Victory at Pe’Sla
A Federal District Court in South Dakota ordered an immediate halt to a graphite mining exploration at Pe’Sla, a sacred site in the Black Hills National Forest. The injunction followed a lawsuit filed by the NDN Collective, Earthworks, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and nine Great Sioux Nation tribes, prompting a week‑long occupation. The mining company withdrew its plans, agreed to restore the land, and the court later issued a final order ending all mining activity. The case underscores the vulnerability of Indigenous sacred lands under the 1872 Mining Law.
Demanding Minerals in Exchange for Lives in Zambia
The Trump administration drafted a memo that would withhold HIV, tuberculosis and malaria aid to Zambia unless the country grants U.S. firms expanded access to its critical minerals. More than 1.2 million Zambians rely on the life‑saving PEPFAR program, which could...
”It’s Deja Vu All Over Again”: How New Mexicans, Advocates Repeatedly Fight Back A Push to Allow Oil and Gas...
In February 2026 the New Mexico House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee voted 5‑4 to table HB207, a bill that would have permitted the discharge of treated oil and gas wastewater into rivers, streams, and for uses such as...
A “Good Neighbor” With a Toxic Legacy
In April 2025 a Chevron‑operated well at the Bishop pad near Galeton, Colorado, suffered a catastrophic blowout, spewing over one million gallons of toxic fluids and benzene plumes that forced evacuations and contaminated the local elementary school. Chevron later donated...
Earthworks Celebrates Alannah Acaq Hurley, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner
Alannah Acaq Hurley, Executive Director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, was named one of the six 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize winners for her leadership in halting the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska. The mine threatened the world’s largest wild‑salmon...
Colorado State Action to #CutMethane
Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission approved new regulations that align the state’s oil‑and‑gas methane rules with the EPA’s federal framework, making Colorado one of the first major producing states to act. The rules impose best‑practice requirements on high‑emitting facilities such...
Methane Gas Is Different: How Trump’s Attack on EPA Power Does Not Affect #CutMethane Rules
The Trump administration moved to void the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding, which underpins vehicle greenhouse‑gas rules, but that action does not jeopardize the separate methane‑emission regulations targeting oil and gas facilities. Methane controls are anchored in Clean Air Act section 111,...
Delfin LNG Pipeline Explosion Underscores Dangers of Fossil Fuel Infrastructure, Casts Doubt on Project Viability
On February 3, a 28‑mile gas pipeline belonging to the Delfin LNG project exploded near Holly Beach, Louisiana, creating an 80‑foot fire and injuring an operator who has filed a $1 million lawsuit. The blast occurred on a 50‑year‑old pipeline repurposed...
What Is a Water Quality Certification and Why Does Air Products Need One?
Air Products has moved to secure a Water Quality Certification from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, a prerequisite for its federal permit to build a blue‑hydrogen and carbon‑capture facility. The certification confirms compliance with Clean Water Act sections governing...
Another Nickel Mine Waste Landslide Leads to a Death in Indonesia
A tailings landslide at Indonesia's Morowali Industrial Park on February 18, 2026 killed a worker and forced a shutdown of the nickel‑smelting complex. The incident follows a 2025 landslide that claimed three lives and a 2025 flood that breached a...