Earthbytes

Economic Hitmen (video)

John Perkin's view of a "mutant viral capitalism" and how it operates to oppress people and nature.

 

LA recycles waste but waste industry wastes people

I got a link from Cuéntame today with a disturbing video on American Reclamation's deadly business practices:

 

Now check out this blurb from American Reclamation, Inc's home page:

American Reclamation, Inc. (AMR) is a family owned corporation with over 50 years of experience in the recycling and sold waste industry and a Waste Haulers & Recycling business in the Los Angeles area.

American Reclamation, Inc. is an independently owned company which prides itself in Safety,Customer Satisfaction, Quality Service, Clean Equipment, and a good work place for their employees.

This would seem to be yet one more example of a company putting a pretty face forward but hiding its dark side under...well...the garbage.

Check out the website for Don't Waste LA for some good info and other articles.

 

Jeff Biggers: Powerful New Music Video Captures Appalachia's Grief Over Mountaintop Removal

Great article from Jeff Biggers and awesome video from Magnolia Mountain:

As millions of pounds of explosives from mountaintop removal strip mining operations continue to devastate historic mountain communities in central Appalachia, a powerful new music video released this week by the beloved American Roots band Magnolia Mountain captures the haunting grief and stories of stricken families in America's cradle of roots and country music.

Driven by Mark Utley's banjo licks and Magnolia Mountain's effortlessly haunting and plaintive harmonies, "The Hand of Man" joins the pantheon of classic mountain ballads and mining tunes, including Kentucky legend Jean Ritchie's "Black Waters" and John Prine's timeless paean to his family's demise in western Kentucky to Peabody coal, "Paradise," and 2/3 Goat's recent metrobilly hit, "Stream of Conscience."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

 

Beverly Bell: Haitian Farmers Organize for Food Sovereignty

A recent truthout.org article by Beverly Bell talks about four critical needs of Haitians would be addressed by giving domestic agriculture the chance to survive:

* Creating employment for a Haiti’s rural majority, estimated at 60 percent to 80 percent of the population;[1]

* Allowing rural people to stay on their land. This is both their right and an effective way to keep Port-au-Prince from becoming even more perilously overcrowded;

* Addressing an ongoing food crisis. Today, even with imports, more than 2.4 million people out of a population of 9 million are estimated to be food-insecure. Acute malnutrition among children under the age 5 is 9 percent, and chronic undernutrition for that age group is 24 percent.[2] Peasant groups are convinced that, with the necessary investment, Haiti could produce at least 80 percent of its food consumption needs;

* Promoting a post-earthquake redevelopment plan that serves the needs of the majority, unlike the one currently promoted by the US and UN, which is based on the growth of sweatshops.

via www.truth-out.org

Canada's Parliament Buckles under Weight of Mining Industry - ipsnews.net

Interesting article from IPS gives a bigger picture of money and power trumping the interests of people and communities in relation to natural resources:

Mining is a big deal in the resource-oriented Canadian economy, and the industry's overseas activity is backed by large Canadian banks, says Yves Engler, the author of the "Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy".

About 10 of the world's largest mining companies are based on capital raised on the Toronto Stock Exchange, he said, adding, "There is no other example of an economic sector where Canada is dominant."

The result is a great deal of influence in Canadian politics. Engler cited the example of how the Canadian government successfully lobbied the support of G20 countries in an official statement at the Toronto summit this summer to apply the lever of debt relief to pressure the Democratic Republic of Congo - saddled with enormous debts incurred by the notorious dictator Joseph Desire Mobutu. The DRC had drawn Ottawa's ire for withdrawing a controversial 1997 mining concession granted to a Vancouver mining company during a vicious civil war, he told IPS.

via ipsnews.net

t r u t h o u t | Chile's Ghosts Are Not Being Rescued

CORECTION posted 14 October 2010 at 5:18 pm: This post originally stated that there were 39 fatalities at the Upper Big Branch mine; the number of miners killed at UBB was actually 29.

I really appreciated John Pilger's article since he reflects on a number of issues that came to mind as I watched the rescue of miners from the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile. Just as I was immediately curious about why 29 miners had to die in the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia last April, I was curious about why 33 miners in Chile had became trapped in the first place.

Earlier today I suggested that questions of corporate accountability for the red sludge disaster in Hungary parallel what was eventually uncovered about TVA's contributions to the Kingston Fossil plant pond failure in 2008. In the aftermath of the UBB mine disaster, CEO Don Blankenship was called out on Massey's history of violations and screw-ups in the operation of their mines -- in particular, their part in the UBB disaster. Given the documented bad behavior of governments and corporations in relation to environmental justice, Indigenous rights and natural resource extraction around the world, I couldn't help wonder about about the situation in Chile.

Here's an excerpt from Pilger's article:

The accident that trapped the miners is not unusual in Chile and is the inevitable consequence of a ruthless economic system that has barely changed since the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Copper is Chile's gold, and the frequency of mining disasters keeps pace with prices and profits. There are, on average, 39 fatal accidents every year in Chile's privatized mines. The San Jose mine, where the trapped men work, became so unsafe in 2007 it had to be closed - but not for long. On 30 July last, a labor department report warned again of "serious safety deficiencies," but the minister took no action. Six days later, the men were entombed. Read the whole article here...

t r u t h o u t | Tribal Councils in US and Canada Uniting Against Oil Sands Pipeline

This article is the fifth in a series on TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline. Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 here.

Last week, representatives from Canada’s First Nations traveled to Washington, D.C., to explain how mining of tar sands for heavy crude oil is causing severe health problems and environmental upheaval across their communities. They’ve also joined forces with Native American groups in the U.S., calling on tribal councils along the Keystone XL’s route to come out against the proposed pipeline.

Their concerns are being echoed on Capitol Hill by a pipeline safety organization that recently recommended to a congressional subcommittee specific safety measures to include in any potential pipeline legislation.

via www.truth-out.org

APPALACHIA RISING TODAY!

After two days of conferencing, the pièce de résistance: A march to end the destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining. A march to end the disappearance of entire Appalachian communities. A march to end the obliteration of headwater streams. A march to end the government sanctioned war against nature and people in Appalachia.

And from Kevin Gosztola, a great article at OpEdNews that I think is right on:

Why FBI Raids Against Antiwar Activists Should Matter to Activists Fighting King Coal

How interesting is it that just prior to a massive convergence of anti-mountaintop removal activists other progressive activists were targeted for their activism. Those fighting for an end to mountaintop removal coal mining may not take positions on Palestinian or Colombian issues (although a letter from Colombians expressing solidarity with those gathered for Appalachia Rising was read Saturday evening), but they do favor the protection of civil liberties because those liberties protect their right to assemble and organize.

via www.opednews.com

Daisy Girl ad sets DC stage for Appalachia Rising

3 MORE DAYS TO APPALACHIA RISING!

In a second coming of the Daisy Girl -- an ad that became famous in my generation's days of "duck and cover" -- TV viewers near Washington, DC now have a front row seat to a 30-second view of the explosive nightmare that kids in a new generation of Appalachians are living every day: mountaintop removal coal mining.

Last May, iLoveMountains.org teamed up with Ashley Judd and The Alliance for Appalachia on a project to show America the true cost of their electricity. This collaboration created a television commercial that uses the most talked about ad in America's history - President Johnson's "Daisy Girl" - to convey the severity of mountaintop removal.

After a summer of fundraising, and generous donations from supporters across the United States, the ad premiered on local network and cable television stations throughout the Washington, D.C. area yesterday and will run through September 29th.

On Saturday the 25th, hundreds of people will gather in Washington for Appalachia Rising and Voices From the Mountains in Washington, D.C. to urge an end to mountaintop removal coal mining and a renewed vision for the future of Appalachia.

If you donated to help get this ad up and running, thank you! If you haven't donated or can afford to chip in some more, please click here.

For more info on the Appalachia Rising event click here or click on the image in the sidebar.

If you live in the DC area, keep an eye out for the ad on local and cable channels. Here's the ad:

Four More Days to Appalachia Rising

Bo Webb lives with the hell of mountaintop removal everyday. His community is one of many in West Virginia and other Appalachian states under attack from this deadly practice.

He'll be in DC for Appalachia Rising: