JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

The Forgotten Boy at Carlsbad Caverns

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When my colleague Jerry first learned about Carlsbad Caverns National Park, he came across a tale about the caverns’ discovery. A 16-year-old named James White and a “Mexican friend” climbed down a hole in the ground in 1898, he learned, and the two began mapping one of the largest cave systems in the world. It’s an amazing story. But when Jerry first heard it, he questioned why someone who contributed so much to the modern understanding of this amazing place remains an unnamed “Mexican friend.”

Why didn’t historians record and preserve the friend’s identity? Why didn’t someone deem that information important? Who gets to tell the story of Latinos in the U.S.? What other stories are we missing?

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Pebble Mine CEO resigns after recorded comments released

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The head of a proposed copper and gold mine near a prime Alaska salmon fishery has resigned after covertly filmed videos showed him talking about elected and regulatory officials and unreleased plans for the huge project.

Northern Dynasty, owner of Pebble Limited Partnership, announced the resignation of Pebble Limited CEO Tom Collier in a statement Wednesday.

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group, this week released secretly recorded Zoom conversations between Collier, Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen and activists posing as investors. The conversations occurred in August and earlier this month.

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Judge says 2020 census must continue for another month

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A federal judge has stopped the 2020 census from finishing at month’s end and suspended a year-end deadline for delivering the numbers needed to decide how many seats each state gets in Congress.

The preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in California late Thursday orders the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident to continue through the end of October.

Koh said the shortened schedule ordered by the Trump administration likely would produce inaccurate results.

“An undercount in any locality matters greatly. Even a small undercount of a subset of the hard to count population would result in the loss of federal funding,” Koh wrote. “These harms and others will last through 2030, if not later.”

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3 New Environmental Docs to Watch This Fall

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Ecowatch Recommendations:

Kiss the Ground:

Between wildfires devastating the U.S. West Coast and storms battering the Gulf, the impacts of the climate crisis can feel overwhelming right now. Kiss the Ground offers an alternative to all of the bad news by focusing on solutions.

The film, directed by Josh and Rebecca Tickell and narrated by Woody Harrelson, explains how we can heal the Earth through “regenerative agriculture,” farming practices that draw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and into soil as a way to restore soil health, which in turn boosts ecosystems and food supplies.

Public Trust: The Fight for America’s Public Lands

This award-winning documentary tells the stories of Indigenous activists, journalists, whistleblowers and historians working to protect America’s public lands. The film focuses on three political struggles: the shrinking of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, the mining of Boundary Waters Wilderness in Minnesota and the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to fossil fuel exploration.

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, which was also produced by Silverback Films and directed by Alastair Fothergill, Jonnie Hughes and Keith Scholey, features an intimate conversation between Attenborough and Sir Michael Palin as the broadcaster reflects on his life and a career that took him to every continent on Earth. In addition to streaming on Netflix, the movie will be available in select theaters starting Sept. 28.

“For decades, David has brought the natural world to the homes of audiences worldwide, but there has never been a more significant moment for him to share his own story and reflections,” WWF executive producer Colin Butfield said in a statement. “This film coincides with a monumental year for environmental action as world leaders make critical decisions on nature and climate. It sends a powerful message from the most inspiring and celebrated naturalist of our time.”

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We lose more than salmon and orcas to the Snake River dams

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My traditional name is O’ĉ’si’ii (oh cha see ee) and in my Qwidičča ɂ-tx (qua ditch cha uth) Makah language, it means “Lady of the Sea” or “Protector of the Sea.” If Tahlequah’s new calf and my family’s way of life are going to survive, we have to protect salmon. Returning to abundant salmon is necessary for the orcas’ survival and extremely personal for me as a mother of four fishermen sons.

My traditional name is O’ĉ’si’ii (oh cha see ee) and in my Qwidičča ɂ-tx (qua ditch cha uth) Makah language, it means “Lady of the Sea” or “Protector of the Sea.” If Tahlequah’s new calf and my family’s way of life are going to survive, we have to protect salmon. Returning to abundant salmon is necessary for the orcas’ survival and extremely personal for me as a mother of four fishermen sons.

Read more here.