Earthworks

12/07/2022

2022 Community Sentinel Awards · Zoom · Luma

Join us and and in celebrating heroes of the environmental justice movement!

The Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship recognizes activists who fight against environmental injustice perpetuated by the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries.

The virtual Awards Ceremony will take place on 12/8! Get your tickets at

To honor our community's environmental heroes, FracTracker Alliance created the Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship. The annual award ceremony celebrates...

11/28/2022

Enormous gas leak in western PA demands deep reflection on our commonwealth’s future. - Earthworks

ICYMI -- An Equitrans Midstream Corporation gas storage facility in Western Pennsylvania had a disastrous pollution event that lasted weeks in November.

While this story made headlines, oil and gas methane pollution isn't rare. Although this event is over, the public health and climate threat remains.

READ MORE ->

Every day the oil and gas industry pollutes our atmosphere with methane, and almost none of it will ever make a headline. But once in a while, a disaster

11/10/2022

Virtual Screening of Herança Maldita

Please join us for the virtual screening of the documentary Herença Maldita.

The film examines the two catastrophic environmental crimes committed by mining companies that have marked the last decade in Brazil.

On November 5th, 2015, the Fundão tailings dam at the Samarco mine burst in the town of Mariana, Brazil. As the dam broke, 45 million cubic meters of iron ore waste and mud covered the nearby town of Bento Rodrigues and beyond. 19 people were killed and at least 600 lost their homes. At the time, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff called it the “worst environmental disaster Brazil had ever seen."

A little over three years later, on January 25, 2019, the Córrego do Feijão dam at a Vale mine near the town of Brumadinho collapsed releasing about 9.7 million cubic meters of waste. Another tidal wave of mud rushed downhill, this time covering parts of the town of Brumadinho and killing 272 people.

Based on these tragedies, the documentary approaches the topic of mining activity, researching its impacts on land, the water and the people.

By registering for the screening you will receive a link and password to view the documentary in advance of this event.

The event will include screenings of selected clips with commentary from the film's director, Tomás Amaral, and Brazilian community members, activists, and mining experts. There will be an opportunity for Q&A with the director and the panelists. The event will be in English and Portuguese.

The screening is organized by the film’s director in collaboration with MiningWatch Canada and Earthworks.

11/10/2022

TODAY: Residents deliver a legal petition to Maritime Administration signed by 288 orgs calling for the agency to reject new oil & gas export projects on the Texas Gulf Coast that poison the air with invisible, deadly gasses that cause a wide range of health problems & elevate cancer rates.

11/10/2022

184 health professionals across the country sent a clear message to Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Maritime Administration, and Department of Homeland Security today:

New oil and gas export projects come entirely at the expense of our climate, frontline communities, and Gulf Coast ecosystems.

Read the full letter here → http://bit.ly/3ToIRPm

10/31/2022

Tougher Rules on Methane Leaks Coming, but Low-Output Wells Might Catch a Break

Small oil & gas wells across the country can be BIG POLLUTERS – responsible for ½ of industry’s methane production pollution. Yet in some states, companies like Diversified Gas & Oil are exempt from leak finding rules.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can change that. (via The Wall Street Journal)

The Environmental Protection Agency may exempt low-producing oil and gas wells from frequent inspections.

10/28/2022

Jane on the Road: Port Arthur, Texas

Port Arthur, Texas, a predominantly Black community deep in the heart of oil country, is inundated with industrial pollution from oil wells, refineries, petrochemical plants, and now proposed fossil fuel export infrastructure.

On this Fire Drill Friday, Actor and Activist, Jane Fonda, gets an in-person, on the ground look at what’s at stake for this frontline community by John Beard, Jr., Founder and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network Watch to learn about the legacy of strong resistance, including the fight against the climate crisis and environmental racism, and what we can all do to support.

10/25/2022

”CANCER ALLEY” CLIMATE ACTIVISTS HOLD FUNERAL IN D.C FOR LIVES LOST TO FOSSIL FUELS

HAPPENING NOW: RISE ST. JAMES and residents from Cancer Alley and the Gulf Coast are holding a funeral procession to the White House, honoring those lost to the toxic chemicals spewed by the fossil fuel industry.

"Cancer Alley is not a myth."

10/17/2022

The oil company Sentinel Midstream and financier Freepoint Commodities are trying to build GulfLink, a massive offshore oil export terminal on the Texas Gulf Coast. The project is a recipe for disaster for Gulf Coast communities, ecosystems, and the climate.

It's clear we need to be transitioning off fossil fuels, not building new crude oil projects. Attend the public hearing TOMORROW to speak out and stop the proposed Texas Gulflink crude oil terminal: https://bit.ly/3Vr30qc

10/03/2022

Permian Basin Dispatch 3: Drill, Biden, Drill - Texas Methane Hunters

"The more holes we drill in the ground, the more dangerous and expensive it will be to fix this climate crisis."

Watch the latest episode of our Permian Basin Dispatches! Don't forget to subscribe :)

The Permian Basin, America's most prolific oil and gas basin, is on track to set new production records of 5.408 million barrels of crude oil per day. This i...

09/23/2022

Activists with Texas Campaign for the Environment dropped a banner during Secretary Pete Buttigieg's keynote speech at the TribFest in Austin, Texas.

Buttigieg can reject six offshore oil and gas export facilities proposed on the Gulf Coast that would harm the health of residents, increase energy costs, and make climate change worse.

09/23/2022

PLEASE, PETE.

Texas frontline leaders today delivered a message to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the Texas Tribune Festival: STOP FOSSIL FUEL EXPORTS.

Secretary Buttigieg, whose keynote kicked off the event, has the authority to reject six pending applications for offshore oil and gas export facilities that would harm the health of residents, increase energy costs, and make worse.

09/22/2022

Our Director, Jennifer Krill and 12 other EDs risked arrest at the Capitol today. They are denouncing Senator Manchin’s to fast-track fossil fuel & mining project approvals! This is what solidarity with frontline communities looks like.

09/21/2022

Permian Basin Dispatch 1: Everything But a Plague of Locusts - Texas Methane Hunters

Permian Basin Dispatch 1: Everything But a Plague of Locusts - Texas Methane Hunters

Follow the Texas Methane Hunters to the Permian Basin in West Texas where oil and gas operators break the rules, pollute the air, and speed up climate change...

09/21/2022

Permian Basin Dispatch 1: Everything But a Plague of Locusts - Texas Methane Hunters

Our Texas Field Team went to the Permian Basin and saw:

🔥 A compressor station on fire
💨 A massive methane blowdown
😷 A sandstorm
💥 A frackquake

And that’s not all…

📹 Episode 1 of our Permian Basin Dispatches are now available on YouTube 📹

Follow the Texas Methane Hunters to the Permian Basin in West Texas where oil and gas operators break the rules, pollute the air, and speed up climate change...

09/19/2022

Private equity firms are helping Big Oil create an illusion of emissions reduction by secretly buying up their old dirty assets. We can’t afford to let private equity pollute under a shroud of darkness and let publicly traded companies like Shell, bp, ExxonMobil, and Equinor move emissions off of their books. Learn more in a new report from Private Equity Stakeholder Project and Americans for Financial Reform: https://hubs.ly/Q01md5l

09/15/2022

Louisiana Court Vacates Air Permits for Formosa’s Massive Petrochemical Complex in Cancer Alley - Earthworks

BREAKING: In a major victory for Cancer Alley communities, a Louisiana court vacated air permits for Formosa Plastics’ massive petrochemical complex. The project could have tripled cancer-causing pollutants in the region.

ST. JAMES, Louisiana — Today, Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court reversed the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ)

09/09/2022

We’re going live from the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, with John Beard from Port Arthur Community Action Network and Melanie Oldham from Citizens for Clean Air and Clean Water Brazoria County.

We are asking Secretary Pete Buttigieg to deny the permit for construction of a fossil fuel export terminal — known as “SPOT” — right off of Surfsise Beach, Brazoria County on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

09/07/2022

Toxic Superfund Dredging Project Delayed After Community Advocacy - Earthworks

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters once again delays timing to seek bids to dredge the Matagorda Bay shipping channel.

“It’s clear that stirring up deadly toxins is not only bad for the health of our community and bays but it’s also bad for dirty fossil fuel business,” said Diane Wilson, fourth-generation shrimper and executive director of San Antonio Estuarine Bay Waterkeeper.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a coalition of Gulf and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice announced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has once

09/06/2022

Big Win for Colorado Community: A chronic polluter shut down - Earthworks

On August 25th, CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division shut down an oil and gas well Earthworks has documented chronically polluting and community members have long fought.

The question is now: is this a shift toward prioritizing public health for Governor Jared Polis or just an exception?

On August 25th, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) ordered Prospect Energy to cease operations at the Krause MSSU Central

09/02/2022

No More Oil Spills! Stand With the Gulf Coast

The Maritime Administration and U.S. Coast Guard should not allow Big Oil to build a massive oil export facility through marine environments that are still recovering from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

A dangerous oil export project (known as “SPOT”) proposed on the Texas Coast is in its final stage of consideration. Your voice can help stop it!

08/31/2022

Come join us! We're hiring two communications positions:

- Digital Media Manager
- Digital Media Assistant
https://earthworks.org/about/jobs/

08/30/2022

The Mining Industry Side Deal Threatening to Shut Down the Government - Earthworks

A proposed Permitting Bill would fast track the permitting process for harmful mineral and fossil fuel projects during a climate crisis. If Members of Congress care about the climate, they need to protect people, wildlife and public lands, and reject more handouts for polluting industries.

Right now, some Members of Congress are negotiating a dirty side deal aimed toward limiting the public’s voice in government mining decisions. A leaked

08/29/2022

'They want us gone': Black Louisianans fight to rebuild a year after Ida

Today is the one year commemoration of Hurricane Ida, which hit southeast Louisiana as the 5th strongest storm to make landfall in US history.

Residents of the Louisiana coast now face a difficult decision. Leave behind neighbors, lifeways and land, or rebuild their historic communities in the face of escalating hurricanes, fossil fuel buildout and a hostile local government.

Residents of Ironton and West Point a la Hache are still pushing federal and state agencies to help them make their communities safer before the next storm.

08/24/2022

The Mining Industry Side Deal Threatening to Shut Down the Government - Earthworks

Permitting a new mine in the US takes 2 years on average. Delays in mine permitting are primarily caused by companies that fail to provide sufficient and timely information. A proposed Permitting Bill would make it easier for mining and fossil fuel companies to push through projects without proper environmental studies or adequate input from frontline communities. Politicians who care about communities impacted by mining and fossil fuel extraction must vote no on this handout for the oil and mining industry.

Right now, some Members of Congress are negotiating a dirty side deal aimed toward limiting the public’s voice in government mining decisions. A leaked

08/23/2022

For over 20 years, the Pebble Mine has threatened to destroy Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Bristol Bay provides half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon, thousands of jobs, and supports Alaskan communities.
We need to protect Bristol Bay so that it can continue to support future generations. It only takes a second to comment ➡️ https://bit.ly/3RnMa9E

08/22/2022

Together we can stop Alaska’s Pebble Mine for good! The EPA has extended the comment period on a plan to protect Bristol Bay. This watershed provides 15,000 jobs, half of the world’s wild sockeye salmon supply, and generates $2.2 billion in economic activity every year.

Take a second and tell the EPA that Bristol Bay deserves to be protected for us and future generations! https://bit.ly/3RnMa9E

08/19/2022

EPA, Don’t Give Hilcorp a Free Pollution Pass

NEW BLOG - Hilcorp Energy Company makes its money by putting front line communities at risk and undermining any efforts to limit global warming. Yet, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new rules that could exempt many of Hilcorp's wells from regular inspections...

All oil and gas wells pollute. But some companies, like Hilcorp, pollute more than others. Hilcorp is, pound for pound, the most polluting oil and gas

08/17/2022

Blue Hydrogen: A Threat to Public Health?

Blue hydrogen—hydrogen produced with shale gas as an input—has recently been touted as a clean solution to many of the world’s energy challenges. But this misunderstood and costly process is not the panacea some would make it out to be. It is important to understand the health implications of developing this energy source, which is dependent on the production of vast quantities of methane.

Read Environmental Health Project's newest blog post for more on this emerging technology.

A number of legislators and industry representatives have recently touted “blue hydrogen” as a clean solution to many of the world’s energy challenges. Generally speaking, hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when used in a fuel cell, produces no pollution. The blue hydrogen process, however, is not...

08/12/2022

Analysts say oil and gas drilling permits in the Permian hit three year high

If this trend continues, it will make climate change worse.

The climate cannot be saved without stopping the Permian Climate Bomb.

Overall, the state of Texas approved 901 drilling permits in July, a nearly 16 percent...

08/09/2022

Indigenous territories around the world contain significant concentrations of untapped minerals needed for the energy transition. Indigenous Peoples' rights are under threat in the rush to mine these minerals.
Join the SIRGE Coalition to secure Indigenous rights in the green economy: sirgecoalition.org

08/08/2022

FYI: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is vastly underestimating oil and gas methane pollution. New studies from on the ground, flyover, and satellite measurements show that the real number is at least 2x greater. Low producing wells are a major source of that underestimation.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/low-producing-u-oil-wells-171110774.html

08/08/2022

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is writing new pollution rules. Follow this space to learn why the EPA *must* close dangerous loopholes for low producing wells.

https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-industry/epa-proposes-new-source-performance

08/05/2022

Big Oil v the World Series 1 03 Delay

“We can have a future, or we can have oil and gas, but we cannot have both.”

Watch Sharon Wilson, Senior Field Advocate at Earthworks, on the third part of BBC's series "Big Oil v the World" for a firsthand look at how methane emissions from oil and gas operations contribute to climate change.

How the 2010s became another lost decade in the fight against climate change – as the move to natural gas delayed a transition to more renewable sources of e...