuXDYh6P8mf8SUx3sBp1nMwAg4WhlHHHg1ct7MwgKhNR5Ow6SjYeK3zPPRT9OwUAYuY28_Fv-zMyB7IFckEbtkiXGQ1vNAKPXy6IJJhcC2b5Sx1Gpoe6kDSqNeFpsXP5DCZH3mDzgZWmcohaef1C0vVxYqCs_3TOtg_UaTu9TyyISZ4hCxOrpuKDJXT7q2q8rHs0LX92QoOcxJeqUCrKlHa8sFOIJkYcy_qmQrqmei3uShdYVq7ddTmOj1AKCv4IjWJLvrLBS05wR0CuHr2vZySA4" target="_blank">report </a>commissioned by environmental advocacy groups The Ocean Foundation and MiningWatch Canada. The report warns of <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/deep-sea-mining-an-environmental-solution-or-impending-catastrophe/" target="_blank">serious environmental impacts</a><a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/deep-sea-mining-an-environmental-solution-or-impending-catastrophe/" target="_blank"> if mining takes place in the Pacific Ocean's seabed</a>, and says that even working out what those impacts might be will take considerable time and resources.</p><p>"We're talking about activities at depths of up to four kilometers," or about 2.5 miles, the report's lead researcher, Andrew Chin, a marine scientist at James Cook University in Australia, told Mongabay. "And trying to figure out how an ecosystem works takes a long time. I mean, people are still arguing about how mangroves work, and you can walk through them!"</p><p>Cook Islands seabed minerals commissioner Alex Herman said in an email to Mongabay that "commercial nodule recovery will have impacts on affected species and habitats in the deep sea," and added that baseline studies, mitigation strategies and monitoring would all be required if mining were to go ahead. "The Government has to look at issues from a broader perspective," she added. "This sometimes involves balancing conservation interests with sustainable development aspirations."</p><p>Herman said those aspirations include creating new income streams, as well as jobs and training, environmental protection and contributing to renewable energy development. The country's economy is dominated by the tourism sector, and has suffered greatly from coronavirus-related travel restrictions, despite itself not recording a single case of COVID-19. "The seabed minerals sector will provide economic diversity that is critical for the Cook Islands' future as a nation and lessens its reliance on tourism," Herman said. "The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our vulnerability, and the need to diversify."</p>
Mining a Marine Protected Area?
<p>The Cook Islands made international news in 2017 when it turned its entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which spans nearly 2 million square kilometers (772,000 square miles), into the <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/will-a-massive-marine-protected-area-safeguard-cook-islands-ocean/" target="_blank">largest mixed-use marine protected area in the world</a>. Dubbed "Marae Moana," which means "sacred ocean" in Cook Islands Maori, the park was designed to ensure all activities within it complied with its overarching purpose: to protect and conserve the ecological, biodiversity, and heritage values of the country's marine environment.</p><p>A decision-making council and a technical advisory group, both comprising government officials, traditional leaders and civil society organizations (CSOs), were established to help develop a new marine spatial plan that fit the objectives of Marae Moana, and to ensure that any new ocean-related initiatives comply with the park's overarching purpose. The plan is still being developed.</p><p>Meanwhile, the government passed a new act, the Seabed Minerals Act 2019, which sets up new institutions and processes for planning and designating areas for seabed minerals activities. The act is legally subservient to the provisions of the act that established Marae Moana, called the Marae Moana Act 2017. "No license may be granted that…would likely lead to a contravention of a declaration of a marine protected area, the Marae Moana Act 2017, or other zoning rules," it reads.</p><p>But Kelvin Passfield, director of the local conservation group Te Ipukarea Society, told Mongabay he is concerned that without having completed the research and consultation to create the marine spatial plan, there's a risk that "they're going to give out mining exploration permits for areas which may in fact be places that should be protected under Marae Moana." He also expressed concern about the effectiveness of Marae Moana's checks and balances in practice: Te Ipukarea Society sits on its technical advisory group, but Passfield said the government has ignored its advice and that of other CSOs with marine conservation expertise, and that the advisory group had only met once in the past 12 months.</p><p>"Civil society have a role to play in advocating and raising awareness on issues," Herman said when asked about the CSOs' concerns. "But at the end of the day, Government needs to make often-hard decisions based on the best interests of our country and people."</p>Known Unknowns
<p>Te Ipukarea Society advocates that the Cook Islands endorse a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining that civil society leaders put forward at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu in August 2019 and that the governments of Fiji, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea support. The idea is to allow sufficient time to conduct in-depth research on the ecosystems in question and potential mining impacts.</p><p>But the Cook Islands government has vocally opposed the moratorium. Marine scientist Jacqueline Evans, who directed the Marae Moana coordination office from 2017 to 2019, was <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/10/cook-islands-mpa-leader-fired-after-supporting-seabed-mining-freeze/" target="_blank">fired</a> last year after expressing support for the freeze in an internal email.</p><p>In a <a href="http://www.cookislandsnews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/item/77261-mark-brown-seabeds-law-safeguards-our-oceans" target="_blank">letter</a> to the Cook Islands News on June 4, Deputy PM Brown said the government simply wants to gain the knowledge to determine whether or not mining could be conducted sustainably, and issuing exploration licenses is the only way to fund such research. "Without exploration (which I stress, is not 'mining'), we have no realistic way of gaining a better understanding of the deep-sea environment, and indeed to know whether we may or may not be able to harness the resources which exist at these depths in the longer term," he wrote.</p><p>Passfield said while the government claims all parties want the same thing — more information — "they have not demonstrated this in their actions." Last year, it approved two short research cruises by different companies and "there was no requirement placed by Government on these cruises to collect any biological samples," he said. "Only nodule and sediment samples were taken, and this was just for analysis for mineral content, nothing biological."</p><p>Herman acknowledged the dearth of knowledge on the deep-sea environment, but said that one of the cruises did collect "targeted fauna associated with sediments and nodule surfaces" and that companies granted exploration licenses would be required "to demonstrate how they will collect and analyse environmental baseline data." Should mining go ahead, she said, the government would take a precautionary approach and adopt environmental management and mitigation strategies until further best practices can be determined. "The effectiveness of mitigation strategies to protect the environment will become known over time," she said.</p><p>But Chin said it's difficult to envisage how any mining could be carried out in Cook Islands' waters without irreversible ecosystem impacts. "These are quite diverse habitats, and so many new species are still being discovered," he said. "And we know that, generally speaking, because of the environment of high pressure, low light, low energy and low temperature, deep-sea animals grow slowly, and anything that grows slowly is quite vulnerable to an acute impact like mining."</p><p>As the report outlines, lots of species, including corals, sponges, sea urchins, sea stars and jellyfish, live on the manganese nodules themselves, and many others rely on them. Deep-sea octopuses, for example, lay their eggs on dead sponges attached there. "So if you're mining the nodules, you are removing everything that's associated with them," Chin said.</p><p>Beyond the seafloor, mining would likely also impact the whole water column right up to the surface, Chin added, both directly through plumes of sediment and tailings, and indirectly through ecological linkages. "So those impacts could be felt in things like tuna fisheries, which are extremely important for the Pacific," he said.</p>
<p class=""><em>Correction 6/25/20: A previous version of this story contained several inaccuracies that Cook Islands seabed minerals commissioner Alex Herman alerted Mongabay to: It incorrectly attributed the assertion that "the country now earns almost 70% of its revenue from tourism" to Herman; it incorrectly stated the government aims to begin mining within five years; and it incorrectly stated that the Seabed Minerals Act 2019 allows the Seabed Minerals Authority to bypass the Marae Moana council and technical advisory group. After conducting additional research we have corrected the story. We regret the errors. This story has been updated to include the Cook Islands' non-economic sustainable development aspirations that Herman listed in her interview with Mongabay: jobs and training; environmental protection; and contributing to renewable energy development. It also includes new statements by her about the collection of biological data by companies interested in mining Cook Islands' seabed.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/06/cook-islands-to-grant-seabed-mining-exploration-licenses-within-a-year/" target="_blank">Mongabay.</a></em></p>
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