Connecting the Dots – By Joshua Holland – A three-day election process ended on Friday when Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union 712 to 626. Coming into the vote, both sides knew what was at stake — the union drive was a direct threat to the low-wage economy…
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Obama Administration Responds to Pressure on Fracking, Revises Permitting Rules on Using Diesel Fuel in Gas Drilling
EPA to Decide Legality of Mines on a ‘Case-by-Case Basis’By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON. D.C. — To clear up a legal controversy about diesel fuel in methane gas mining, the Obama administration released revised rules on underground injection wells that use diesel fuels in hydraulic fracturing operations, commonly referred to as the controversial method of…
EPA’s Gina McCarthy Delivers Obama Administration Position on Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure With Green Jobs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The EPA’s Gina McCarthy, a teacher from Boston, delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, delivering the Obama administrations position before a new and powerful coalition of unions and environmentalists under the umbrella of the Blue…
Sierra Club’s Michael Brune Delivers Keynote Address at Green Jobs Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Sierra Club’s Michael Brune delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, put on by the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of unions and environmental non-profit groups. With more than 15 million members through 14 affiliated…
How Unions and Environmentalists Might Build a Political Coalition to Save American Democracy
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – If only we could stop the bullshit, maybe unions and environmentalists could build a coalition to save American democracy. That was the view of labor union leaders and environmentalists this week at a national conference designed to build a sustainable future for good jobs in America, which it…
Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference Kicks off at the Washington Hilton
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The opening session of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference for 2014 kicked off Sunday night with a dynamic panel of speakers who are at the forefront of the national discussion about how to address the country’s crumbling infrastructure, while at the same time beginning to deal with…
Blue Green Alliance Hosts ‘Good Jobs, Green Jobs’ Conference in Washington, D.C.
By Glynn Wilson – HUNGRY MOTHER STATE PARK, Virg. – Some of the most powerful and effective leaders of labor unions and environmental groups in the country, along with a horde of union members, environmental activists and college students, are headed to the nation’s capital this coming week for one of the most interesting and…
Wyoming Replaces Alabama as the Most Conservative State in the U.S.
The Word ‘Liberal’ is Experiencing a Resurgence in American Life – By Glynn Wilson – Could it be that the people of my home state are finally starting to get their news online and waking up to the ravages of run amok corporate capitalism and the do-nothing nature of conservative Republicans who don’t know how…
Americans of All Stripes Show Dissatisfaction With Distribution of Wealth
Democrats and Independents More Dissatisfied Than Republicans – By Glynn Wilson – Two out of three Americans are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are distributed in the United States, according to Gallup’s Mood of the Nation poll. This should come as no surprise considering all the news stories over the past decade or…
Washington Federal Court Strikes Blow Against Internet Neutrality
By Glynn Wilson – A three-judge panel of federal judges all appointed to the court before there was an open Internet or a Web Press has struck down a complicated set of rules set forth by the Federal Communications Commission to preserve competition on the Web in what critics call a major blow to what’s…
A Large Majority of Americans Now Favor Legalization of Marijuana for the First Time
By Glynn Wilson – Public opinion data now shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that a clear majority of Americans, 58 percent, favor the legalization of marijuana, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. Can the legal system be far behind? Legalization advocates have seen a “period of unprecedented success” over the…
Republican Party Favorability Rating Sinks to Record Low
By Glynn Wilson – While the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is engaged in a tense, government-shuttering budgetary standoff against a Democratic president and Senate, the Republican Party is now viewed favorably by only 28 percent of Americans, down from 38 percent in September, the lowest favorable rating measured for either party since Gallup began asking…
New Report Concludes Human Influence on Global Climate is ‘Clear’
By Glynn Wilson – As if there was still any doubt in the scientific community, we now know that “human influence on the climate system is clear,” according to a new report just out from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause…
EPA Proposes Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants
By Glynn Wilson – The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new Clean Air Act standards to cut carbon pollution from new power plants “in order to combat climate change and improve public health,” according to the announcement sent out Friday morning. The new standards are set to go into effect by June 1, 2014. The…
A Groundbreaking Year for Environmental Journalism and Activism
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – It’s been one of the most interesting and groundbreaking years in a long time for environmental activism, environmental journalism and the Sierra Club nationally and in my home state of Alabama. Since I made the decision to cross the line and join the club to get personally…
Senate Gridlock Breaks: McCarthy Approved at EPA, Perez at Labor
By Glynn Wilson – Something has come over the Republicans in the U.S. Senate. Gridlock in Washington is cracking, and President Obama’s nominees are now working their way through confirmation like water through an open dam. A bipartisan deal was reached this week with the Republicans to allow votes on all seven of the pending…
Fracking Leases Proposed for National Forests White Washed at ‘Public Meeting’
Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management on the Hot Seat – By Glynn Wilson – MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A so-called “public meeting” on oil and gas leases proposed for the state’s national forests at a city park by a golf course was not exactly attended by many average citizens and working folks, so far from…
Fracking in the Talladega National Forest is Not in the National, State or Local Interest
Editors Note: The nightmares of natural gas fracking being documented all over America are coming soon to Alabama, brought to you by Halliburton and its real estate agent, the federal Bureau of Land Management — unless enough people get together and lodge enough political protests now to stop it. The Bureau of Land Management and…
AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka Joins Labor With Environmentalists in BlueGreen Alliance
Watch the Video – Key segments from the speech – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17) — The head of the largest and most powerful coalition of unions in America voiced his unequivocal support for the growing alliance between organized labor and the environmental community under the umbrella of the BlueGreen Alliance, a…
Union Leaders, Environmentalists Discuss Building a National Dialogue on Green Jobs, Reclaiming Democracy
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some of the most powerful union leaders and environmentalists in the country came together in the nation’s capital this week to find common ground on the critical question of how to create jobs and improve the economy while at the same time protecting the environment of the U.S.…