Center for Biological Diversity
For Immediate Release, October 4, 2023
Contact:
Laiken Jordahl, (928) 525-4433, ljordahl@biologicaldiversity.org
#Biden Administration Waives Laws to Rush #BorderWall Construction Through #Texas Wildlands
STARR COUNTY, Texas — The Biden administration announced today that for the first time it will waive environmental, public health and cultural resource protection laws to fast-track construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Texas. The administration says it will take “immediate action to construct barriers and roads” along the border, including through fragile habitat near the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
“It’s disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation’s bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls,” said Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Starr County is home to some of the most spectacular and biologically important habitat left in Texas and now bulldozers are preparing to rip right through it. This is a horrific step backwards for the borderlands.”
The waiver sweeps aside 26 laws that protect clean air, clean water, public lands, endangered wildlife and Indigenous grave sites. The announcement marks the first time the Biden administration has used the REAL ID Act waiver authority.
“Every acre of habitat left in the #RioGrandeValley is irreplaceable,” said Jordahl. “We can’t afford to lose more of it to a useless, medieval wall that won’t do a thing to stop immigration or smuggling. President Biden’s cynical decision to destroy crucial wildlife habitat and seal the beautiful Rio Grande behind a grotesque border wall must be stopped.”
Wall construction in Starr County could harm recovery plans for endangered ocelots, which depend on contiguous wildlife corridors of protected habitat along the Rio Grande. Two endangered plants, the Zapata bladderpod and prostrate milkweed, are endemic to the area and will likely also be threatened by wall construction with their protections stripped by the waiver.
Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a damning report detailing the severe damage the border wall has caused to wildlife, public lands, and Indigenous sacred sites and burial grounds along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Beyond jeopardizing wildlife, endangered species and public lands, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is part of a larger strategy of ongoing border militarization that damages human rights, civil liberties, native lands and international relations. The border wall impedes the natural migrations of people and wildlife that are essential to healthy diversity.
Today’s action seeks to waive the following laws:
- National Environmental Policy Act
- Endangered Species Act
- Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
- American Indian Religious Freedom Act
- Federal Water Pollution Control Act
- National Historic Preservation Act
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- Migratory Bird Conservation Act
- Clean Air Act
- National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act
- Eagle Protection Act
- National Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956
- Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act
- Archeological Resources Protection Act
- Paleontological Resources Preservation Act
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- Archaeological and Historic Preservation Act
- Noise Control Act
- Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
- Antiquities Act
- Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act
- Farmland Protection Policy Act
- National Trails System Act
- Administrative Procedure Act
- Federal Land Policy and Management Act
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
#WildlifeRefuge #Biodiversity #Wildlife #DHS #Habitat #CenterForBiologicalDiversity
UPDATE: Fundraiser for #JacobJohns is up to $213,000 ($250,000 goal)! Please share and donate if you can!
Help Jacob Johns Recover from Terrorist Shooting
"#Indigenous #ClimateActivist, #artist, #musician, and father Jacob Johns was shot in the chest this morning, Sept 28.2023, during a No Juan de #Oñate statue peaceful protest in Tewa territory (more commonly known as Española, New Mexico). Jacob put his body between women and children when the shooter charged towards the altar. He was air-lifted to a hospital in Albuquerque, and had surgery. The shooter, who was wearing a red MAGA hat, is in custody of tribal police. We ask everyone to please pray with us that he survives this surgery and doctors have’ the strength and wisdom to help him.
"Jacob, who is Hopi and Akimel O'odham, has dedicated his life to Indigenous and climate justice. He is a skilled muralist and speaker, and specializes in non-violent, peaceful 'artivism'."
Links to his work are below:
- Free The Vote Mural: https://landscouncil.org/news/free-the-vote-mural
-COP28 Indigenous Wisdom Keeper Delegation https://www.backbonecampaign.org/cop28more
-Jacob’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio_1_eleven
Link to GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting
#ClimateActivist #Fundraiser
Center for Biological Diversity Statement on Shooting of #JacobJohns
For Immediate Release, September 29, 2023
Contact:
Kierán Sucking, (520) 275-5960, ksuckling@biologicaldiversity.org
Statement from Kierán Suckling, executive director, Center for Biological Diversity:
“I’m horrified and devastated by the shooting this week in #NewMexico of Jacob Johns, an #Indigenous climate and justice #activist, by a #MAGA hat-wearing bigot. The Center for Biological Diversity stands by the brave actions of Johns and with the #IndigenousPeoples of New Mexico and North America resisting the resurrection of a monument to violent #conquistador Juan de #Oñate.
“The Center’s work to end the #climate and #extinction crises is rooted in resistance to #colonial #extractivism. We honor the tireless organizing of Indigenous activists resisting all forms of settler racism, including #TheRedNation, the #ThreeSistersCollective, the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women, and #NDNCollective, who led this week’s peaceful gathering in Tewa Territory, Española, New Mexico. We commit to fighting for justice, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
#ClimateActivist #LandBack #Colonialism #ClimateCrisis #EnvironmentalJustice #IndigenousActivist #IndigenousNews
But hey, good job criminalizing #ClimateChange #activism
#Australia #wildfires rage as #Sydney breaks all-time September heat record
Although the worst of the heat has ended, persistent dry weather and gusty winds will prolong wildfire dangers, AccuWeather meteorologists warn.
By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist
Published Sep 20, 2023
Sydney records official heat wave, highest all-time temperature in September
"The Sydney airport recorded its fourth consecutive day of temperatures in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Wednesday, local time. At this point in the spring, historical average high temperatures are only around 67 F (19 C) in New South Wales's most populated city. Meteorological spring officially began in Australia on Sept. 1.
"Prior to the latest heat wave, the hottest it had been at the airport in September was 96 F (35.6 C) on Sept. 29, 2000, according to climate records from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). This record was surpassed this week, with a temperature of 97 F (35.9 C) on Tuesday.
"'A strong area of high pressure has led to the intense heat,' AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls said.
"The hot weather created brutal conditions for runners in the Sydney Marathon on Sunday, as more than two dozen people were taken to the hospital with heat-related illnesses.
"The spring heat burst in this part of the world follows Australia's warmest winter on record."
Read more:
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #ClimateActivism
nostr:npub1e9hkedxnxwsvqa3ld5xqcg6pehxl7hfchs7w6q7v9tw8zlytqjdq2tghzz Heh. You and I have a lot in common. I, too, studied Homeric Greek, and consider myself an Environmentalist Pothead. Hi there! 👋🏿
Hello all! I hope some of you can join me at 12:00 Noon EDT today at Monument Square for #FridaysForFuture! Please spread the word! And thanks for all you do! nostr:npub19efxvgjrsvrvul4cz96kj97dzjf0ha9cnftsnjus5w3x6l29eprs0cd3ft
Hundreds of #Caribbean islanders forced to abandon homes amid rising #SeaLevels
Experts worry it will put the culture and way of life of #CartiSugtupu’s #Indigenous community of fewer than 2,000 at risk
by Verity Bowman, September 6, 2023
"Hundreds of people are preparing to escape a tiny Caribbean island as rising waters threaten to engulf their homes.
"The densely populated island of Carti Sugtupu off #Panama’s north coast is under threat from climate change induced sea level rises, suffering from flooding on a regular basis.
"Experts say the sea will engulf #Carti #Sugtupu and dozens of neighbouring islands in the Guna Yala region by the end of the century.
Forty-nine of the islands are populated and are just a few feet above sea level.
Read more:
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #CaribbeanIslanders #ClimateRefugees #IndigenousNews #RisingSeaLevels
nostr:npub10u9cuzgp68k4g2pu95m9z2spmwm6yzkc00ettnvsvv2pz5jk7cmqx8ct6f I saw RFPs presented to TEPCO, who rejected tritium removal technologies as "experimental" and "too costly". Maybe because they knew there was more than just tritium in the water!
nostr:npub1esha7f4m7zfc7rlyg7ufeysw8prq76f6edjr7ajh686raeeg5gsqkt5fqz Or maybe NEI is utilizing this group...
"Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) likes to call itself “the voice of the energy consumer,” but it really is an advocacy front group for some of the country’s largest fossil fuel corporations and trade associations. Its members page does not include nationally recognized organizations that advocate on behalf of consumers and low-income communities, senior citizens, and minorities such as AARP, local citizen utility boards, NAACP, and the National Consumer Law Center.
"CEA pitches its “consumer advocacy voice” to fossil fuel companies and their trade associations to help industry campaigns “out flank” the opponents it has targeted, including #Greenpeace and the #NAACP.
"Some of CEA’s utility industry members have been:
- American Gas Association
- Ameren Missouri
- CenterPoint Energy
- Dominion Energy
- DTE Electric
- Edison Electric Institute
- Entergy
- Florida Power & Light (NextEra)
- Jacksonville Energy Authority
- Nuclear Energy Institute
- Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
- South Carolina Electric & Gas/SCANA (now owned by Dominion Energy)
- Xcel Energy"
Source: https://energyandpolicy.org/consumer-energy-alliance/
Just little over an hour left to download free PDFs of #MattBors #TheNib! Make a donation if you can...
State of Nebraska experiencing statewide 911 outage
via KTIV.com
"The entire state of #Nebraska is experiencing a #911Outage.
"The 911 director of Douglas County said the state’s 911 system went down Thursday evening at about 7:30 p.m. That makes residents unable to call 911 for emergencies.
"The following numbers are emergency contacts with the corresponding county.
"For emergencies:
Holt County: (402) 336-2850
Antelope County: (402) 887-4148
Knox County: (402) 288-4261
Wayne County: (402) 375-2626
Pierce County: (402) 329-6346
Thurston County: (402) 385-3018
Dakota County: (402) 494-7555
Dixon County: (402) 755-5608
Cedar County: (402) 254-6884
Cuming County: (402) 727-2677
Stanton: (402) 644-8700
Madison: (402) 644-8700
Burt: (402) 374-2900"
https://www.ktiv.com/2023/09/01/state-nebraska-experiencing-statewide-911-outage/
nostr:npub1vcuvekadyyygqsygsccqqux0dlrjy2g0seafdscjc9zraad8826quu46mk So why aren't they drinking the treated water instead of dumping it into the #ocean? #Fukushima #FukushimaWater
nostr:npub1fwlrus94qc3pftqfw8z63tne5vlyp7ze29ljme0ru4pusqs6j89sz06a65 What, no appearances by Lord Summerisle?
nostr:npub1hhjcz2mguw2aq5c20dz9twm8fx6v9clsxvmx53f5xx7d8x34yx0sren3cj So, it is better for him to become POTUS again? How do you suggest we slow down the rise of fascism?
Dam bursts open as deadly #flooding washes away homes in #Norway
Entire towns have been evacuated in Norway after unrelenting rain sparked widespread flooding, and the country's prime minister warned residents that the flooding is "by no means over."
By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer
Published Aug 11, 2023 1:09 PM EDT
"Torrents of water gushed through multiple towns across Norway and #landslides cascaded down mountainsides after a deluge drenched Norway earlier in the week. Residents have been forced to evacuate, and the situation could get worse before it gets better.
"Significant flooding was reported in the Norwegian towns of #Nes, #Bagn and #Valer, all located north of the capital city of #Oslo.
"A wet July was the precursor to the flooding, with monthly rainfall more than 300% of the historical average in and around Oslo. The wet pattern persisted through the first part of August with rain falling every day through the first 10 days of the month."
Read more:
#Wx #Weather #WeatherExtremes #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #Europe
nostr:npub136qk9j6pmnrlmr320nvxkrrqgvydcp05prkaqw26c3z7q0400x5sgdcv3y After reading the article, I get the impression that humans prioritize preserving species that they can use.
"some plants and animals may possess unique traits that can provide what she calls option value."
nostr:npub1ej68dzernetvgqh3gpk006eh509jnmyzptwqcsr7y772vtf3j2dqpxpvaa "Scientists have long known that the loss of olfactory capacity, or ability to smell, can predict development of nearly 70 neurological and psychiatric diseases. These include Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia and alcoholism. Evidence is emerging about a link between smell loss due to COVID and ensuing cognitive decrease. Researchers have previously found that exposing people with moderate dementia to up to 40 different odors twice a day over a period of time boosted their memories and language skills, eased depression and improved their olfactory capacities. The UCI team decided to try turning this knowledge into an easy and non-invasive dementia-fighting tool."
nostr:npub1mfqlr43rvl2fh7p76mg72c4ytkqr9mhnrc8ehs7f62vhqu527dqqucjcu7 I remember that. I had a friend get some from Sam's Club and drop it off to me. I made a video of myself holding the large package of TP while singing, "Everything counts in large amounts." It amused my buddy and a few other friends when during a time when we all needed a laugh.