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Patagonia’s Ties to a Dark-Money Operation Bankrolling Democratic Candidates

A mysterious group linked to Patagonia has been accused of making what appear to be illegal “straw donor” contributions. The post Patagonia’s Ties to a Dark-Money Operation Bankrolling Democratic Candidates appeared first on The Intercept.

The newest front in dark money’s war on election transparency shares an address with Patagonia, according to a new complaint. The outdoor clothing company known for its high quality, high prices, and liberal leanings may have funded illegal campaign donations over the summer, a watchdog group alleged this month. The Campaign Legal Center has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that a mysterious corporation made $1.4 million in what appear to be illegal “straw donor” contributions to funds supporting Democratic candidates within days of its creation. The ultimate source of the money was likely Patagonia, the Campaign Legal Center says. The complaint is the second of its kind this year involving Patagonia, raising fresh questions about whether left-leaning donors at ideological odds with “dark-money” groups on the right should resort to similar tactics. For Saurav Ghosh, the director of federal campaign finance reform at the nonpartisan, nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, the donations also highlight the need for swifter action from the FEC, which has yet to take action against another alleged “straw donor” that made donations to a right-wing Senate candidate two years ago. “The amounts of money involved, the brazenness of setting up a company and making a seven-figure contribution almost immediately — it shows that this tactic is alive and well, and I don’t see any reason for that to change unless the FEC starts enforcing the law and dishing out penalties,” Ghosh said. Ties to Patagonia Neither Patagonia nor the entity in question, Save our Home Planet Action, responded to requests for comment. But to hear the Campaign Legal Center tell it, linking them together was a straightforward detective job. Save Our Home Planet Action was incorporated in Delaware on August 6. Within 10 days, it began doling out money to campaign organizations: $450,000 to the Senate Democratic campaign fund, $425,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, $450,000 to House Democrats, $50,000 to a super PAC supporting Kamala Harris, and $50,000 to a committee supporting Democrats in state races. Why would a newborn company go on a campaign spending spree? Ghosh alleges that the answer lies in a web of evidence tying Save Our Home Planet Action to Patagonia. Save Our Home Planet Action uses the same mailing address, and its name also matches a slogan that Patagonia has used in marketing materials and on clothing for years. “These circumstances plainly suggest that Patagonia and/or one or more of its owners, executives, or employees may, in fact, be the unknown true source(s) that provided sufficient funds to SOHPA for it to contribute over $1.4 million while concealing their identities,” the Campaign Legal Center complaint states. Corporate filings in California unearthed by The Intercept indicate that Save Our Home Planet Action has the same CEO, Greg Curtis, as the Holdfast Collective, a nonprofit organization that owns 98 percent of Patagonia. Curtis, who did not respond to a request for comment, previously worked as corporate counsel for Patagonia. The Holdfast Collective was created under the direction of Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard in 2022. Using what the trade publication Inside Philanthropy called “a complex and unconventional structure,” Holdfast and a network of affiliated trusts redistribute money earned from Patagonia sales to environmental causes. “That might work for environmental causes, but it undermines the transparency the law requires for money spent influencing elections.” The California filings reinforce the theory that Patagonia is the ultimate source of the contributions, Ghosh said. “Curtis’s involvement here, alongside his role as the CEO of the Holdfast Collective, is interesting, since it suggests that SOHPA was designed to operate in a similar vein — namely, the distribution of corporate profits to finance philanthropy. That might work for environmental causes, but it undermines the transparency the law requires for money spent influencing elections,” Ghosh said. Steering corporate profits to super PACs and campaign committees aimed at boosting environmental causes would not run afoul of federal laws. The nonprofits associated with Patagonia, which are known as social welfare groups and are legally allowed to make campaign donations, have disclosed spending money on conservation projects and even on a Democratic super PAC before. But using what are known as “straw donors” — people or corporations designed to mask the original source of funds — to make campaign contributions would be illegal. Such entities often argue that they are legitimate corporations that just happened to have enough money to make big donations, Ghosh said. According to the complaint, there is “reason to believe” that “unidentified person(s)” violated straw donor laws, and that Save Our Home Planet Action did the same when it “knowingly permitted its name to be used to effect contributions of one or more other persons in its own name.” The complaint says the FEC “should find reason to believe” that straw donor laws were violated “and conduct an immediate investigation” under its enforcement powers. A Growing Pattern? In its complaint with the FEC, the Campaign Legal Center notes that Save Our Home Planet Action does not appear to maintain a website or a social media presence, leaving the reason for its creation something of a mystery. Patagonia has long worn its politics on its sleeves — and once on a tag stitched into the rear of a pair of shorts, which read “Vote the assholes out.” In the case of Save Our Home Planet Action, however, much of the money went to committees such as the House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC, which supported some candidates with views at odds with the environmental movement, such as supporters of fracking in Pennsylvania and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Meanwhile, the nonprofit that owns most of Patagonia, the Holdfast Collective, was already under scrutiny in the form of a February FEC complaint from the conservative group Americans for Public Trust for allegedly misidentifying the source of political contributions. Patagonia has previously stated that the errors in that case could have been on the part of the entities that received the money. Caitlin Sutherland, that group’s executive director, told The Intercept she was still waiting for a determination from the FEC. The election commission, which is supposed to act as watchdog for violations of campaign finance law, is deadlocked along partisan lines and notoriously reluctant to take action. These days, many of the biggest donations to federal campaigns are routed through what are known as “dark-money” groups, which take advantage of the federal tax code to wrap their donors in anonymity. Although liberals have been far more critical of developments in campaign finance that opened the spigots on corporate spending, there are dark-money groups operating from both the left and the right to influence American politics, ranging from the Koch brothers network to George Soros. “These corporate entities and other ‘social welfare’ nonprofits have extremely smart lawyers to figure out how to game the system,” said Aaron Scherb, the senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, a nonprofit group pushing for more disclosure. “That, combined with an FEC in which half the commissioners refuse to enforce disclosure laws, ends up yielding a very unhealthy system in which voters can’t fully understand in many cases who is trying to influence their votes.” While the Campaign Legal Center believes alleged “straw donor” groups should be investigated because the donations appear to be illegal, the FEC has been slow to crack down on them. Two years ago, Ghosh’s group filed an FEC complaint against an alleged straw donor called the Leadership Action Fund, which sent more than $600,000 to a Republican Senate candidate in Oklahoma. The Campaign Legal Center is still waiting on a response, Ghosh said. Increasingly, he believes, corporations are making a “risk calculation” of whether to follow the law or to violate it. “There’s the upside, in their mind, of not disclosing their political spending, and then the potential downside, which is really quite minimal. These schemes in most cases will either go undetected or unpunished,” he said. The post Patagonia’s Ties to a Dark-Money Operation Bankrolling Democratic Candidates appeared first on The Intercept.

Conservation
Health
Climate

Toxic “forever chemicals” could be entering your body from smart watch bands, study finds

New research finds toxins used to make some brands of smart watch wrist straps are able to seep through the skin

Most people who own a smart watch or fitness watch use a band made of synthetic rubber to hold the device on their wrist. Although the bands are designed to feel comfortable against the skin, a recent study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters found that they may be harmful. This is due to the substances they are made from — known as fluoroelastomers — which can contain large quantities of a dangerous so-called “forever chemical” known as perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA); it is unclear the extent to which this can be absorbed through the skin. PFHxA belongs to a classification of industrial products known as per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which do not biodegrade and resist breaking down after exposure to water and light, hence the nickname forever chemicals. They have been linked to extreme health problems like cancer, high blood pressure and infertility. Despite these risks, PFAS are widely used in products like non-stick cookware, umbrellas, cosmetics, furniture, cleaning chemicals, water-resistant fabrics and stain-resistant coatings. PFHxA specifically is commonly used in pizza boxes, rain jackets, firefighting foam and waterproofing sprays. While the scientists behind the study weren’t originally looking for PFHxA, the forever chemical “was the most frequently detected compound” within the 22 watch bands analyzed across numerous brands and price points. Lead author Graham F. Peaslee, a physicist at the University of Notre Dame, told Salon that the researchers had not even been aware that PFAS were used in the watch bands until they saw a full-page ad touting them for being made of fluoroelastomer. "The good news is that the consumer can opt for alternative wrist bands to avoid potential PFAS exposure risks." “We realized that the general public didn't recognize fluoroelastomers as a type of PFAS,” Peaslee said. “Like all other forms of polymeric PFAS, we suspected that these materials would also have ‘other’ PFAS readily available together with the fluoropolymer, and we searched for 20 common PFAS.” That’s when they found the surprisingly high concentrations of PFHxA, a forever chemical that can enter the body after being eaten, inhaled, consumed through drinking or absorbed through the skin. “This was unique in the sense that it was the first time we had found only one PFAS, and that it was at such high concentrations — much higher than we typically find in consumer products,” Peaslee said. While the scientists didn’t test this with humans, they still reported that the high levels of PFAS in these products “poses an opportunity for significant transfer to the dermis [skin] and subsequent human exposure. Additionally, several of these watch bands were advertised as ‘sports and fitness’ monitors, implying that the wearer may be exercising with them, which means additional sweat contact and open skin pores.” Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Importantly, Peaslee noted that this is one instance in which a forever chemical was not necessary to include as an ingredient. “There were many wrist bands available that don't use PFAS and without concern for the toxic shorter-chain PFAS that can be in direct contact with the consumer's skin,” Peaslee said. “The good news is that the consumer can opt for alternative wrist bands to avoid potential PFAS exposure risks.” He added, “It is just a question of knowing that they are present — and it is possible to avoid those with fluoroelastomer materials.” In addition to PFHxA, the nearly endless varieties of PFAS include perfluorooctanoic sulfonic acid (PFOS), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX Chemicals), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). As of 2019, there were more than 4,700 documented PFAS, even though most of them perform the same basic function — making products more resistant to stains, grease and other kinds of damage. According to Dr. Anna Reade, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), chemical engineers have created this wide variety of forever chemicals to engage in a practice known as “regrettable substitution.” When certain forever chemicals face increased regulation or notoriety, manufacturers try to have their cake and eat it too (often successfully) by swapping out the specifically banned compound for a slightly different alternative. "There are two really good examples that are supported by just a ton of evidence now," Reade told Salon in July, mentioning the two different PFAS known as PFOA (which was used to make teflon) and PFOS (which was used to make Scotchgard). "When those came under scrutiny, one of the big substitutions was to use a four-carbon version of PFOS instead,” Reade said. “What they did was they just used a different chain length, exactly the same molecule, but just a shorter version of it, a smaller version." The final result was that "they switched to that and said it was safe because there wasn't any data on it," Reade said. The practice of engaging in regrettable substitution is still prevalent today.

Chemicals
Health
Science

EPA approves pilot project to make road out of radioactive material in Florida

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a pilot project that would allow a company to build a small road made out of a radioactive fertilizer byproduct — drawing environmentalist ire. The Biden administration's approval allows Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC to construct a road made of phosphogypsum on its property in New Wales, Fla.  Phosphogypsum contains...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a pilot project that would allow a company to build a small road made out of a radioactive fertilizer byproduct — drawing environmentalist ire.  The Biden administration's approval allows Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC to construct a road made of phosphogypsum on its property in New Wales, Fla.  Phosphogypsum contains radium, which decays to form radon gas, both of which are radioactive and can cause cancer, according to the agency. In the past, the agency has raised concerns about the use of this material in road building. It said in 1992 that use of phosphogypsum in road construction created risks for both construction workers and also anyone who later builds a home where the phosphogypsum road had once been.  The agency now says that members of the public are not expected to come into contact with the road. However, Mosaic, which will build the road, has described the effort as part of a pilot project that will “demonstrate the range of … road construction designs.” It’s not clear if additional road construction will follow — though doing so would likely require further approvals.  Ragan Whitlock, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a written statement that the EPA’s decision was “mind-boggling.” “That dramatically increases the potential for harm to our road crews and water quality,” Whitlock said. “The EPA has bowed to political pressure from the phosphate industry and paved the way for this dangerous waste to be used in roads all over the country.” In 2020, under the Trump administration, the EPA approved the use of phosphogypsum in government road construction.  That approval was withdrawn under the Biden administration, which described it as a broad, generalized request. It’s not clear whether the incoming Trump administration will seek to reinstate it.  Typically, phosphogypsum is held in “stacks” as part of an attempt to limit public exposure, though this approach has also spurred environmental concerns — particularly in states like Florida that are prone to storms. In approving the road plan, the EPA said that it was "as protective of human health as placement in a stack."

Government
Health
Waste

What should we eat to give us better, healthier skin

From carotenoids to vitamins C and E and minerals such as selenium, here are the most important nutrients to slow skin damage

A multicoloured diet can lead to a brighter complexionColdsnowstorm/Getty Images Your skin is under constant assault. Exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke, particulate pollution, heavy metals and ozone can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that attack DNA, rupture cell membranes and unravel life’s essential proteins. Perhaps the most harmful are UV rays, which generate ROS as well as disrupting DNA directly. The human body can mop up ROS and neutralise them, but it needs molecules found in fruit, vegetables and leafy greens to do so. Carotenoids are among the nutrients that have been most extensively studied for these benefits. These are the pigments that give the likes of pumpkins their bright colour. “They are very good antioxidants and they are particularly good at neutralising singlet oxygen [a type of ROS],” says Jean Krutmann at the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Düsseldorf, Germany, who recently analysed 50 years of data from human clinical trials involving carotenoid supplements. “The carotenoids catch them and neutralise them before they can do damage.” These substances are best at protecting against longer wavelengths found in UVA light. UVA penetrates the deepest layers of the skin, generating ROS that can cause skin ageing, wrinkling and cancers. Carotenoids can’t prevent the direct DNA damage caused by the rays themselves though, meaning they can’t be considered a replacement for sunscreen. Good dietary sources include carrots and tomatoes. To get the greatest benefits, however, Krutmann recommends taking carotenoids as a nutritional supplement, especially if you drink alcohol, which depletes antioxidants in your skin. Nutrients for skin Besides carotenoids,…

Pollution
Health
Science

El Salvador overturns metals mining ban, defying environmental groups

President Nayib Bukele pushed for the legislation that will grant government sole authority over mining activitiesEl Salvador’s legislature has overturned a seven-year-old ban on metals mining, a move that the country’s authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, had pushed for to boost economic growth, but that environmental groups had opposed.El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017. Bukele, who took office in 2019, has called the ban absurd. Continue reading...

El Salvador’s legislature has overturned a seven-year-old ban on metals mining, a move that the country’s authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, had pushed for to boost economic growth, but that environmental groups had opposed.El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban all forms of metals mining in 2017. Bukele, who took office in 2019, has called the ban absurd.All 57 of Bukele’s allies in the Central American country’s 60-seat legislature voted for the president’s legislation to overturn the ban.The legislation will grant the Salvadoran government sole authority over mining activities within the country’s land and maritime territory.“By creating a law that puts the state at the center, we are guaranteeing that the population’s wellbeing will be at the center of decision making,” the lawmaker Elisa Rosales, from Bukele’s New Ideas party, said in a speech to the legislature.The legislation does prohibit the use of mercury in mining, and seeks to declare some areas incompatible with metals mining as protected nature reserves.El Salvador’s economy is expected to grow 3% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, but it has a heavy debt burden that hit a level of around 85% of gross domestic product earlier this year.Bukele, who enjoys wide popularity among voters after a sweeping gang crackdown, has touted mining’s economic potential for the country of roughly 6 million people.By locking up more than 1% of the population, Bukele has turned one of Latin America’s most violent countries into one of its safes – but human rights organisations have documented arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture and massive violations of due process.The president shared on social media last month that studies conducted in just 4% of Salvadoran territory where mining is possible had identified gold deposits worth some $132bn, equivalent to about 380% of El Salvador’s gross domestic product.“This wealth, given by God, can be harnessed responsibly to bring unprecedented economic and social development to our people,” Bukele wrote at the time.Dozens of people protested on Monday near Congress against the reauthorization of mining, arguing that future projects could affect the communities and ecosystem of the smallest country in Central America.“We oppose metals mining because it has been technically and scientifically proven that mining is not viable in the country,” the environmentalist Luis Gonzalez told reporters.“The level of contamination that would be generated in the water, soil and biodiversity is unacceptable for life as we know it.”

Government
Nature
Water

EPA administrator Michael Regan to depart at year’s end

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan will leave the Biden administration at the end of this year — about a month before the presidency changes hands. While Regan could serve until Trump’s inauguration, he notified staff on Friday that he will leave a few weeks early. “Today, I am writing to let you know...

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan will leave the Biden administration at the end of this year — about a month before the presidency changes hands. While Regan could serve until Trump’s inauguration, he notified staff on Friday that he will leave a few weeks early.  “Today, I am writing to let you know that my last day as your Administrator will be Dec. 31,” he wrote in a note to EPA staff. “I am so proud to be part of the EPA family,” he wrote, touting the agency’s regulations over the past four years aimed at mitigating climate change and pollution.  Jane Nishida, head of the agency’s Office of International and Tribal Affairs, will serve as acting administrator in Regan’s absence. The message said that Regan would “return home” to North Carolina, but gave no other information on his next steps.  President-elect Trump has already said he would nominate former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) to helm the agency during the incoming administration.

Climate
Pollution
Energy

How to teach climate change so 15-year-olds can act

OECD’s Pisa program will measure the ability of students to take action in response to climate anxiety and ‘take their position and role in the global world’More summer essentialsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast“It’s going to get hot and everything’s going to be on fire and the oceans will rise,” says a year 11 student, Josh Dorian. “That’s just like the worst of the worst. How do you combat that?“Well, you fix it, you stop it from happening, you take preventive measures,” says Josh, who is studying VCE environmental science at Mount Lilydale Mercy College, a high school in Melbourne’s outer east. “Involving kids in that is scary but I think it’s necessary.”Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

“It’s going to get hot and everything’s going to be on fire and the oceans will rise,” says a year 11 student, Josh Dorian. “That’s just like the worst of the worst. How do you combat that?“Well, you fix it, you stop it from happening, you take preventive measures,” says Josh, who is studying VCE environmental science at Mount Lilydale Mercy College, a high school in Melbourne’s outer east. “Involving kids in that is scary but I think it’s necessary.”In 2025, for the first time in nearly a decade, science will be the major focus of the OECD’s program for international student assessment (Pisa) – which runs every three years (give or take Covid interruptions), its focus rotating between reading, maths and science.This year it will measure the knowledge and ability of 15-year-old students from 92 countries and economies to act on climate change, under a new heading: Agency in the Anthropocene.Andreas Schleicher, the OECD’s director of education, describes the refreshed science framework as a “small revolution” addressing students’ capacity to distinguish scientific evidence from misinformation in the context of the “biggest challenge of our times – our environment”.“This is not about a few people who are going to be engineers or scientists in their later lives,” he says. “This is the foundation we want to create for every student.”Dr Goran Lazendic, who works with the Australian Council for Educational Research, is the international survey director responsible for delivering Pisa this year. He says the survey has never solely been about curriculum or content knowledge.“The purpose of Pisa is to understand how young people are prepared to take their position and role in the global world,” he says.That’s why the survey focuses on students approaching the end of their formal education and preparing to take part in further education or work.Giving young people choiceAgency in the Anthropocene tests students’ ability to understand and explain human interactions with Earth systems, Lazendic says, to make informed decisions based on the evaluation of different sources and to demonstrate respect for diverse perspectives as well as hope in seeking solutions.In responding to targeted questions, they will also have to show agency – an understanding of how individual and collective choices can make a difference.Dr Peta White, an associate professor at Deakin University who led the design of Agency in the Anthropocene, says climate change education recognises the Earth’s systems are being changed through human interaction.White, a former teacher, has decades of experience researching environmental science and climate change education.Many young people understand the problems, she says, but don’t know what to do about them.“We don’t teach an understanding by looking at what the most fearful climate impact is,” she says. “What’s important is to allow young people to appreciate the context that we’re in and be able to move forward.”When young people have agency, they can make informed decisions taking into account the complexity of Earth’s systems, diverse sources of knowledge and different perspectives, White says.It’s about understanding their role in the ecosystem. “Not as a pinnacle up the top, but as a player in a whole range of other players in an ecosystem. They’re part of a system, which means they have to act responsibly in the system.”skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Five Great ReadsEach week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morningPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionThis world is going to be ours in 20, 30 yearsAt Mount Lilydale Mercy College, students tackle environmental issues and sustainability across a variety of subjects by working on real examples. The approach has been recognised for fostering responsible, community-oriented citizens.For one project, Josh’s class investigated the effects of logging on the habitat of the endangered leadbeater’s possum, in nearby Toolangi state forest.“We went out in the forest, we saw first-hand,” he says. The students learned that leadbeater’s possums rely on old-growth trees with hollows, and observed how few there were in the forest.Other students constructed nesting boxes to help make up for the lack of hollow-bearing trees.‘Too big to even think about’In Australia, climate change in education has often been caught up in politics. In 2019 the then prime minister, Scott Morrison, said it was a source of “needless anxiety” for children, and it was barely mentioned in the curriculum. Coverage has increased since 2022.Amelia Pearson, at the Monash climate change communication research hub, says there have been more “climate change dot points” added to the curriculum, but mainly in subjects such as science and geography.“Climate change impacts every area of society and our lives,” she says. “So it’s really important that people who might not engage, particularly with [science, technology, engineering, maths], still have the opportunity to learn about these different challenges.”Education isn’t about persuading children to think a certain way, she says, but providing a non-political space to understand the issues and make up their own minds.Pearson manages Climate Classrooms, an initiative that brings teachers together with climate scientists and energy experts to design lesson plans and activities. The approach provides teachers with the opportunity to ask questions about complex – and sometimes contentious – concepts such as renewable energy, nuclear power, carbon offsets and net zero – “big ideas and terms that aren’t always distilled or made accessible”.Australia is a relative latecomer when it comes to embedding climate change in education, says Russell Tytler, a professor at Deakin University.Tytler, who specialises in science education and was involved in designing the Pisa science framework, says Pisa is highly influential in education policies around the world.When the results from Pisa 2025 are in, every country will be scored on young people’s understanding of climate change and their role in seeking solutions, he says. There are already signs that some countries are looking to reflect the approach in their education systems.White, with other educators and researchers, is calling for an Australian climate change education strategy to incorporate learning across all subjects and levels.“Climate change is often too big to even think about,” White says.It requires complex understanding and there are big emotions involved. What works in education, she says, is breaking things down and focusing on what people can do individually and collectively in a local context.“This world is going to be ours in 20, 30 years,” Josh says. “So our awareness of the issue, and our fears need to be acknowledged.”It can be confronting for young people whose futures aren’t looking so lucky, he says.“Education is one of the first steps you can take towards fixing the issue.”

Climate
Science
Energy

Oregon gets $33M to construct wildlife crossing over I-5 in southwest Oregon

The Oregon Department of Transportation will receive $33 million in federal funding to construct a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 in southwest Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Transportation will receive $33 million in federal funding to construct a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 in southwest Oregon, state officials said.The crossing, the first of its kind over the highway, will connect the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, an ecologically diverse protected area of 114,000 acres south of Ashland that’s bisected by I-5. The monument is home to 300 species of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, including deer, bear, elk and cougars.The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the crossing will improve the movement of animals through the landscape and protect drivers from dangerous wildlife collisions and vehicle damage.The crossing will reconstruct a previously naturally occurring wildlife corridor. It builds on a community-initiated effort to construct a network of wildlife crossings in southern Oregon. Once complete, the new crossing will be among the largest in the nation, public officials said.The funding, via the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress in 2022, was secured by Oregon’s U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden.— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.

Transportation
Animals
Energy

Sloths, Salmon, and Autocrats: Our Most-Read Articles of the Year

Solutions to our environmental ills abound in these popular Revelator articles from 2024. The post Sloths, Salmon, and Autocrats: Our Most-Read Articles of the Year appeared first on The Revelator.

Environmental news stories tend to slip through the cracks during election years — and this year we saw that like none other. Still, this year brought more readers than ever to The Revelator. People wanted to know about the environmental threats the planet faces — and how to stop them. Solutions stories were particularly popular this year, a sign that people are done with putting up with the status quo. Maintaining that energy and drive will be difficult but essential in 2025. Here’s a list of some of our most popular articles of 2024. They cover people helping sloths and other endangered species, studying our blind spots, building environmentally conscious communities, looking at the threats of autocracy, and fighting climate change. They should all continue to offer inspiration and guidance in the troublesome year(s) ahead. Adapt, Move or Die? Plants and Animals Face New Pressures in a Warming World All the Plants We Cannot See Antarctica’s Looming Threat Anthrax in Zimbabwe: Caused by Oppression, Worsened by Climate Change Are Botanists Endangered? Building a Flock: How an Unlikely Birder Found Activism — and Community — in Nature Burning Trees: As the Biomass Industry Grows, Its Carbon Emissions Go Uncounted Coastal Restoration: Recycled Shells and Millions of Larvae — A Recipe for Renewed Oyster Reefs Conservation Works — and Science Just Proved It Environmental Change, Written in the DNA of Birds In France, One Group Seeks to Do the Unthinkable: Unite the Climate Movement The Monumental Effort to Replant the Klamath River Dam Reservoirs Out-of-Control Wildlife Trade Is Shackling a Key Climate Solution Rock and Roll Botany: An Endangered Plant Named After Legendary Guitarist Jimi Hendrix Salmon Have Returned Above the Klamath River Dams. Now What? The Shocking Truth About Sloths Six Lessons From the World’s Deadliest Environmental Disaster Titicaca in Crisis: Climate Change Is Drying Up the Biggest Lake in the Andes Water and Cooperation Breathe New Life Into Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuges What 70 Celebrity Tortoises Can Teach Us About Conservation Stories We’re thankful for our readers this past year. We look forward to bringing you more essential reporting in the months ahead. The post Sloths, Salmon, and Autocrats: Our Most-Read Articles of the Year appeared first on The Revelator.

Activism
Animals
Climate

My sewing group makes reusable produce bags - cutting back on plastic and textile waste

Read more from My DIY climate hack, a series on everyday people’s creative solutions to the climate crisisSingle-use plastic bags are not only wasteful, they cause serious damage to the environment and our health. Anne-Marie Bonneau, 56, is on a mission to put more reusable produce bags into the world. With the help of her sewing bee group, who make them from upcycled fabric, they’ve given more than 4,000 bags away.As more cities and states implement plastic bag bans, Bonneau, who is known online as the Zero-Waste Chef, is helping people in California’s Silicon Valley make the move away from single-use plastic bags and spreading joy in the process. Continue reading...

Single-use plastic bags are not only wasteful, they cause serious damage to the environment and our health. Anne-Marie Bonneau, 56, is on a mission to put more reusable produce bags into the world. With the help of her sewing bee group, who make them from upcycled fabric, they’ve given more than 4,000 bags away.As more cities and states implement plastic bag bans, Bonneau, who is known online as the Zero-Waste Chef, is helping people in California’s Silicon Valley make the move away from single-use plastic bags and spreading joy in the process.My interest in environmental causes began when I was a kid growing up in Eastern Ontario, Canada. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I helped my dad, who was freaked out about the oil crisis, build a solar heater for our pool. It was so simple and worked so well and saved us around $1,000 each summer. Some of our neighbors thought we were nuts and others thought my dad was brilliant. That made a big impression on me. I also remember going to Florida with my parents when I was about nine where we toured solar-powered homes.In 2011, my older daughter and I decided to break up with plastic. One of the first things we did was to make our own really simple reusable produce bags and we’ve been using them ever since. In 2018, I organized a produce bag sewing bee to get more bags out into the world. Since then, my friends and I have met every month or two to sew the bags out of donated fabric and we give them out at a local farmers’ market in Sunnyvale, California. Covid slowed down sewing and distributing, but we’re back up to speed now.A member of the sewing club cuts recycled fabric into rectangles, which are then sewn together to construct reusable bags. Photograph: Jenna Garrett/The GuardianBecause we use unwanted fabric, we’re merely upcycling existing fabric, not buying virgin fabric to make these bags. The fabric was on its way to the landfill or thrift shop, which may simply be one stop away from the landfill. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans tossed 1.5m tons of towels, sheets and pillowcases in 2018, with only a 15.8% recycling rate.I ask people for natural fibers because synthetics shed microplastics in the wash. Occasionally we’ll get a nice linen sheet. My last big batch of fabric came from my Buy Nothing group. I couldn’t pick up all the fabric people offered. Sometimes my friends and I will have a swap, and at the last sewing bee, one of them brought five big bins of stuff she had cleaned out of her mother’s house. We each took what we could use.Everyone needs a job at our sewing bee so like a little factory we figured out it’s best to have a bunch of bags cut ahead of time before we meet. Once they’re cut, they just take three minutes to make. We have a couple of people sewing and there’s always somebody with a seam ripper to rip apart old pillowcases or fitted sheets. There’s quality control to make sure the bags don’t have holes. And one or two people cut out additional bags.Members of the sewing club rip seams out of recycled fabric, then cut it into rectangles for sewing. Photograph: Jenna Garrett/The GuardianI’m usually busy plying people with tea and treats and threading the machines. I get the music on, usually 1980s or 1990s alternative, and we sew, socialize and snack. We usually have six to eight people and can crank out 100 to 200 bags in an afternoon. Even if no one wanted these bags (but they do!), the sewing bee is time well spent. It’s a social thing and we get together and catch up on what everyone’s doing.When we give out the bags for free, people are so excited. You’d think we were giving away winning lottery tickets. People mob our table at the farmers’ market. Some look at us suspiciously and ask: “What’s the catch?” I tell them: “The catch is you have to use it.” People are really generous and they’ve donated money for thread and equipment, like a secondhand serger machine to speed up the line.Bonneau demonstrates how to sew a reusable bag. Photograph: Jenna Garrett/The GuardianWe’ve given away over 4,000 bags and I think we’ve spent about $8 of our own money. I’ve sewn the bags in person twice now at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco for Zero Waste Month. The giveaways start conversations on plastic pollution. At the farmers’ market, people will say things like: “I don’t like all of this plastic, but I don’t know what else to do.” I’ve had people say they’re going to make their own bags at home. People ask: “Can we steal this idea?” and I say: “Please do!”When we started, my daughter and I would go to the farmers’ market and see a couple of people with reusable produce bags. Now I see more people with them or with containers for delicate produce like berries so they don’t get smushed.California passed a plastic bag ban 10 years ago that led to the use of thicker plastic bags thanks to a loophole. A new law will ban all single-use plastic shopping bags as of 2026, and I’m so glad because those thick plastic bags make me cringe. But even if we bring our own shopping bags, most of us are still stuffing them full of plastic.And the new textile recycling bill California passed is going to take a lot of time to implement, but it’s great – something has to be done. The amount of textile waste is crazy. Putting the onus on the producers will move the needle much more than my little group. We’re not going to run out of upcycled fabric even with that law. My DIY climate hack is a series about everyday people across the US using their own ingenuity to tackle the climate crisis in their neighborhoods, homes and backyards. If you would like to share your story, email us at diyclimate@theguardian.com

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