First, some news. Hot off the press, is a snippet from an upcoming review of the Midnight Rambler by Diane Donovan in the Midwest Book Review (full review out Feb 10). “Contrasts between Italian backdrops and culture and American perceptions and landscapes create realistic and thought-provoking scenarios as each of the characters finds themselves drawn […]
Grazie Il Ramingos! Read More »
New Mexico Convenes the State’s First Environmental Crime Task Force Environmental crime is on the rise both in America and worldwide. While the Biden EPA is doing its best to ramp up enforcement after the polluter-friendly Trump years, some states see a need to also bolster local eco-policing. “You can’t say you have the nation’s best ozone
The Thin Green Line Read More »
A deep dive into the EPA’s Quarterly Crime Bulletin Maybe like me you were surprised to learn the US Environmental Protection Agency uses actual special agents to hunt down criminal polluters. “It’s traditional law enforcement in a non-traditional area,” former EPA Criminal Investigation Division Director Doug Parker told me for an investigation into biofuel fraud. “Some of us
Welcome to the Inaugural Flower Power Roundup Read More »
In August, the International Criminal Police Organization released a report on increased organized environmental crime. In their analysis, INTERPOL warned that “the organized crime-pollution crime nexus is a global phenomenon, involving a wide variety of perpetrators and organizational structures.” Based in Lyon, France, INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization. It’s also the only multi-national law
In my investigation of environmental crime — Grease thieves, corn oil and fraud: How biofuel scam artists bilked U.S. taxpayers of billions — I learned much about US Environmental Protection Agency special agents. Like other federal agencies, the EPA has its own police arm, known as the Criminal Investigation Division. EPA special agents are trained in the
The Power Behind the Flower: EPA Special Agents 101 Read More »
Previously at EWG. Farmers are failing to comply with federal “conservation compliance” requirements designed to protect wetlands and soil, according to University of Iowa Associate Professor Silvia Secchi, who says the resulting environmental damage requires stricter federal oversight and enforcement. In a recent interview with EWG, Secchi discussed her most recent research on conservation compliance mandates established
Lack of ‘Conservation Compliance’ Highlights Need for Stricter Federal Oversight Read More »
How biofuel scam artists bilked U.S. taxpayers of billions In June 2016, Dave Larson sat in his boss’ office at Triton Energy LLC, in Waterloo, Indiana, filling out a worker’s compensation form. The day before, he’d taken a nasty fall from a ladder. He’d also begun to suspect his employer was involved in a federal
Grease Thieves, Corn oil and Fraud Read More »
Co-written with Honor the Earth’s Winona LaDuke and first published at Civil Eats. For 50 years, a single company has extracted millions in profits from one of Minnesota’s most important and ecologically vulnerable regions, the Pineland Sands. The 770-square-mile area in northern Minnesota is home to globally threatened jack pine forests and abundant streams and wetlands. It is also
The High Cost of Cheap McDonald’s Fries Read More »
Previously at EWG. Mike Tauber, a plumber by trade, grew up and now lives on the outskirts of Hackensack, a town of 300 located within 10 miles of 127 lakes in north central Minnesota’s Cass County. Hackensack is also on the eastern boundary of the Pineland Sands region, where for 30 years the RD Offutt company
A Neighbor’s Plea to Potato Giant: ‘You’re going to have casualties’ Read More »
Previously at EWG. In 2011, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., fell “deathly sick” from a severe upper respiratory illness after swimming in a lake infected with toxic algae. Inhofe, a notorious science-denying patron of corporate polluters, laughed it off as “the environment strikes back.” Now Inhofe looks like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. In the
Curbing Polluting Farm Runoff Is Key to Fighting the Epidemic of Toxic Algae Blooms Read More »
Previously at EWG. Across America, outbreaks of toxic algae, triggered by polluted farm runoff, are increasing in frequency and severity, fouling drinking water with dangerous toxins. In 2014, an algae outbreak in Lake Erie contaminated the tap water for 500,000 people in and around Toledo, Ohio, rendering it unsafe to drink for three days. Lake Erie is fed
Manure From Unregulated Factory Farms Fuels Lake Erie’s Toxic Algae Blooms Read More »
Previously at Civil Eats. There is no better time than the Thanksgiving Holiday to explore the connection between our food and the land it comes from. Ken Burns, America’s premiere documentarian, has tackled topics from jazz to the Civil War. His new film chronicles the Dust Bowl, the massive ecological disaster that plagued a large
Meet the New Dust Bowl, Same as the Old Dust Bowl Read More »
