Media
Earthworks is the only U.S. environmental nonprofit that focuses exclusively on the destructive impacts of resource extraction.
Tagged with: media
Mine proposal could deplete southeast Arizona town’s drinking water aquifer
Earthworks
October 28, 2014
Patagonia – The Hermosa silver mine proposed inside Patagonia, Arizona’s Municipal Supply Watershed could deplete the town’s drinking water and perpetually contaminate area groundwater with acid mine drainage, according to a new peer-reviewed report. Reviewed by a USGS scientist and released by the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance and Earthworks, the study also concludes that drinking water wells of surrounding residents are also threatened.
Tagged with: mining, water pollution, arizona, acid mine drainage, silver, patagonia, hermosa, wildcat silver, water consumption, manganese
Public Trust in Pennsylvania Regulators Erodes Further Over Flawed Fracking Study
InsideClimate News | Lisa Song
October 23, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Pennsylvania regulators used flawed methodology to conclude that air pollution from natural gas development doesn't cause health problems. The revelation has further eroded trust in an embattled state agency.
Tagged with: fracking, public health, pennsylvania
Supporters of Fracking Ban Face New Wave of McCarthyism in Denton, Texas
DeSmogBlog | Julie Dermansky
October 22, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Santa Fe, NM—(ENEWSPF)—October 20, 2014. A broad coalition of local and national conservation groups announced plans to sue the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), if the agency proceeds with the sale of 13 parcels (almost 20,000 acres of public lands) in the Santa Fe National Forest for oil and gas fracking. BLM received more than a hundred letters protesting the sale and challenging the agency’s failure to consider potentially serious impacts to the area’s air, water, wildlife, and surrounding communities.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Infrared videos show Denton oil and gas air pollution still unaddressed by regulators
Earthworks
October 21, 2014
Oct 21st, Denton, TX -- Newly released infrared videos taken over the past three months show that oil and gas air pollution is ongoing, chronic, and unaddressed in Denton, Texas despite assurances of safety by industry. The videos make visible normally invisible volatile organic compounds emissions (VOCs) -- such as carcinogens like benzene.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, air pollution, ban, vocs, denton, flir
Millions of Americans urge Obama administration to curb oil and gas climate pollution
Earthworks et. al.
October 16, 2014
Washington, DC – Today, 130 local, state and national organizations representing millions of Americans sent a letter to President Obama urging him to immediately begin a rulemaking process to curb methane pollution from oil and gas development, the nation’s second largest industrial climate polluter after power plants. Methane, the principal component of natural gas, is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20 year time period.
Tagged with: fracking, air pollution, climate change, obama, methane
Acid-draining rock poisons water across Montana
The State | Sammy Fretwell
October 14, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
BUTTE, MONT. — Tourism promoters charge people $2 apiece to look at the most notoriously polluted mining site in Montana, an old copper pit filled with toxic water that will likely never be cleaned up.
The Berkeley Pit, which dominates the landscape of Butte, is 1,780 feet deep and holds 42 billion gallons of water tainted by metals and acid. The contamination is so severe that site managers operate equipment to scare birds away from almost certain death.
Tagged with: mining, montana, acid mine drainage, berkeley pit
Cómo las petroleras hacen negocio con el agua que sacan de sus pozos en California
BBC Mundo | Jaime González
October 3, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Los embalses están en mínimos históricos, los acuíferos subterráneos se están agotando y las previsiones meteorológicas indican que en los próximos meses podría seguir sin llover.
Esta es la situación a la que tienen que hacer frente las más de 80.000 explotaciones agrícolas que hay en California, que están buscando desesperadamente nuevos tipos de suministro de agua con los que hacer frente a la grave sequía que afecta al estado desde hace tres años.
Tagged with: fracking, california, spanish, drought
Colorado Fracking Commission Meets for 1st Time
Earthworks
September 25, 2014
Statement of Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project Director Bruce Baizel
Tagged with: fracking, colorado
Public Floods EPA with Support for Protection of Bristol Bay from Mining
Earthworks and Nunamta Aulukestai
September 22, 2014
Dillingham, AK/Washington D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received 700,000 comments in support of its plan to use its Clean Water Act authority to restrict mine waste disposal from the Pebble Mine proposed in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed. When combined with previous public input, over 1.5 million comments have been submitted in favor of Bristol Bay protection, including broad and diverse support from Alaska Native Tribes, commercial fishermen, hunters and anglers, businesses like CREDO Mobile, churches, conservation groups, restaurants, jewelers and investors.
Tagged with: mining, epa, bristol bay, alaska, salmon
The myth of ethical gold
New Internationalist | Stephanie Boyd
September 16, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Modern goldmining has developed a Midas touch, turning low-grade deposits into vast wealth but with devastating consequences: over 900 farmers poisoned by a mercury spill in the mountains of Peru; Akyim indigenous people from Ghana forced from their forest homeland; an Indonesian bay and fishing community contaminated by arsenic and mercury; the Western Shoshone nation in Nevada deprived of their treaty rights and ancestral land.
Tagged with: mining, gold, responsible jewellery council
Groups file appeal on Longmont fracking ban
Earthworks, et al
September 10, 2014
Denver, CO - A coalition filed an appeal on Wednesday to uphold the democratically-enacted ban on fracking passed by Longmont voters in 2012. Represented by the University of Denver Law Clinic, the groups Our Longmont, Food & Water Watch, Sierra Club and Earthworks filed the appeal to overturn a district court decision that places the interests of the oil and gas industry over the health and safety of local citizens.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, ban, longmont, local control
Lachelt leads diverse group looking into well rules
Durango Herald | Peter Marcus
September 9, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt is readying to juggle multiple personalities after the governor announced the 19 members of a gas and oil task force.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, blue ribbon commission
Oil and gas task force expected to find middle ground in Colorado local control issue
Denver Business Journal | Cathy Proctor
September 9, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday that he expects the newly named 21-memberoil and gas task force to find areas of compromise on one of the state’s most important issues.
In a meeting with reporters in his office, the governor also thanked the members of the task force for their willingness to step into one of the state’s most controversial issues, and the organizations who submitted nearly 300 names for consideration.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, blue ribbon commission
RJC Revealed
Rappaport | Brian Bossetta
September 1, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Across the many links in the jewelry supply chain, there are significant issues regarding human rights and the environment with which the industry must grapple, especially in light of increasing demand among consumers for ethically sourced products. And while there is no easy panacea for human rights abuses or harmful environmental practices, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a not-for-profit organization based out of London, promotes a climate of social responsibility that works to mitigate and eliminate harmful, negative practices within the industry.
Tagged with: mining, jewelry, rjc
PA Environmental Organizations Challenge PA-DEP Claims of Adequate Oil & Gas Oversight
Earthworks et. al.
August 28, 2014
Harrisburg, PA – Environmental and citizen organizations sent Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary, Chris Abruzzo a letter today challenging the agency’s response to issues raised in Auditor General Eugene DePasquale’s DEP Performance Audit, released on July 22nd. The audit identified serious flaws in the DEP’s oil and gas monitoring and enforcement programs.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, pennsylvania department of environmental protection, water contamination
Lawmakers hope to fund monitors for quakes in North Texas fracking areas
Dallas Morning News | Marissa Barnett
August 25, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
AUSTIN — Lawmakers said Monday that they’re looking for money to add seismic monitors in areas with oil and gas production, following concerns about a series of earthquakes that rattled North Texas last winter.
For now, at least, it’s just a pipe dream. The Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas production, doesn’t have any plans in the works for more monitors or for permit surcharges to oil and gas operators.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, earthquakes
Inside Energy: Fracking and health, part 1
Prairie Public | Jordan Wirfs-Brock and Leigh Paterson
August 25, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
The oil and gas boom of the 21st century has been fueled - largely - by a technique called hydraulic fracturing. Its given access to massive shale gas and oil formations in states like Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. But what’s different about this boom, is that drilling is bumping right up against communities. And people are worried about the health impacts.
Tagged with: fracking, health, north dakota
Watch Six Months of Fracking Fires Blaze Across the Country
National Journal | Clare Foran and Stephanie Stamm
August 22, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Massive fires light up the sky in U.S. states at the center of a fracking boom.
The fires—known as flaring—are a symptom of the rapid spread of the controversial drilling technique. Cities and towns across the country are scrambling to keep up with a newfound surplus of natural gas, and towering flames arise when excess gas is burned off at drill sites.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, north dakota, flaring
State oversight allows flaring in North Dakota and Texas to emit greenhouse gases equal to 1.5 million cars
Earthworks, Skytruth
August 22, 2014
Aug 22 -- Today Earthworks released a new report showing that eliminating natural gas waste in two shale plays would have the same effect as taking 1.5 million cars off the road. The report is accompanied by an interactive map developed by SkyTruth showing flaring activity in the U.S. and around the world based on nightly, infrared satellite data.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, air emissions, methane, north dakota, flaring
The long shadow of a decade of loose enforcement
Boulder Weekly | Elizabeth Miller
August 14, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Pennsylvania and Colorado may be a nation apart, but they’re side-by-side when it comes to having recently seen explosive increases in oil and gas development, specifically through the use of hydraulic fracturing in shale formations that are often drilled horizontally. Findings from a report from Earthworks — a nonprofit working to protect communities and the environment from the adverse effects of oil and gas development — that examined the oversight and the operational record of wells in Pennsylvania sheds light on the concerns people in Colorado express when it comes to oil and gas development.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, enforcement, ballot intiative
Groups Sue EPA for Letting Polluters Pass the Bill for Their Spills to the Public
Earthjustice, Earthworks, et al
August 11, 2014
Washington, D.C. — Earthjustice on behalf of Idaho Conservation League, Earthworks, Sierra Club, Amigos Bravos, Great Basin Resource Watch, and Communities for a Better Environment filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to issue key rules mandated by the Superfund Act (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA)
Tagged with: regulation, financial assurance, bonding, cercla 108b
Black Butte Mine aquifer tests move ahead
Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Laura Lundquist
August 7, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has given Tintina Resources the go-ahead to dig four new deep wells to test the aquifer near the proposed Black Butte Copper Mine but has added one safety requirement for the project.
Tintina will be drilling to depths of between 200 and 400 feet through mineral deposits that could cause chemicals in the upwelling water to exceed safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, samples from other wells have exceeded EPA limits for arsenic.
Tagged with: mining, montana, tintina
New report: Pennsylvania prioritizes fracking at expense of law, health, environment
Earthworks
August 7, 2014
Washington, DC - The environmental and health impacts of gas development have been connected for the first time with a lack of state oversight on a site-by-site basis in a new report released by Earthworks. A year in the making, Blackout in the Gas Patch: How Pennsylvania Residents are Left in the Dark on Health and Enforcement documents and analyzes the permitting, oversight, and operational record of 135 wells and facilities in seven counties--and identifies the associated threats to water and air that are harming the health of nearby residents.
Tagged with: fracking, regulation, pennsylvania, water, enforcement, pennsylvania department of environmental protection, health, air, dep
Imperial’s Mount Polley mine shuttered after tailings discharge
Mining Weekly | Henry Lazenby
August 6, 2014
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – After a tailings dam broke at the Mount Polley mine, discharging about five-million cubic metres of mine waste in the early hours of Monday, operator Imperial Metals on Tuesday said the copper/gold mine had been placed on care and maintenance pending a full investigation.
The TSX-listed firm said the water and tailings discharge had by Tuesday stabilised, with no persons reported missing or injured.
Tagged with: mining, tailings, canada, tailings dam
BC Mine Failure Highlights Pebble Mine Risks
Earthworks
August 5, 2014
This week’s devastating tailings dam failure at the Mount Polley copper mine in British Columbia, which released vast amounts of mine waste into streams, rivers and lakes, raised alarms with Alaska Native communities and conservation groups concerned about the proposed Pebble Mine. The groups are urging the EPA to finalize proposed mine waste restrictions in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed.
Tagged with: mining, tailings, canada, tailings dam, toxic mine waste
Hickenlooper seeks to halt oil-gas initiatives
The Coloradoan | Ryan Maye Handy
August 5, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday created a task force to address oil and gas development in Colorado, in an eleventh-hour attempt to foster compromise over the highly divisive topic before it hits the polls in November.
With Congressman Jared Polis by his side, Hickenlooper announced a "blue ribbon" commission of 18 people will be tasked with studying oil and gas development in the state. The plan is for the group to make recommendations to the state Legislature in 2015.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, vote, ballot intiative
Colorado Fracking Opponents Losing Local Control Fight
Bloomberg | Bradley Olson and Jennifer Oldham
August 5, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Colorado’s compromise with drilling opponents has dealt a blow to environmentalists’ expanding battle to give local communities more control to limit fracking.
Governor John Hickenlooper and Representative Jared Polis agreed to a deal that weakened the prospects for two proposed ballot initiatives aimed at restricting oil and gas activity, the two men said at a news conference in Denver yesterday. Polis, who was expected to help finance the campaign for the measures, agreed to withdraw his support after Hickenlooper promised to create a task force to study the industry’s impact on local communities.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, vote, ballot intiative
15,000 Urge Federal Gov’t to Protect SW Oregon Watersheds from Mining
Earthworks
August 5, 2014
Portland OR – Today over 15,000 petition signatures were delivered to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to support a mineral withdrawal for public lands in critical watersheds in southwest Oregon, including the North Fork Smith River, Baldface Creek, Rough & Ready Creek, and Hunter Creek.
These signatures build upon the request of a broad coalition of local and national conservation groups to withdraw these public lands from mining in response to proposals for nickel strip mining in the area.
Withdrawal of Colorado fracking ballot initiatives disappointing, community protection still possible through commission
Earthworks
August 4, 2014
DURANGO, CO: We are disappointed that Colorado’s environmental rights ballot initiative that would have allowed local governments to protect their citizens from the potential harms of oil and gas drilling has been withdrawn.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado
Fracking ban court decision pushes conversation toward constitutional rights
Boulder Weekly | Elizabeth Miller
July 31, 2014
The lawsuit to defend Longmont’s voterapproved fracking ban is moving on from the district court, where a judge issued a summary judgment against it, but a stay against fracking in Longmont while the case is appealed to a higher court. It may become increasingly clear as the case advances that the question at stake pits the oil and gas resources under the town against the basic constitutional rights of those who live in the town to determine their exposure to a risk to human health and environment more than half of the town’s voters have said they don’t want in their back yards. The environmental organizations that have signed on as intervenors aren’t going to be shy about framing the debate in terms of whether the state will really choose profits over people.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, ban, longmont
Energy Dept. methane steps are welcome, but no substitute for EPA rules
Earthworks
July 29, 2014
While we applaud the commitments made by the Department of Energy, labor unions, utility groups and other stakeholders, voluntary measures and new research initiatives don’t adequately protect communities and the climate.
These rules can be a first step down the road to limit dangerous methane pollution and begin to truly shift our energy systems away from an “all of the above” strategy to one that throws the full weight of our resources behind renewable energy.
Tagged with: fracking, climate change, methane
Longmont’s Fracking Ban Tossed as Colorado Vote Looms
Bloomberg | Joel Rosenblatt and Jennifer Oldham
July 25, 2014
A fracking ban in the city of Longmont, Colorado, was thrown out by a judge amid petition drives to hold a statewide vote in November on restricting oil and gas drilling that generate $30 billion a year.
The debate over fracking, in which water, chemicals and sand are injected below ground to extract oil and gas from sand and shale formations, has escalated in Colorado as drilling moves closer to suburbs, raising concerns about water and air contamination. Five communities in the state have voted to ban or put a moratorium on such activity.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, lawsuit, ban, longmont
Colo. court strikes down city’s fracking ban
E&E News | Ellen M. Gilmer and Mike Lee
July 25, 2014
A Colorado court yesterday ruled against the city of Longmont in a fight with state and industry officials over whether the city could ban hydraulic fracturing.
The decision could weigh heavily on voters considering potential anti-fracking ballot initiatives in Colorado in November. And the outcome swings the local control pendulum in favor of industry after a series of wins for municipalities in Pennsylvania and New York over the past year (EnergyWire, July 1).
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, lawsuit, ban, longmont
Groups vow to appeal ruling on Longmont fracking ban
Earthworks et. al.
July 24, 2014
Tagged with: fracking, colorado, ban
Pennsylvania’s Auditor General Faults Oversight of Natural Gas Industry
New York Times | Jon Hurdle
July 23, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
PHILADELPHIA — Environmental officials in Pennsylvania have failed to adequately regulate the state’s booming natural gas industry, a state report said, reflecting what critics say is weak oversight of the oil and gas industry at a time when drilling is spreading across the United States.
Pennsylvania’s auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, said Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has been unable to keep up with the workload placed on it by a proliferation of shale gas wells in the last five years, and has failed to respond adequately to many public complaints about water and air contamination resulting from gas development.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, pennsylvania department of environmental protection, water contamination
Auditor General Issues Critical PADEP Audit: Pennsylvania Environmental Organizations Applaud Investigation’s Goals
Earthworks et. al.
July 22, 2014
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania’s Auditor General office released a highly anticipated audit of the Department of Environmental Protection’s performance regarding shale gas development today. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale stated that the audit “…shows that the meteoric growth of the shale gas industry caught the Department of Environmental Protection unprepared to effectively administer laws and regulations to protect drinking water and unable to efficiently respond to citizen complaints”. The report is available here: http://bit.ly/WxCXzk
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, water contamination
Hundreds comment on Black Butte mine proposal
Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Laura Lundquist
July 22, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
For a relatively small project, a mining company's proposal to dig a few test wells generated a significant number of public comments.
By the end of the public comment period on Monday, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality received almost 940 comments on Tintina Resources' proposal to dig deep test wells in advance of a possible underground mining operation north of White Sulphur Springs.
Tagged with: mining, montana, tintina
EPA Releases Plan for Restricting Mine Waste Disposal in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed
Earthworks and Nunamta Aulukestai
July 18, 2014
Washington, D.C. – An unusual group of Alaska Native leaders, commercial fishermen, investors, jewelers and conservation organizations applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release today of its Proposed Determination - a detailed plan for restricting mine waste disposal from the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed. The EPA has authority under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to restrict mine waste disposal that will harm important fisheries. Alaska’s Bristol Bay supports the largest and most productive wild salmon fishery in the world, supplying half of the world’s supply of wild sockeye salmon and generating 14,000 annual jobs and over $450 million in annual revenue.
Tagged with: mining, epa, bristol bay, salmon, 404c
Texas fracking ban voted down by city council despite residents’ support
AlJazeera America | Renee Lewis
July 16, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Officials in Denton, Texas, voted Wednesday against a bid to make their natural gas-rich city the first in its state to ban fracking, despite more than 100 residents speaking out in favor of the ban at a public hearing that ran long into Tuesday night.
Some locals said the city council’s 5-2 decision against enacting the ban — instead passing it to a November ballot for a city-wide vote — was influenced by industry pressure.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Denton City Council Rejects Fracking Ban
NBC DFW | Emily Schmalll
July 16, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
The council governing a North Texas city that sits atop a large natural gas reserve rejected a bid early Wednesday morning to ban further permitting of hydraulic fracturing in the community after eight hours of public testimony.
Denton City Council members voted down the petition 5-2 at a 3 a.m., sending the proposal to a public ballot in November.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Breaking: Denton City Council Rejects Fracking Ban: Referendum Will Be on November Ballot
DeSmogBlog | Julie Dermansky
July 16, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
The failure of the Denton city council to pass a fracking ban in Denton, Texas, after a meeting that went on for over eight hours last night, was no surprise to Cathy McMullen, Denton resident and president of Denton Drilling Awareness Group.
“The vote was theater,” McMullen told DeSmogBlog.
Councilman Kevin Roden was the only one to call for ban. His motion was not seconded. A motion to deny the ban was approved 5 to 2, followed by an unanimous vote to put the ban initiative on the next ballot.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Denton City Council Leaves Fracking Ban Decision to Voters
Texas Observer | Priscila Mosqueda
July 15, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Update 7:45am: Denton voters will decide the fate of fracking in their city come November after the City Council voted against the fracking ban this morning shortly before 3 a.m.
The Council seemed partial to the ban supporters during the hearing, which lasted eight hours, but in the end no one seconded Councilman Kevin Roden’s motion to pass the ban. The members voted 5-2 for a motion to deny passing the ban, so the initiative will now be on the November ballot. Activists had predicted their City Council would not adopt the citizen-led initiative, but the news was still disappointing and folks took to Twitter to say that industry won once again in Texas. We’ll be watching this come November, so stay tuned.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Council rejects partial fracking ban
Denton Record Chronicle | Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
July 15, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
The Denton City Council, after hearing more than eight hours of public testimony that lasted until early this morning, rejected a bid that would have made it the first city in the state to ban further permitting of hydraulic fracturing in the community.
Council members voted down the petition 5-2, sending the proposal to a public ballot in November.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Texas town’s fracturing ban appears headed for ballot
Houston Chronicle | Rhiannon Meyers
July 14, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
Denton voters, and not the seven-member City Council, probably will decide whether to ban hydraulic fracturing in the North Texas city, officials said Monday.
The issue is scheduled for a public hearing Tuesday in the gas-rich city about 40 miles northwest of downtown Dallas, where some wells are less than 200 feet from residential areas.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, ban, denton
Congressional initiative would end billions in public land and mineral giveaways, protect scarce water, create jobs
Earthworks
July 10, 2014
July 10, 2014, Washington, D.C. – U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (OR-4) and Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Ranking Member Raul Grijalva today introduced a long-needed overhaul of the 142-year-old law governing mining of minerals such as gold, copper and uranium on federally-managed public lands.
Tagged with: mining, 1872 mining law, reform
No Dirty Gold campaign draws another major convert
Mineweb | Dorothy Kosich
July 3, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
BJ’s Wholesale Club, with 202 locations in 15 eastern U.S. states has endorsed Washington D.C.-based environmental NGO Earthworks No Dirty Gold’s Golden Rules.
The No Dirty Gold campaign asks jewelry retailers to pledge to source only from mines who meet the Golden Rules criteria.
Tagged with: mining, gold, no dirty gold, bristol bay pledge
BJ’s Wholesale Club Says ‘No’ to Dirty Gold
Earthworks and BJ's Wholesale Club
July 2, 2014
July 2nd – Today, BJ’s Wholesale Club, with 202 locations in 15 Eastern U.S. states, became America’s first independent wholesale club company to commit to responsible metals sourcing by endorsing the No Dirty Gold campaign’s Golden Rules, a set of social, human rights, and environmental criteria set to improve metal mining practices around the world. BJ’s is also pledging to source their metals without harming Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed – the world’s largest wild salmon fishery.
Tagged with: mining, no dirty gold, golden rules, our bristol bay, bristol bay pledge
Sitting On a Gold Mine: How Fairtrade Gold Mining in Tanzania Is Set to Change the Jewelry Sector
CSR Newswire | Marc Choyt
June 25, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
In early May, I visited small-scale gold miners in Tanzania who are seeking fair trade certification.
On site, I met with colleagues in from England and Fair Trade Africa, who have been working hard over the past two years to build an understanding of fairtrade* standards and principals with the miners on site. The purpose of the visit was also to bring jewelers and miners together to discuss what was needed to bring fairtrade African gold to market.
Tagged with: mining, gold, no dirty gold, jewelry, fairtrade, tanzania
Proof
Ft. Worth Weekly | Peter Gorman
June 25, 2014
Read this article on the publishing site
A geologist who has spent years studying the effects of natural gas drilling on water sources said last week that he has “no doubt” that Range Resources gas drilling activity has contaminated the Trinity Aquifer, ruining several water wells in Parker County — but not due to leaks from the gas wells themselves.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, water contamination
Follow Earthworks