October 12 (the 517th anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the Western Hemisphere) marked the first day of the Global “Minga”/Mobilization in Defense of Mother Earth and the Peoples, called by the IV Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples Abya Yala. Rallies, protests and other actions are being carried out around the world in response to the [...]

The Earth Liberation front has claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Chapel Hill, North Carolina home of Steve Jones, a board member of Bank of America.
Bank of America is a major funder of mountaintop removal coal mining, in spite of its December announcement that it would “phase out” funding many such projects.
In a communique reported by [...]

International Rivers reports that blasting has begun on the first of five several dams slated for Chilean Patagonia:
“The Chilean energy company Colbún, controlled by the Matte Group and partner with Endesa in the HidroAysén mega-project, has initiated blasting at the site on the San Pedro River where they intend to build a 144 MW dam. [...]

The contraction of the global economy caused U.S. infrastructure spending to decline by an estimated 4.3 percent in 2009, according to analysts from HIS Global Insight, in spite of the $48 billion given to the Department of Transportation as part of stimulus packages. Non-highway spending is expected to decrease by 10.2 percent. The only infrastructure [...]

A couple of articles reminding us how our struggles can make a real difference for the big picture:
1. Check out this article analyzing some of the connections between the push for expanded liquefied natural gas infrastructure in the United States and the recent massacre of indigenous protesters in Peru. The writer points out how increased [...]

Boston Rising Tide activists dropped a 25-foot banner from the city’s Environmental Protection Agency on June 29, reading, “Mountain Top Removal Kills Communities: EPA No New Permits. MountainJustice.org.”
There are more than 150 permits pending for new mountaintop removal coal mines in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.

International Rivers has just published two good articles analyzing the recent massive push for new dams coming out of Chile and the Amazon. They make good reading for anyone wanting to follow these issues.

Thirty-one people were arrested at a civil disobedience action against mountaintop removal coal mining on June 23, including actress Daryl Hannah and climate scientist James Hansen. The protesters had blocked traffic outside a West Virginia coal plant after plans to enter were thwarted by a large gathering of pro-coal counter-demonstrators. One counter-demonstrator attacked one of [...]

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (a division of the Organization of American States) has ordered Panama to immediately halt all action on three dams planned for the Changuinola River. The dams have been threatening indigenous Ngobe and Naso communities, as well as the World Heritage Site of La Amistad Biosphere Reserve.
The Chan-75 Dam was [...]

Protesters from London Climate Action blockaded the entrance to the Peruvian Embassy in London on June 19, demanding the right to deliver a letter of protest calling for oil and gas companies in the Amazon to suspend their operations until the government agrees to peaceful negotiations with local representatives; for an independent and impartial inquiry [...]