#earthday — Public Fediverse posts

Menjaga Bumi untuk Generasi Mendatang: Tanggung Jawab Bersama dalam Konservasi Lingkungan

https://frnstudio.wordpress.com/2026/06/18/menjaga-bumi-untuk-generasi-mendatang-tanggung-jawab-bersama-dalam-konservasi-lingkungan/

Today's top ten tag trends:

10: #これを見た人は無言で去年の4月の画像を貼る
9: #ThursdayFiveList
8: #CelebrateBooksDay
7: #DiaDelLibro
6: #WorldBookDay
5: #welttagdesbuches
4: #EarthDay
3: #musiquinta
2: #santjordi
1: #TVShowsAboutInterns

#trendytoots 📈

ADORO IL GENIO - KARMA

Un invito ad evitare la reazione di #madrenatura in occasione dell' #earthday🌎 2026 che, come sempre accade in queste occasioni, evitiamo di celebrare nel giorno preposto.

#adoroilgenio #28febbraio #karma #badkarma #eco #ecosostenibilità #giornatamondialedellaterra🌍 #GiornataDellaTerra #ecosostenibile♻️ #inquinamento #video #commercial #commercvials #pubblicita #pubblicità #Spot #SpotTV #comunicazione #azioneereazione

https://prospect.org/2026/04/21/organized-money-big-oil-and-big-plastic-are-one-and-the-same/

#EarthDay #Fossilfuels #microplastics #nanoplastics #pollution

The Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health (PERTH) study focused on two common chemicals that came from plastic products — #phthalates and #bisphenols.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-23/plastic-packaging-body-chemicals-study/106594194

#EarthDay #FoodChain #FossilFuels #Microplastics #Nanoplastics #Packaging #Pollution

“Trump’s a terrorist. Trump’s a fascist. We are here for the earth. We are here for the children.” “We’re trying to save the planet. We’re trying to save life on earth & this is what it takes.” Extinction Rebellion protested in front of Trump Tower on #EarthDay . #PlanetOverProfit #ClimateJustice

“Trump’s a terrorist. Trump’s a fascist. We are here for the earth. We are here for the children.” “We’re trying to save the planet. We’re trying to save life on earth & this is what it takes.” Extinction Rebellion protested in front of Trump Tower on #EarthDay . #PlanetOverProfit #ClimateJustice

“Trump’s a terrorist. Trump’s a fascist. We are here for the earth. We are here for the children.” “We’re trying to save the planet. We’re trying to save life on earth & this is what it takes.” Extinction Rebellion protested in front of Trump Tower on #EarthDay . #PlanetOverProfit #ClimateJustice

Nothing beats the peaceful sights and sounds of nature. Happy #EarthDay!

#WaterMusic #rivers #spring #nature #NaturePhotography #SolaceInNature #landscape #SimpleThings #QuietJoys

Nothing beats the peaceful sights and sounds of nature. Happy #EarthDay!

#WaterMusic #rivers #spring #nature #NaturePhotography #SolaceInNature #landscape #SimpleThings #QuietJoys

Nothing beats the peaceful sights and sounds of nature. Happy #EarthDay!

#WaterMusic #rivers #spring #nature #NaturePhotography #SolaceInNature #landscape #SimpleThings #QuietJoys

Nothing beats the peaceful sights and sounds of nature. Happy #EarthDay!

#WaterMusic #rivers #spring #nature #NaturePhotography #SolaceInNature #landscape #SimpleThings #QuietJoys

Nothing beats the peaceful sights and sounds of nature. Happy #EarthDay!

#WaterMusic #rivers #spring #nature #NaturePhotography #SolaceInNature #landscape #SimpleThings #QuietJoys

Not How It’s Supposed to Be

Today is Earth Day. April 22, 2026. Happy Earth Day.

This morning when I got out of bed it was 31 degrees out and there was ice on the cars. I live in Massachusetts where Spring and Winter are the same thing. Again, Happy Earth Day.

Blah.

Dave Mason died. He was 79 years old. I’m not a big follower of his solo career but he spent a year or so as a member of the original lineup of Traffic and that’s enough to allow me to call myself a big fan.

Traffic’s first record was good. Mr Fantasy. It was weird and quirky but it was good. Their self-titled second record though… holy shit. That record is amazing from start to finish. Mason wrote “Feeling Alright?” which was covered by… everyone, and a massive hit for Joe Cocker. I prefer the original. It’s not funky like most of the covers. It’s mellower and a little bluesier and maybe… what’s the word I’m looking for… less self confident? Maybe? I don’t know. I just prefer the version on Traffic’s second record to any other version I’ve heard.

Chris Woods the sax/flute/anything else he could get his hands on founding member of Traffic died in 1983. Jim Capaldi the drummer/percussionist/sometime vocalist founding member of Traffic died in 2005. Dave Mason the guitarist/vocalist founding member of Traffic died in 2026. Steve Winwood the vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist/bassist/anything else he could get his hands on/living legend founding member of Traffic is now the only one left.

It is silly to be sad about a 79 year old musician whose career dates back to the mid-sixties passing away. I mean… everyone around his age is nearing their end. That’s just how life works, right? Still… it sucks to lose them. By all accounts, Mason was a good human… even if he and Steve Winwood didn’t get along so well (at least that’s what I always heard). It sucks to lose the good ones.

Maybe if the temperature wasn’t below freezing on this Earth Day morning I would feel a little better about it. Maybe I’d feel well enough to try to write a pun using the title of Feeling Alright… but I just don’t have it in me right now.

The Earth is our home, and so it is our responsibility to take care of it.

#studentmentalhealth #studentwellbeing #mentalhealthawareness #schoolmentalhealth #mentalwellness #youthmentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #ymhc #earthday #ecofriendly

•
«Tutelarla non è un’opinione, è la condizione stessa della nostra esistenza»
(Slow Food)
#22aprile #GiornatadellaTerra #EarthDay
https://www.slowfood.it/comunicati-stampa/giornata-della-terra-slow-food-tutelarla-non-e-unopinione/

Earth Day

Giornata della Terra torna anche nel 2026 con un’energia nuova e un tema che parla chiaro:

Restore & Rebalance

 un invito globale a ripensare il nostro rapporto con il pianeta. Se nel articolo del 2025 — che i lettori possono ritrovare qui: ⇓

https://perfettamentechic.com/2025/04/22/giornata-della-terra-earth-day/

si raccontavano le origini dell’Earth Day e il suo spirito pionieristico, quest’anno il focus si sposta sulle azioni concrete e sulle innovazioni ambientali che stanno ridisegnando il futuro.

🌍 Cosa c’è di nuovo nel 2026

• Raddoppiano le iniziative locali: dalle “strade verdi temporanee” nelle città europee ai laboratori di riciclo creativo per famiglie, l’Earth Day diventa sempre più un evento diffuso e partecipato.
• Debutto delle “Eco-Pledge Cards”: una campagna internazionale che invita ogni cittadino a scegliere un impegno personale per l’ambiente, da conservare per un anno.
• Tecnologie green protagoniste: nel 2026 si parla molto di bioplastica di nuova generazione, capace di degradarsi in poche settimane, e dei primi prototipi di micro-filtri domestici per ridurre le microplastiche nelle acque reflue.
• Focus sul Mediterraneo: l’Italia partecipa con un programma speciale dedicato alla tutela delle coste e alla riduzione dell’inquinamento marino, con eventi da Trieste a Palermo.
• Ritorno dei “Citizen Scientists”: migliaia di volontari raccolgono dati su biodiversità urbana, qualità dell’aria e presenza di insetti impollinatori, contribuendo a un grande database globale.

🌱 Un filo rosso con il 2025

Se l’articolo precedente raccontava la storia e il significato dell’Earth Day, il 2026 rappresenta la sua evoluzione naturale: meno celebrazione simbolica, più azione quotidiana. Il messaggio è semplice e potente:

la sostenibilità non è un evento annuale, ma un’abitudine da coltivare ogni giorno.

✨ Perché questa giornata conta ancora

Perché, nonostante i progressi, il pianeta continua a chiedere attenzione. E l’Earth Day rimane un’occasione preziosa per fermarsi, respirare e ricordare che ogni gesto — anche il più piccolo — può fare la differenza.

Autore: Lynda Di Natale
Fonte: web
Immagine: AI

#SacoME #EarthDay #Cleanup

Come Celebrate Earth Day in Saco!

April 24 @ 9:00 am - 1:00 pm

"Registration is NOW OPEN!

Each year, the Saco Parks & Recreation Department offers an opportunity to bring the community together to clean up and prepare the local green spaces and parks for spring and summer! It is now more important than ever to focus on our green space, clean energy, eliminating waste, and becoming an eco-friendly community.

"#ecomaine is proud to be part of this year’s celebration! Stop by our table at the #SacoCommunityCenter at the start of the day to pick up #recycling resources, meet our education team, and learn about the sustainable waste programs available to Saco residents. At the end of the cleanup, we’ll be weighing the trash collected from parks, trails, and open spaces across the city so volunteers can see the real impact their community made together.

"Looking to get involved? Join your neighbors to volunteer in Saco and help clean up and prepare local parks for spring and summer. Duties include #TrashPickUp, #weeding, #mulching, raking, and more. This event is (light) rain or shine!


Schedule of Events:

When: Friday, April 24th, 2026
Where: Our very own Saco parks, schools, trails, and open spaces!
Time: 9:00am-1:00pm
Please meet at the Saco Community Center at 9:00am to check-in. Everyone who registers by the T-shirt deadline will pick up their shirts.
We will also have coffee and refreshments for everyone so that we can fuel up before we go!
Volunteers will disperse to your locations after we take a group photo!
Fee: FREE but must pre-register!
Ages: Volunteers under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.


Earth Day Location Options:

Please only sign up for one location.

Options this year include:

Diamond Riverside Park: On Irving St. overlooking the Saco River.

Pepperell Park: Located around the Saco Dog Park and Fairfield School on Beach St./School St. - nice and quiet (and shaded!).

Front Street Park and River Walk Trail: On Front St. near the river and boat launch and includes the new walkway.

Cascade Falls Trail: Located on Cascade Rd. off of Route 1.

Haley Park: Located on King St. near the Saco Community Garden.

Saco Community Center: 75 Franklin St.

Saco Middle School: 40 Buxton Rd.

Memorial Park at CK Burns School: 135 Middle Street

Jubilee Park: Covered bridge park on Water Street.

Rendezvous Point & Outlook Cemeteries

If your preferred location has reached capacity, please register for another site. There are plenty of opportunities to help us prepare Saco's parks for the spring and summer!"

To sign up:
https://sacome.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=28247

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineEvents #EarthDay2026 #ParkCleanups #CommunitySpaces #CemeteryCleanups #BuildingCommunity #Volunteering

#SouthPortlandME - #EarthDay Resource Fair

Date: Saturday, April 25th, 2026
Times: 10:00am-2:00pm
Location: Mill Creek Park (rain location at South Portland Community Center)
Fee: free to attend

"Join us for our second annual Earth Day Fair to celebrate all things nature, get resources from sustainable organizations, meet like-minded people in your community, and clean up the city! This fair is a partnership between the City of South Portland, the #SouthPortlandLandTrust, and #DirigoScienceConnection.

Fair Highlights:

- Connect with over 40 Eco-focused Community Groups with activities for both kids and adults
- Enjoy music from The Pine Tones and The Truth About Daisies
- Contribute to a mural
- Participate in a Community Clean-up
- Visit Maine animals with Sparks Ark (programs are at 11:00am and 11:30am but are limited capacity- first come first served)
- Learn about recreational opportunities, climate initiatives, and how you can live a more sustainable life
- Food trucks will be available for lunch
- Celebrate nature!"

FMI:
https://southportlandme.myrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=31495

#SolarPunkSunday #MaineEvents #EarthDay2026 #CommunityCleanups #BuildingCommunity #Sustainability

12 #Recycled #Crafts for Kids to Celebrate #EarthDay

By Ally Noel, April 13, 2021

"These crafts for kids celebrate Earth Day the best way we know how—with #recycling! You don’t have to buy any extra stuff to create one of these beautiful crafts. Basic supplies like scissors, glue, and paint allow kids (and their grown-ups) to do their part to save the planet.

"Clean out that recycling bin to gather supplies for these fun Earth Day activities for kids. From glass and plastic to packaging and cardboard, there is a treasure trove of crafting material just waiting to be reused. Whether you are taking a pile of cardboard boxes to the next level or turning T-shirts into totes, these easy crafts for kids provide a little inspiration to get you going."

Read more:
https://mommypoppins.com/recycled-crafts-for-kids-earth-day-activities

#SolarPunkSunday #EarthDayCrafts #Upcycling #KidsCrafts #ReduceReuseRecycle

2026 #EarthDay Festival in #BrunswickME

April 25 @ 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
FREE Admission

Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School
44 McKeen Street, Brunswick, Maine

"Join #BicyleCoalitionOfMaine and a host of like minded partners to celebrate Earth Day in Brunswick

Bike Inspection & Tune-Up

Bring your bike for a free safety check and basic tune-up from local cycling experts.

You'll also find art, live music, dancing, educational talks, interactive exhibits, demonstrations, off-grid solar generators, and electric vehicles on display — plus much more."

Schedule:

10:00 Doors Open
10:30 All Species Parade
11:30 Nature Hikes
1:00 Fun Bike Ride
2:30 Wheelbarrow Race Finals
3:00 Doors Close

FMI:
https://earthdayinbrunswick.com/

#SolarPunkSunday #EarthDay2026 #MaineEvents #BikeTuneUps #BCM #NatureHikes #Renewables #BikeTooter

Earth Day im Fridericianum: „Living Earth“ von Tue Greenfort

https://nordhessen-rundschau.de/nhr-kunstszene/earth-day-im-fridericianum-living-earth-von-tue-greenfort/

Unity Gardens prepares for Irish Day, Earth Day celebrations https://www.allforgardening.com/1659328/unity-gardens-prepares-for-irish-day-earth-day-celebrations/ #celebrations #EarthDay #garden #gardening #IrishDay #SouthBend #UnityGardens #WNDU

https://ift.tt/TyeKEOv

Happy Earth Day! Today, we celebrate our planet and the impactful small steps towards sustainability. A special thanks to our Sustainability Team for their ongoing commitment to making Chula Vista a cleaner and greener community. #EarthDay #Sustainability #ChulaVista

#NoKings #HandsOff #50501Protests #50501Movement #Resistance #Opposition #BeTheChange #StrongerTogether #Democracy #motherearth #earthday #ourearthmatters #earth #planet #diversity #equity #inclusion #DEI #FSU #FloridaState #FloridaStateUniversity #Seminoles #Noles

#NoKings #HandsOff #50501Protests #50501Movement #Resistance #Opposition #BeTheChange #StrongerTogether #Democracy #motherearth #earthday #ourearthmatters #earth #planet #diversity #equity #inclusion #DEI #FSU #FloridaState #FloridaStateUniversity #Seminoles #Noles

Yep #NoKings #HandsOff #50501Protests #50501Movement #Resistance #Opposition #BeTheChange #StrongerTogether #Democracy #motherearth #earthday #ourearthmatters #earth #planet #diversity #equity #inclusion #DEI #FSU #FloridaState #FloridaStateUniversity #Seminoles #Noles

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bdf5nzzryl4xlimkdm4crycg/post/3lnngsxun5k2t

#NoKings #HandsOff #50501Protests #50501Movement #Resistance #Opposition #BeTheChange #StrongerTogether #Democracy #motherearth #earthday #ourearthmatters #earth #planet #diversity #equity #inclusion #DEI #FSU #FloridaState #FloridaStateUniversity #Seminoles #Noles

For Earth Day, these images remind me of grains and how we depend on them. They’re actually swamp grass on the shore of a pond, but grains are grasses (mostly?).

#EarthDay #EastCoastKin #photography #grass #sunset #MendonPonds #MonroeCounty #NY

Happy #EarthDay! To celebrate, here’s our video about the Food Web, and how it’s a better model for ecosystems than the food chain. We made it for our friend the @RvingNaturalist’s channel, and she has a lot more videos there about nature and ecology that you should check out! https://youtu.be/OxKvcA4NpaQ

#Etymology #Video #WordNerd #Linguistics #Language #Words #HistoricalLinguistics #LingComm #FoodWeb #FoodChain

Disney And National Geographic Set Earth Month Programming Guide With New Content Narrated By Blake Lively, Brendan Fraser and Blair Underwood
#Culture #News #BlairUnderwood #BlakeLively #BrendanFraser #EarthDay

https://deadline.com/2025/04/disney-nat-geo-earth-month-programming-april-2025-1236355263/

🔴 Kurz...
🔵 Short...
✏️ Artist: #SNELSE / #SteveNelson in #Brighton UK 🇬🇧 - Title: "Happy Earth Day!"🍳- #Cartoon #Streetart #Art #Humor #Comic #Drawing #Twonks #Cartoon #EarthDay 🌍
Website: https://www.snelse.co.uk/

In occasione del #22aprile - #GiornatadellaTerra MilanoUP ripropone tre volumi per riflettere sui rapporti tra uomo e #natura, #cambiamentoclimatico e #sostenibilità: Play your part, La terra che non c’è e Forest and communities.

⬇️https://bit.ly/m/MilanoUP

#ecologia #ambiente #EarthDay

Oggi #22aprile, #EarthDay, è una di quelle giornate dove a trionfare è l'ipocrisia.
Se non si mette in discussione il #capitalismo, quello che ci sta portando verso il baratro, sono solo chiacchiere.
Il capitalismo, soprattutto questo ultra liberista, non può che portare al disastro ambientale proprio per la sua stessa natura.

#ClimateCrisis
#cambiamentoClimatico
#saveThePlanet

https://diogeneonline.info/il-significato-della-giornata-della-terra/

1 Milliarde Besucher weltweit » Earth Day 2023

Am 22. April haben mehr als eine Milliarde Menschen den Earth Day gefeiert.

#GoodNews #Celebration #DayOfTheEarth #earthday #Event #GaiasDay #MotherEarth #BePositive

https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/24/from-colourful-floats-to-cleanups-creativity-and-colour-were-everywhere-on-earth-day

Happy Earth Day #meditation #coast #earth #EarthDay #santabarbara #Reiki #Succulent #Stones #Sculpture #flower #plant #leaf #flowerphotography #floweroftheday #flowermagic #plantlife #plantlove #planttherapy #flowergardening

Vancouver Mom: Earth Day in Vancouver: 10 kid-friendly activities https://www.vancouvermom.ca/highlight/earth-day-in-vancouver/ #vancouver #vancouvermom #momhacks #familyfriendlyactivitiesvancouver #SpringActivitiesinVancouver #BabiesandToddlers:Ages0to2 #IntermediateKids:Ages9-12 #PrimarySchoolKids:Ages5-8 #familyfriendlyvancouver #Preschoolers:Ages3to4 #FamilyeventsVancouver #kidfriendlyvancouver #earthdayvancouver #Teens:Ages13+ #GreenLiving #Highlight #earthday

SOSV’s burgeoning climate portfolio is worth nearly $6 billion as planetary health bets pay off - The burgeoning climate focused portfolio from early stage investor SOSV Investment... - http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/w5lwpEi-1U8/ #entrepreneurship #startupcompany #manufacturing #privateequity #seanosullivan #duncanturner #mayfieldfund #memphismeats #arvindgupta #3dprinting #perfectday #mycoworks #pobronson #earthday #formlabs #hardware #indiebio #geltor #food #head #sosv #tc

The Political Project of MCRC v. EPA, 2

Second In A Series
Activists Afoot!

As I suggested in my first post in this series on MCRC v. EPA, the complaint filed by the Marquette County Road Commission would have us believe that “anti-mining” forces worked secretly with and even infiltrated the EPA, and the agency’s objections to CR 595 followed a “predetermined plan.” The EPA, it claims, had decided to oppose the haul road even before the MCRC application was reviewed.

This sounds like legitimate cause for concern: permit applications should be reviewed on their merits, not pre-judged and not according to some other anti- or pro- agenda. We certainly wouldn’t want someone in the Environmental Protection Agency to be “pro-mining”; there are enough well-paid mining lobbyists already haunting the hallways in Lansing and Washington, DC. But in this case, the anti-mining label is being used as a term of opprobrium, and to distort and deliberately misrepresent what the Environmental Protection Agency is chartered and required by law to do: in short, to enforce the Clean Water Act and protect the environment.

When it comes to proving the insinuations it makes, the MCRC complaint offers slim evidence.

For example, the complaint makes a big fuss over a November 28, 2012 letter from Laura Farwell, who lives in the Marquette area and is described here as “a prominent environmental activist.”  The letter is addressed to Lynn Abramson, then a Senior Legislative Assistant for Senator Barbara Boxer, and Thomas Fox, Senior Counsel of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, asking them to “weigh-in” with the EPA on CR 595. (Exhibit 1).

EPA must determine whether to uphold its original objections to proposed County Road 595 under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), pursuant to its supervisory authority over Michigan’s delegated wetlands permitting program. Tom may remember that during the August 30, 2011 meeting at EPA Denise Keehner of EPA’s office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds definitively reiterated EPA’s position and stated that the haul road would not happen.
Thus, this letter is to request, respectfully, that you weigh-in as soon as possible with the EPA on its decision.

The MCRC complains about Farwell’s use of the word “definitively” here and casts the 2011 meeting in a sinister light:

on August 30, 2011, a very different type of meeting regarding CR 595 took place at USEPA Headquarters in Washington, DC. MCRC was neither invited to nor informed of the meeting. In attendance (as far as is known at the present time) were top USEPA officials, Congressional staff, KBIC representatives, and a prominent environmental activist opposed to the construction of CR 595. It further appears that USEPA made no formal record of the meeting.

Without a formal record, it’s impossible to know what transpired at this meeting, and if the complaint is going to rely on Farwell’s memory of the conversation, then it should also take into account her intentions in paraphrasing and recounting it, one year after it took place. The language here — “a very different type of meeting,” “neither invited nor informed,” “as far as is known at the present time,” “no formal record” — doesn’t help in that regard, and it’s meant to suggest that conjurations were already afoot.

It’s clear the MCRC was not included in some discussions at EPA. There’s nothing extraordinary or illicit about that. All concerned parties had been meeting with and petitioning the EPA for several years at this point. The complaint is still a long way from proving that the EPA “surreptitiously met with a number of environmental activists vocally opposed to the road,” and an even longer way from proving that there was anything like an anti-mining coalition assembled in secret at the offices of the EPA.

In an ironic twist, these allegations of secrecy and whispering behind closed doors may come back to haunt the MCRC: at a Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting this month, the Marquette County Road Commission itself faced accusations that it had violated the Open Meetings Act in planning to bring its suit against the EPA. Public officials who intentionally violate that act are ordinarily fined and incur other liabilities; in this case, there would be some eating of words as well.

By November 28, 2012, the EPA had, in fact, “decided against the proposed haul road,” as Farwell puts it in the email she sent along with the letter to Abramson and Fox. The EPA had entered objections to the Woodland Road Application (in March, 2010) and announced their objections to CR 595 (in March, 2012).  Even so, a Fall 2012 public meeting held by the EPA “in Marquette…for more input” had Farwell worried. She was not at all confident the EPA would uphold its original objections to the haul road.  The matter was still far from being “definitively” settled.

Whatever reassurances Farwell was given at that 2011 meeting — or thought she had been given, or recalled having been given, one year later — were clearly at risk of getting lost in the bureaucratic shuffle. The purpose of her letter is to prevent that.

There is nothing surprising in all this. Those watching new mining developments in the Upper Peninsula are constantly having to chase after the EPA and demand that the regulator step in and do its job.

Jeffery Loman, a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and a former federal regulator, has repeatedly put the EPA on notice and complained of the agency’s failure to enforce the Clean Water Act.

In May of this year, the grassroots environmental group Save the Wild UP filed a petition with the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board, arguing that Eagle Mine was issued the wrong regulatory permit. The appeal requested that the EPA require Eagle Mine to obtain a Clean Water Act permit in order to protect the Salmon Trout River and other surface waters from the discharge of mining effluent. The Appeals Board did not contest the facts put forward in the petition, but dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction. They hardly proved themselves to be staunch allies.

So watchdogs and environmental groups, too, have reason to gripe about the EPA and often feel powerless in the face of bureaucratic inertia and ineptitude. Laura Farwell herself seems to have felt that way, and that’s why we find her asking Abramson and Fox for help. The MCRC complaint exaggerates her influence at the EPA when it describes her as “a prominent environmental activist.” The epithet is used here to create the misleading impression that within the offices of EPA Region 5 and the confines of Marquette County there are political opponents with resources to match the power of multi-billion dollar, multinational mining companies.

Laura Farwell and her husband Frank moved to the area in 2006 from Madison, Wisconsin. They are members of the St. Paul Episcopal Church and participate, along with their son Cody, in the church’s Earth Day tree plantings. The couple donated some money to the UP Land Conservancy. Farwell has also organized events for the Cedar Tree Institute, which works to bridge “faith communities and environmental groups.” (She is described on the Institute’s site  as “a concerned mother and local citizen.”) She is thanked for “working quietly behind the scenes” in a 2011 Earth Keeper TV video on the environmental risks posed by the Eagle Mine; and she’s copied along with many other local citizens in a Google Group post dated April 9, 2012, urging people to comment on CR 595 before the public comment period is closed.

Farwell’s commitments to land conservation are pretty clear, and while the complaint asks us to recoil in horror at the phrase “prominent environmental activist,” cooler heads are just as likely to be impressed by Farwell’s dedication to the people around her and the place where she lives. Maybe that dedication is all it takes to be a prominent environmental activist in the view of the Marquette County Road Commission.

Some locals, on the other hand, are legitimately concerned that nationally and internationally prominent environmentalists — like Bill McKibben, George Monbiot, Naomi Klein and their ilk — ignore the current situation around Lake Superior, or fail to give it the serious attention it deserves. National media have barely taken notice. Farwell herself admits that to the great and powerful in Washington DC “the proposed haul road may seem like some little back trail in the middle of nowhere,” but she urges that it will cut through “critical wetlands resources” and “enable the industrializing of this rural Great Lakes watershed by international mining interests.”

Farwell’s letter tries to create some urgency around the CR 595 issue by putting the road in context and specifying whose interests would be served by the industrializing of the region. A serious assessment of CR 595 would significantly widen the lens, taking into account the cumulative effects of all the new mining activities around Lake Superior: all leasing, exploration, development and active mining throughout northern Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario. Otherwise, we miss the big picture, and without that perspective, it’s just too easy to parcel out the land, the water, and the future of the region to the highest bidders.

The MCRC complaint, too, places CR 595 in the context of “mining and economic development in the Great Lakes region” in a few places, but only to make the specious argument that those who oppose or question the road are opposed to mining and therefore opposed to the region’s prosperity. These are the ideological leaps the complaint makes. Those who don’t make these leaps are called activists or anti-mining obstructionists. That is a political, not a legal argument.

It’s never too late to have a serious discussion of what sustainable economic development and true prosperity for the Great Lakes region might look like. How might we best organize our lives together in this place? is a fundamental political question. But at this juncture, it appears, the MCRC can’t afford to let that conversation happen. This lawsuit is an attempt to shut it down and stifle dissent. Where business leads, society must obediently follow. To question this order of things, as Laura Farwell seems to have repeatedly done, quietly, behind the scenes, is to commit some kind of nefarious act.

This is where the attitude on display in this complaint gets worrisome. With this lawsuit, the MCRC pretends to have the political authority to direct economic development in the region (not just to build and repair roads). But that is only pretense, and things in Marquette County are not as they appear. The public still does not know who is funding the Road Commission lawsuit, what they stand for and what they expect in return for their support. The real powers lurk behind the scenes.

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