Dolphin
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Whale of a Nightmare: Trump Pushes Atlantic Oil Exploration

The Trump administration gave early approval this week to corporations to conduct oil exploration off the Atlantic Coast.

Making matters worse, the proposals would allow the firing of super-loud seismic airguns from ships every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week at a noise level that would rupture a human eardrum. These blasts could deafen and even kill whales, dolphins and other animals.

Nearly 100 municipalities up and down the East Coast have adopted resolutions rejecting seismic blasting. And more than 40,000 local businesses and business associations have publicly opposed it, citing threats to marine life and local economies.

"People from Florida to New Jersey oppose the oil industry wreaking havoc in the Atlantic," said Kristen Monsell, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has been fighting these seismic blasts. "It's outrageous that the Trump administration is ignoring the needs of wildlife and coastal communities."

Read more in our press release.

Bottles of Roundup

Investigation Focuses on Possible EPA, Monsanto Collusion

We learned this week that the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating possible collusion between Monsanto and a top EPA pesticide official who recently retired. Documents released by court order indicate that the possible collusion may have resulted in a biased review of cancer risks associated with glyphosate, the most commonly used pesticide in the world and the active ingredient in Roundup.

"The EPA is supposed to protect us from toxic chemicals, not go out of its way to protect the profits of chemical companies," said the Center's Lori Ann Burd. "I'm glad to see the inspector general investigating these disturbing indications that one of the EPA's top staffers may have been working with Monsanto to hide the truth about the dangers of glyphosate."

Get details from our press release.

Suit Filed Over Trump Delay in Cleaning Up Air Pollution

Los Angeles smog

The Center and allies on Tuesday sued the Trump administration for delays in creating plans to reduce dangerous ozone pollution around Sacramento and in parts of three Southern California counties, which boast some of the country's worst ozone pollution. Our suit calls out EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, whose agency still hasn't enforced deadlines for these areas to finish plans to clean up their skies more than eight years after the EPA set ground-level ozone air-quality standards.

"Properly enforcing America's clean air laws would save the lives of thousands," said the Center's Jonathan Evans. Read more.

Ocelot

Resolutions Passed Against Border Wall in Arizona

The Pima County Board of Supervisors and Tucson City Council both passed resolutions this week explicitly rejecting Trump's border-wall executive order and plan to increase border militarization.

Pima County, along the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Arizona, is home to the city of Tucson and a population of more than a million, including an Indian reservation whose people, the Tohono O'odham, live on both sides of the border.

"The border wall divides and harms people and wildlife alike," said the Center's Randy Serraglio. "There's no reason to sacrifice jaguars, ocelots, Mexican wolves and other rare and precious animals to feed a delusion of border security. Border walls and militarization have done a lot of harm already -- and nothing good for the cause of immigration reform."

Read more in The Arizona Republic.

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

Save Our National Monuments From Trump -- Take Action

Trump's attack on 27 of our national monuments is hitting high gear. After first putting a bull's-eye on Utah's Bears Ears, he's now lining up the rest of his targets.

Please -- join our fight to save these special places, whether you're a frequent visitor or have never been but hope to see them someday. The 27 monuments on the chopping block cover more than 1 billion acres of America's most spectacular, culturally important and ecologically intact public lands and oceans. The places they protect range from the forest and grasslands of Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou to Maine's Katahdin woods.

Trump's intent is clear: to rescind or shrink the monuments and open them up to oil and gas drilling and other forms of development. We can't let that happen. Take action today.

Op-ed: Millions of Jobs Powered by the Sun

Rooftop solar installation

Whether we're booting up computers or flipping on the lights, our lives are plugged in and powered up. We still need to kick our fossil fuel addiction, but renewable energy sources are becoming a bigger part of our power mix.

Harnessing more power from the sun and wind -- especially when systems are installed on spaces like rooftops and parking lots -- helps end our destructive carbon habit and protect wildlife. It's also powering our economy with big job growth. Read more in this op-ed in The Hill from the Center's Chad Tudenggongbu.

California gnatcatcher

Lawsuit Launched Against Trump's Border Wall 'Prototypes'

The Center has filed a notice of intent to sue the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection over plans to build up to 20 border-wall "prototype" designs, which would irreversibly impact borderlands endangered species like the Quino checkerspot butterfly, coastal California gnatcatcher, Riverside fairy shrimp and San Diego fairy shrimp.

The Trump administration is constructing the prototypes without any environmental review, flagrantly violating the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act.

"The wall threatens to cut through the heart of the borderlands, among the most biologically and culturally diverse areas in North America," said the Center's Brian Segee. "It will be a blight of epic proportions."

Read more in the The Desert Sun.

Deer caught on wildlife camera

Wild & Weird: Watch Our Sky Island Critter Cams

Please enjoy the Center's newest collection of wildlife camera footage gathered from remote canyons and forests in several Sky Island mountain ranges in southern Arizona. Take a sneak peek at coati, javelina, fox, puma, skunk, black bear and even a spider on Facebook or YouTube.

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Photo credits: Dolphin courtesy NASA; bottles of Roundup by naturewise/Flickr; Los Angeles smog by infinitewilderness/Flickr; ocelot by furlined/Flickr; Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument by BobWick/BLM; rooftop solar panel installation by EE Image Database/Flickr; California gnatcatcher by isaaccsanchez/Flickr; deer photographed with remote wildlife camera courtesy Center for Biological Diversity.

Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702