Feature Archives

A spike in the level of radioactive iodine from Japan's Fukushima Daichii plant was discovered in milk samples in California's San Luis Obispo County in late March. On April 2nd, the EPA issued a press release stating that radioactive material in California's rainwater is the result of the nuclear disaster in Japan. While health officials assure the public that the increases present no danger, Californians are expressing deep concern about nuclear reactors that are poised near earthquake faults on the coast. Scheduled protests include in San Francisco on April 14th, Avila Beach, California, near Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, on April 16th, and Menlo Park on April 26th.

Because of agricultural discharges from Salinas Valley farms, the lower Salinas River has been found to have one of the highest levels of nitrates of any river in the world. During the summer, the river is bright green with a thick mat of toxic algae. The fertilizer doesn’t just impair the Salinas River. When the first rain comes in the fall, a huge pulse of sediment and fertilizer flushes out into Monterey Bay. This pulse has been associated with toxic algae blooms that sicken or kill sea otters, sea lions, and sea birds.

Weeks after a giant tsunami engulfed Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. is still struggling to bring the radiation crisis under control. Radiation has seeped into the soil and seawater and made its way into produce, raw milk and tap water. The Japanese government has admitted that its safeguards were insufficient to protect the nuclear plant. Radiation levels have increased in 15 US states from the nuclear disaster in Japan.

At a news conference on February 18th, 2011, Japanese Fisheries minister Michihiko Kano stated they will suspend their "research" whaling because the Sea Shepherd activists had succeeded in their attempts to harass those who hunt and kill whales in the Antarctic region. "The whale war in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is over. The whales have won!" announced Captain Paul Watson from the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin.

UPDATE: Tree-Sitter Released on April 4th After 67 Days in Jail; Still Faces Four Misdemeanor Charges

A nearly three-month treesit in People's Park in Berkeley ended in the early morning hours of January 28th when Midnight Matt, the primary sitter, was arrested on attempted murder charges. Midnight Matt's charges were reduced to assault with a deadly weapon at his arraignment, but he remains in Santa Rita jail with his bail set at $100,000. Supporters are asking for donations to help make his $10,000 bond and for a show of support in court. Midnight Matt's next court date is April 4th.

Caltrans plans to take down some 54 trees in the Richardson Grove, and pave over the roots of many old-growth trees, in order to widen and straighten US-101 in southern Humboldt County. Reported to contain the 9th largest tree of all remaining Coast Redwoods, local residents refer to the Richardson Grove as the edge of the "Redwood Curtain." Preservation groups and community members against the project called for a rally at Caltrans District 1 headquarters in Eureka on Monday, February 7th and over 200 came to demonstrate against the highway expansion. Twelve people were arrested.

Last week Rainforest Action Network's Change Chevron team asked people to call Chevron CEO John Watson and congratulate him for being inducted into Corporate Accountability International's Corporate Hall of Shame. The same day, Rainforest Action Network activists teamed up with the Raging Grannies, boarding a biodiesel bus to deliver an enlarged Corporate Hall of Shame certificate to Watson at his home in Lafayette, California.