Activism
Saving old-growth forests: Q&A with Amazon Watch’s Leila Salazar-López
Even after more than 1,000 people were arrested last year, protesters in British Columbia, Canada, continue to fight against the logging of the Fairy Creek old-growth forests. Blocking roads and tying themselves to trees, these frontline defenders have made headlines by putting their bodies between bulldozers and some of the oldest forests in the country. […]
In West and Central Africa, palm oil investors buckle under community pressure
When commodity prices spiked in the late 2000s, multinational agribusiness giants smelled profits. Eager to branch out of crowded Southeast Asian rainforests, some palm oil companies set their sights on Africa, where governments in countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire assured them that they had land to spare. In just a few […]
Honduras bans open-pit mining, citing environmental and public health concerns
Officials in Honduras say they are cracking down on open-pit mining, an activity that has plagued the country with deforestation, pollution and loss of biodiversity, among other environmental hazards. The government is no longer granting environmental permits for open-pit mining projects, the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines said in a statement. It […]
El Salvador women’s group takes a stand for river system targeted by development
A group of women in rural El Salvador is standing up against a major infrastructure project that threatens to clear hundreds of hectares of forest and cut off access to rivers that provide the community with clean drinking water. The project, known as Ciudad Valle El Ángel, involves the construction of thousands of stores, hotels […]
Indigenous community saves Colombia’s poison dart frog from coca and logging
One of the most poisonous animals on earth, the golden dart frog carries enough toxins in its body to kill 10 people. If it enters the blood stream, the toxin paralyzes the nervous system and, in only a few minutes, stops the heart from beating. The golden dart frog (Phyllobates terribilis) is found only in […]
A new 100-page report raises alarm over Chevron’s impact on planet
Just a day ahead of U.S. congressional hearings on climate change with heads of the largest oil companies in the world, a scathing new report has found that Chevron oil has dozens of outstanding legal cases for environmental damage, and a track record of not paying the associated fines, fees, and judgements. The independent report, […]