Ricardo Lara Grew Up in L.A.’s Dumping Grounds. Now he’s Cleaning them Up.

By Nathanael Johnson, Grist

For years, environmental justice advocates have been saying that it’s time to shift the focus of the environmental movement from beautiful landscapes and big animals to the people choking on black carbon or poisoned by lead in their water. Now, some of those people who grew up in dumping grounds have come into power and are shaping politics on the world stage. And when California sent a delegation to the U.N. climate conference in Bonn a few weeks ago, it was packed with members of the movement, including state Senator Ricardo Lara.

This Is Blockadia

By Daria Rivin, Alice Owen, Common Dreams

As world leaders prepare to meet in Germany to negotiate climate action at COP23, activists are putting words into action by blockading a nearby coal mine. Their message is that leaders need to grasp the urgency of keeping fossil fuels in the ground, right here and right now. With an increasing frequency and intensity, such direct actions and the associated demands for climate justice are unfolding on every continent.

Sunoco Ordered to Suspend Drilling on Mariner East 2 Pipeline After Spills, Damage

By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog

Pennsylvania's Environmental Hearing Board today ordered Sunoco Pipeline LP to temporarily halt some types of work on a $2.5 billion pipeline project designed to carry 275,000 barrels a day of butane, propane, and other liquid fossil fuels from Ohio and West Virginia, across Pennsylvania, to the Atlantic coast.

The Hope for Justice: The Battle to Stop the Bayou Bridge Pipeline

By Julie Dermansky, DeSmog Blog

The Bayou Bridge pipeline will be the last leg of the Dakota Access, carrying oil fracked in North Dakota to Louisiana. The final stretch of the project, if built, will span 162.5 miles from Lake Charles to St. James, cutting through the Atchafalaya Basin, a national heritage area and the country’s largest wetland.

The Unsustainable Whiteness of Green

By Nikhil Swaminathan, Grist

Aaron Mair’s story starts out all too familiar to people of color who have encountered any of the big green groups: He asked one for help dealing with an issue of critical importance to the health of his family and community — and was turned away.

Just Transition with Mateo Nube of Movement Generation

By Marissa Mommaerts, Transition US

It has become clear we face two distinct possible futures: Economic Transition or Ecological Collapse.

Can We Earn a Living on a Living Planet?

By Chuck Collins, On The Commons

It has been a tough couple of years in the effort to unite labor, community, and environmental groups, an alliance that has always been strained.