SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
September, 15 2010, 09:48am EDT
Contact:
Kate Hornyan (202) 265-7337
Delaware Has Second Thoughts About Refuge Beach Scraping
Not Enough Sand to Close Dune Breaches and Growing Worry about Habitat Harm
WASHINGTON
A plan to scrape sand from beaches on the Prime Hook National
Wildlife Refuge in order to rebuild dunes shielding private beach homes
has a new critic - the state agency that is supposed to carry it out,
according to a letter released today by Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The Delaware Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) now admits to a number of
reservations about the project that it is co-sponsoring, including that
there is not enough sand on the refuge beaches to close the breaches
that storms have opened in the dunes.
In an August 25, 2010 letter commenting .on the U. S. Fish
& Wildlife Service (FWS operates the refuge) Draft Environmental
Assessment for the project, DNREC Secretary Collin O'Mara voices support
for another option than the "Preferred Alternative" put forward by
FWS. Instead of scraping sand from refuge beaches, DNREC suggests
importing sand from elsewhere, provided that DNREC does not have to pay
for it. Besides the insufficient sand on "sand starved" refuge beaches,
DNREC says -
- The project may be counterproductive: "In the long run
allowing the system to self-adjust may enable the existing wetlands to
better keep up with sea level rise"; - "The preferred approach is, admittedly, a short-term solution that may not survive the next Nor'easter"; and
- Damage to habitat for shorebirds, beach-nesting birds and dune plants may be greater than the FWS assessment estimates.
"When even your partner starts getting cold feet, it is time
to step back and take a hard look at what you are doing," stated PEER
Executive Director Jeff Ruch, pointing out that back in May DNREC sent
two state bulldozers onto Prime Hook Refuge wetlands to scrape sand but
were turned back and since seem to have undergone a change of heart.
That incident is still under investigation by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. "If there is not enough sand, what is the point of spending a
moment more on this project?"
Other practical barriers also loom, including a DNREC concern
that "the time and cost estimates for this approach is significantly
underestimated." DNREC states that the project "should be completed
between October 1 and October 22" to avoid interfering with duck
hunting. But, to date, FWS does not have a single state or federal
permit needed to break ground. In addition, DNREC wants a new
"memorandum of understanding" detailing "obligations and
expectations...including funding limitations" on the state role.
"With friends like DNREC, the Fish & Wildlife Service
does not want for critics," said PEER Counsel Christine Erickson who is
preparing for litigation in the event the Prime Hook dunes project
proceeds further. "The Prime Hooks dune project is an unworkable,
harmful, misguided and short-sighted political fix to a suite of
resource management issues propelled by rising sea levels."
###
Read the DNREC letter
See the host of environmental problems plaguing the Prime Hook dune project
View Defenders of Wildlife comments echoing PEER objections
PEER protects public employees who protect our environment. We are a service organization for environmental and public health professionals, land managers, scientists, enforcement officers, and other civil servants dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. We work with current and former federal, state, local, and tribal employees.
LATEST NEWS
IRC Warns of 'Surging Crises and Shrinking Support' as Sudan, Palestine Top 2026 Watchlist
"The New World Disorder is here," said the head of the International Rescue Committee. "The question is whether to respond with vision, an opportunity for reinvention—or with further retreat," said the head of the International Rescue Committee.
Dec 16, 2025
The International Rescue Committee on Tuesday released its annual humanitarian crisis forecast, along with a stark warning that civilians in the countries on its watchlist "are on the front lines of a disintegrating international order and global action is needed to reverse course."
Sudan, Palestine, and South Sudan topped IRC's Emergency Watchlist for 2026, followed by Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali, Burkina Faso, and Lebanon. Afghanistan, Cameroon, Chad, Colombia, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen also made the list.
People in some of those countries—including Sudan, Palestine, and Myanmar—are enduring genocidal violence and privation, while nearly all of the other nations on the list are experiencing war or other unrest. Some are also ravaged by climate-driven extreme weather, hunger, and other crises.
"This year’s watchlist identifies a dangerous divergence: surging crises and shrinking support," IRC said on Tuesday. "Home to just 12% of the global population, watchlist countries account for 89% of those in humanitarian need and are projected to host more than half of the world’s extreme poor by 2029."
IRC noted that "117 million people are forcibly displaced" and "nearly 40 million people are facing such severe hunger" in the watchlist countries.
"While crises grow, global humanitarian funding has shrunk by 50%," the group said. "What remains is a humanitarian system underfunded, undercut, and unprepared to meet unprecedented humanitarian crises in 2026."
The world has retreated from humanitarian aid—but violence, hunger and climate threats haven't slowed down. We must not forget about the people for whom crisis is a daily reality. This is our 2026 Emergency Watchlist: www.rescue.org/watchlist2026
[image or embed]
— International Rescue Committee (@rescue.org) December 16, 2025 at 6:28 AM
IRC continued:
This “New World Disorder” is replacing the post-WWII international system once grounded in rules and rights. Defined by intensifying geopolitical rivalries, shifting alliances, and transactional deal-making, this disorder is driving a cascade of crises and eroding global support for the world’s most vulnerable. Global cooperation is unraveling; together with major aid cuts, the [United Nations] Security Council has seen a surge in vetoes, stalling responses to atrocities in Sudan, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territory. Conflict is increasingly used as a tool for power and profit. In Sudan, warring parties and their backers are profiting from the gold trade, deepening violence and devastating civilians. Meanwhile, impunity is enabled on a dangerous scale. 2025 is on track to be the deadliest year for humanitarians. Attacks on schools have risen nearly 50%, and in Gaza, hospitals, shelters, and essential infrastructure have been bombed or cut off from aid.
“What the IRC is seeing on the ground is not a tragic accident. The world is not simply failing to respond to crisis; actions and words are producing, prolonging, and rewarding it," IRC president and CEO David Miliband said Tuesday in a statement. "The scale of the crisis in Sudan, ranking first on this year’s watchlist for the third year in a row and now the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, is a signature of this disorder."
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces—a paramilitary militia born from the Janjaweed co-perpetrators of the first Darfur genocide—continues, with all warring parties, especially the RSF, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to human rights groups. The conflict in Sudan has fueled one of the world’s most acute humanitarian catastrophes, with more than 12 million people displaced and famine confirmed in Darfur's largest refuge camp last year. More than 20 million people are facing acute hunger.
In order to respond more efficiently to global humanitarian crises, IRC recommends:
- Reinvigorating diplomacy, including by empowering the UN to collectively address global challenges by supporting the suspension of Security Council veto power in cases of mass atrocities;
- Protecting civilians and fighting impunity, including by withholding arms sales when violations occur or are at risk of occurring and supporting UN accountability mechanisms; and
- Improving the allocation and delivery of aid, including by reorganizing allocation, prioritizing most vulnerable populations when planning climate adaptation finance, and expanding donor bases.
“This year’s watchlist is a testament to misery but also a warning: Without urgent action from those with power to make a difference, 2026 risks becoming the most dangerous year yet," Miliband said.
That urgent action won't be coming from the United States, where the Trump administration has dramatically slashed international humanitarian assistance despite warnings that such cuts would cause millions of deaths. One of many examples stands out for sheer crassness: As South Sudanese babies and others died of cholera following the closure of local health clinics, US officials celebrated successfully slashing aid budgets and services with congratulations and cake, according to a report published Monday by ProPublica.
"Civilians in watchlist countries are paying the price today. The IRC stands with them to deliver practical solutions that save lives and restore hope," said Miliband. "But the New World Disorder is here, and winds are picking up everywhere. Disorder begets disorder. The question is whether to respond with vision, an opportunity for reinvention—or with further retreat.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
EU Advances Deregulation Package Eroding 'Vital Climate and Human Rights Safeguards'
"This outcome reflects a troubling trend in the European Parliament, where the conservative bloc has increasingly aligned with far-right agendas, legitimizing polarizing demands and pushing aside science-based evidence."
Dec 16, 2025
Climate and human rights advocates on Tuesday blasted European Union legislators for approving a deregulation package that Amnesty International's Eve Geddie said "undermines vital climate and human rights safeguards, betraying people and the planet at a time when protections are needed most."
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 428-218 in favor of Omnibus I, which will weaken the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, with 17 abstentions. The package still needs final approval from the Council of the EU, after which governments will have until mid-2028 to transpose it into national law.
Under the new text, only EU companies that employ more than 1,000 people on average and have a net annual turnover above €450 million, or $529 million, will have to conduct social and environmental reporting, and only firms with over 5,000 employees and a net annual turnover exceeding €1.5 billion, or $1.76 billion, have to carry out due diligence.
The changes, finalized in negotiations between the European Parliament and member states last week, "are expected to exempt around 80% of companies originally expected to disclose against the rules," reported Responsible Investor.
Anticipating the vote, Sebastien Godinot, senior economist at WWF European Policy Office, said Monday that "under the guise of easing regulatory burdens, the EU engaged in a race to the bottom, rushing to undo necessary safeguards that were set in place to protect our nature and climate, as well as to secure future economic prosperity."
"Instead of focusing on the successful implementation of the laws, decision-makers shifted their focus to short-term political gains, ignoring the strong evidence showing that corporate climate targets are not only feasible, but make a lot of sense for companies," he continued. "After years of positioning itself as a sustainability leader, it is disappointing to see the EU stepping back and ignoring the science meant to guide decision-making."
Mariana Ferreira, who focuses on sustainable finance at the WWF office, noted that "this outcome reflects a troubling trend in the European Parliament, where the conservative bloc has increasingly aligned with far-right agendas, legitimizing polarizing demands and pushing aside science-based evidence and warnings."
After Tuesday's vote, Human Rights Watch senior corporate accountability advocate Hélène de Rengervé lamented: "All that is left of the EU's trailblazing corporate accountability law is a skeleton... The final text means corporate interests are being prioritized over the rights of workers, communities, and environmental protection."
Gaëlle Dusepulchre of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights also argued that the vote "sets a serious precedent for EU policymaking by signaling a clear prioritization of corporate interests over the protection of people and the planet."
Geddie, director of Amnesty's European Institutions Office, pointed out that "this rollback is part of a bonfire of regulations and is the result of intense lobbying efforts by powerful industry actors and external pressure, including from the United States. Ignoring widespread criticism from civil society, economists, the [United Nations], and even the European Ombudsman, this rushed and opaque process also flies in the face of public opinion, which clearly shows the majority of Europeans favour human rights and environmental protection."
"Now, EU governments must strengthen key provisions when they incorporate these regulations in national law and use every available avenue to improve protections, ensure access to justice for victims, and urgently prevent further erosion of corporate accountability—especially since other deregulation packages are already in the pipeline," she stressed. "European states must not squander the opportunity to use these regulations to ensure businesses contribute to thriving communities—our future and the future of our planet rely on it."
European Coalition for Corporate Justice director Nele Meyer called the vote "a betrayal of people and communities suffering from corporate abuse around the world," and warned that it "puts member states at risk of breaching their obligation to protect human rights and prevent environmental and climate damage."
"It is deeply alarming to witness how foreign pressure shaped a file that should have been driven by evidence and by the needs of those facing the impacts on the ground," Meyer added. "While the protections have been weakened, the core due diligence duty remains. Now the law must be implemented in a way that delivers real protection for people and the planet."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Flag Linked to Christian Nationalism, Jan. 6 Hung at Education Dept
The Education Department has been at the center of Trump's push to "bring back religion in America" and promote “Judeo‑Christian principles.”
Dec 16, 2025
The union for US Department of Education workers has raised alarm about a top department official's display of a flag with Christian nationalist associations that was flown during the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol building.
The flag was spotted outside the Washington, DC, office of Murray Bessette, the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, according to a report on Monday from USA Today. However, it's not clear how long it's been displayed there.
The stark white banner, emblazoned with a pine tree and the phrase "An Appeal to Heaven"—a reference to John Locke's “Second Treatise on Government”—was first used during the American Revolution and flown by six schooner privateers known as "Washington's Cruisers" for naval operations and supply capture missions.
The flag was flown sporadically throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, most prominently in New England. But it remained relatively obscure until recently.
As the Southern Poverty Law Center explained in November, it has undergone a revival among proponents of Christian nationalism over the past decade:
Its affiliation with Christian supremacist politicians largely began in 2013 after being reintroduced as a symbol of supremacy by Dutch Sheets, a highly influential leader in the New Apostolic Reformation, today’s most powerful Christian supremacist movement.
The NAR is an anti-democratic Christian supremacist movement that seeks to control all areas of national life, from the halls of Congress to one’s living room, compelling all Americans to align their lives with NAR’s worldview. According to NAR leaders, those who oppose them are not just wrong but under the control of the demonic, and are even possibly demonic entities themselves.
Sheets, a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump, helped to mobilize thousands of Christian followers to the Capitol leading up to the January 6 riot, where supporters of the president sought to violently overturn the electoral victory of his opponent, former President Joe Biden. The pastor referred to the recognition of Biden's election as "an evil attempt to overthrow the government of the United States of America."
The "Appeal to Heaven" flag was spotted on multiple occasions at the Capitol on that day and at other "Stop the Steal" events protesting Trump's 2020 election loss. It has continued to cause controversy in the years since.
In 2023, the right-wing Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was seen flying the flag outside his New Jersey beach house. Alito blamed his wife for the flag flying outside their property just weeks before a documentarian published a secret recording of him expressing his desire to return the country to “a place of godliness,” and agreeing with radical right-wing groups who he said refuse to “negotiate with the left.”
The flag has also been displayed by several Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has expressed many Christian nationalist viewpoints, including a distaste for the idea that the Constitution requires the separation of church and state.
Its appearance outside Bessette's office is not the first time a government agency has displayed the flag during the second Trump presidency. In June, the Small Business Administration also displayed it during a ceremony, though only for about a day, according to Wired.
Rachel Gittleman, the president of the union for Education Department workers nationwide, said in a statement that the agency "has no place for symbols that were carried by insurrectionists."
“Since January, hardworking public servants at the US Department of Education have been subjected to threats, harassment, and sustained demoralization," she added. "Now, they are being asked to work in an environment where a senior leader is prominently displaying an offensive flag—one that, regardless of its origins in the American Revolution, has come to represent intolerance, hatred, and extremism."
The use of a flag with Christian nationalist affiliations is especially noteworthy at the Education Department, which has been at the center of Trump's push to "bring back religion in America" and promote “Judeo‑Christian principles.”
Trump has endorsed state-level policies requiring the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms, which he called a "major step in the revival of religion." In September, he also said that he would soon roll out a policy to provide "total protection" for prayer in public schools, which has long been considered unconstitutional when sponsored by school or state officials.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular