Recently, states such as New York, Montana, North Dakota, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri have passed  laws that seek to outlaw or limit undercover farm investigations that have been dubbed “ag-gag bills” by activists. But there are still many people who refuse to remain silent in the face of animal and human abuse. The Food Integrity Campagin and The Government Accountability Project have this week published a pair of affidavits from USDA inspectors reporting the unsafe use of chemicals in poultry processing plants and their effects on worker safety.

Read the rest of USDA Whistleblowers Warn of Chemical Hazards in Poultry Plants

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: affidavit, chemicals, contamination, inspector, iowa, Kansas, Missouri, montana, New York., north dakota, offline processing, online processing, peracetic acid, poultry, processing plant, the food integrity campagin, the government accountability project, usda, whistleblower, worker safety

Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline have long warned of the catastrophic impacts of a major spill if the infrastructure were to fail. On Friday, the nation no longer had to imagine how a tar sands disaster would look. The city of Mayflower, Arkansas was inundated with thousands of gallons of black diluted bitumen leaking from the ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline, forcing the evacuation of 22 homes. Classified as a “major spill” by the EPA, fifteen vacuum trucks and 33 storage trucks have been deployed to contain the oil and keep it from spreading into local water bodies. The failure once again highlights the inherent danger in transporting tar sands oil, and adds to the pressure facing President Obama in his decision whether or not to approve the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline.

Read the rest of ExxonMobil Arkansas Tar Sands Spill Reignites Keystone XL Debate

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: arkansas, crude oil, ed markey, Enbridge, epa, exxonmobil, House Natural Resources Committee, john hoeven, kalamazoo river, Keystone XL Pipeline, mark pryor, marshall, max baucus, mayflower, Michigan, montana, north dakota, nrdc, pegasus pipeline, president, state department, tar sands, transcanada

Rumors have been circulating as to whether or not the President would approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. On Friday, the State Department released a study suggesting that the pipeline, which is slated to stretch from Canada to Texas, would have no significant impact on the environment. However, they stopped short of actually recommending it to be completed. The Sierra Club released a statement calling the study “deeply flawed,” and environmentalists have pointed out that building the pipeline would promote further fossil fuel use at a time when climate change desperately needs to be addressed.

Read the rest of Environmentalists Baffled at State Department Claim that Keystone XL Would Have Little Environmental Impact

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bill snape, canada, center for biological diversity, greater sage grouse, high plains aquifer, jobs, kerri-ann jones, Keystone XL Pipeline, Middle East, montana, Nebraska, oceans and international scientific affairs, president obama, renewable energy, report, sand hill region, south america, south dakota, state department, texas, transcanada, tyler county creeks, whooping crane

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: cabins, Chile, energy efficient, hiking, Methow Valley, modern, montana, Nature, norway, prefabricated, retreat, skiing, solar panel, steel, Sustainable, swiss alps, washington, winter

Although we may ride them every day, we don’t often think of our bicycles as life-changing tools of empowerment. In Africa, however, access to a fully-functional bicycle opens up a world of transportation and employment opportunities that would have previously been impossible. Wheels of Change (WOC) is an international non-profit that collects donated bicycles in the United States to be shipped overseas to Africa. In September, a representative of the Wuparo Conservancy in Namibia will visit Montana to give his blessing to a shipping container of some 300 donated bikes that will travel from Billings to his homeland.

Read the rest of Wheels Of Change Sends a Shipping Container Filled with 300 Bikes to Namibia

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, bicycles, eco-tourism, economy, green transportation, montana, namibia, Wheels of Change

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: balance associates architects, Big Sky, eco design, geothermal pumps, green design, insulation, montana, passive design, River Bank House, solar orientation, Sustainability, sustainable design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Andersson Wise, Andersson Wise Architects, cabin, Daylighting, eco design, Flathead Lake, green design, minimalist, montana, ponderosa pines, Recycled Materials, Rocky Mountains, sustainable design, timber, zero cooling, zero heating

Read the rest of Gorgeous Ruby Springs Prefab Features Hydraulic Shade Screens That Open Up to the Landscape

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, medicine hat inc, montana, movable shade screens, net zero, Prefab, prefab home, ruby springs prefab, ruby valley, shade screens, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Zero energy

We’ve been keeping close tabs on the clean-up of the Yellowstone oil spill that occurred on July 1 when an Exxon Mobil pipeline burst spilling some 54,000 gallons of crude oil into the scenic river. High and fast waters complicated recovery efforts when the river overflowed, spreading the oil out over the river’s banks. Clean-up crews announced this week that they have discovered oil on 60 percent of the Yellowstone shoreline that’s been inspected. The information, released by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, offers the first clear glimpse at just how widespread the contamination is.

Read the rest of Oil Found on 60% of Yellowstone River Shoreline

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: cleaning up the yellowstone river, environmental protection agency, epa, montana, montana oil spill, oil spills in america, yellow stone river recovery, yellowstone oil spill, Yellowstone River, yellowstone river clean up, yellowstone river oil spill

A new oil spill has been discovered in Montana just 350 miles away from where an ExxonMobil pipeline sent tens of thousands of gallons of oil rushing into the Yellowstone River. This new spill, from an FX Energy Inc. pipeline in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, resulted from a crack in a pipe that shifted during recent flooding. While cleanup crews work to remove crude from the Yellowstone’s pristine environment, the people of Montana are faced with yet another oily mess.

Read the rest of New Oil Spill Found in Montana, 350 Miles from Yellowstone Spill

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: exxon oil spill, exxon spill, exxonmobil, FX Drilling Co, montana, montana oil spill, new oil spill, oil industry, oil spill, renewable energy, yellowstone, yellowstone oil spill

© Alexis Bonogofsky

Yet another oil spill has stricken the United States – this time in the Yellowstone River in Montana.  Gallons of thick crude oil have been emptying into the picturesque waterway since last Friday out of a ruptured pipeline. Instead of BP this time, ExxonMobil is to blame, although they say they remain perplexed as to what the cause of the leakage was. With this new development and the numerous spills before it, we have to wonder why there still isn’t more urgency for a non-oil future for the U.S.


Read the rest of ExxonMobil Oil Spill Ravages the Shores of the Yellowstone River

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Alexis Bonogofsky, environmental destruction, Exxon, exxon oil spill, montana, oil spill, yellowstone national park, yellowstone oil spill, Yellowstone River

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", anderson wise architects, eco design, eco lodge, eco resort, eco-tourism, energy efficient design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, montana, sod roof, stacked wood facade, stone creek camp, sustaianble design