On March 1, 2024, a federal court of appeals has ruled 6-5 that a multinational mining giant’s proposed obliteration of Oak Flat, an Apache holy place in Arizona, wouldn’t break laws protecting religious freedom.

Apache Stronghold — a longtime Center ally — will appeal the case to the Supreme Court. In destroying Oak Flat, the mine would violate Indigenous people’s First Amendment rights. It would also erase habitat for endangered species like ocelots and Arizona hedgehog cacti, suck up massive amounts of precious water, and create 1.4 billion tons of toxic waste. Two other suits over the mine’s impacts, including one of ours, have yet to be decided.

TAKE ACTION. If you live in the U.S., help us call on Congress to pass a law to preserve it for good: https://biodiv.us/49GFbRX

More info: https://www.becketlaw.org/case/apache-stronghold-v-united-states/

? by the Center's Russ McSpadden

This video was featured in our Endangered Earth newsletter, issue 1,235 (March. 7, 2024): https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/publications/earthonline/endangered-earth-online-no1235.html

-----
About the Center:

The Center for Biological Diversity is a 501c3 nonprofit headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. At the Center, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.

We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.

Where to find us:

WEBSITE: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/CenterforBio...
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/centerforbi...
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@centerforbiodiv
TAKE ACTION: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/action/

For questions or media inquiries, email us at center@biologicaldiversity.org.

Building on Generation Connect’s participation in the LDC5 Youth Forum and Youth Track in Qatar, this session aims to highlight role of young people at the forefront of SDG implementation and digital transformation in LDCs. Using SDG 9 [Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure] as a thematic focus, young speakers discuss how can we ensure an enabling digital environment and meaningful connectivity for youth in LDCs, towards real opportunities to lead, thrive and prosper in our shared digital future.

Donate: https://givebutter.com/protectthackerpass

PRESS RELEASE:

As Court Ruling Nears, Thacker Pass Sacred Sites Already Being Damaged

Tribal Chairman: “It’s Our Responsibility to Protect Sacred Sites”

RENO, NV — The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in northern Nevada is headed back to Federal Court on January 5th as the lawsuits against the project near completion, but project opponents are raising the alarm that Lithium Nevada Corporation has already begun work on the proposed mine.

Lithium Nevada’s workers at Thacker Pass have begun digging test pits, bore holes, dumping gravel, building fencing, & installing security cameras where Native Americans often conduct ceremonies. Lithium Nevada also conducted “bulk sampling” earlier this year, & may be planning to dig dozens of new test pits across Thacker Pass. They’re claiming this work is legal under previous permits issued over a decade ago. But Tribes & mine opponents, including the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony & Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, disagree.

They point to language in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine that says “authorization of [the mine] will terminate the [earlier permits].” The Federal permit for Thacker Pass was approved on January 15th, 2021.

Will Falk, attorney for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, explains: “Lithium Nevada told the government & the American public that it would terminate the older permits upon BLM's approval of the Thacker Pass Project. Now they are going back on their word, it appears they are lying to get a headstart on building the Thacker Pass mine, & the BLM is allowing them to get away with it.”

Thacker Pass, known as Peehee Mu’huh in Paiute, is a sacred site to regional tribes whose ancestors lived in the area for thous&s of years, & were massacred there on at least two occasions.

Michon Eben, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer at Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, says the site is incredibly important to Native American history. “Peehee Mu’huh is a sacred place where our ancestors lived & died. We still go there to pray, gather food & medicine, hunt, & teach our youth about the history of our people.” Eben & the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony are currently hosting an exhibit on the impacts of mining on Native people of Nevada.

Tribal members have stated in court filings that, because of the history of battles & massacres on the site, Thacker Pass is as significant to their culture as a site like Pearl Harbor is to American history. Arlan Melendez, Chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, underst&s the importance of battle & massacre sites as both a Native American & as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.

“As tribal leaders, it’s our responsibility to protect & honor our sacred places,” says Melendez. “Throughout US history, tribes have always been set up to lose in the US legal system against BLM. This Lithium Mine st&s in the way of our roots & it’s violating the religious freedoms of our elders, our people.”

Falk, the Tribal attorney, says that Lithium Nevada’s construction activities at Thacker Pass are also violating tribal consultation rights.

“The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony & Summit Lake Paiute Tribe are still engaged in consultation with the BLM about the September 12, 1865 massacre site, a site that will be completely destroyed by Lithium Nevada’s mine if this project is built,” Falk says. “It’s hard to believe a government agency is consulting in good faith when they are already allowing the site to be harmed.”

Shelley Harjo, a tribal member from the Fort McDermitt Shoshone Paiute Tribe & an employee of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, has called the planned destruction of Thacker Pass “the biggest desecration & rape of a known Native American massacre site in our area.”

The upcoming January 5th hearing in Reno’s Federal Courthouse will be the final oral argument in the ongoing lawsuits against the Thacker Pass mine. Mine opponents are planning a march & rally outside. Plaintiffs, including the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Burns Paiute Tribe, four environmental organizations, & local rancher Edward Bartell, have alleged numerous violations of the law, & Judge Mir&a Du is expected to issue her opinion in the case within days or weeks of the January 5th hearing.

“No matter what happens in court on January 5th, Thacker Pass is being destroyed right now & that threat will be ongoing,” says Max Wilbert, co-founder of Protect Thacker Pass. “We have to stop that.”

Lithium Nevada claims that its lithium mine will be essential to producing batteries for combating global warming, & the Biden administration has previously indicated some support for Thacker Pass. Opponents of the project have called this “greenwashing,” arguing that the project would harm important wildlife habitat & create significant pollution. They say that electric cars are still harmful to the planet.

#ProtectThackerPass #ProtectPeeheeMuhuh #lithium #climate #greenwashing #BrightGreenLies

https://ProtectThackerPass.org

The National Turtle Lodge Council of Elders and Knowledge Keepers honoured Elder Dr. Dave Courchene, Jr. and his spiritual names, Nitamabit (The Original Way and One who Sits in Front) and Nii Gaani Aki Inini (Leading Earth Man) yesterday, in recognition of his leadership and role identified by his names, his service to the People and Mother Earth, and his work in fulfillment of the dream and vision of the Turtle Lodge to awaken, nurture and strengthen the spirit in all Peoples.

What if women’s untapped power to make change was harnessed to fight the climate crisis?

Climate change affects us all globally – but it does not affect us all equally. Vast social and economic inequities mean we don’t all contribute to the climate crisis to the same degree; nor are its effects evenly distributed. Racialised women are the most likely to suffer the consequences of climate change, which they have done the least to cause. Meanwhile, women are marginalised in the spaces where climate solutions are shaped.

Gender inequality has helped cause climate catastrophe – and we need gender equality to help us solve it, argues writer and sociologist Anne Karpf. We must see women not simply as the victims nor the sole saviours of our global situation, but as holders of power to make systemic change. She speaks with inspiring women from across the world building movements for gender-inclusive climate action.

#RSAclimate

Follow the RSA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RSAEvents
Like RSA Events on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rsaeventsofficial
Listen to RSA Events podcasts: https://bit.ly/35EyQYU
See RSA Events behind the scenes: https://instagram.com/rsa_events/

While IPCC risk assessments and emission projections can help us understand climate change, they don’t exactly inspire the imagination or provoke a personal response to the crisis. The solution? A growing league of storytellers who use photographs, films and the human experience to breathe life into the cerebral science of anthropogenic climate change. Images can tap into our senses and break down barriers that statistics cannot—how far can they go to inspire a global climate response?

Join us for a conversation on the art of visualizing climate change with filmmaker Céline Cousteau, producer and director Davis Guggenheim, and photographer Cristina Mittermeier.

SPEAKERS

Céline Cousteau
Filmmaker

Cristina Mittermeier
Photographer and Founder, International League of Conservation Photographers

Davis Guggenheim
Co-Founder, Concordia Studio

Greg Dalton
Founder and Host, Climate One

-www.commonwealthclub.org/covid19support

-Subscribe for more Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/commonwealthclub
-Upcoming events: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events
-Become a Member: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership

-Donate Now: https://support.commonwealthclub.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=298


-Watch & Listen https://www.commonwealthclub.org/watch-listen
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecommonwealthclub/
-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cwclub/
-Twitter https://twitter.com/cwclub

Wolf Joe is an exciting and brand-new animated series follows the daily adventures of Joe, a young First Nations boy who, with his two best friends, is inspired by the universal values of The Seven Teachings Wheel to explore his Indigenous culture, heritage and identity.

The children’s series was created in collaboration and partnership with the Turtle Lodge, Media Rendezvous and Amberwood Entertainment.

Wolf Joe, a 46 x 11 mins animated action adventure series, is a TVOkids Original!

At the recent Global Training in July 2020, former Vice President Al Gore and the Climate Reality Project continued their call to prioritize and center the environmental justice work of communities of color and indigenous communities. In this spirit, we invite you to learn about and engage with Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice's "We Can't Breathe" campaign in San Francisco's Bayview and Hunters Point (BVHP) neighborhoods, a low-income community of color (33.7 percent African American, 30.7 percent Asian, and 24.9 percent Latinx per the 2010 Census) where residents suffer from high rates of asthma and cancer and where radioactive waste and toxic contamination at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard Superfund site and multiple other contaminated sites are located.

As one of the lowest-lying points in San Francisco, BVHP will also be first impacted by rising oceans, which have already risen by almost 8 inches as of 2016 and which threaten to create flooding of hazardous and radioactive waste of neighborhoods, transportation infrastructure, and the entire San Francisco Bay, while several hundred new luxury homes have been built next to and possibly on top of radioactive contamination, and 10,000 more homes are planned at the contaminated Shipyard Superfund Site where critics complain that radioactive and toxic cleanup has been marred by fraud and lax standards. Speakers will also discuss the August 25 Car Caravan Protest to San Francisco City Hall for the Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice "We Can't Breathe" Campaign.

NOTES
Co-presented by The Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter


THU, OCT 1 / 12:00 PM PDT
SPEAKERS

Dalila Adofo
Community Organizer, Policy Advocate, and Coordinator, Bayview Hunters Point Community Air Monitoring Project with Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Bradley Angel
Executive Director, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice

Sabrina Hall
Community Activist; Volunteer; Member, Bayview Hunters Point Mothers and Fathers Committee; Member, Student Site Council and African American Parent Advisory Council, Paul Revere Elementary School; Member, California Environmental Justice Coalition; Vice Chair, Southeast Community Council; Community Organizer, Green Action for Health and Environmental Justice

Ahimsa Sumchai
M.D., P.D., Emergency Medicine Physician; President and Medical Director, Golden State MD Health & Wellness; Principal Investigator, Hunters Point Community Biomonitoring Program; Member, UCSF Medical Alumni Association Board of Directors

Alma Soongi Beck
Climate Justice Co-Chair, Climate Reality Project Bay Area Chapter—Moderator

Join us for the 2020 Commonwealth Club Virtual Gala.
More info here:


-www.commonwealthclub.org/covid19support

-Donate Now: 
-Text DONATE to: 415-329-4231

TEDxRyeNeckHigh

Jaime Latorre, a 15-year-old climate activist, and Eagle Scout candidate urges everyone to exercise personal leadership as he shares his views about the importance of youth organizations that reinforce the value of nature. Jaime, grade 9, plans to create an insect farm and butterfly haven for his Eagle Scout project. He is an outdoorsman who cares deeply for the conservation of the natural world. His TEDx talk focuses on youth activism and how organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, support participatory communities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at TEDx.

The national uprising ignited by the murder of George Floyd has cast a spotlight on the country’s embedded, institutional racism, including the fraught relationship between environmentalism and communities of color. Air pollution, severe weather and the economic upheaval brought on by climate change impacts black and minority communities first and worst, yet their voices are often left out of policy responses and market solutions.

How can we amplify and advocate for leaders of color in the fight against climate change? What can allies do to create a green movement that is inclusive and actively anti-racist? Join us for a conversation with Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president of environmental justice at the National Wildlife Federation, Robert Bullard, distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University and winner of the 2019 Stephen Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication, and Glynda Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America.

Speakers:
Mustafa Santiago Ali
Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization, National Wildlife Federation

Robert Bullard
Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University

Glynda Carr
CEO and Co-Founder, Higher Heights for America

Greg Dalton
Host, Climate One

-www.commonwealthclub.org/covid19support
-Become a Member: https://www.commonwealthclub.org/membership

-Donate Now: 
-Text DONATE to: 415-329-4231