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"On May 3, 1969, after hours of bitter debate, the Sierra Club fired David Brower. The organization's first paid staffer, Brower had transformed the Club from an exclusive, politically timid, white male hiking outfit of 2,000 members. But the old guard didn't like the direction that Brower, its executive director, was taking the staid organization: toward political confrontation, grassroots organizing and attacks on industrial pollution, nuclear power and the Pentagon. This kind of green aggressiveness in the face of entrenched power alienated funders, politicians and, eventually, the Internal Revenue Service, which, after Brower's successful international campaign to halt the construction of two mega-dams in the Grand Canyon, moved to strip the group of its tax-deductible status. The IRS action proved to be the final straw and Brower was booted out."

Rep. Mike Noel says his HB379 is aimed at reducing frivolous lawsuits by environmental groups. But critics say it violates the constitutional rights of Utah businesses and individuals as well. The measure would require anyone seeking a stay of an "environmental action" -- the granting of a new permit for a power plant, a road or mining, for instance -- to post a bond to cover any damages the delays might cause. The new requirement would cover permits issued by the state departments of Environmental Quality, Transportation, Natural Resources or the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

The federal agency that regulates the transport of explosives, toxic chemicals, fireworks and other hazardous materials has for years quietly waived safety regulations because of its cozy relationship with industry, according to a congressional report. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which regulates shipment of potentially dangerous cargo by land, sea and air, also has ignored whether shippers have been involved in accidents or cited for violating regulations before granting or renewing the waivers, the report said. The report was based on an investigation by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on whether PHMSA is doing its job. The chief witness scheduled to testify at the hearing is Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel, who warned administration officials in late July that a separate investigation by his office had uncovered significant concerns.

No matter what we're led to believe, the world's worst polluter is not your cousin who refuses to recycle or that co-worker who drives a gas guzzler or the guy down the block who simply will not try CFL bulbs. "The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest polluter in the world, producing more hazardous waste than the five largest U.S. chemical companies combined," explains Lucinda Marshall, founder of the Feminist Peace Network. Pesticides, defoliants like Agent Orange, solvents, petroleum, lead, mercury, and depleted uranium are among the many deadly substances used by the military. What does this mean for us? To start with, it can help illustrate how to best foment a green revolution. As Derrick Jensen reminds us: "Even if every single person in the United States were to change all their light-bulbs to fluorescent, cut the amount they drive in half, recycle half of their household waste, inflate their tire pressure to increase gas mileage, use low flow shower heads and wash clothes in lower temperature water, adjusts their thermostats two degrees up or down depending on the season, and plant a tree, it would result in a one time, 21% reduction in carbon emissions."

A 160-acre site in the northern area of the city known for introducing a perchlorate plume into the local ground water supply has been added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund National Priorities List. When the listing was announced Wednesday, officials declared it as a landmark victory for Rialto residents. "This is a very victorious day for the city of Rialto, after spending $28 million to try to get these guys to do the right thing," Councilman Ed Scott said. The Superfund designation represents a commitment by the EPA to clean the site while making it eligible for government funding, said Wayne Praskins, Superfund project manager. The EPA has been developing an initial cleanup proposal that should be ready at the beginning of the year, Praskins said Friday. It will cost between $10 million and $15 million to construct the facilities needed to conduct a cleanup at the site, and $1 million per year to operate them, Praskins said.

Thousands of Safety Violations Still Pending Because of Lack of Funding; Agency Needs New Leadership WASHINGTON, D.C. - Facing a backlog of more than 13,000 unheard safety cases, the federal agency responsible for ruling on mine safety violations is in urgent need of more resources and new leadership, Public Citizen said in letters sent today to President Obama and members of Congress. Agency officials estimate that under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission's current funding level, the commission will need at least five years to address its existing case backlog, excluding any new cases that arise during that time, according to Public Citizen's letter. Public Citizen is calling on Congress to increase the budget of the mine safety commission to bring it in line with other agencies that fill similar roles. For example, the mine commission's budget is $2 million lower than that of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, despite having 6.5 times as many outstanding cases. The public interest group also is calling for Obama to replace the current chairman, a Bush administration holdover and a former attorney for the mining industry's lobbying organization, who has done little to garner additional resources for the mining commission.

The Department of Energy will consider the Hanford nuclear reservation as one of seven possible sites for long-term storage of the nation's elemental mercury, said a notice Thursday in the Federal Register. The nation could have 8,300 to 11,000 tons of mercury from private sources that would be eligible for storage over 40 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. DOE is looking for storage sites after the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 prohibited the export of mercury beginning in 2013 and required the agency to have facilities ready to manage and store mercury generated in the United States. It is a new responsibility for the DOE Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for work at Hanford.

"Political attacks and pressure from governmental structures against Russian environmental organizations has significantly increased during the last months, according to a report issued by Friends of the Earth Norway. - We are seriously worried over the latest development. The environment in the north is facing increased pressure with climate changes and more resource exploitation. Therefore it is essential to have a strong Russian environmental movement able to influence the politics and development in Russia's northern regions, says Yngvild Lorentzen, head of International project department in Norges Naturvernforbund, the Norwegian branch of Friends of the Earth. The Norwegian organization has actively cooperated with several Russian environmental NGOs since the establishment of the Barents cooperation in the early 90ties. - We don't need an environmental movement that are kept silent in important issues, says Lorentzen to BarentsObserver."

"According to Japanese news sources, Japanese whalers tested 6 of 17 whales captured 650 kilometers north-east of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Of the 6 whales tested 2 were found to contain cesium radiation which must have come from the Fukushima nuclear reactor. The first whale contained 31 becquerels per kilogram of cesium radiation and the second whale and the 24.3 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram. Japan Finds Nuclear Radiation In Whales Caught 650 KM From Fukushima Tokyo - Radioactive caesium was detected from two minke whales caught off a city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, 650 kilometres north-east of a damaged nuclear plant, a news report said on Tuesday. Researchers examined six of the 17 whales during so-called research whaling in Kushiro city, which started this year's season in late April, and they detected 31 becquerels and 24.3 becquerels of radioactive caesium per kilogram in the two whales out of the six, Kyodo News reported citing a whalers' association."

Nevadans are growing less interested in importing California's garbage, and a dry lake bed outside this desert town has become a test case. A landfill outside Reno already imports about 275,000 tons of California waste each year. Two other dumps in central and southern Nevada got permits to do so years ago, with little protest. But new plans to bury as much as 4,000 tons a day of San Francisco Bay Area trash at the proposed Jungo Road dump near Winnemucca have sparked strong opposition.

Nevadans are growing less interested in importing California's garbage, and a dry lake bed outside this desert town has become a test case. A landfill outside Reno already imports about 275,000 tons of California waste each year. Two other dumps in central and southern Nevada got permits to do so years ago, with little protest. But new plans to bury as much as 4,000 tons a day of San Francisco Bay Area trash at the proposed Jungo Road dump near Winnemucca have sparked strong opposition.