Charleston, S.C. – Leading environmental groups sued the federal government today to prevent seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. This extremely loud and dangerous process, which is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean’s surface, is the first step toward offshore drilling. If allowed, seismic airgun blasting would harm marine life, including whales, dolphins, fish and zooplankton – the foundation of the ocean food web.
Today, Tribal leaders from across the country were joined by members of Congress to mark the 58th anniversary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and stand with the Gwich’in Nation in opposition to destructive drilling there.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Last night, the House-Senate conference committee publicly released the conference report for the bipartisan Farm Bill. The conference report is focused on widely-supported food and farm policies and does not include destructive anti-environmental provisions included in the House version of the bill.
In response, Sierra Club Associate Legislative Director Kirin Kennedy released the following statement:
KATOWICE, POLAND -- Today, on Gender Day at the COP24 UN climate negotiations and following yesterday’s 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sierra Club and UN Women released a new report, Women on the Move in a Changing Climate: A discussion paper on gender, climate and mobility. The report examines how gender informs the needs, challenges, roles, decision-making responsibilities, and leadership in the context of climate-related mobility.
Katowice, Poland -- Over the weekend, the Trump administration joined with Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait to vote against accepting the findings of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report during the COP24 UN Climate Negotiations. The report projects that the catastrophic effects of the climate crisis could include food shortages and droughts by 2040. The United States refused to “welcome” the scientific findings, claiming that including that language would constitute endorsing the report.
MISSION, TX-- On Friday, the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge its use of unlawful waivers to expedite border wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
New setbacks for Keystone XL come as major banks, including Wells Fargo, have a pair of credit facilities totaling $1.5 billion out to TransCanada that are set to expire this Friday. The banks can either renew these facilities or reconsider financial support for the beleaguered pipeline company.
For the second year in a row, the United States has chosen to ignore climate science and will host a coal-focused side event at the annual UN climate negotiations. This is despite hosting a similar event at last year’s negotiations to a disastrous end. The Administration’s continued peddling of outdated fossil fuels follows Trump announcing his plan to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in July 2017 and to date, Trump is still the only world leader to announce his rejection of the landmark climate deal. Yet, Despite the Trump administration’s rhetoric and deregulatory agenda, the era of coal has unquestionably ended in the United States.
Today, a federal judge reaffirmed that TransCanada cannot conduct any pre-construction field activities on its proposed Keystone XL pipeline. This ruling means that construction on the controversial tar sands pipeline will continue to be delayed.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (ACP) notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it is stopping all work along the entirety of its 600-mile route