"You took the  sponge away." —Comment by Kentucky resident on how mountaintop removal has prevented rain from soaking into the ground

View the devastation of mountaintop removal in this short video.

Good News on
Mountaintop RemovalA surprise announcement by the EPA halts 79 pending mountaintop removal mining permits. This short reprieve offers hope that the Obama administration is finally taking a hard look at this most-destructive form of coal mining, says Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen.

EPA To Regulate Toxic Coal StreamRules will be written to prevent the release of toxic metals into America's waterways by coal-fired power plants, the Environmental Protection Agency announced this week. The decision comes just two months after Earthjustice sent EPA a letter signed by more than 40 groups requesting the regulations. The rules address an unintended consequence of requiring plants to scrub pollutants from emissions. The scrubbed and toxic byproducts are being dumped into rivers, lakes and streams—polluting them.

Fast Action Sought To Protect WolvesEarthjustice is pushing for a quick decision in its lawsuit to restore endangered species protections for northern Rockies gray wolves after a federal judge ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service likely violated the Endangered Species Act. The same judge refused to halt wolf hunts that started this month in Idaho and Montana.

Tom's Turn Since when is nuclear power renewable?

Sam Edmondson Greenland's climate change conundrum.

David Guest Secretive efforts to open Florida coastline for drilling revealed.

Avoid Electrical MutinyEnergy-wasting, inefficient appliances not only cost you money, but contribute to global warming—and could spark a rebellion by your electrical outlets, as you'll see in our latest video promoting the Efficient Films contest.

Suing Against World's Dirtiest OilOn behalf of Native American and environmental groups, Earthjustice filed suit against the U.S. State Department for approving a proposed tar sands oil pipeline that would bring the dirtiest oil on earth from Canada to the United States. If built, the Alberta Clipper pipeline would pump 450,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from northern Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin, for refining. Tar sands oil emits more global warming pollution than any other type of oil over its lifecycle.

Plea To United Nations On
Environmental Human RightsEarthjustice urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to consider the right to a healthy environment, the right to participate in decisions that affect the environment, as well as rights to food, water and health when it submitted comments on the state of human rights in Bolivia, Fiji, and Kazakhstan. These reports were submitted as part of the Council's Universal Periodic Review process, where Earthjustice has often fought for the protection of environmental rights. View Earthjustice's webpage on human rights.

UN To Hear Threats of Mining Near GlacierOn Sept. 21, Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso will present threats of mining upstream from Montana's Glacier National Park to a delegation of visiting scientists from the United Nation's World Heritage Committee's Advisory Bodies. The delegation is visiting in response to a petition from Earthjustice and 11 conservation groups from Canada and the United States. The petition urges British Columbia to amend its land use plans to prohibit mining in the pristine headwaters of the Flathead River valley that flows into Glacier, a UN World Heritage site.

In Defense of SalmonNot long after the Bush administration left office, the National Marine Fisheries Service—charged with protecting America's salmon—produced a plan to rebuild California's Sacramento River salmon runs. As soon as the rebuilding plans were introduced, big corporate agriculture operations filed five separate lawsuits attacking the protections. Why? The new protections would force the corporate growers to use a bit less water and instead live within their means, something they refuse to do. These protections came only after Earthjustice went to court and forced the fish agency to develop them. So Earthjustice has joined the cases in order to defend the salmon protection and recovery plan, something we expect to be doing for some time to come.

Irradiator Plan Gets More StudyEarthjustice has convinced the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to require more study before radioactive cobalt-60 is trucked through city streets for a proposed food irradiator. The controversial facility at the Honolulu International Airport would be built in a tsunami evacuation zone and near active runways, residential neighborhoods, and schools.

In The Win ColumnEarthjustice and its allies won advances—or outright victories—across a broad front in the last month:

EPA Takes On Florida Algae BloomsAlgae explosions in Florida's lakes, rivers and near offshore waters—mostly caused by nutrient-laden agricultural and stormwater runoff—will be targeted by the EPA in settlement of a lawsuit filed last year by Earthjustice. The algae blooms are toxic to humans and wildlife and starve the waters of oxygen, creating kill zones for fish and other creatures.

Public Lands Protected From Kane MutinyIn a decision setting national precedent, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this month that Kane County, Utah cannot take the law into its own hands by opening closed routes in a national monument that the county imagines—but has never proven—it owns. The court action, won by Earthjustice, should discourage renegade actions damaging parks and monuments nationwide.