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Trump's proposed rule change doubles down on an already broken and polluting food system

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Sarah Aubrey joins for the first time as co-host of The Driven Podcast as we unpack a record month for EV sales, the ACT’s extraordinary 34 per cent EV share, and what the next phase of the federal EV tax break could mean for buyers, novated leases and car makers.

The post The Driven Podcast: EV sales surge, FBT survives, and petrol starts to wobble appeared first on Renew Economy.

At the Smart Energy Conference, Andrew Forrest has called for the removal of Australia’s $2.5 billion diesel fuel rebate for large corporations, describing it as “free money” that hinders innovation.

The post Video: Andrew Forrest on diesel fuel rebate, real zero and the energy transition appeared first on Renew Economy.

WSPA and Chevron led oil lobbying against California’s Cap-and-Invest program. 

Sacramento, Calif. — Oil and gas corporations spent $10.3 million on California state lobbying and influence in the first quarter of 2026, the biggest first-quarter total on record, according to figures reported to the Secretary of State. The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), a powerful industry trade group, was the top spender, pouring over $4.3 million into lobbying efforts, with its key member, Chevron, following at its heels with $3.7 million spent. 

Top 5 lobbying and influence spenders of Q1:

Company/Trade Association Amount  Western States Petroleum Association $4.3 million Chevron $3.7 million Phillips 66 $544,000 Marathon Petroleum $254,000 California Resources Corporation $156,000

BP America, California Resources Corporation, Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, and WSPA all lobbied the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on the Cap-and-Invest program. This coincides with a misinformation campaign from Big Oil blaming climate policy for refinery closures and high gas prices, and pushing for a $2 billion bailout in Cap-and-Invest. Lawmakers and climate advocates are pushing back against these efforts.

WSPA, California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA), California Resources Corporation (CRC), Chevron, and Valero all lobbied against SB 1259, a common-sense transparency law that would require refineries to disclose estimated costs and timelines for closure and remediation.

“While Big Oil reaps record windfall profits from the war on Iran, they’re spending lavishly on Sacramento lobbyists to try to kill even the most basic community protections and transparency measures,” said Faraz Rizvi with Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) Action. “These lobbying numbers tell you everything you need to know — Big Oil isn’t struggling right now. They’re just determined to leave our communities holding the bag on their way out the door.”

WSPA, CIPA, CRC, and Chevron also all lobbied against AB 2461 (The Oil Well Cleanup Accountability Act), which clarifies existing law to require full bonding for cleanup costs of any transferred oil wells, and worked on AB 2716, which would create massive loopholes in existing bonding rules by allowing what advocates call “pinky-swear” financial assurances in the form of corporate guarantees for transferred oil wells. 

“Big Oil’s eye-popping expenditures to fight legislation that keeps Californians safe shows how far the industry will go to evade common sense oversight,” said Hollin Kretzmann, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “The Oil Well Accountability Act, one of the industry’s targets, would help make sure oil companies actually pay to clean up their idle, polluting wells. It’s a basic protection for Californians, and lawmakers should pass it.”

As California’s transportation fuels transition and a tight state budget remain priority issues for lawmakers in Sacramento, advocates stress that without transparency and accountability for the costs of remediation, both idle oil wells and unplanned refinery closures threaten to saddle taxpayers and communities with pollution and cleanup costs. SB 1259, AB 2461, and AB 2716 are now before the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees.

Oil corporations successfully lobbied against SB 982, the Affordable Insurance and Reliability Act, which would have helped hold polluters accountable for insurance and rebuilding costs from fossil-fuel induced climate disasters, as well as AB 1536, which would have strengthened the state’s protections against President Trump’s offshore drilling push for California’s coast.

Three-quarters of the oil and gas entities spending went towards “other payments” to influence state policy—which include fees to consultants, trade association dues, and donations to industry front groups—rather than on direct lobbying itself: they spent $7.8 million on other payments and $2.6 million on in-house and external lobbyists.

Top industry front group Californians for Energy Independence scored nearly $1.8 million in itemized contributions in Q1, all of it from Chevron. The front group used most of that money to pay Winner and Mandabach Campaigns, a consulting firm that specializes in ballot measures. Winner and Mandabach Campaigns previously worked for Californians for Energy Independence during Big Oil’s failed attempt to overturn California’s health buffer zones between schools and oil wells. 

Other top payees of the oil and gas entities were ML Media Group ($1.2 million from WSPA), The Axis Agency ($507,000 from WSPA), California Business Roundtable ($500,000 from Chevron), and Flexpoint Advocacy ($500,000 from WSPA). Also of note is Washington, D.C.-based PR firm DDC Public Affairs, which is notorious for its work with industry front groups that pushed deceptive messages. The firm got $137,000 from Chevron and has increased its haul from oil and gas firms in California since 2023. 

The top five lobbying firms to service the oil and gas industry in Q1 were Buchalter ($371,000), Carpenter Garcia Sievers ($277,000), Axiom Advisors ($210,000), Kester/Pahos ($110,000), and Prime Strategies of California ($96,000; the firm also received $125,000 from Phillips 66, classified as “other payments”). 

The record lobbying spending comes as oil companies announce their first-quarter profits, with Chevron making $2.2 billion and Valero making $1.3 billion. Average gasoline prices in California topped $6 per gallon on April 30.

Additional information on Q1 lobbying activity is available upon request.

###

Methodology: This report analyzes raw data from the California Secretary of State’s Political Reform Division as of May 1, 2026. The analysis includes the lobbyist employers in the “oil and gas” category for the 2025-26 legislative session. The state’s definition of oil and gas lobbyist employers includes, in addition to traditional oil and gas firms, firms that advocate for biomass energy, compressed natural gas, and/or carbon removal. As of May 1, five filers had not submitted Q1 reports: Berry Corporation, E&B Natural Resources, Kinder Morgan, Synergy Oil & Gas, and Woodside Energy. Berry Corporation is now part of California Resources Corporation; E&B Natural Resources and Woodside Energy have terminated their registrations.

LCA LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We acknowledge that Sacramento is the traditional home of the Maidu, Miwok and Nisenan people. Part of our commitment to decolonizing ourselves, our language, and our organizations is a commitment to learning and better understanding the history of Indigenous Peoples of so-called California, including the history of contact, colonization and the extraction of resources from Indigenous lands which has been part of the continuation of modern colonization.

The post Big Oil spends record $10 million on lobbying to kill common sense climate and polluter accountability policy appeared first on Last Chance Alliance.

NSW to legislate new rules to allow key projects to be fast-tracked, and will seek to prevent long distance objectors from holding up the process.

The post Key wind, solar and network projects to be fast-tracked in race to quit coal and power smelter appeared first on Renew Economy.

With Alaska once again in the administration’s crosshairs, we’ve heard a big question from supporters across the country: How are we fighting back? 

The answer is: in every way we can. From the halls of Congress to communities across the country, we’re building a movement to defend the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This blog focuses on one of our most powerful tools to get there—the Arctic Refuge Protection Act—and why it matters right now. 

A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity 

The Arctic Refuge Protection Act introduced by Senator Markey (D-MA) and Representatives Huffman (D-CA) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA), offers something we’ve never needed more: a lasting solution.  

This bipartisan bill would repeal the destructive oil and gas leasing program mandated by the 2017 Tax Act and permanently protect the Refuge’s 1.5-million-acre coastal plain as Wilderness.  

At a time when short-term political decisions threaten long-term ecological futures, this bill charts a path rooted in respect, responsibility, and permanence.  

Why This Bill Matters on Capitol Hill 

Not only does the Refuge Protection Act provide the best opportunity to create lasting change, but it is a crucial tool to build support and empower our champions on the Hill. 

Every new co-sponsor is a public commitment to protecting one of the last truly wild places in America. It gives Members of Congress a clear way to stand with their constituents, with Indigenous communities, and with future generations.  

And in a deeply divided political moment, this bill provides a powerful opportunity to demonstrate that protecting the Arctic Refuge is a shared value and not a partisan issue. Growing this bipartisan support sends a clear message across administrations and party lines that the Arctic Refuge is not a bargaining chip for industrial extraction. It is a shared heritage that is worth protecting. 

 People Power Makes This Possible 

Our team is pushing our decision-makers on the Hill every single day, but we also know that the people fundamentally power this work. We’ve seen the impact when advocates step forward to share why the Arctic matters to them. Gwich’in leaders have traveled thousands of miles to speak about their deep, enduring connection to the land and the caribou. Their voices have opened hearts, shifted perspectives, and built lasting relationships with decision-makers

We’ve also partnered with organizations like Love Is King and Hip Hop Caucus to bring new voices into the conversation—veterans, young leaders, and community advocates who have experienced the Refuge firsthand and carry its story with them. 

And just as importantly, we’ve seen how powerful it is when constituents—people like you—speak up. Whether you live in Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine (or anywhere in between), your voice reminds Congress that the Arctic Refuge belongs to all of us.  

TORONTO — Countries across Asia and Europe are accelerating their shift to clean energy—a transition hastened by the war in Iran. But with the Ottawa–Alberta memorandum of understanding on climate and energy policy more than a month overdue, Canada is risking locking in policy signals that leave it out of step with this rapidly restructuring global energy economy, warn Clean Energy Canada’s Rachel Doran and other climate and clean energy experts.

In a joint letter sent today, the leaders of the Pembina Institute, Clean Energy Canada, Climate Action Network, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, and International Institute for Sustainable Development urge Prime Minister Mark Carney to finalize key elements of the agreement, warning that failure to do so risks a “consequential miscalculation” that would place too great a focus on the oil and gas industry at the expense of clean growth sectors.

“While countries across Asia and Europe engage in short-term energy rationing and longer-term restructuring of their economies away from oil and gas dependence and towards domestically produced clean electricity, here in Canada, we are stuck in an unhelpful feedback loop of discourse about the need for more oil and gas infrastructure and the loosening of environmental regulations on multi-billion dollar oil and gas companies,” reads the letter.

“Nowhere is this more evident than in the delay to the promised resolution of the Alberta-federal MOU on energy and climate policies.”

The letter urges specific outcomes on four key aspects of the MOU: industrial carbon pricing, clean electricity development, and methane rules for oil and gas producers. It refers to these, and the MOU more broadly, as the prime minister’s “most consequential opportunity” to turn “words into action” on building a strong, future-proofed Canadian economy.

KEY FACTS ON THE IRAN WAR AND ENERGY TRANSITION 

• Several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Germany, and Malaysia, have reported spiking sales or signs of elevated consumer interest in EVs since the war began. The surge has been particularly marked in Asia, where consumers are most exposed to the current oil supply shock.
• 1.75 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2026, a 66% increase on the previous month.
• Energy rationing is underway across the world, with the International Energy Agency tracking more than 40 countries where governments are urging citizens to take steps to conserve energy, such as limiting use of air conditioning in tropical climates or minimizing daily commutes.
• There are signs of countries rethinking previously approved oil and gas projects in light of the crisis. For example, plans for the construction of Vietnam’s largest-ever LNG import project are on pause, with investors citing the Iran war’s impact on global LNG supplies as a reason to consider switching to a renewable energy project instead.

Read the letter

The post New joint letter: We can’t ‘build Canada strong’ without robust Alberta MOU outcomes, warn Canadian clean energy experts appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

When Contra Costa voters approved the Urban Limit Line (ULL) in 1990, they made a decision about what kind of county this would be. They drew a boundary beyond which urban development couldn’t go – protecting the farms in the Tassajara Valley, the open hillsides above Walnut Creek, and the wetlands along the shoreline – and they asked future generations to keep it in place.

For 35 years, it has held. In that time, the line has been adjusted only six times, and voters renewed it in 2006 with 64% support. The landscapes that define Contra Costa exist in part because that commitment has been kept.

It expires December 31, 2026. Measure A on the June 2 ballot is how we renew it again.

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors has referred the measure to voters, with updates to the boundary to better reflect current conditions on the ground. Greenbelt Alliance urges a YES vote in June.

Why the Urban Limit Line Matters

The ULL isn’t about stopping growth. It’s about making sure growth happens in the right places: in existing communities where infrastructure already exists, where people can get around without a car, where new housing and new neighbors strengthen what’s already there. By establishing a clear line beyond which no new urban land uses can be designated, the ULL has protected the county’s agricultural lands, open hillsides, and natural landscapes for more than three decades.

Protected open space and farmland are not optional extras — they are foundational to the health, climate resilience, and livability of Contra Costa communities. Clean water, cooler temperatures, local food, open land that absorbs carbon, and buffers communities from wildfire and flood. The ULL supports all of that by directing growth where it belongs and keeping natural lands open.

Why Greenbelt Alliance Supports Measure A

 

“Greenbelt Alliance has been following the Urban Limit Line since before it was even a measure, working with the county to ensure the lines being drawn are protecting open spaces and encouraging growth in the right places. We do both those things. We want to encourage infill housing and also make sure the open spaces we love are protected.”

Zoe Siegel, Senior Director of Climate Resilience at Greenbelt Alliance

Greenbelt Alliance has worked to protect the Bay Area’s open spaces and farmland for more than 60 years, and the Contra Costa Urban Limit Line is central to that work. By keeping growth focused within existing communities and away from natural landscapes, the ULL directly supports our mission to protect the greenbelt and help Bay Area cities thrive. 

Measure A is also a critical climate tool. Compact infill development reduces the vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions that drive the climate crisis, while preserving open lands sequester carbon, filter water, and buffer communities against extreme heat, flooding, and wildfire. At a time when federal rollbacks are threatening environmental protections across the board, locally-driven policies like this one matter more than ever.

Voting yes on Measure A advances priorities that matter deeply to residents across the county, including:

• Protecting agricultural lands and open space from conversion to sprawl development
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and traffic by directing new housing and jobs to infill locations
• Maintaining the 65/35 Land Preservation Standard, which ensures that at least 65% of the county’s land remains non-urban
• Restricting new development in fire hazard severity zones and on steep slopes, reducing wildfire risk
• Supporting successful implementation of the county’s newly adopted 2045 General Plan

There Is Room to Grow Inside the Line

Opponents of urban growth boundaries sometimes argue that such limits constrain housing production. The Contra Costa ULL tells a different story. The county’s 2045 General Plan process confirmed that vacant and underutilized land inside the existing ULL can accommodate 23,200 new housing units, 1.2 million square feet of new commercial development, and 5 million square feet of new industrial space. There is no need to expand into open space and farmland to meet the county’s growth needs — and there never has been.

Measure A also includes targeted adjustments to the ULL map that would make it more accurate and functional: removing areas with major development constraints or protected status, aligning the county line with city boundaries where cities have adopted their own urban growth boundaries, and cleaning up inconsistencies like so-called ULL “islands.” These changes reflect reality on the ground without opening the door to sprawl.

A Long Track Record of Stability

The ULL has proven to be a remarkably stable and durable policy. In its 35-year history, it has been adjusted only six times, and only once in response to a private development application. That’s a record that reflects both the policy’s durability and the strong public commitment to the values it protects.

Renewing the ULL through Measure A also has a practical financial benefit: the county is required to maintain it in order to receive approximately $2 million annually in local street maintenance funding from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. Letting the ULL expire would put those dollars at risk.

In the June 2026 election, vote YES on Measure A to renew the Contra Costa Urban Limit Line. Renewing the ULL is a tangible way for Contra Costa voters to say that the landscapes they love — the farms, the hills, the open shorelines — are worth protecting for the next generation.

The post Vote Yes on Measure A to Renew Contra Costa’s Urban Limit Line appeared first on Greenbelt Alliance.

Opportunity for Public Support Comments to clean up Los Alamos Labs, until June 8th

 By email to: HWB-WIPP-Comment@env.nm.gov
By postal mail:
Megan McLean, WIPP Program Manager
Hazardous Waste Bureau – New Mexico Environment Department
2905 Rodeo Park Drive East, Building 1
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505-6303

On April 23, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) issued a Draft Permit proposing to require a minimum percentage of legacy shipments from Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, (WIPP).

NMED’s action would help stop LANL plans to leave 1 million cubic meters of radioactive and hazardous waste buried above our regional aquifer in a seismic zone between a rift and a dormant super volcano. The action would also limit waste from new pit production.

Here are some of the provisions of the Draft Permit that we must support in our comments –

* From January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2031, at least 55% of the total volume of all waste emplaced at WIPP from all generator/storage sites must be LANL legacy waste.

* Beginning January 1, 2032, and until all LANL legacy waste has been emplaced at WIPP, LANL legacy waste must be at least 75% of the total volume of waste emplaced from all generator/storage sites.

* Legacy waste currently stored above-ground at LANL Material Disposal Area-G shall be shipped and emplaced at WIPP by July 1, 2028.

* If at any point any of those conditions are not met, all generator/storage site shipments (with the exception of LANL) must cease until all deficiencies are cured.

Written public comments can be submitted until 5:00 p.m. MT, on June 8, 2026. The NMED Draft

Permit, Public Notice, and Fact Sheet are on the WIPP News https://www.env.nm.gov/hazardous-waste/wipp/.

For more info: http://www.stopforeverwipp.org,

http://sric.org/ , http://nuclearactive.org/,  http://www.nukewatch.org

 

This article The Global Sumud Flotilla is a mission of mercy, met with cruelty was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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After a symbolic launch in Barcelona on April 12, the Global Sumud Flotilla set out across the Mediterranean Sea to bring aid to Gaza in what proved to be the largest civilian maritime convoy of its kind: 58 vessels, more than a thousand participants from over a hundred countries. Amnesty called on governments to guarantee safe passage. Greenpeace sent the Arctic Sunrise. And in the early hours of April 30, off the coast of Greece, Israeli naval forces moved in. 

There is something deeply affecting in the sight of everyday people rising to perform the simplest offices of mercy while states and institutions, created for hours of peril such as this, withdraw behind procedure and delay. Across the Mediterranean, men and women gathered what aid they could carry, along with the inward resolve such a voyage demands, and turned themselves toward Gaza. Great structures, swollen with authority and self-protection, were suddenly made to look small beside a few fragile boats moved by fellow feeling.

That, for me, is the true subject here. The values-led flotilla and the light of humiliation it casts upon the official power structures. When private citizens must hazard sea and reprisal in order to bring food and medicine to the trapped, the failure has entered the marrow of public life. Whole systems, immense in apparatus and loud in self regard, stand exposed by a handful of human beings willing to cross water for strangers. The Greeks gave us words for it: demos, the common people, and kratos, their strength. A flotilla is democracy at its source.

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In a relentless news cycle of death and destruction, there is something almost scriptural in the image of small craft setting out to relieve the besieged. A boat is a modest thing, rising and falling with the sea, vulnerable to delay, interception and fear. Perhaps that is why it can bear mercy so well. Mercy is among the most beloved names by which God is remembered in Islam, and these volunteers carried aid in their hold along with a quality of heart that official life has steadily thinned out.

The word sumud deepens the meaning further. For Palestinians, it has long meant steadfastness, a staying put in the face of erasure, a fidelity to land, memory and the human shape of one’s life. Here, steadfastness took to the sea. It left the olive grove and entered the waves. One remains steadfast by moving toward the wounded. One keeps faith by refusing distance.

By getting on those boats, the volunteers insisted that strangers are still our concern. A flotilla closes distance in the oldest human way, by drawing near, by consenting to inconvenience and risk because another people’s hunger has become unbearable to the soul.

To set out under such conditions is already a kind of testimony. One imagines the small practical gestures that attend such a voyage: the checking of ropes and provisions, subdued talk, private negotiations of fear, inward glances toward loved ones who would be left behind for a time. Heroism appears in a humble guise, the simple refusal to let danger relieve one of this duty. Those who boarded these vessels consented to exposure, and that consent lent the voyage its moral splendor.

There is something else that stirs the heart in such gatherings. The people who come together for a mission of mercy bring different languages, prayers and burdens of memory. Yet, for a brief and difficult passage they agreed to become answerable to one another and to those waiting beyond the horizon. This, too, is part of the beauty. A world daily instructed in difference and division still contains people capable of forming, under pressure, a fellowship. The boats carried supplies, certainly, though they also carried a living refutation of the lie that people are finally ruled by self-interest or tribe or fear.

Perhaps that is why maritime images can carry such spiritual force. The sea strips away illusion. No one sets out upon open water and remains wholly enclosed within self-regard. One enters a domain older than empires, where frailty and dependence are undeniable. To cross such waters in order to relieve the afflicted is to recover something ancient in the story, something older than diplomacy. It recalls the old belief that mercy is a labor asking something of the body. It must travel and bear fatigue and uncertainty. It must keep watch.

The greatness of the souls on this journey lies precisely in the fact that they remain recognizably human. They will be tired and perhaps seasick, maybe even afraid. They will carry their private griefs with them, along with the larger grief that summoned them to sea. Yet hope does not wait until the heart is free of trembling. It makes use of trembling and gathers what courage it can from love and shame, from prayer and the stubborn unwillingness to let the brutal terms of politics become the final measure of what is possible between us. Amid the daily grief, this is a welcome ray of light.  Hope as an act of resistance, with wet sleeves and a steady hand on the rope. Hope that has looked at the world and, despite every inducement to resignation, continues to choose the human bond.

Those who sailed in April had already paid for this cause. In October 2025, Israeli forces arrested over 450 participants from the last flotilla attempt, among them the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Mandla Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela. Those survivors set out again, undeceived about what might await. Their willingness to return lent the voyage a grave authority. Events confirmed its cost.

The answer came in the early hours of April 30, in international waters west of Crete, 600 miles from Gaza. Israeli naval vessels surrounded the fleet, ordering activists to their knees at gunpoint. Twenty-two of the 58 boats were seized. One hundred and seventy-five people were held aboard an Israeli frigate for up to 40 hours, denied adequate food and water, the floor beneath them repeatedly and deliberately flooded. They were punched, kicked and dragged across the deck with hands bound. Shots were fired, live and rubber both. Thirty-four people were hospitalized in Crete with broken ribs, broken noses and serious neck injuries. Sixty went on hunger strike, before being released.

Two steering committee members were then taken separately to Israel: Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish-Swedish Palestinian who had been on an observer boat that never planned to sail to Gaza, and Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila. Abu Keshek was forced to lie face-down from the moment of his seizure, kept hand-tied and blindfolded, his face and hands bruised. Ávila was dragged face-down across the floor and beaten so severely he lost consciousness twice. The Brazilian embassy, visiting under glass, observed visible marks on Ávila’s face and noted his significant pain. Both are in Shikma Prison in Ashkelon and still on a hunger strike. A court has now extended their detention until May 10.

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Spain called the detention illegal; Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, saying his country would always protect its citizens and defend international law. Brazil stood with Spain. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called the interceptions an act of piracy. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called them a brazen violation of international law. The Trump administration called the flotilla pro-Hamas and threatened consequences for any who had offered support.

Power has answered mercy with boots and bound hands. One wants to call this a surprise, but it is more precisely a revelation: something that was always there, now brought into the open. What the interception has laid bare, beyond the suffering of those detained, is the shape of the blockade itself. What kind of order must travel 600 miles from shore to intercept civilian vessels that are carrying bandages? What does a law protect when it meets unarmed people at sea with firearms and drags them face-down across wet decks?

Thirty-two boats remain anchored in Crete, where the organizers are regrouping and considering their next steps. The flotilla was seized in part. It was not silenced. And that refusal has done what no press release could: made the condition of Gaza impossible to look away from, at a cost borne by those who were willing to bear it.

The boats are small enough to be dismissed by cynics, and large enough to shame the world. They carry the old lesson that power does not hold a monopoly on reality. Power cannot produce the moral beauty that appears when human beings gather themselves for the sake of others. That beauty remains one of the last unpurchased things.

I think, in these dark years, about the difference between authority and worth. The first may be conferred by the world; the second is earned in the secret place where the heart decides whether it will remain human. Those who set out from Barcelona hold no office at all. Even so, they carry more of the world’s honor than many governments assembled beneath their flags. They carry it at sea, in the dark, with their hands bound, still keeping watch.

The lantern is still on the water. Mercy has been met with force, and answered the force with the deeper testimony of the body’s willingness to remain. Thirty-two boats sail on. The heart still knows the way.

This article The Global Sumud Flotilla is a mission of mercy, met with cruelty was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

The campaigner challenging consent for lower-volume fracking in East Yorkshire has added a new ground to his case.

Photo: Used with the owner’s consent

Peter Lomas, from Hornsea, is taking the first legal steps against the Environment Agency (EA), over its issue of a permit at the West Newton-A site in Holderness.

The site operator, Rathlin Energy, had said lower-volume fracking is required to allow commercial exploitation of a well at the site.

The new ground is based on the Finch Ruling, a successful case at the Supreme Court brought by Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group on climate emissions from onshore oil and gas.

In a legal letter in early April, solicitors Leigh Day set out four grounds for Mr Lomas’s challenge:

• Risk of induced seismicity
• Risk to groundwater pollution
• Impact on the Lambwath Meadows site of special scientific interest
• Failure to consider international guidance on climate change

But a second letter has recently added that the EA failed, when making its decision on the permit, to consider and undertake a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The planning permission for production at West Newton-A was passed without an EIA, in March 2022.

This was more than two years before the Finch Ruling, which stated that decisionmakers must consider the downstream carbon emissions from using oil or gas produced onshore.

The Finch ruling also emphasised the importance of public participation in the EIA process and public understanding of the environmental impact of developments.

Mr Lomas’s lawyers argued there had been no environmental information about the downstream emissions from oil or gas produced at West Newton-A.

They said the EA was obliged to assess the environmental impact of oil and gas production resulting from lower-volume fracking.

Information was needed, they said, on emissions from using hydrocarbons from the well to ensure the public could properly participate in the process.

The lawyers have also revised the fourth ground in the case. It now argues that the EA failed to consider the impact of lower-volume fracking on climate change, under its duties in the Environment Act 1995.

Leigh Day has asked for further information from the EA on the first three grounds.

FDA finds toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in baby formula but won’t set enforceable limits Monica Amarelo May 5, 2026

WASHINGTON – The toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS were found in baby formula sold across the U.S., according to test data recently released by the Food and Drug Administration. 

The findings underscore an urgent and long-overdue need for legal limits on PFAS in food. One year ago, the Environmental Working Group urged the FDA to develop action levels for PFAS in food. 

Monitoring without action does not protect children. A PFAS action level would let the FDA take legal action to remove products from the market if they exceed that limit.

The FDA tested 312 infant formula samples from 16 brands for 30 PFAS compounds as part of its Operation Stork Speed initiative. Five PFAS compounds were detected. 

PFOS was most commonly detected, found in half of all samples at concentrations ranging from 0.51 to 6.0 parts per trillion. PFOS is one of the most toxic and well-studied PFAS and the Environmental Protection Agency says it’s likely to be carcinogenic to humans.

The FDA characterizes these levels as low and concludes the infant formula supply is safe.

“No safe level of PFAS exposure has been established, and that is especially true for infants,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., EWG chief science officer. 

“PFOS bioaccumulates in the body and it damages the immune system, including reducing the effectiveness of vaccines in babies and children. Detecting it in half of all formula samples and characterizing these findings as a proof of safety is not a conclusion the science supports,” said Andrews.

“Formula is the sole nutrition source for millions of American infants and toddlers. The FDA’s safety claim is not acceptable, given these detections of a known cancer-causing chemical. The agency must set enforceable PFAS action levels for food, as other nations already have done."

“Congress gave the FDA the authority to set limits on contaminants in infant formula. The agency has chosen not to use it,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs at EWG. 

“Every day the FDA delays setting enforceable PFAS limits is another day American infants are exposed to toxic PFAS with zero legal protection. That is a policy choice, and it is the wrong one,” he said.

Not just trace contamination

PFOS was phased out of U.S. manufacturing under pressure from the EPA after evidence emerged of significant health hazards. It was used in 3M’s Scotchgard and widely deployed in firefighting foam at military bases and airports, contaminating groundwater systems across the country. 

EWG’s PFAS contamination map documents PFOS in the drinking water supply of nearly half the nation’s water systems. 

The EPA regulates PFOS in drinking water at a maximum contaminant level of just 4 parts per trillion, set because of PFOS’s classification as a carcinogen. 

The FDA has established no equivalent limit for infant formula, so infants and toddlers may continue to be exposed to PFOS in food, as well as in tap water.

“Most of the formula samples the FDA tested were powdered, and most parents mix powdered formula with tap water,” said Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D., senior scientist at EWG. “Depending on where you live, your tap water may be contaminated with PFAS.

“That means babies could be getting a double dose – PFAS already present in the formula powder, and additional PFAS from the water used to prepare it. That compounding exposure is exactly why we need enforceable limits, not just monitoring,” she added.

The FDA findings closely mirror Consumer Reports’ 2025 investigation, which found PFAS in almost all of the 41 popular baby formula brands it tested, including Enfamil, Similac and Bobbie. 

Consumer Reports also identified PFOS as the most concerning compound detected. 

Two independent investigations, the same alarming result – and still no enforceable federal standard for PFAS in food.

Food may be the primary route of PFAS exposure

For millions of Americans, food – not drinking water – is the main route of PFAS exposure. These chemicals enter the food supply through multiple pathways federal regulators have failed to close.

“PFAS are clearly infiltrating our entire food system as a direct result of regulatory failure,” said Andrews. 

“PFAS-containing pesticides are being applied to crops. Biosolids contaminated with PFAS are being spread on farm fields. Contaminated water is being sprayed on food crops. Every one of these pathways is preventable, and every one of them remains legal,” said Andrews.

“We need to ban all nonessential uses of PFAS, starting with these agricultural applications, before the contamination gets any worse,” he added.

Stakes are highest for the most vulnerable

PFAS exposure, with its health stakes, begins before birth. 

PFAS are toxic at extremely low levels. They are known as forever chemicals because once released into the environment, they do not break down and can build up in the body. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected PFAS in the blood of 99% of Americans, including newborn babies. 

PFAS readily cross the placenta and have been detected in umbilical cord blood, confirming that the developing fetus faces direct prenatal exposure. 

When PFAS are detected in the infant formula that millions of American babies depend on as their sole source of nutrition, the exposure does not begin at the first feeding. For many infants, it has already been accumulating for months.

A recent study also links prenatal PFAS exposure to premature birth, low birth weight and infant mortality. The full range of documented harms extends further still: thyroid disruption, harm to the male reproductive system, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, reduced fertility and shorter duration of breastfeeding. 

Very low doses of PFAS have been linked to suppression of the immune system. Studies show exposure to PFAS can also increase the risk of cancer, harm fetal development and reduce vaccine effectiveness. 

The impact on infants and toddlers is especially pronounced. “Babies are not small adults when it comes to chemical exposure – they are categorically more vulnerable,” said Stoiber. 

“Babies’ bodies are smaller, their organs are still developing, and their immune systems are not yet fully formed. When PFAS accumulate in an infant’s body, the proportional impact is far greater than it would be in an adult exposed to the same amount.

“Parents are often limited in the type of formula that is available to them and the FDA’s testing did not disclose the brand names tested. The FDA must act to protect all children,” she added.

“The administration says it wants to make America healthy again,” said Faber. “Here is a straightforward way to start: Set enforceable limits on PFAS in baby formula today. 

“The science is clear, the authority exists and the harm has been documented. American families cannot wait any longer for the federal government to do its job,” he added.

What parents can do right now

No parent should have to navigate this alone. Until the FDA establishes enforceable PFAS standards in infant formula, here are practical steps to reduce your baby’s exposure:

• Use filtered water when preparing powdered formula. A reverse osmosis system provides the most effective PFAS filtration. Countertop pitcher filters have also shown meaningful effectiveness in EWG testing. 
• Check EWG’s PFAS contamination map to see whether your local water supply has documented PFOS or other PFAS contamination.
• Make your voice heard. Contact the FDA and your elected representatives and demand enforceable PFAS limits in infant formula. The FDA’s Operation Stork Speed is an ongoing testing program. Sustained public pressure from parents is one of the most effective ways to accelerate the regulatory action.

###

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.

Areas of Focus Food & Water Food Children’s Health PFAS Chemicals Press Contact Monica Amarelo monica@ewg.org (202) 939-9140 May 5, 2026

Hosted by Covering Climate Now

Thursday, May 7 12:00 p.m. EDT

REGISTER

In April, a climate denial conference hosted in Washington, D.C., and boasting US Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin as a keynote speaker signaled a new era in US politics: from a slow but growing embrace of climate science in federal policy to outright rejection of the scientific consensus.

Join Covering Climate Now for a special webinar, with DeSmog reporter Rei Takver alongside Manon Jacob, Climate Digital Investigation Reporter for Agence France-Presse, and Maxine Joselow, Climate Policy Reporter for The New York Times, as they explore how the Trump administration’s overt embrace of climate denialism in Washington is creating a permission structure for more denial at the highest levels of government in the US and beyond.

Rei will discuss her story, co-published with The Guardian, “Climate Deniers Expected More Resistance to Trump’s Fossil Fuel Blitz,” which covers Donald Trump’s assaults on the legal foundation for U.S. regulations on global warming emissions, and how climate deniers have been celebrating what they claim is the “silent” acquiescence of billionaires, Democrats, climate activists and even reporters to the president’s aggressive pro-fossil fuel agenda.
 
“In my 26 years of being focused on climate, I’ve never seen anything like this. Trump is gutting everything they ever stood for,” Marc Morano, a long-time climate denier, said in January at the “World Prosperity Forum,” a five-day event in Zurich, Switzerland, Rei reports.

The World Prosperity Forum’s sponsor was The Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank that has been at the forefront of spreading climate disinformation for decades, and was also a contributor to Project 2025, the policy blueprint for President Trump’s second administration.

“Billionaires are silent. Democrats in Congress have been silent. Climate activists. There has been no push-back on this,” Morano said — and he may have a point, according to some experts who research the climate denial movement.

Join in on Thursday, May 7, at 12:00 p.m. EDT for this virtual conversation about the Trump administration’s embrace of climate denialism, what that could mean for the future of US climate policy, and how to cover it

You won’t want to miss it.

Register and submit your questions here.

The post Event | How Climate Denialism Is Evolving With Trump in Office appeared first on DeSmog.

When I moved to Richmond 25 years ago, Chevron was so entrenched in Richmond’s politics that it was rumored that they had a desk in the city manager’s office.

For ordinary folks—especially immigrant and refugee families—who lived here, the message back then was clear: Richmond isn’t really yours.

But for the past three decades APEN members — driven by courage, creativity, and a fierce love for our city— have challenged Chevron’s power, proving that Richmond belongs to us.

I spent the last 30 years working with national organizations on issues of climate justice and corporate power. Across that time, much of my own political thinking was shaped by the organizing I saw APEN leading in Richmond.

I joined APEN as Co-Director because I know that the reality of a Just Transition is possible. What’s more – I’ve seen it happen, right in my backyard. 

As a new Richmond resident, I knew I had to stand up to Chevron’s toxic policies.

I knew APEN as a neighbor first. I met APEN staff as our children ran around together while we packed the Richmond city council chambers during meetings.

One experience that sticks out is a meeting in 2020. The council was deciding on whether Richmond’s port would continue to store and handle coal and petroleum coke, a carbon-rich solid byproduct of oil refining.

The tension in the air was palpable as activists and residents packed the chambers.

When APEN members arrived in a sea of green shirts, I knew that our community had shown up: organized, informed, and ready.

But we weren’t the only ones turning people out – fossil fuel interests had brought speakers to give old and misleading arguments. 

The lack of empathy was at a fever pitch; I even overheard someone scoffing and rolling their eyes at “yet another” resident testifying about suffering from asthma. 

APEN members gave essential and powerful testimony to combat the misinformation parroted by fossil fuel representatives. The passion and dedication to Richmond was crystal clear. 

Together, we moved the city council to vote to end storage of harmful substances in our city.

Over the past three decades, APEN members have inspired me with their tenacity and bold presence.

So much has changed in Richmond in the last 25 years.

In 2024, grassroots organizers won a $550 million settlement from Chevron—a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a Just Transition for Richmond. 

And, Chevron is on the defensive, going so far as to fund their own newspaper to parrot their talking points, because they know that ordinary, working-class people are transforming Richmond and taking back control. 

This is the transformative power of grassroots organizing. The energy of Fire Horse year reminds us that bold, courageous action is needed to ignite lasting change. 

APEN members are exactly that – passionate and fearless – as they continue to raise their voices in Richmond, Oakland, and Los Angeles’ South Harbor.

I’m excited to draw on my experience and build grassroots power alongside Co-Director Vivian Huang.

This month, we are raising $28,000 to fund the crucial work of our bold members.

In the coming weeks we’ll share victories from youth in Richmond and LA’s South Harbor, as well as milestones in Oakland’s Chinatown—all are a testament to the transformative power of APEN’s long-term grassroots organizing.

We have received a generous matching grant of up to $25,000! This means when you give today, your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar; that’s double the impact!

I’m honored to join the team at APEN to support our members and build a Just Transition that makes sense for poor and working class communities of color in California.

In Solidarity,

Michelle Chan, Co-Director, APEN

The post My front row seat to the power of grassroots organizing appeared first on Asian Pacific Environmental Network.

As record heat waves threaten workers from report sites and warehouses to farmlands and delivery routes across the country, a new report from Groundwork Collaborative, Workshop, and Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy outlines a coordinated campaign by corporations, trade groups, and their political allies to block enforceable heat protections for America’s labor force. The report’s authors, Adam Dean and Jamie McCallum, find that a nationwide heat standard could save thousands from heat-related illnesses and deaths each year.

Building on previous research published in Health Affairs, the authors find that California’s heat standard, which requires common-sense workplace protections including access to water, shade, and regular rest breaks for workers, resulted in a 51% reduction in heat-related deaths compared to neighboring states that lack similar protections. If a similar heat standard was adopted federally, the authors estimate these basic regulations could save up to 1,500 lives annually.

But, the paper’s authors find that corporate and industry interests are preventing federal action to protect their workforces from heat exposure. Attempts at regulation in Washington have stalled while worker safety and wellbeing relies entirely on geography and political will. As the Biden administration’s life-saving heat rule remains stalled, Trump has failed to extend protections, instead siding with corporate interests.

In the paper, the authors write:

“As extreme heat intensifies, the cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost. The question facing policymakers is no longer whether effective protections exist, but whether they have the political will to stand up to unscrupulous employers lobbying hard to block them.”

Background

Extreme heat threatens thousands of workers each year with no relief in sight.

• Extreme heat is rapidly becoming one of the most dangerous and least regulated workplace hazards in the United States. As climate change drives hotter, longer, and more frequent heat waves, millions of workers – especially in agriculture, construction, warehousing, and transportation – face increasing risks of injury, illness, and death.
• In 2024, nearly 3,000 heat-related deaths were recorded among outdoor workers, and in 2023, high temperatures contributed to an estimated 28,000 injuries on the job. These estimates likely understate the true extent of heat-related incidents in the workplace.

Common-sense heat protections are proven to improve worker safety and decrease the risk of heat-related deaths, but the lack of a federal standard leaves workers at the whims of their employers and reliant on uneven state policies.

• California’s robust heat protections were associated with a 51% reduction in worker deaths between 2015 and 2020, compared to neighboring states without protections.
• Meanwhile, governors in Texas and Florida have signed legislation to bar municipalities in their states from implementing heat protections for workers following stringent opposition from business groups.
• A long-term, coordinated pressure campaign from industry lobbyists, including Amazon, UPS, and the Associated Builders and Contractors, have blocked efforts at state and federal levels to enact worker protections, while companies tout their “commitments” to worker safety.

In the absence of a uniform standard, an ineffective patchwork of state-by-state protections has emerged, leaving the lives of thousands of vulnerable workers in the hands of policymakers captured by their corporate backers and at the mercy of changing political tides. The only way forward, the authors argue, is a strong, enforceable national standard.

The post Big Oil spends record $10 million on lobbying CA officials in first quarter of 2026! appeared first on Last Chance Alliance.

The Senate Judiciary Committee released its reconciliation bill, tacking $1 billion for Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project and $70 billion for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

Public Citizen Co-President Lisa Gilbert issued the following statement:

“The idea of using a simple majority process to fund billions more in ICE cruelty is abhorrent, but now the Senate has piled corrupt absurdity on top of that inhumane move, by adding in 1 billion dollars to fund the grandiose, bombastic, vanity project—the golden White House ballroom. Using taxpayer dollars to toady to a wannabe-dictator is both pandering and pathetic.”

The Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility will use locally sited solar, batteries and other resources to improve reliability and lower costs for subscribers, city officials say.

Entre el 21 y el 25 de abril, organizaciones de América Latina y el Caribe se reunieron en El Salvador y Costa Rica en una agenda que combinó articulación regional, incidencia política y diálogo público frente a la crisis de residuos. Las actividades incluyeron el encuentro de membresías de GAIA y Break Free From Plastic, un seminario internacional con tomadores de decisión, un cine foro en la Universidad de Costa Rica y un conversatorio sobre valorización de residuos orgánicos en la Asamblea Legislativa de Costa Rica.

4 de mayo, 2026

Al momento de escribir este texto, se cumplen dos semanas desde que empezaban a llegar miembros de GAIA y Break From Plastic a San Salvador, y el grupo de WhatsApp “Evento Centroamericano GAIA BFFP” ya estaba recibiendo mensajes y fotos de quienes emprendían viaje desde Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panamá, Honduras y Nicaragua. 

El Pulgarcito de América nos recibió con una ciudad que no escatima en colores, una paleta de verdes intensos en su vegetación, fachadas rosadas, azules y amarillas, y el canto constante de las aves que nos acompañó todos los días. 

Así llegamos al primer encuentro de miembros de GAIA y Break Free From Plastic en Centroamérica, al que se le sumó una serie de actividades con tomadores de decisión en El Salvador y Costa Rica.

Aquí les contamos lo que pasó dentro y fuera del encuentro.

Empezamos a conocernos “en el furgón”

Apenas llegamos, y antes de comenzar oficialmente el encuentro, empezamos a conocernos (y a reírnos) desde nuestras diferencias. La información de llegada decía que afuera del aeropuerto nos iba a esperar “un furgón”, esto refiriéndose a una van de pasajeros (como la de la foto), pero resulta que en Centroamérica un furgón es lo que en otras partes sería un camión de carga pesada, y los miembros se preguntaban cómo los iban a llevar en un transporte tan grande. Lo bueno es que nadie se complicó demasiado y la idea de llegar al hotel en un camión no era un problema. Adaptación y voluntad, como la membresía que siempre encuentra la forma de adaptarse y avanzar.

Bienvenida a CESTA

Llegamos a CESTA y lo primero que vimos fueron las cientos de bicicletas del proyecto ECO-BICI CESTA que impulsa el uso de la bicicleta como un medio de transporte sustentable en El Salvador. Ya dentro del salón, partimos el encuentro con dinámicas de presentación. Algunas personas solo se habían visto a través de una pantalla, así que para empezar a conocernos realmente, compartimos las historias de nuestros nombres. Los orígenes iban desde canciones como “María Teresa  y Danilo”, jugadores de fútbol, parientes, olvidos e indecisiones.

Medio en broma, Ricardo Navarro, presidente de CESTA, nos dio la bienvenida a “una iniciativa que comenzó como una organización de jóvenes ambientalistas, pero que se ha transformado en un asilo de ancianos.” La verdad, CESTA es una de las organizaciones con más trayectoria de nuestra membresía, y cumple ni más ni menos que 46 años este año.

Residuos orgánicos 

En el primer bloque, Mariela explicó por qué si hablamos de clima, tenemos que hablar de residuos orgánicos. Dio detalles sobre la importancia de reducir las emisiones de metano, y cómo algo tan cotidiano como el desperdicio de alimentos termina teniendo un impacto climático significativo. También mostró proyectos en marcha de la membresía, publicaciones y espacios de capacitación que están empujando soluciones en la región. 

Crisis de los plásticos

El bloque inició presentando la contaminación plástica como una crisis global, pero que no es un problema que se resuelve solo gestionando residuos. Alejandra hizo un recorrido por la historia del plástico, sus impactos en la salud y el momento decisivo que atraviesan hoy las negociaciones del Tratado global de plásticos de la ONU. También se dieron más detalles de las falsas soluciones como la incineración, co-incineración, pirólisis y la amenaza que representan a la salud de las personas y el medio ambiente.

Soluciones de reuso y herramientas 

En esta sección se mostraron herramientas creadas desde Break Free From Plastic y GAIA en la región, como el mapa de políticas para plásticos  y la guía para usar la base de datos contra la incineración, para luego pasar a las experiencias de reuso en la región y las rutas basura cero de BFFP. Para cerrar, cada organización compartió en grupos sus propios avances, lo que aún falta y, hacia dónde quieren seguir. 

Recicladores de base y transición justa

En el encuentro contamos con la participación de recicladores de El Salvador, y de Keyla de Nicaragua y Danilo de Panamá, quienes compartieron su experiencia en el reciclaje con recicladores en la región. En este bloque, la conversación se centró en el panorama futuro en relación a la gestión de residuos con recicladores, como reducción y gestión de los residuos orgánicos; y se compartió un adelanto del documento sobre reuso recién publicado por encargo de la Alianza Internacional de Recicladores, titulado “Explorando la reutilización inclusiva en Ecuador”. Luego se dio paso al concepto de transición justa para “avanzar sin dejar a nadie atrás y asegurando trabajo digno para quienes ya sostienen gran parte de la gestión de residuos.”

Fortalecimiento del movimiento

Ya en el último bloque del día, después de mucho trabajo, y digamos la verdad, después de comer muchos mangos ciruela, cerramos el día con cómo formamos una red unida y con identidad, los elementos y recursos disponibles para apoyar a la membresía, y cómo el apoyo en comunicaciones en BFFP y GAIA nos ayuda a salir “del círculo de hombres y mujeres araña”. 

Cerramos el primer día con la presentación de experiencias de Alianzas Basura Cero en Brasil, Ecuador y Chile. 

Día 2 Seminario internacional basura cero y panel de conversación

En el marco del Día de la Madre Tierra, iniciamos la jornada con un seminario donde se presentó información relevante sobre la crisis de residuos y por qué basura cero no es solo una alternativa, sino el camino necesario. 

La proyección del documental Burning Injustice dio paso a que un panel integrado por miembros de Panamá, Guatemala, y Costa Rica abordara en un  conversatorio las soluciones frente a la crisis de residuos, con foco en estrategias de basura cero impulsadas desde la sociedad civil. 

En el espacio contamos con la presencia de las diputadas Marcela Villatoro y Claudia Ortiz y representantes de más de 10 municipios de la región. 

Finalmente se hizo entrega de un reconocimiento a diez municipios comprometidos con la construcción de modelos de gestión de residuos orientados a la estrategia de basura cero.

Taller técnico para municipios

El taller se desarrolló en torno a residuos orgánicos y la crisis del plástico. Al comienzo, se volvió a insistir en el rol fundamental que tiene la valorización de residuos orgánicos dentro de los compromisos climáticos, y luego, la conversación se abrió hacia la crisis de la contaminación por plástico, sus impactos sociales y ambientales, y el tratado global de plásticos. También se alertó sobre las falsas soluciones que amenazan las estrategias de basura cero.

Recapitulamos entre nuégados y atol de yuca

Mientras las y los representantes de los municipios se concentraban en el taller técnico, la membresía inició una discusión sobre cómo seguir el trabajo en conjunto como bloque regional. También, y gracias a la virtuosa memoria de Deybid de Honduras, hicimos un recorrido por los momentos que marcaron nuestro encuentro para, luego de comer unos ricos nuégados con atol de yuca, reunirnos en un círculo para agradecer y cerrar el día.

Por supuesto que no nos fuimos de El Salvador sin probar las pupusas. En la cena de despedida fuimos a una pupusería a compartir antes de partir al día siguiente.

Hola Costa Rica, ¡pura vida!

El Salvador no nos quería dejar ir y nos despidió con un temblor de 5.2 grados,  para dar paso a unas turbulencias que nos dieron la bienvenida a Costa Rica: ¡Pura vida!  

Ya en San José,  y sorteando cómo encontrar direcciones exactas (las direcciones en Costa Rica… un asunto complicado) llegamos a la Universidad de Costa Rica para el cine foro ¿Qué es la incineración y cómo afecta a nuestras comunidades? organizado por Bloque verde, el programa de Kioscos socioambientales de la UCR, Güitite y la Universidad de Costa Rica. 

Eric Morales Mora, profesional en Salud Ambiental y docente Escuela de Tecnologías en Salud nos dio una introducción de bienvenida, para luego pasar al documental y cerrar con la situación de la incineración en Costa Rica a cargo de Mauricio Álvarez, docente de la Escuela de Geografía y Ciencias Políticas, y con iniciativas actuales de incineración en Costa Rica a cargo de Ronald Arrieta, Doctor Ingeniero en Biotecnología, docente jubilado de la Escuela de Química de la UCR.

Conversatorio en la Asamblea Nacional

Último día, un café chorreado y en camino a la Asamblea Nacional para participar en el foro: “Valorización de residuos orgánicos en Costa Rica”, organizado por la Asociación Costarricense de Biogás, GAIA, el despacho de la Diputada Independiente Cynthia Córdoba  y el Instituto Global para el Crecimiento Verde. 

En el espacio compartimos detalles de cómo los sistemas de basura cero son una estrategia que puede reducir de manera continua la cantidad de residuos. Además, repasamos los riesgos climáticos, económicos y a la salud de la incineración.

En la ronda de conversación, Marlene Chacón de San Antonio Recicla, recalcó que la incineración amenaza el trabajo de las y los recicladores, y la importancia de avanzar en la educación ambiental como herramienta para evitar falsas soluciones en Costa Rica.

Nos despedimos de Centroamérica llenas de agradecimiento a cada organización, representante de municipios y a CESTA por recibirnos en su casa. Sabemos que los vínculos, aprendizajes y la ruta que empieza a tomar forma en la región será un avance fundamental para seguir posicionando las iniciativas de basura cero en América Latina. 

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

En el encuentro participaron:

• Asociación Defensores del Monumento Natural Zona los Santos 
• San Antonio Recicla /y colectivo Costa Rica Hacia Basura cero
• CENPAD (Centro para la Paz, Ambiente y Desarrollo)
• Basura Cero Nicaragua / CICFA
• Basura Cero Nicaragua, Escuela Agroecológica
• CESTA, El Salvador
• Central de Recicladores de Base Nicaragua 
• Colectivo Tz’unun Ya’
• Asociación para la Promoción y el Desarrollo de la Comunidad CEIBA
• ECO-RE 
• FAS PANAMA
• Movimiento nacional de Recicladores de Panamá

The post Encuentro regional de Centroamérica fortalece el movimiento y las soluciones comunitarias basura cero first appeared on GAIA.