On Monday, the Native Village of Kivalina and the City of Kivalina asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow their climate justice case against the nation's largest greenhouse gas emitters to proceed to a trial.  At stake is the community's very existence; climate change has caused flooding and massive erosion of the narrow Arctic island on which Kivalina rests.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed Kivalina's lawsuit seeking damages to pay for the community's relocation to safe ground. The court of appeals ruled that the federal Clean Air Act precludes Kivalina from asking a federal judge to provide damages for the public nuisance created by the polluters. Read on

After several years of pressuring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reform its civil rights program, CRPE and its allies in the Title VI Alliance are seeing progress.  Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prevents discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funds and has tremendous potential to be an effective tool for people of color facing disparate environmental hazards. At a recent Title VI Alliance meeting with out-going EPA head Lisa Jackson and other senior staff, EPA unveiled proposals that would provide those who file civil rights complaints with more opportunities to participate in the resolution of their complaints... Read on

Click to watch video from our last tour.

On April 20th we will be hosting a tour of the South San Joaquin Valley.  Participants will have the chance to visit local environmental justice activists to hear about their struggles and triumphs. Transportation from the Bay Area to the Valley is available. Please contact Lauren Richter for details or visit our website.