Free Republic

"A 12-year-old girl has responded with the stunning “I wish we didn’t exist” to questions about how she feels about pollution and humanity’s impact on the earth, according to a new video released by Brian Sussman, author of “Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda will Dismantle America.” The response came from a 6th-grade girl identified only as Kalie, from Gault Elementary. Sussman met her during Earth Day events in Santa Cruz, Calif., recently, where he traveled to ask “What is the most serious threat facing mankind?”"

Abuse Of Power: An EPA official who apparently made good on a threat to "crucify" an oil company to make the entire energy industry "easy to manage" should resign or be fired. So why is the White House protecting him? EPA regional administrator for Dallas Al Armendariz told a city council meeting in a taped speech two years ago that his "philosophy" of enforcement was to single out an oil company, punish it "as hard as you can," and make an example of it to scare others into submission. "The Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean," said...

Natural gas may be plentiful, cheap and inviting at the moment. But the fracking process to get it still fans the flames of environmental policy clashes.At the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference outside Santa Barbara, Calif., drillers and environmentalists debated over whether fracking posed a danger to the communities they serve. Drillers said that the amount of natural gas available –4,000 trillion cubic feet — can’t be ignored.“There is so much there, which is shown by what prices are,” said Edward Cohen, chief executive of Atlas Energy .But Paul Gallay, president of the environmental group Riverkeeper, challenged Cohen and Aubrey...

Erwin Knoll said, “Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for that rare story of which you happen to have first hand knowledge.” Most media coverage of the disastrous fires in Australia missed important information and directly or indirectly quoted environmentalists who incorrectly attributed them to global warming. It was another shameless attempt to divert attention away from the cooling trend that undermines the hypothesis that humans are causing warming. The story was also another example of how environmentalism pushed without understanding is potentially devastating. Fire tragedy highlights scale of global warming emergency and need for...

Portland, Ore. (AP) -- An environmental activist who was serving time in a Canadian prison has been extradited to the United States to stand trial on ecoterrorism charges despite his arguments that he faced political persecution here. Tre Arrow, formerly Michael James Scarpitti, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in April 2004 on charges of taking part in the destruction of concrete and logging trucks in Oregon. The indictment came after his arrest in British Columbia on local charges of shoplifting, assault and obstructing a police officer after a security guard caught him trying to steal a pair of...

The man who clothes-lined bicyclists in Mae Simmons Park will not be going to jail.This week, Judge Jim Bob Darnell sentenced David Knape to 600 hours of community service and three years probation. Knape pleaded no contest.In February, Knape strung wires between trees at the park, and placed broken glass and other obstacles on the bike trail. He was apparently trying to harm bicyclists as a way to protect the wildlife.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Animal activists claim they have poisoned 487 bottles of POM Wonderful's juice on the U.S. Eastern seaboard to protest animal testing. A POM Wonderful spokesman told United Press International the company has not confirmed the validity of the claim, but it was contacted by the FBI regarding the issue. The spokesman said the company is preparing a statement on the matter. The North American Animal Liberation Press Office distributed a communiqué it received that claimed credit for the juice poisoning and was signed "animal rights militia." POM Wonderful, which makes pomegranate juice, has been...

Jennifer Kolar and Lacey Phillabaum seem unlikely criminals. Well-educated young women passionate about environmental causes, they share a love of the outdoors and similar backgrounds. Both grew up in Spokane and attended the same public high school. Those who know Phillabaum call her bright, outspoken, sometimes in-your-face but never dull. She was a skilled debater in high school and college and once worked for a well-regarded non-profit that promotes sustainable agriculture. Kolar Kolar studied under one of the nation's top atmospheric scientists while pursuing a doctoral degree and had the makings of a good scientist, her adviser said, but her...

2 women plead guilty in UW ecoterrorism By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 4, 5:48 PM ET TACOMA, Wash. - Two women pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy, arson and bomb charges in the 2001 firebombing of the University of Washington's horticulture center, one of the Northwest's most notorious acts of ecoterrorism. Jennifer Kolar, 33, and Lacey Phillabaum, 31, were released without bail after entering the pleas in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. Authorities said the two turned themselves in and have cooperated with ongoing investigations. Under their plea agreements, prosecutors will ask U.S. District Judge Franklin Burgess to...