August, 12 2020, 12:00am EDT
Judge Grants Earthjustice Permission to Intervene in Michigan Pipeline Fight
Bay Mills Indian Community to Officially Join Case Against Oil Giant
LANSING, Michigan
Today an administrative law judge granted Bay Mills Indian Community the right to intervene in the ongoing pipeline fight uniting Tribes, environmental groups and community members against oil giant Enbridge. The decision will allow Bay Mills to be a party in the contested case process evaluating Enbridge's Michigan Public Service Commission's permit application. This is the first time that a Tribal Nation has intervened in a proceeding before the Michigan Public Service Commission. The Public Service Commission will determine whether Enbridge will get its wish to build a massive tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, which connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, to house a new segment of its Line 5 pipeline. The Straits of Mackinac is a place of religious and cultural significance to Bay Mills, in addition to being an important freshwater and fisheries resource.
"Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline puts our treaty rights and our way of life at risk every single day," said Chairman Bryan Newland from the Bay Mills Indian Community. "We are going to continue to fight to protect our rights, our waters, and our way of life."
"We will not sit back and allow an oil giant to strong-arm its way into building a massive tunnel project." said Christopher Clark attorney at Earthjustice. "The Bay Mills Indian Community has Treaty rights and we intend to make sure that Enbridge knows that."
Online version can be found here.
Background can be found here.
Earthjustice is a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth, and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment. We bring about far-reaching change by enforcing and strengthening environmental laws on behalf of hundreds of organizations, coalitions and communities.
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Sanders, Booker, and Welch Unveil Ban on Junk Food Ads Targeting Kids
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A trio of U.S. senators on Friday introduced what's being billed as first-of-its-kind legislation sponsors say will "take on the greed of the food and beverage industry and address the growing diabetes and obesity epidemics" with a federal ban on junk food ads targeting children.
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As the senators noted:
Today, more than 35 million Americans are struggling with type 2 diabetes—90% of whom are overweight or obese. These crises go hand-in-hand and children are severely impacted. Today, 1 out of 5 five kids are living with obesity. A serious illness unto itself, diabetes is also a contributing factor to heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and kidney failure. Unless the U.S. dramatically changes course, these numbers will continue to grow exponentially.
The impact on the economy is enormous: Last year, the total cost of diabetes exceeded $400 billion, approximately 10% of overall U.S. healthcare expenditures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. food and beverage industry spends about $14 billion annually on marketing unhealthy products, with $2 billion of that spent on advertising these products to children.
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According to Seitz:
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But it's unclear what fines might be imposed on more than a dozen hospitals that the Biden administration says failed to properly treat pregnant patients in 2022.
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Responding to the reporting on social media, journalist Jane Mayer declared, "This is barbaric."
Texas Poor People's Campaign said that women in the state "are being left to die in ER waiting rooms. We cannot let this policy violence against women continue. Please join us as we mobilize voters for the '24 election."
Going into November, abortion has been a key issue at the state and federal level. Supporters of reproductive freedom are working to advance various ballot measures while Democratic President Joe Biden's campaign has highlighted his support for abortion rights and the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, has bragged about his role in reversing Roe—he appointed three of the six justices behind the majority opinion.
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