EJToday is SEJ's selection of new and outstanding stories on environmental topics in print and on the air, updated every weekday. SEJ also offers a free e-mailed digest of the day's EJToday postings, called SEJ-beat. SEJ members are subscribed automatically, but may opt out here. Non-members may subscribe here. EJToday is also available via RSS feed. Please see Editorial Guidelines for EJToday content.
"The Big Stories Then in the Clear Light of Now" -- The Garbage Barge
NY Times, 05/06/2013"Dan Rather called it 'the most watched load of garbage in the memory of man.' It was 1987. A small town businessman had what seemed like a promising idea, to transport New York trash by barge to a landfill in North Carolina, where it would be converted into methane to heat homes. And then the news media latched on to the story."
"Obama Campaign Launches Plan To Shame Climate Sceptics in Congress"
Guardian, 04/26/2013"The campaign group formed to support Barack Obama's political agenda has launched an initiative to shame members of Congress who deny the science behind climate change."
Earth Day: "Moral Climate-- Beyond Science and Politics"
Salt Lake Tribune, 04/22/2013"Rob Gillies and his team gather data on Nepal’s changing climate for a research project. They log temperatures, raindrops and snow. They pump the numbers into powerful computers and read the trend lines the computers spit out. Gillies sees the numbers in human terms, too. Global warming is likely to mean less water, putting crops and livestock in peril, along with nourishment for children who already don’t get enough to eat. That leaves the climate scientist with questions instruments can’t answer. About fairness. Justice. And life and death."
"Justices Bar Nigerian Human Rights Case From U.S. Courts"
NY Times, 04/19/2013"WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Nigerian plaintiffs who said foreign oil companies had been complicit in violating their human rights may not sue in American courts. The decision limited the sweep of a 1789 law that had been used to address human rights abuses abroad."
Keystone XL: South Dakota Tribes Fight The 'Black Snake'
Huffington Post, 04/18/2013"Debra White Plume and Marie Brush Breaker Randall stood in the middle of Highway 44, alongside more than 70 other members of the Oglala Lakota Nation. For hours, they didn't budge -- much to the chagrin of some tractor-trailer drivers bound for the tar sands region of Alberta, Canada."
Goldman Winner Restored Marshes After Saddam's Environmental Warfare
Guardian, 04/16/2013One of the six winners of the prestigious Goldman Prize, Azzam Alwash, played a key role in restoring the marshes in Southern Iraq that had been drained by Saddam Hussein as punishment of the people who lived there.
"A Legal Twist In The Effort To Ban Cameras From Livestock Plants"
NPR, 04/12/2013The livestock industry, which has been successfully urging state legislatures to pass bills hamstringing exposes of animal cruelty, has a new tactic that hobbles long-term undercover investigations of feedlots and slaughterhouses.
"Did Keystone XL Contractor Hide Its Conflict of Interest?"
Mother Jones, 04/10/2013"The environmental consulting firm hired to evaluate the impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline should have been barred from working on the project, according to a group of environmentalists. On Monday, representatives from 13 environmental organizations asked State Department's Inspector General to investigate whether the firm's previous relationships with TransCanada should have qualified as a conflict of interest."
Enviros Urge 10 Top Retailers To Pull Potentially Toxic Products
USA TODAY, 04/10/2013"Health and environmental groups will launch a national campaign Thursday to prod 10 major retailers -- including Walmart, Target and Costco -- to clear store shelves of products containing hazardous chemicals."
"Greens Ask U.S. To Delay Keystone Decision After Arkansas Leak"
Reuters, 04/09/2013"Environmental groups on Monday asked the Obama administration to extend the approval process of the Keystone XL pipeline, using last month's spill of heavy Canadian crude oil in Arkansas as their latest reason to delay the project."
Sierra: Pollution 'Human Rights Abuse' To Poor, Minorities in Detroit
Detroit Free Press, 04/05/2013"Metro Detroit’s poor and minority populations face greater health and environmental challenges than most communities because of their proximity to industrial pollution - an “environmental injustice” and “human rights abuse,” Sierra Club Detroit officials said today as they released a report on the state of Detroit’s environment."
"The Koch Brothers’ Media Investment"
Columbia Journalism Review, 04/04/2013Rumors that the conservative billionaire Koch brothers could be poised to buy the Tribune Company raise questions about how that might affect Tribune news outlets' coverage of environment and energy issues, in which the Kochs have a substantial stake.
"Tea Party Patriots Criticize 'Monsanto Protection Act'"
Huffington Post, 04/03/2013"The so-called 'Monsanto Protection Act,' a controversial provision protecting the biotech giant from litigation, has found an unusual critic in the tea party."
"Groups Seek Probe Into Low-Grade Crude Shipments To L.A. Refineries"
LA Times, 04/03/2013"A coalition of environmental groups wants air-quality officials to determine if the refining of heavy Canadian crude has an effect on local health and safety."
James Hansen To Retire from NASA, Intensify Climate Campaign
NY Times, 04/02/2013"James E. Hansen, the climate scientist who issued the clearest warning of the 20th century about the dangers of global warming, will retire from NASA this week, giving himself more freedom to pursue political and legal efforts to limit greenhouse gases."

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