International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, is the internationally-recognized labor holiday to honor the invaluable contributions of workers everywhere. This day started as a way to commemorate a general strike in the United States where workers fought for the adoption of the eight-hour workday, which began on May 1st, 1886. Today on May … Read more
In a victory for people and climate, the California Air Resources Board amended the Commercial Harbor Craft Rule in 2022, setting the first zero-emissions mandate for ferries in the U.S and requiring cleaner engine upgrades for tugboats and other regulated vessels. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to approve these lifesaving amendments. … Read more
WASHINGTON, DC [September 28, 2023] — In a letter sent to President Biden on World Maritime Day, 45 organizations called for an Executive Order to decarbonize maritime shipping. The Biden administration has already made significant commitments to eliminate emissions from the shipping industry, as well as to accelerate the development of zero-emission fuels and technologies … Read more
In 2021, Pacific Environment partnered with community leaders to fight climate change, protect the oceans, build just societies, and move beyond fossil fuels toward a green economy. I’m proud of the historical wins we and local activists achieved this year. And I hope you are, too, because we couldn’t do what we do without the … Read more
I first met Ding Jie a decade ago when she was a college graduate taking on heavy polluters in the big city. Together we toured the city of Wuhu, located west of Shanghai on the Yangtze River in southern Anhui Province. Making our way through stagnant air and past construction rubble and urban decay, I … Read more
Pacific Environment’s staff and leadership express solidarity with protesters in the Bay Area and everywhere who have taken to the streets over the murder of George Floyd by a police officer who was supposed to protect people. Floyd’s murder, coupled with those of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, and Tony McDade, as well as the racist targeting of … Read more
Pacific Environment and Environmental Defense Fund today urge the State of California to move forward overdue climate mitigation and public health measures in California ports. Specifically, we call on the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board to reject several proposals we’ve become aware of asking for delays or roll backs in … Read more
London, Friday February 21, 2020: NGOs and Indigenous groups today cautiously acknowledged progress by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States in agreeing on a draft regulation on heavy fuel oil (HFO) use and carriage in the Arctic, but denounced the inclusion of loopholes in the text that mean the ban will not come … Read more
Over 46,000 people want Carnival Corporation’s dirty cruise ships out of Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. We made sure the National Park Service got that message. Two years ago, a Carnival-owned Holland America cruise ship illegally dumped 22,000 gallons of wastewater in Glacier Bay National Park. At the time, they were fined $250—a fraction of … Read more
A recent Alaska Native-led statewide gathering in Fairbanks—Kohtr’elneyh Remembering Forward: A Strategic Framework for a Just Transition—explored a hopeful and provocative approach to transforming Alaska’s oil-dependent extractive economy to one that is ecologically sustainable, equitable, and just. The summit centered on learning from the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples—living in balance with the land, adapting … Read more
With the support of activists like you, we are building people power around the Pacific Rim to fight climate change, defend the oceans, promote open and inclusive societies, and ensure a just transition to a clean energy future for all. Here are five accomplishments I’m especially proud of this year. They would not have been … Read more
Seeds planted over the past decade by communities in Vietnam have now borne fruit: the nation’s leadership has announced the intent to do something about the country’s plastic trash problem. On June 9, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc launched a campaign to fight plastic pollution, pledging to ban single-use plastic nationwide by 2025. With … Read more
One of my most cherished gifts given to me is a beautiful sealskin vest made by my grandmother. She was from St. Lawrence Island in the northern Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska. There, life continues to be sustained by our traditions of subsistence, with blessed wildlife that has nourished our people for thousands of … Read more
Last year, I accompanied Yun Jianli on a surprise visit to a wastewater treatment plant in her hometown Xiangyang in Hubei Province. We were investigating river pollution and asked the plant’s environmental manager to show us the equipment. It was noon, we were standing out in the burning sun, and I was feeling too hot … Read more
It’s almost hard to fathom unless you’ve seen it in person. Black ribbons of salmon—wild, Alaska salmon—running up clear rivers through spectacular, unspoiled country as far as you can see. This is the natural wonder and unmatched economic powerhouse that is Bristol Bay. The watershed is home to largest wild sockeye salmon run in the world. … Read more
As 2016 ends and we look ahead to the challenges of 2017, I want to pause for a minute and share with you some encouraging news for the future of the Arctic. Pacific Environment has been campaigning for a fossil fuel-free Arctic for nearly a decade, together with many environmental groups, community allies and supporters … Read more
Imagine: A local villager admitting that she accepted a color TV from the owner of a factory that is polluting a nearby river. Environmental officials questioning pollution data presented by a local environmental group, shouting, “Where does your data come from? Why is this the first time we are seeing this?” Similar incidents happen all … Read more
I woke up at 3:30 am today to start my trip into San Francisco to for an action to support the communities defending the Missouri River at Standing Rock, where the Dakota Access Pipeline threatens water and sacred land. I was thrilled to be part of this indigenous-led action by Idle No More Bay Area, … Read more
When a mine leaks heavy metals into drinking water supply in China, or when school children fall sick due to contaminated soil, or when a factory exceeds its pollution permits for the 79th day in a row, whose job is it to respond? Technically, these kinds of problems are the responsibility of China’s environmental enforcement … Read more
We need your help. Tell President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Jewell to halt proposed plans to allow drilling in Alaskan waters. Shell recently announced that it is abandoning its Arctic Ocean drilling program. But that’s not enough. Big oil is waiting to snap up new offshore oil and gas leases. Tell the President … Read more