2011 topped the records for the number of extreme weather events costing more than 1 billion dollars – we had 12 such events in 2011 totaling almost $200 billion. NASA’s two latest climate reports contain mind boggling conclusions.  The first report uses conservative temperature data from the IPCC, and predicts that by 2100 around 40 percent of our major ecological communities – places like forests, tundra, and grasslands – will be dominated by a different ecological community.  In other words, if you live near a forest, it could become a desert by 2100, or if you live near tundra, it could be transformed into a grassland by 2100.  The second report, relying on paleoclimate data analyzed by top climate scientist Dr. Jim Hansen, paints a harsh reality of what even a two-degree average increase in temperature will mean for our planet. Closer to home and more specific to Oregon, a senior Department of Interior official warned a Congressional subcommittee about the impacts from climate change on the water supplies of western states that rely upon snowpack to provide fresh water.

So, that’s enough about the darkness – where’s the light?  It seems to be stemming from the next generation.  Youth leaders are stepping up all around our country, and the world, to express their concerns over climate change.  A young U.S. woman interrupted the latest climate change negotiations out of fear for her future putting the U.S. Congress and Administration on the spot for not moving the negotiations forward.  Youth in Canada danced in protest of their government’s decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol.

Of course, youth here in Oregon and around the U.S. and the world took the courts last May to demand that the government protect their future from the harmful impacts of climate change. Led by Alec Loorz of Kids versus Global warming and Our Children’s Trust, these members of the next generation are also an amazing inspiration.

Nelson Kanuk on the Kuskokwim River, Kipnuk, Alaska. Photo by Christi Cooper-Kuhn and Kelly Matheson, courtesy of iMatter.org

Our Children’s Trust, the iMatter Campaign, and Witness just released the most recent video of one such climate leader who is involved in a legal case launched last May.  Trust Alaska documents the life and struggles of Nelson Kanuk and native subsistence people along Alaska’s rapidly eroding coastline.  Nelson’s dedication to his family, their traditional way of life, and to sustaining the planet and his home is a true inspiration. Please share it with your friends and family, and may it help light the seasons to come.

The communities of Padres and El Pueblo play host to the only three hazardous waste dumps in the entire State of California.  Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, signed by President Johnson in 1963, prohibits any recipient of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race or national origin.  EPA distributed funds to state agencies that issued permits for these three hazardous waste facilities.

In 1994, Padres and El Pueblo filed an administrative complaint with EPA under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  At that time, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control had used EPA funding to issue permits for the construction and expansion of the toxic dumps.

Since 1994, EPA has failed to respond to the Title VI complaint, letting the allegations languish inside the agency’s co-called “Office of Civil Rights.”  Although it was required to issue a preliminary report within 180 days of accepting the case for investigation, EPA has now sat on the complaint for more than 15 years without any resolution to these civil rights violations.

The recent complaint follows up on Crag’s 2009 victory in the case of Rosemere Neighborhood Association v. EPA.  In that case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed a similar situation involving years and years of illegal delay in EPA’s processing of civil rights complaints.  At that time, the Ninth Circuit noted the “consistent pattern of delay by the EPA” and stated that the delays “appear, sadly and unfortunately, typical of those who appeal to [EPA] to remedy civil rights violations.”

Crag looks forward to working on behalf of Padres and El Pueblo in prosecuting this important environmental justice case.  Their communities have struggled with these issues for many years, and we hope to be able to serve their interests along with the Center for Race Poverty and the Environment.

Complaint

Press Release

A view from our intern excursion

I love getting outside more than anything in the world.  Over the last several years I have spent nearly all of my free time tromping around in the woods, skiing remote mountains, wandering the pacific coastline, slinking through desert formations, and viewing the world from high places.  Since starting work at Crag, getting outside has taken on a whole new meaning.

Beforehand, my adventures outside consisted mainly of exploration and adventure.  Now when I walk through the woods I think about the work I am doing to protect these beautiful areas for future generations to enjoy and what else I can do to protect them further.

Just the other week I was skiing Pikers Peak on Mt. Adams, and I had the opportunity to look over across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest to see the Wildcat Timber Sale, sitting on the eastern flank of Mt. St. Helens.  Over the last couple weeks I have been helping Gifford Pinchot Task Force on an appeal of this timber sale to protect the watersheds of the Muddy River, Pine Creek, Clear Creek and Clearwater Creek from sediment overloading due to proposed tree thinning.  Seeing the forest from afar gave me the opportunity to experience it’s beauty from above and feel connected with my work.

I have found it to be important to experience the areas I am working in first hand.  Having that experience gives me personal insight to the actual area I am working for and its connectivity to the outside world.  Understanding the area and experiencing it gives me extra drive and determination to work hard at protecting the environment.

The staff at Crag really support each other’s adventures outside.  Just last night, all five of us interns boogied over to Oswald West State Park on the Oregon Coast.  There we bonded and barbecued asparagus listening to the ocean hit the sands on the coast, gazing up at giant sitka spruce trees, enormous western hemlocks and western red cedars.  All of us were thankful for being able to get outside and enjoy the Pacific Northwest.

iMatter March, Portland, OR - May 14, 2011

Last week Crag filed groundbreaking climate litigation on behalf of Oregon youth and their families against the State of Oregon and Governor Kitzhaber.  The lawsuit filed in Oregon was part of a hatch of litigation filed around the country and the world.  The hatch received significant media attention with stories in the NY Times, the Oregonian, the Huffington Post, and the UK’s Guardian.  The public’s interest has only increased now that youth are also taking to the streets in a series of iMatter Marches being staged in over 100 cities around the world.

The article that most struck home for me was a Guest Opinion piece in Eugene’s Register-Guard written by seventh grader Sage Fox.  In the piece, she asks the now generation to take action before it is too late for the next generation: “This is not the same world you grew up in. When you were a kid, you thought everything was fine. Now, we live in a world so polluted that people have trouble finding enough clean water across many parts of the globe. . . . The children of the world plead to you: Don’t gamble with our future.”

Ironically, or perhaps not, on the very night that the climate litigation was hatched, Crag was the recipient of a benefit concert put on by world famous Pato Banton and the Now Generation.   At some point, very late in the evening, Pato issued his own call for action on climate change with the same sense of urgency reflected in the Seventh Grader’s musings.  He sang:

“Yes Mama Earth is in a state of emergency

Pollution of the air the land and seas

The planetary ozone is like a warzone

And it affects us globally”

His solution was simple:  “Let’s get together now and heal this world.” It gave me hope that perhaps the now generation isn’t so off, and that perhaps we can do the right thing now before it’s too late.

Fed up by the failure of international, national, and state governments to take appropriate action to combat the climate crisis, Oregon children and their families launched a lawsuit on May 4th against Governor Kitzhaber and the State of Oregon.  The kids and parents are represented by the Crag Law Center and Hutchinson, Cox, Coons, DuPriest, Orr & Sherlock, P.C.

We are at a crossroads facing the possibility of a rapid climate shift.  The burning of fossil fuels has resulted in a carbon overload in our atmosphere.  Too much carbon acts as a thickening blanket that traps heat around the globe and here in Oregon.

If we don’t act within the next couple of years to implement common sense ways to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, we will reach the point of no return.  Here in Oregon, global warming will mean a 50% reduction in snowpacks and threats to family farms and agriculture.  Our oceans will be more acidic, which will damage anything with a shell.  We’ll experience more severe storms and worse flooding.

That is why children in Oregon are asking that Governor Kitzhaber take immediate steps to protect their future.  By aggressively promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, we can transition quickly away from fossil fuels while making Oregon a leader in the new economy.  These steps will not only benefit the children and our environment, but they will also create jobs as we build more energy efficient houses, plan smarter communities and build new infrastructure.

The groundbreaking lawsuit seeks enforcement of the public trust doctrine – a legal requirement that Oregon hold in trust for all citizens of the State basic natural resources like water, beaches, fish, and wildlife.  By failing to reduce carbon emissions, Oregon is threatening these resources, as well as the atmosphere itself, which the case seeks to establish as a trust resource.

The lawsuit in Oregon was filed on the same day as legal actions against the federal government and other States, and as legal action was taken in other countries with the support of Our Children’s Trust an Oregon non-profit.  But youth are not just standing up in Court, they will also stand-up for their futures in the streets this weekend and beyond in conjunction with the marches planned by iMatter.

Oregon Public Trust Complaint

Oregon Climate Case Press Release

Facts on Climate Change in Oregon:

In 2004, the Governor’s Advisory Group on Global Warming had this to say:

“Our failure to return atmospheric accumulations of greenhouse gases back to levels that will sustain historic climate patterns may lead to an Earth that is dramatically altered and far less habitable within only a few generations.”

According to the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, predicted impacts in Oregon include:

• A reduction of Cascade snowpacks by 50% by mid-century along with significant decreases in summer stream flows and water supply.

• Impacts to Oregon’s $1.6 billion/year agricultural industry, including drought, disease and limitations on water.  Agricultural zones will shift, resulting, for instance, in the Willamette Valley no longer being viable for growing pinot noir.

• Increasing sea levels 2-4 with flooding and loss of Oregon’s world-renowned beaches.

• Changes to the marine environment, including rising ocean temperatures, salinity, dissolved oxygen levels and acidity, damaging a wide range of shell-forming sea life like oysters and plankton.

• Severe threats to human health, including asthma rates, disease, air pollution and heat stroke.

In 2007, the Oregon Legislature set carbon reduction targets for the state: by 2010, being to reduce Oregon’s emissions; by 2020, reduce greenhouse gas levels to 10% below 1990 levels; and by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas levels that are at least 75% below 1990 levels.

In 2008 and again in 2009, the Oregon Global Warming Commission found that Oregon is failing in its efforts to achieve the necessary carbon reductions.

Oregon has already developed a common sense, step-by-step plan to fix the problem.  We can transition to a carbon-free energy system within the next 30-50 years while creating jobs and making Oregon a leader in the new economy.

Resources:

The Oregon Global Warming Commission

The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute

A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change in Oregon

The Oregon Climate Change Assessment Report

The Oregon Global Warming Commission 2009 Report to the Legislature

Beverly May talks strategy with Protect Grand Island organizers

What sets Crag apart from most other environmental law centers is that a big part of our work involves community outreach and organizing.  This winter and spring, I was excited to be able to connect many of our clients and supporters with Beverly May, a friend of mine from Kentucky who has become a household name for many people who are faced with battles to save the places they love from the exploits of extractive industries.  The story of Beverly’s struggle to save her home from mountain-top removal is portrayed in the documentary film, Deep Down.

Crag partnered with Columbia Riverkeeper to show the film in Portland this winter and then in Astoria and Kelso, WA this March.  Beverly May came out to visit with Crag clients and attend the March screenings of Deep Down.   While she was here, we visited with Grand Island farmers and neighbors, coastal residents who have been fighting LNG and citizens concerned about the coal export facility proposed in Longview.  We sat around kitchen tables and talked about our shared stories and the lessons learned from standing up to the environmentally destructive practices of big industries. We also celebrated our time together with a big square dance.

Beverly May and LNG opponents Cheryl Johnson, Ted Messing and Carolyn Newman swap battle stories.

On a personal level, it was really powerful for me to connect the struggles that my friends and neighbors have been dealing with back in Appalachia with those of my Pacific Northwest friends and neighbors.  There is a contagious sense of empowerment and inspiration that happens when people come together to share their battle stories and marvel at the impact that a handful of neighbors can truly have on issues that seem too big to tackle. After Beverly’s visit, Kris Bledsoe from Yamhill County commented, “How can we extract a little bit of the essence of Bev and bottle it for local use?”  Kris and her neighbors are currently challenging a proposed gravel mine on Grand Island.  After spending time with Kris and her neighbors and with the folks who banded together to halt the Bradwood Landing LNG facility, I’d say that our region has a wealth of the essence many of us connect with Beverly May.

That essence is a form of renewable energy; is citizen power, and it is both local and sustainable.  It lives in each and every person who is standing up to save the communities and wild places that you love, and it is much more potent, powerful and sustainable than any fossil fuel could ever be.

The Crag Law Center today filed a legal challenge to an offshore exploration plan approved by the Minerals Management Service in the Beaufort Sea in Alaska.  Crag is working with local Native groups, including the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, a regional tribal government, and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, a non-profit representing local subsistence whaling captains.

The proposed oil drilling activities would be located directly in the middle of the migration route for the endangered bowhead whale, the most important subsistence resource for the Inupiat Eskimos of the northern Alaska.  The project would also involve air pollution equivalent to the annual emissions of 3.5 million cars, and the discharge of millions of gallons of wastewater and toxic pollutants.

The case follows up on a prior challenge to an earlier exploration plan proposed by Shell in 2007.  In that case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals set aside MMS’s approval because MMS failed to adequately disclose impacts to subsistence and the bowhead whale.  This year, MMS has again moved forward with a cursory environmental assessment instead of a more thorough environmental impact statement.  MMS also removed protections for the bowhead whale that were imposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service in 2007.

Moreover, this year Shell plans to drill in both the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea, whereas in 2007 Shell wanted to drill only in the Beaufort.  MMS disregarded the potential cumulative impacts from two operations, which would both be located in the middle of the bowhead migration during the fall.

The press release is available here.

The legal documents are here.

Inside EPA published a recent story on the latest developments. Crag applauds the move by Administrator Jackson to both recognize the long-standing problems at EPA’s Office of Civil Rights and order immediate reforms. The next step in the process is to ensure that each complaint is given an objective and thorough investigation.

Many groups in the Great Lakes region have struggled with environmental justice issues and have turned to Title VI of the Civil Right Act and EPA for assistance. The problems of systemic delay identified by the Ninth Circuit in Rosemere’s case similarly affects groups in the Midwest, the South and other parts of the country. We remain hopeful that by getting the word out about the problems with EPA’s Title VI program, the Obama Administration and Administrator Lisa Jackson will implement true reform in the EPA’s Office of Civil Rights.

The blog post was also just picked up by the American Water Resources Association Blog.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits recipient of federal funding from using that money in way that has a discriminatory impact based on race, color or national origin.  EPA has established an administrative complaint process whereby local communities can file complaints to address discrimination in the use of federal funds.  EPA’s own regulations require the agency to process the complaints in a timely fashion in order to address allegations of discrimination in the use of EPA funds.

EPA has eviscerated its own Title VI program by failing to respond to citizen complaints all across the country.  In 2006 and 2007, EPA missed its regulatory deadlines with respect to every single Title VI complaint filed in the country.  RNA experienced these exact same delays, as it took EPA three and half years and two rounds of litigation to process RNA’s complaint.

On Tuesday, Crag argued this case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for RNA seeking to hold EPA accountable for its systematic refusal to implement Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.  You can click below to hear the argument.  For more information on this issue, contact Chris Winter at chris@crag.org or 503-525-2725.

Oral Argument Recording