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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Massey incest redux
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David Roberts |
22 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| So, remember how two justices on the W. Va. Supreme Court have recused themselves from the Massey case? One was photographed frolicking on vacation with Massey CEO Don Blankenship on the French Riviera. The other has publicly criticized Blankenship. The latter fellow said that a third judge -- Justice Brent Benjamin, who received $3.5 million in support from Don Blankenship in his 2004 election -- should also recuse himself. Well, Benjamin has offered an answer: scre ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, politics, shenanigans, West Virginia (all these topics) |
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Massey incest
Mining CEO so insinuated in W. Va. politics that they can't find judges to hear his case |
David Roberts |
20 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| So, you may recall that loathsome mountaintop-removal mining outfit Massey was hit with a $50 million judgment a while back. They appealed it up to the W. Va. Supreme Court, which overturned it. Later, it turned out that Massey CEO Don Blankenship (an evil bastard) had been photographed frolicking with one of the judges in Monte Carlo, accompanied by, um, female consorts. So that judge dropped out of the case. Now the WSJ brings word that another judge is recusing ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, mining, politics, West Virginia (all these topics) |
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Cap 'n' Crunched
Bush's controversial mercury rule for power plants struck down by federal court |
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08 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:57 AM on 08 Feb 2008 Bad news for the Bush administration: A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a U.S. EPA rule that would have let coal-fired power plants trade the right to emit mercury, a neurotoxin that contaminates waterways, accumulates in fish, and has been linked to nerve and brain damage, particularly in children. Environmentalists and public health advocates, among oth ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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The Fellowship of the Ping
Judge rules Navy must comply with sonar rules |
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05 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:45 AM on 05 Feb 2008 A federal judge has ruled that the Navy must comply with earlier restrictions imposed on its use of sonar near the California coast despite a recent attempt by President Bush to exempt the agency from relevant environmental laws. The judge said that Bush's Navy exemption last month was "constitutionally suspect," but that she didn't need to rule on its constitutionality to reinsta ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, oceans, United States, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Bear With Us
Green groups sue over delay in polar-bear endangered-species decision |
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01 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:13 AM on 01 Feb 2008 Environmental and native groups have sued -- as they are wont to do -- in an attempt to force the Interior Department to rethink its decision to sell oil and gas leases in Alaska's Chukchi Sea, which is prime polar bear habitat. The lease sale by the department's Minerals Management Service is scheduled to go ahead next week; meanwhile, another agency in the department, the Fish a ... |
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| Topics: Alaska, Department of Interior, endangered species, energy, litigation, news, oil and gas drilling, politics, US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Let the sunshine in
Judicial ethics and global warming |
Guest author |
30 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest post from Sean Siperstein, a Research and Communications Associate at Community Rights Counsel, a DC-based public interest law firm that works to defend environmental laws. He also writes for WarmingLaw. ----- Community Rights Counsel has spent much of the last decade researching and documenting undue, anti-environmental corporate influence on the federal judiciary, exposing the proliferation of privately-funded junkets billed as "jud ... |
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| Topics: climate, litigation, politics, shenanigans (all these topics) |
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My, What a Big Lawsuit You Have
Green groups sue over eased restrictions on wolf kills |
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30 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:04 AM on 30 Jan 2008 Seven green groups have sued over a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan that would loosen restrictions on killing gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. sources: Associated Press, The Missoulian From the Archives John, But Not Forgotten. John Edwards drops out of presidential race. Nowhere to Run. California's chinook salmon population near &quo ... |
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| Topics: endangered species, litigation, news, politics, US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Massey watch
W. Va. Supreme Court to get out of bed with Blankenship, reconsider his case |
David Roberts |
29 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A while back, loathsome mountaintop-mining outfit Massey Energy was hit with a $50 million judgment in a West Virginia court, in a ruling that they had illegally driven other area mining companies out of business. They appealed to the W. Va. Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling in a vote of 3-2. Later, pictures turned up of loathsome Massey CEO Don Blankenship vacationing on the French Riviera with W. Va. Supreme Court justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, shenanigans, waste, water pollution (all these topics) |
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GMOs as environmental pollution
Schmeiser to play David to Monsanto's Goliath again |
Kurt Michael Friese |
28 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Most of you will recall the high-profile battle fought by Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser when he was sued for growing their GM seed without tithing to the corporation for the privilege. Schmeiser insisted that Monsanto's patented DNA blew onto his land, but he lost an acrimonious fight in Canada's Supreme Court anyway. Now Percy's back for more. Schmeiser has filed suit against the agribusiness giant in his Bruno, Saskatchewan, small claims court ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, business, food, GMOs, industrial ag, litigation (all these topics) |
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Refuse to Palouse
Groups sue for protections of giant lily-scented worm |
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25 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:52 PM on 25 Jan 2008 Green groups have followed through on their pledge to sue the federal government to gain protections for everyone's favorite three-foot-long, deep-burrowing, prone-to-spit, pinkish-white, lily-scented endangered species: the Palouse earthworm. sources: Associated Press, Associated Content From the Archives 'Til the Grey Lady Sings. NYT endorses Clinton and McCain, ... |
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| Topics: endangered species, litigation, news, politics, wildlife (all these topics) |
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The Sonar Also Rises
Judge temporarily drops two restrictions on Navy's use of sonar, retains others |
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18 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:58 AM on 18 Jan 2008 Earlier this week, President Bush exempted the U.S. Navy from parts of an environmental law so it could continue to use mid-frequency sonar off the California coast. Mid-frequency sonar has been linked to deafness, beachings, and other injuries of marine mammals. Responding to Bush's move, the federal judge who earlier this month ordered the Navy to adopt restric ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, oceans, United States, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Massey Business
Coal company penalized for Clean Water Act violations |
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17 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:16 PM on 17 Jan 2008 Massey Energy Co., the nation's fourth-largest coal producer, has agreed to a $30 million settlement with the U.S. EPA over allegations of Clean Water Act violations. Massey was accused of polluting streams and waterways in West Virginia and Kentucky with the detritus of mountaintop-removal mining on at least 4,500 occasions between 2000 and 2006. The company must pay $20 million in civil pena ... |
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| Topics: coal, energy, litigation, mining, news, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Playing Mined Games
Green groups seek to overturn mine exemption from ESA reviews |
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17 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:53 AM on 17 Jan 2008 Four green groups and two state agencies have filed a petition with federal wildlife and mining agencies seeking to change the long-standing policy of exempting mountaintop-removal mining from specific Endangered Species Act reviews. In 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided that mountaintop-removal mining wouldn't unduly imperil threatened species if mines followed othe ... |
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| Topics: litigation, mining, news, United States (all these topics) |
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Silly Elliott
Court justice frolicked with coal exec while fraud case was pending |
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15 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:21 PM on 15 Jan 2008 When found guilty of fraud and penalized $50 million by a West Virginia jury, coal company Massey Energy appealed to the state Supreme Court -- and won in a 3-to-2 decision. Now a motion has been filed to disqualify Justice Elliott Maynard from the case and withdraw his favorable vote, as pictures have surfaced of Maynard and Massey CEO Don Blankenship enjoying each other's company ... |
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| Topics: coal, energy, jackassery, litigation, news, politics (all these topics) |
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You've Got Jail
Forest Service official threatened with jail time over fish-killing fire retardant |
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14 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:17 AM on 14 Jan 2008 Mark Rey, the undersecretary of agriculture in charge of the U.S. Forest Service, has been threatened with jail time or house arrest for his agency's attempts to continue using a flame retardant on forest fires that's toxic to fish. In 2002, fire retardant was dropped on a blaze in central Oregon, killing about 20,000 fish. Soon after, green group Forest Service Em ... |
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| Topics: litigation, national forests, news, United States, US Forest Service (all these topics) |
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Corridor Stop
Green groups sue over DOE's plans for electric transmission corridors |
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11 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:55 PM on 11 Jan 2008 Green groups are suing the Department of Energy over its plans for electric transmission corridors in the U.S. Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. The groups say the DOE violated environmental laws by failing to take into account the potential impacts of the high-voltage transmission lines on air quality, wildlife, and habitat; the corridors encompass dozens of state and national ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, electricity grid, energy, litigation, news (all these topics) |
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Hot Fuzz
Green groups will sue over feds' missed polar-bear deadline |
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09 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:55 AM on 09 Jan 2008 Discontented with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's announcement that it will not meet its deadline for deciding whether to list polar bears as a threatened species, the Big Three green groups -- Greenpeace, NRDC, and the Center for Biological Diversity -- have notified the government that they plan to sue. source: Associated Press From the Archives Granite State U ... |
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| Topics: climate, endangered species, Greenpeace, litigation, news, NRDC, politics, US Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Hydra Crimes and Misdemeanors
Bush admin backs off appeal of nixed forest-management rules, to release new ones |
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09 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:12 AM on 09 Jan 2008 The Bush administration has backed off of an appeal of a March 2007 ruling that overturned controversial management rules for national forests. The struck-down rules allowed national forest managers to approve logging, mining, cell-phone towers, and other commercial projects without undergoing environmental reviews and were found to violate the Endange ... |
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| Topics: litigation, national forests, news, United States, US Forest Service (all these topics) |
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Border in the Court
U.S. Supreme Court refuses Canadian company's pollution suit appeal |
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08 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 5:42 AM on 08 Jan 2008 The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a Canadian mining company in a cross-border pollution case, in effect sustaining an earlier appeals court ruling holding the company liable for pollution under U.S. law. Just 10 miles north of the U.S. border in British Columbia, the mining company Teck Cominco has been operating a smelter that from 1892 until 1994 du ... |
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| Topics: business, Canada, international politics, litigation, news, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Rebuttal?
California stats say state emissions-reduction plan far more effective than federal law |
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04 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 1:04 PM on 04 Jan 2008 When the U.S. EPA denied California the right to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, the agency reasoned that the just-passed energy bill's boost to national fuel-economy standards would be stronger emissions-reduction policy than the state's plan. California, which has sued, would beg to differ, and has released statistics refuting the EPA's claim. For ... |
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| Topics: California, climate, climate change mitigation, fuel efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions, litigation, news, politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Blue's Cues
IBM sued for dumping chemicals in upstate New York |
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04 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:44 AM on 04 Jan 2008 A group of 94 plaintiffs has filed suit against IBM in New York's state Supreme Court seeking damages for the company's role in dumping toxic chemicals near a former factory that allegedly contributed to residents developing cancers, heart defects, and other problems. According to attorneys, the main pollutant is trichloroethylene, which was first found drifting into homes and other businesses in the ... |
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| Topics: business, litigation, New York, news (all these topics) |
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Hey, You Got Your Naval Pierced
Judge orders restrictions on U.S. Navy's use of sonar off California coast |
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04 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:01 AM on 04 Jan 2008 A federal judge yesterday ordered the U.S. Navy to adopt specific restrictions on its use of sonar in order to protect whales and other marine mammals off the California coast. Mid-frequency sonar has been accused of causing a wide range of problems when it's used within proximity of marine mammals, such as temporary deafness, beachings, and various other i ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, oceans, United States, wildlife (all these topics) |
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Here We Go Again
Britain expected to back new construction of nuclear power plants |
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02 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:34 PM on 02 Jan 2008 Britain is expected to next week give a nod to new nuclear-power-plant construction. A judge overturned an initial go-ahead in February, saying the government failed to properly consult the public; officials have undertaken five months of public consultation in the lead-up to the expected announcement. "Dozens of individuals and organizations have contributed to the consultat ... |
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| Topics: energy, Greenpeace, litigation, news, nuclear power, United Kingdom (all these topics) |
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
Automaker lawsuit against Rhode Island can go forward, and more vehicle news |
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02 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:14 PM on 02 Jan 2008 If news of states suing the EPA merely whets your appetite for vehicle-emissions news, here's more: Firstly, a federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit from automakers seeking to prevent Rhode Island from regulating vehicle emissions can go forward. Rhode Island officials are left wondering how their situation is different from a very similar lawsu ... |
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| Topics: cars, China, climate, fuel efficiency, Germany, litigation, news, Rhode Island (all these topics) |
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Runaway Sue
California, 15 other states, and five nonprofits sue EPA over waiver decision |
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02 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:47 AM on 02 Jan 2008 California has made good on its promise to sue the U.S. EPA over the agency's refusal to allow the state to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles, and 15 other states have made good on their promise to join in on the litigation. The swarm of states, along with five nonprofit groups, filed suit today in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The presu ... |
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| Topics: California, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, litigation, news, politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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