People & Population

"LA TUQUE, Canada — For years, members of the Atikamekw First Nation have watched trucks rumble through their traditional territory, carrying out load after load of timber, only to see the profits slipped into others’ pockets. Recently, exploration companies have begun searching for rare metal and gold deposits on the land, a vast stretch of Canadian wilderness nearly the size of Maine. And like many First Nation tribes, the Atikamekw have had enough."

The Marlin gold mine in Guatemala, about 50 miles from the border with Mexico, promised economic opportunities that never materialized for the Mayan population there. Now Mayan community leaders are protesting toxic pollution they say has caused health problems.

"LOGAN, W.Va. — For 51 years he’d lived in the same hollow and for two decades he’d performed the same job, mining coal from the underground seams of southern West Virginia. Then, on June 30, Michael Estep was jobless. His mine shut down, and its operator said “market conditions” made coal production unviable.

"Coal ash from earlier environmental disaster is causing health concerns for poor African-American residents."

"A board member at a major Latino environmental group joined Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head Gina McCarthy in promoting the agency’s rule to limit carbon emissions from power plants."

"WASHINGTON -- For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency may require oil refineries to regularly measure the air quality at their perimeters. These fence line measurements will give surrounding communities – largely low-income communities of color – data on the level of pollution they are exposed to each day."