Steven Donziger is a human rights attorney who won a massive settlement for people in Ecuador who were victims of oil pollution by Chevron. In response, Chevron—with the assistance of Federalist Society judges—have sought to as Chris Hedges wrote, "come after him, weaponizing litigation to destroy him economically, professionally, and personally." Donziger's case was prosecuted by a "private prosecutor" because the government refused to take the case against him. The "prosecutors" were the law firm Seward & Kissel, a private firm with previous ties to Chevron. His only offense was an alleged misdemeanor criminal contempt that would have warranted a jury trial under normal circumstances & if the sentence exceeded six months. While Donziger awaited judgement, he has been subject to an unduly harsh two years of house arrest and potentially tens of millions in legal fees. An independent panel of human rights experts at the United Nations have argued his house arrest violates international law. Amnesty International has also called for Donziger's release. On Wednesday, October 27, Donziger surrendered himself to federal authorities to begin a six month prison sentence. We are calling for an immediate review of Donziger's case by the DOJ & for his swift release.

Unsafe situation for pets in Santa Fe, New Mexico

It's estimated that 47% of ALL U.S. homes have visible dampness and mold. People spend 90% of their time indoors, yet a lack of emphasis is put on indoor air quality and how that affects our health every day. The recent peer-reviewed medical journal “A Comprehensive Review of Mold Research Literature From 2011 – 2018” published in Internal Medicine Review concluded that 112 of 114 (98.2%) of epidemiological articles published between 2011 and 2018 supported the proposition that inhaled mold, mold fragments, toxins and various pathogenic inflammagen, or other components of the air in water-damaged buildings (WDB), cause single and multi-system illness in humans. Symptoms include chronic and daily manifestations of fatigue, pain, nonrestorative sleep, cognitive deficits, neuropathic pains, gastrointestinal issues, musculoskeletal compromise, post-exertional malaise, dermatological, ophthalmic, endocrine, and other chronic multisystem symptoms for those suffering. These studies included 273,000 subjects from over 30 countries and 5 continents! The time for adequate funding for research and awareness on this overlooked public health issue is long overdue.

Active or Proposed Barging Sites along the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers: Monongahela River Mile 96.7, Star City near Morgantown, WV River Mile 43.5, Speers, near Belle Vernon, PA; Allegheny River Mile 29.6, Freeport, PA; Ohio River Mile 93.5, Comtech Industries Terminal at Bellaire, OH; River Mile 123.1, Hannibal, OH and offloading at River Mile 160, Enlink Midstream/Belles Run Terminal, Newport, OH and River Mile 173, Deep Rock Disposal Terminal, Marietta, OH. These sites would put the public's drinking water at risk of toxic fracking wastewater contamination. The exact composition of the wastewater is extremely difficult to obtain due to the fractured permitting process that allows the fracking industry to claim their chemical slurry as proprietary making it is near impossible to assess the full extent of the risks of barging the fracking wastewaters. Nevertheless, we do know some of the wastewater’s composition, including highly toxic metals, such as arsenic and barium, and volatile compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide and benzene. These components are known to cause serious health problems, including cancers and death. Moreover, these wastewaters often contain toxic levels of salt and the radioactive human carcinogen radium. In fact, some samples from the Marcellus Shale show levels of radium 3,600 times higher than EPA’s drinking water standard. Because of the known and unknown elements of the fracking wastewater, the primary concern of transporting produced water by barges are spills - both periodic spills that are likely to occur and catastrophic spills that could potentially occur. Spills can occur directly from the barges as well as at the loading and unloading facilities. Spills can occur due to inadequate equipment, human error, and uncontrollable external forces, such as extreme weather conditions. According to a PSE report released in August 2021, rising water levels during high rainfall or snowmelt events obscures riverbanks and disturbs or moves river sediments, altering the riverbed and challenging the river’s navigability. Furthermore, the report found that these events can create water currents that can pull vessels off course and/or throw debris into the vessel’s path, further increasing the risk of a toxic spill into the drinking water for millions of people, many of which are already facing inequitable living conditions, risking their long-term health and life expectancy. The USACE estimates that up to 50% more water could flow through the Ohio River watershed within this century due to climate change. PSE’s report also examined the USCG’s database on inland accidents and found that serious accidents are on the rise. The USCG defines serious accidents as incidents involving death or serious injury, excessive property damage, or a discharge of hazardous materials. In 2010, about 8% of incidents were serious. By 2018, serious incidents accounted for 12% of all accidents. Furthermore, when a spill does occur, it is unclear who is responsible for accident management and spill mitigation—especially since the contents of each barge are not disclosed. Fracking wastewater carried on barges is considered a hazardous material by the USCG even though it is exempted as a hazardous material by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Because this contradicts hazardous designation along with the undisclosed nature of the produced wastewater, holding polluters accountable will be challenging and at the costs of the local residents - from their taxpaying pockets and their long-term health. We do not want ANY oil and gas waste being transported along the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers. Our towns and cities along these rivers get our drinking water from aquifers that are highly susceptible to river contamination, and we want to assure safe drinking water for current and future generations. We urge the United States Coast Guard and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to deny any authorizations. We ask you to deny and revoke any and all authorizations that might allow the transport of any fracking waste on our waters. To do otherwise demonstrates a callous disregard for protecting the public’s health and safety — a duty which you’ve solemnly sworn to uphold. In doing so, we thank you for protecting the health and safety of the residents that depend on these three rivers for their drinking water and recreation. For a full report on the known and expected impacts of barging fracking wastewater, see Rossi and Dominic DiGiulio (2021) https://bit.ly/3z8elyP.

President Biden has nominated Jessica Rosenworcel as permanent FCC Chair and nominated Gigi Sohn as the 5th commissioner on the FCC. Both have a long record of fighting for the public interest, as opposed to the interests of giant corporations like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T. The FCC has a long list of initiatives that can help ensure an open internet for everyone. It includes helping to ensure reliable, affordable high-speed broadband for all homes and effectively closing the digital divide -- which we've seen is more important than ever, with people working from home and relying on internet for everything from school to accessing medical services. And it includes restoring net neutrality rules dismantled by the Trump administration. Rosenworcel is already on the FCC, but her term expires in early 2022 unless she is reconfirmed. And there has been a vacancy in the fifth seat on the commission since the beginning of the year. The FCC can't move crucial work forward without these appointees being quickly confirmed. Congress has a limited number of days in session left this year. Will you help urge a speedy confirmation process?

Afghanistan is facing an existential economic crisis that’s shuttering banks, leaving civil servants without pay and increasing prices of basic food items like cooking oil and flour for Afghan families. UN officials are warning that food in the country could run out this month and millions could starve this winter. One million Afghan children could die of malnutrition in this man-made disaster. Doctors have not been paid for months and hospitals across the country are on the verge of total collapse. With no access to the Afghan people’s own money or financial capital, more Afghans are on the brink of a devastating economic crisis that will only further increase an already deepening humanitarian crisis.

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Students who take the separate bus for accessibility needs don't have the social experience that other kids have. We think all students should have the same opportunity to get to know others and make new friends on the bus.

Toxics from waste buried on site are leaching into groundwater aquifers threatening the public health, and contaminated stormwater is entering the ecologically sensitive watersheds of Green Cove and Butler Creeks, which drain into the federally impaired waters of Budd and Eld Inlets of Puget Sound, habitat for endangered Salmon and Orcas. The Squaxin Island tribe has provided comment that notes a development overlying these contaminated soils would make contamination of soil, water, wetlands and groundwater permanent, adversely affecting their treaty rights. This proposal has met with years of overwhelming public opposition, yet the City of Olympia continues to review it despite the Applicant's continued failure to comply with agreements to provide information to the City, the Department of Ecology, and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which are needed to perform an adequate review. The Applicant, Jerry Mahan of John L. Scott Realty, has obtained numerous extensions of time to provide this data, but has failed or refused to do so, violating the terms of the agreement to obtain an extension. Therefore, by failing to comply with these agreements and the laws which require information that would allow consideration of adverse environmental impacts which are foreseeably likely to be leading from this project, Applicant is acting in bad faith. The City should inform Applicant that he has not performed pursuant to the terms of his agreement granting a 6 month extension, and the project can no longer be considered until a new complete application is submitted. We request that the City of Olympia return this application as incomplete and void, as required by the terms of the extension agreement. Any new application must provide the information required by the City, Ecology and DNR so that they can do their job to safeguard public health and the environment.

The draft South Madison Plan Update's height map for the John Nolen Drive and East Olin Avenue corridors and proposed new land use for the Olin Triangle will likely have profound impacts, including potentially negative impacts on Olin Park and Turville Point Conservation Park, two of Madison's "natural gems:" including: • Altering the view from within the parks and from points all around Madison • Increasing bird strikes along an important migratory route due to the amount and height of building glass • Compromising the uses and enjoyment of Olin Park and Turville Point Conservation Park and the Wingra Creek parkway and bike path.

Violent insurrectionists attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, seeking to overturn the results of the election, leading to a number of deaths and hundreds injuries in one of the bloodiest day in the history of the U.S. Capitol. Republican members of Congress spoke at their rally, have cheered and honored them, and have obstructed efforts to investigate this insurrection. Since last year, there have been reports of Republican representatives and their staff who may have been communicating with the insurrectionists in the days before and during the violence. In October 2021, the Rolling Stone reported that two of the rally organizers confirm that members of Congress—including Republican Representatives Greene, Gosar, Biggs, Brooks, Boebert, Cawthorn, and Gohmert—and their staff coordinated directly in the planning of the protests and even dangled promises of presidential pardons for acts of lawlessness. If the January 6 Committee turns up credible evidence that members of Congress aided and abetted violence aimed at overturning our elections, Congress must vote to expel them immediately.

Our plants and animals are under grave threat as we face a 6th mass extinction. We are losing species 1000 to 10,000 times faster than we have in the past--and most of these extinctions are occurring due to human activities (like this airport expansion). We must do everything we can to protect important habitats like this--especially when there are alternatives. Save the bees and other pollinators. We are all connected.