The Barcelona Climate Talks are wrapping up, and the world is disappointed. We have seen two vocal protests in the first hour inside the closing plenary and expressions of frustration and disappointment from one developing country after another. The Alliance of Small Island States says simply: ‘the level of ambition called for is both technically [...]

Last week, Massey Energy began dynamiting Coal River Mountain in West Virginia—the site of a proposed 328-megawatt wind farm—to prepare for a massive mountaintop removal coal mining operation. Today, more than half a million people have received emails from organizations across the nation, including Rainforest Action Network, Appalachian Voices, 350.0rg and many others, asking supporters to [...]

Cross posted from Alternet Last week, blasting began on Coal River Mountain in West Virginia. This is a part of the country where dynamite routinely goes off — turning the region’s historic mountain ranges into dust for the tiny coal seams that lie beneath their surface. But Coal River Mountain is special, or, rather, you can decide [...]

Execs from Arch Coal and Peabody recently joined the board of Washington University in St. Louis and then had a conf on campus called “America’s Energy Future” Students and community activists had something to say about that (including folks from St. Louis Rising Tide).

As I have written about on Understory before, Sumatra’s Bukit Tigapuluh is one of the last great forests of the world. It’s breathtaking biodiversity, high conservation importance, and value to three indigenous cultures withstanding, Sinar Mas -Indonesia’s largest producer of palm oil and owner of Asia Pulp and Paper- is actively destroying significant portions of [...]

Contrary to a number of sensationalist media reports leading up to this year’s Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, the RSPO is not breaking up. At the core of the controversy has been the effort to include a commitment by all members of the RSPO to reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. After two years [...]

I never expected Indonesian rainforest protection to become “fashionable,” per se. Yet, with Gucci Group’s announcement that it will eliminate all paper made from Indonesian rainforests and plantations and by controversial suppliers like Asia Pulp and Paper, it has become just that. Today Gucci Group, the prestigious conglomerate of fashion and luxury brands, including such brands [...]

Cross posted from Grist African negotiators at the U.N. climate talks in Barcelona just refused to continue formal discussions about all other issues until wealthy countries live up to their legal and moral responsibility to commit to deep emissions reductions. Rich countries (also called “Annex 1 countries”) have ground negotiations to a halt by failing to [...]

RAN’s own Mike Brune sent a letter to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon late last week asking that Chase show some leadership and stop their financing of the coal industry, mountaintop removal coal mining, and to demand that their client, Massey Energy, stop the destruction of Coal River Mountain immediately. Jamie Dimon has also [...]

On Friday, October 30th, seven Lawrence University students participated in a national day of protest to end mountaintop removal coal mining. Along with concerned citizens at more than two hundred demonstrations around the country, the students demanded an end to the explosion and leveling of mountains. This popular resistance to mountaintop removal stems from the [...]