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environment | |
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NEWSLETTER |
FEBRUARY 3,
2023 | |
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A Moment of Light
This
week, Indigenous communities, environmental
activists, and commercial fishers celebrated a
hard-fought victory in their decades-long
struggle against the proposed Pebble mine near
Alaska's Bristol Bay: Invoking a
rarely-used power under the Clean Water Act, the
Biden administration blocked the copper and gold
mine project, citing its impact on the Bristol
Bay watershed and its millions of wild salmon.
The decision had me smiling. It also got me
thinking about just what it takes for activists
keep on keeping on during these protracted
battles.
The Pebble mine was first
proposed in 2002 — when I was a senior in high
school. So much has changed in the intervening
years. Here in the United States, we have cycled
through four presidents. Social media has
fundamentally changed how we share and consume
information. The US Capitol has been
attacked by those wishing to overthrow
our government, and a global pandemic has
brought widespread suffering. Through all
that, and so much more, those on the ground in
Bristol Bay have kept their eyes on the ball.
They’ve organized community members, built
coalitions, and launched national campaigns to
halt the mine. They’ve celebrated victories and
moved past losses. They’ve welcomed young
activists into their fold and helped build the
next generation of movement leaders. And
following this latest victory, they’ve already
made clear that they won’t stop fighting until
the project is finally and truly
dead.
I wish the win had come
sooner; that it hadn’t taken so many people
so many hours to help us arrive at this
watershed moment. And I know that the mine could
yet come back to life: The company behind it
could appeal the decision, for example, or
future administrations could try to backtrack.
But for now, more than
anything, I’m in awe of those who have kept up
this fight for so many years. And I hope they
are relishing in this moment of light.
Zoe
Loftus-Farren
Managing Editor,
Earth Island
Journal
Photo of Bristol Bay by
Todd
Radenbaugh | |
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California's
farmlands are poised to become a lot
dustier in the coming decades. Could the state’s
agronomic roots help it adapt to a drier
future? | |
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As a nonprofit,
Earth Island Journal is driven by purpose, not
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Green Journalism
Fund? | |
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Sabrina
Imbler’s new book explores the tenuous boundary
between the human and nonhuman, and our own
arbitrary categorizations of race, gender,
family, and
community. | |
|
“I’m
not sure about Indigenous sainthood, but he is a
candidate.” — Indigenous rights activist Winona
LaDuke remembers veteran Native Hawaiian
conservationist Dr. Emmet Aulie who passed
away
recently.
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A
few years ago, herring emigrated to the waters
of Skjervøy, a remote town in northern Norway.
“Whales followed, and then humans followed both
species, for different purposes.” And
then?
Read more »
Photo by Kyle
Mortara |
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Sometimes
you end up in places you shouldn’t be. Sometimes
it’s not by choice, but sometimes maybe it
is. We loved this achingly beautiful rumination
on a whale in a rainforest and a house trapped
in ice.
Read more »
Photo by Duncan Rawlinson -
Duncan.co | |
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Sent: Saturday,
February 04, 2023 4:44 AM
Subject: A Moment of
Light
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