Like a mine explosion, an outbreak of smallpox, or a chestnut blight, BP's oil spill looked like just another disaster, a tragic mistake made by benevolent capitalists. But like those past tragedies, this oil spill is a predictable consequence of an industrial civilization where risks are not calculated by those who will face the consequences should something go wrong.

Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery in Texas City, Texas spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies. The release from the BP facility here began on April 6 and lasted 40 days.

A 2005 explosion at the same refinery killed 15 workers and four more workers have died in accidents since then. Last year, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $87 million for failing to address safety problems that caused the 2005 blast.

In the July 23, 2010 issue of the Texas Observer, an editorial takes the stance that "since the Supreme Court considers corporations to have personhood, maybe it's time we see BP for what it is: an unreformed criminal."

[photo by Lance Rosenfield, used without permission from ProPublica]

On July 21, more than 50 tribal nations peacefully took control of the Marine Life Protection Act's Blue Ribbon Task Force meeting in Fort Bragg. The group of more than 300 stood together to protest the implications of the act on their traditional tribal activities on the North Coast. For thousands of years, these tribes have sustainably gathered coastal resources in their ancestral territory.

Among those gathered were members of the Yurok, Tolowa, Cahto, Pomo, Karuk, Hoopa Valley, Maidu, Hopi, Navajo, and other tribes. Their message to the task force: the state will no longer impose its will on indigenous people. Members of the Coastal Justice Coalition pointed out that there is no scientific data that says tribal gathering has any negative impact on the coastal ecosystem and the act does nothing to stop pollution and off-shore drilling — the real threats to the health of the ocean and coast. Report and Photos | MLPA process should address the concerns of North Coast Tribes | Klamath Justice Coalition

From The Shalom Center: On July 20th, about 200 people took part in a unique fusion of political rally, multireligious prayer, and Tisha b'Av observance at noon on the grounds of the US Capitol.

The Capitol dome loomed in the background as the rally chanted, sang, joined in prayer, meditated on the sounding of notes of warning, grief, and hope from the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn), cheered a series of powerful speeches, and then sent three groups of activists to Senate offices.

hot oil plus frozen clathrates equals trouble{.} BP is defying Admiral Thad Allen to keep the pipe closed at their oil catastrophe site. They are proudly announcing that the oil disaster is over, and that the 'seeps' nearby are not expressing oil. Their own live feed looks ominous this morning, however, with dark clouds moving occasionally from left to right across the camera image; the image as a whole is much murkier than in the past.

See for yourself:  http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/spill_cam/

fighting for justice in America now criminalized

Action Alert: Forest Advocates Hang Art Installation in Mt. Hood to Raise Awareness About Liquefied Natural Gas

Palomar Gas Transmission, a company that proposed an $800 million natural gas pipeline across the Oregon Cascades told the FERC that their project is in indefinite delay, and needs to secure "additional commercial underpinning" before it can progress. Palomar claimed it "was reviewing its project plan" in light of the bankruptcy of its biggest prospective customer -- a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River that suspended its own permitting efforts in May of this year.

Arizona Snowbowl is attempting to expand development on the San Francisco Peaks and make fake snow out of treated sewage effluent on public lands. This wastewater has been proven to contain harmful contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, hormones and cancer causing agents.

The US Forest Service has ignored public health concerns and approved this development without any tests to determine the health effects if our children eat the wastewater snow. Snowbowl would be the only ski area in the world to use 100% wastewater to make snow. They would use 1.5 million gallons per day, storing and spraying this wastewater on a mountain that is holy to more than 13 Indigenous Nations.

On July 15 and 16 a series of actions will be held in Phoenix, in advance of a court hearing on July 20th. For the full schedule of events or for more information please visit Save the Peaks or contact phxrally@savethepeaks.org

On Thursday, July 1 Green Scare prisoner Marie Mason was placed in solitary confinement. All supporters are encouraged to write her and keep her spirits up. [...]

Marie Mason is serving almost 22 years for two acts of environmentally-motivated property destruction in which no one was harmed. This is the longest current sentence of any of the Green Scare prisoners. (The Green Scare is the name given to the recent prosecution of eco-saboteurs and animal liberation activists, in which the government has labeled them as "terrorists" and sought huge sentences.) Mason was turned in by her then-husband, Frank Ambrose, who had secretly spied on activists for years and then filed for divorce the day she was arrested. Mason eventually plead guilty to 14 actions; 13 were claimed by the Earth Liberation Front and one by the Animal Liberation Front. At her sentencing, the judge said she had "violated the marketplace of ideas" and gave her an even longer sentence than the prosecution had asked for (15-20 years). Marie Mason Support Event Sat July 17th in Portland | www.supportmariemason.org

At 9AM on July 8, five activists from Rainforest Action Network took over the lobby of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA),locking down with steel lockboxes. These devices are rarely seen in DC, and as of 11:30 AM the cops seem unable to remove them. Video of lockdown and support rally ourside RELATED:Police threaten to arrest one activist for asking why they were taking close photos

From The Indypendent Issue 153: Louisiana native Brian Marks reports: “The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has again focused the nation on southern Louisiana. For the second time in less than five years, we are on the front pages of U.S. newspapers. And again, this region is terribly misunderstood.

Easy explanations miss the reasons why this area is so vulnerable. The national media have a tendency to see things through a close-up-lens — capturing the details while utterly missing the larger context. This disaster has not only been a long time coming, but it is only one of a series of disasters. Read More: The Gulf Disaster: No End in Sight || Related: Cultural Extinction: Fear of No Recovery in the Gulf

PHOTO: Drivers rounding the corner on Highway 1 in Larose, La., confront this graphic public art outside the Southern Sting tattoo parlor. by JACQUELINE SOOHEN

Climate justice and food justice activists rallied at the lecture of noted environmentalist and ecofeminist, Dr. Vandana Shiva, at Riverside Church today to clarify the responsibility of activists in the face of concerted pressure by pro-gas drilling industry and 'environmental' groups. Marcia Reynolds, whose family has been farming in upstate Otsego County for four generations pointed out the folly of movements that call for a moratorium on gas drilling, saying "I don’t want the drilling delayed while these companies keep buying up leases. I want it banned now".

Activists concerned about the close ties between Big Oil and Big Banks protested at a branch of JP Morgan/Chase Bank in Palo Alto on June 26. Demonstrators encouraged customers to move their money to community banks or credit unions, telling passersby that not only did Chase take bailout money as a "too big to fail" institution, but that it is the chief depository bank for British Petroleum.

The Government is not creating high-res maps of the Deepwater horizon spill that truly show the ecological damage. Grassroots Mapping is. Help build aerial photography rigs to send to the Gulf! no expertise required.

Grassroots Mapping is a group empowering communities to map their own space. They're in the Gulf right now using simple and cheap balloon and kite aerial photography rigs to photograph the oil spill. It's a truly grassroots effort, and the number of mapping teams continues to grow as teams train new teams. This Saturday at Gallery Homeland (Map here) in inner SE we'll be building balloons, testing out homemade designs to reduce the cost of getting airborne, and assembling rigs to send to the Gulf. Come join us- no expertise required, all supplies provided. If you can, bring food!
 http://grassrootsmapping.org

Last week, more than 300 people from all across New York state gathered at six different Department of Conservation offices to demand a moratorium on permits for “fracking,” or hydraulic fracturing, until the Environmental Protection Agency completes a study on its dangers. The event in Region 8, which includes Monroe County, drew more than 100 people from Horseheads, Elmira, Hammondsport, Bath, Avoca, Canandaigua, and Rochester. Watch the video of the action below.

Watch the Video: Englebright-Addabbo Demonstration in Avon NY, 2010

Previous R-IMC Coverage: What the Frack?! Free Speech Shakedown on Paterson's Campaign Trail | Traditional Native Leaders: Hydrofracking must be banned

Additional Information: Frack Action! | Gasland from NOW on PBS | The Daily Show: June 21, 2010 - Josh Fox - Full Episode