Salem-News.com Environment articles

The Climate Is Invading the Earth!

Ah, but the dark lord of the heat is subtle. He has cells of loyalists among us. They push fossil fuels on us and tell us comforting lies. No longer!

(WASHINGTON DC) - If an alien invader with a face were attacking the earth, the difficulties that governments have getting populations to support wars on other humans would be multiplied a thousand fold.

The most common response to officials calling some petty foreign despot "a new Hitler" would shift from "yeah, right" to "who cares?" The people of the world would unite in common defense against the hostile alien.

Sierra Club: Fracking California... A Disaster Waiting to Happen

The environment is essential, especially since we don’t know the potential health risks associated with fracking.

(SAN LUIS OBISPO) - Sometimes fact is so much stranger than anything even the best novelist could write. Take California, which sits atop a 1,700-square-mile oil shale deposit that is threatened to be accessed by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Fracking is an ugly, largely unregulated process that forces massive amounts of water, sand and an unknown cocktail of chemicals into the ground, the end result of which is to release more dirty fossil-fuel pollution into our environment.

Secretary Jewell Announces Mitigation Strategy that Offers Hope for Threatened Birds

Plan calls for landscape planning and mitigating the impacts of energy development

(WASHINGTON DC) - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new strategy to avoid and mitigate the impact of energy projects on federal lands that should benefit imperiled species such as the Greater Sage-Grouse.

The “Strategy for Improving the Mitigation Policies and Practices of the Department of the Interior” stems from Secretarial Order Number 3330 issued by DOI Secretary Jewell in October 2013, which seeks to shift from project-by-project mitigation to landscape-level planning.

Kelly Derricks: Voice for the Children of Vietnam Veterans

Kelly has battled severe health issues since she was born that continue today. Some of her illnesses are presumed to be associated with the inter-generational effects of Agent Orange.

(PHILADELPHIA) - Kelly L. Derricks is the daughter of deceased Vietnam Veteran Harry C. Mackel Jr. Harry died in 1982 at the age of 37 after being exposed to Agent Orange while serving two tours in Vietnam in addition to a tour on Johnston Island.

After serving with the United States Air Force, Harry went on to serve the City of Philadelphia as a highly regarded and awarded officer of the Stakeout Unit with the police department. Kelly was only seven years old when her father died.

More Troubles for Criminally Indicted PG&E

After all the sound and fury is over, PG&E will probably start operating as usual.

(SAN FRANCISCO) - Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) was recently criminally indicted for twelve violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act. No executives of PG&E were indicted.

The federal indictment follows PG&E's alleged negligence in safely maintaining its natural gas pipeline infrastructure which resulted in a massive explosion in the Crestmoor residential neighborhood of San Bruno on September 9, 2010.

Why Corporations Prefer State Regulation

And the 1% responsible for these disasters have bought the media and bamboozled enough of the public to make “government regulation” a dirty word.

(PORTLAND) - Within the past two months, several major environmental disasters have exposed the failure of state regulators, who serve the corporations they “regulate” as their clients, to protect the lives and health of the public.

In most cases, state regulators are executive branch agencies reporting to governors and subject to oversight by state legislatures.

Welcome Home: Vietnam Veterans Day

Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day from Agent Orange Legacy by Sharon L. Perry, Founder and Dee Reyes, Co-founder

(WASHINGTON DC) - Today I Welcome Home my husband, Reuben 'Bud' Charles Perry, III, because he didn't live to see it (Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day) for himself.

I also Welcome Home all Vietnam veterans who came home and those whom have died from exposure to Agent Orange or physical & emotional wounds as a result of their service in Vietnam & to their country.

New Oceana Report Exposes Nine of the Dirtiest U.S. Fisheries

Oceana Launches New Campaign to Stop the Wasted Catch of Fish and Ocean Wildlife

(WASHINGTON DC) - Today, Oceana released a new report exposing nine of the dirtiest fisheries in the United States.

These nine fisheries combined throw away almost half of what they catch and are responsible for more than 50 percent of all reported bycatch in the U.S., injuring and killing thousands of protected and endangered species every year.

Agent Orange Not Included In ``NEW`` Lessons from An Old War

The “NEW” Lessons from an Old War, do not Include Agent Orange, According to University of Pittsburgh’s Honors College Panelists

(LANGHORNE, PA) - When something is just to good to be true and it usually is.

The University of Pittsburgh held a college honors program, March 4th, called Vietnam: New Lessons from an Old War, a Half Century On. The speakers were Senator Bob Kerrey, Vietnam Veteran and former governor of Nebraska, Peter Arnett, from New Zealand, he won a Pulitzer prize for his journalism during the war, Thomas Vallely, the former director of Harvard’s Vietnam Project and Vietnam Veteran.

High Dioxin Levels in Dong Nai Lakes

The contamination is believed to be caused by toxic chemicals used during the American War 1959-1975. According to experts, the level of dioxins at the airbase is higher than at airports in Da Nang and Phu Cat, two others dioxin contaminated hotspots.

(HANOI VNS) - About 16 of the 28 lakes at southern Dong Nai Province's Bien Hoa Airbase have been found to have dangerously high concentrations of dioxin. Authorities have told local residents not to drink or use the water.

The highest concentrations of dioxins were found to be more than 8,000 parts per trillion (ppt), eight times higher than recommended levels.