SUBSCRIBE TO EHN'S MUST-READ DAILY NEWSLETTER: ABOVE THE FOLD
09 April 2019
Justice
Navajo imagine a future without coal
Before the arrival of the U.S. Army in the mid-1800s, four mountains marked the boundary of the Navajo's ancestral homeland. Today, the tribe could draw a line around its reservation with coal.
Read the Full Article on
www.eenews.net
25 October 2018
Originals
This is what indigenous resistance to fracking looks like in Pennsylvania
Editor's note: This is a follow-up to yesterday's story, Fracking conference and opposing tribal rally highlight competing visions for Western Pennsylvania's future, which offers an in-depth explanation of the issues discussed below.
<p>PITTSBURGH—Just after 10 a.m. today, Degawenodas, a water protector of the Wolf Clan of the Seneca Nation stood facing the place where the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny rivers converge, and let out three sharp cries as a coal barge drifted beneath one of the city's iconic bridges.</p><p>The October sky was a clear, bright blue, and a cold wind blew fluffy clouds by overhead. A crowd of about 70, bundled up in coats and hats, gathered behind Degawenodas, surrounding the fountain in downtown Pittsburgh's Point State Park. Despite its size, the crowd remained silent—aside from from the water protector's cries, the only other sounds were the rushing of the waters and the shriek of distant train whistles.</p><p>Degawenodas was one of two indigenous tribal faith leaders who traveled to Pittsburgh to lead a water ceremony aimed at protecting the three rivers. The event, which was followed by a rally, was planned to coincide with a massive fracking convention taking place in downtown Pittsburgh at the same time. Both the ceremony and the rally, which were coordinated in collaboration with at least 15 local and national environmental groups, were in opposition to the profusion of new fracking wells, pipelines, and petrochemical industry infrastructure currently under development in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and the threats they pose to waterways in the region and beyond.</p><p>The opposing events <a href="https://www.ehn.org/shale-insight-convention-native-protest-2614381903.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">epitomize an ongoing national struggle between indigenous groups, environmentalists, and the oil and gas industry</a>.</p><p>"The extractive relationship we have with this water and this land is like that of an addict to a drug," Sharon Day, an Ojibwe "Water Walker" from Minnesota who co-lead the ritual, told the crowd. "That boom and bust—we always tell ourselves that this time it will be different, but deep down we know that it won't."</p><p>During the hour-long water ceremony (which the leaders requested not to be photographed or recorded), incense was burned and sacred herbs were strewn on the ground and into the rivers. Day led the crowd in the singing of an Ojibwe water song with lyrics that translate to, "Water, we love you, we thank you, we respect you."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzI1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjE0MTk3OH0.QqpiA7hb8DAtb-2gZPkAhdTa_o1XUAhd1w13xHqFeI8/img.jpg?width=980" id="b9e27" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f34555399de2740b1eb73de74412dc94" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Anti-fracking demonstrators leave the Point in Pittsburgh following a native water ceremony.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzcxNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNjI1NTY0Nn0.iJGzZ6iwokR4YCWydam7nLh2fItbiofcD7Q2-hcCyjQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="28814" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d166a4a8b4a34b489a30d29a629a28f2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2Mzc0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjEwNTg1OH0.ANmRzQ0tjgYXmaWTKjtQ1JkcIBIUvMaryt7F24OClKs/img.jpg?width=980" id="227e2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="92830d01bd6512490f200d4b1d0c3f07" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p>Members of the crowd who'd brought small containers of water from the rivers, streams and tributaries near their homes throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York that eventually feed into the Ohio, the Monongahela, or the Allegheny Rivers, commingled the water they'd carried from home in a small tin bucket so that Day could bless them before pouring them into the rivers, "sending them home."<br></p><p>Following the ceremony, the crowd took up signs and banners then walked through downtown Pittsburgh to the David L. Convention Center, where the 2018 Shale Insight Convention is currently underway, featuring acting US EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler as one of the keynote speakers. </p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1055118353231200256" id="twitter-embed-1055118353231200256" type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1055118353231200256&created_ts=1540394793.0&screen_name=KristinaSaurusR&text=Tribal+leaders+are+protesting+the+%23SHALEINSIGHT2018+convention+in+%23Pittsburgh+right+now.+Here%27s+why%3A%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2Fb1EHJyoFde&id=1055118353231200256&name=Kristina+Marusic" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="1GOW551574097071"></iframe>
</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2cbc1d358942b8a36cdd0ea377a68194"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hqBC2VAKu1c?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Marching from the Point</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/hqBC2VAKu1c" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzcyNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyODYzODkyOH0.7FIWfIbqek7w3MG-FPbrYh0jkljMwteD9yGxFQ5_eAQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="a95e8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9812849028e28d27c15166786438212d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p>The march ended at the convention center, which sits directly alongside the Allegheny River. The crowd chanted, sang, and danced to protest the continued expansion of the natural oil and gas industry in the region and the associated threats to the region's water and human health.</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2bf37879ab847721ce2d3e68069614db"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7WRKejmIrnI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">YouTube</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/7WRKejmIrnI" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="534e990acc69214f1349c43b78cf34b0"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IfD2lOLWE4s?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Lydia Green interview</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfD2lOLWE4s" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p>At one point, a man wearing a Donald Trump mask and a Shale Insight Convention name badge appeared on a balcony of the convention center above, and appeared to chant alongside the demonstrators.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cbab2f6881778ab48225ce6585169775"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TnsZu-ZEZQE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Trump mask</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/TnsZu-ZEZQE" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>Around 15 speakers addressed the crowd, including Degawenodas, Day, and other indigenous tribal leaders; representatives from environmental groups; residents of nearby Washington County, which is among the most heavily-fracked counties in the nation; and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzM5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDQzMjUzNX0.5OMjt-VgFsNABtVA1t3T9pTXQsQHLy-rxQnh5EyIyu4/img.jpg?width=980" id="8a390" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4db4842fc27ed953b99de6a2c6df272b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Guy Jones, an Ohio resident and member of the Standing Rock Sioux, addresses anti-fracking protesters outside the 2018 Shale Insight Convention in Pittsburgh</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p>Peduto spoke about the original people of this land and referred to Trump's infamous "Pittsburgh, not Paris" tweet, saying that once again, Pittsburgh is "at the very heart of the environmental movement in the U.S. and far beyond."<br></p><p>He ended his remarks by saying, "The question is, what will we do to begin to play offense, instead of constantly playing defense? It begins with what we do with our air and our water."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3e5d39a925fb4eb19bbf1ced7b1082c6"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NW9lpUyifU0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Peduto speech</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/NW9lpUyifU0" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>The mayor was heckled a number of times throughout his speech, with members of the crowd calling out things like,"Condemn the cracker plant!" They were referring to the massive Shell ethane cracker—<a href="https://www.ehn.org/shale-insight-convention-native-protest-2614381903.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" target="_self">one of five planned for the region</a>—currently being built in neighboring Beaver County. To date, the mayor <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/business/powersource/2018/06/01/Pitt-Protesters-mayor-peduto-pollution-Shell-cracker-plant-beaver-county/stories/201806010108" target="_blank">has declined to overtly speak out</a> against the ethane cracker, stating that because it's being built outside his jurisdiction, it isn't appropriate.<br></p><p>Still, following his remarks, Peduto was warmly embraced by several members of the crowd.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzM1My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTg1NTIxMn0.bLs3jWrni3EvFeSR2NCZZZmPwxhDYaZpJSJSBfLXRKM/img.jpg?width=980" id="686e6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b346ecc24bae87ec9280b2635ba41b9f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc2MzM2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMzY4MjMzOH0.nXzwPKtTqk7PRerivGwUDkol5c1cdnBULC6DeXHo29M/img.jpg?width=980" id="f917f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4f20b0d106276be147de12270505baf9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Kristina Marusic/EHN</small></p><p>The 2018 Shale Insight Convention is still running through Thursday, and <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/events/defend-our-water" target="_blank">a number of other protests and several film screenings</a> are planned. Representatives from the Shale Insight Convention did not return our requests for comment, and EHN's request for press credentials to attend the event were denied.</p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em>Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misidentified Degawenodas as a faithkeeper of the Seneca Nation.</em></p>
Keep reading...
Show less
19 March 2018
Originals
Feds reject Michigan permit for mine near sensitive tribal waters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has objected to a wetland permit for the proposed Back Forty Mine in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula near the Wisconsin border.
<p style="">The Menominee Indians across the border in Wisconsin—but whose tribal lands once encompassed the mine site—have fought Michigan's permitting process for years, saying the state was ignoring their concerns both about the project's threat to water quality and sacred cultural artifacts nearby. </p><p style="">Mining opponents cheered the federal action Friday. The EPA's letter, they said, places significant hurdles before the state and the developers.</p><p style="">"There's no one small fix the company can do," said Kathleen Heideman of the Upper Peninsula's Mining Action Group, which opposes the mine. "The company would have to fix it in so many ways it would become a different permit, or a different project." </p><p style="">The mine—a proposed 83-acre open pit gold, zinc and copper mine by Aquila Resources— has been making its way through the state's permitting process for years despite opposition from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, other regional tribes, local residents and environmental groups. </p><p>The tribe considers the land sacred, even though—thanks to a series of treaty revisions and land grabs over the past 150 years—the Menominee reservation is about 80 miles away, across the state line in Wisconsin.</p><p>The mine would sit within 150 feet of the Menominee River, a core part of the tribe's creation story, and near burial sites, centuries-old raised garden beds.</p><p>The river forms the border between Wisconsin and Michigan and is the largest watershed in the Upper Peninsula, covering about 4,000 square miles. More than 100 tributaries drain into the river. It supports large populations of bass, pike, walleye and spawning grounds for sturgeon.</p><p>The tribe has fought the mine for years, citing neglect for cultural impact.</p><p>In <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C1Ht2QRMgq81f9xGVXi-Ln2I8dQb8ODy/view" target="_blank">the letter</a>, the EPA suggested the state had not fully addressed the tribe's concerns. </p><p>"The applicant has not provided sufficient information to support the assertion that the proposed project would likely not impact potentially eligible or eligible resources. Historical and cultural resources should be addressed for the entire expanded project site," the letter read. </p><p>Environmental Health News highlighted the Menominee's fight in the 2016 series <a href="http://www.ehn.org/sacred_water_environmental_justice_in_indian_country-2497203327.html" target="_blank">"Sacred Water,"</a> a national look at how culturally significant water resources get sullied, destroyed and defaced by activities often happening beyond Native Americans' control.</p><p>The <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W9b4UwGtc1tSJmI4LGHCwN7t67EJGgOE/view" target="_blank">EPA letter</a>, sent to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which is overseeing state permitting, also said the mine project does not comply with Clean Water Act guidelines. The EPA, wrote agency Water Division director Christopher Korleski, "objects to the issuance of a permit for this project as proposed." </p><p>Some areas where the permit was lacking: </p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Information on how historical, cultural resources will be protected.</li><li>A complete project and site layout description </li><li>Information on how bluffs near the mine will be kept stable</li><li>Details on how discharges will be brought up to water quality standards</li><li>Full wetland mitigation details </li></ul><p>Aquila did not return requests for comment. </p><p>The letter comes two months after the Menominee filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA claiming the agencies had failed to take "primary responsibility" for wetland permitting. </p><p>Menominee Tribal Chairman Doug Cox was traveling and unable to comment on the EPA's letter. </p><p>Environmental groups and regional fishing associations applauded the letter. "We are thrilled to see EPA leading the charge to protect Michigan's world-class waters and habitat from the potentially devastating impacts of the Aquila mine development," said Cheryl Kallio, associate director for <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?MiningActionGroup/84bdf3c63d/568a565482/d809fa80b7" target="_blank">Great Lakes-based nonprofit Freshwater Future, in a statement. </a></p><p>Jerry Pasdo, president of the Wisconsin Smallmouth Alliance, said in a statement: "We are working to protect water quality for our safe enjoyment of the Menominee waterway – and Lake Michigan. We hope the entire wetland application gets turned down – flatly." </p><p>The EPA letter, which represented the comments from the EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, gives the Michigan DEQ 90 days to work with Aquila on the permitting issues. If that doesn't happen, the wetland permitting authority transfers to the Army Corps. </p>
Keep reading...
Show less
From our Newsroom
Editorial: Bicycling is having a moment—let’s use it to make riding more safe and inclusive
As we celebrate a World Bicycle Day like no other, can the U.S. keep the momentum and attention the coronavirus pandemic has brought to bicycling?
Coronavirus, the environment, and you
How the spread of the deadly virus is impacted by climate change, the environment, and our lifestyles.
Climate change creates camouflage confusion in winter-adapted wildlife
Twenty-one species molt from brown to white to survive the winter season. But climate change has created a mismatch between their snowy camouflage and surroundings.
They blinded us with SCIENCE!
From climate change to COVID-19, even the clearest warnings from scientists can misfire with millions of Americans. Pop culture may be a big reason why.
We don't farm because it's trendy; we farm as resistance, for healing and sovereignty
Farming is not new to Black people
Cutting edge of science
An exclusive look at important research just over the horizon that promises to impact our health and the environment