Mike Tidwell reports from oil disaster site in Louisiana

By Mike Tidwell
It’s Sunday morning and I’m writing from Grand Isle, Louisiana on the front line of the BP oil disaster. President Obama was here Friday walking the beach, viewing the small tar balls that continue to wash up here. I’ve now seen this battered coast from the air in a small sea plane. I’ve seen the oil in the marshes from the boat of an out-of-work crab fisherman. And I’ve walked the beaches myself, smelling that smell in the air that people here say is a mix of oil and “agent orange,” their name for the toxic chemical dispersant BP is spraying on the oil to make it sink out of site.
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Bag tax: Local action, global import

The Washington Post

By Mike Tidwell

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, what environmental legislation should we celebrate most? What bill has really stood tall for our fragile planet? The Endangered Species Act of 1973? The Clean Air Act of 1990? Or … the District of Columbia’s plastic bag tax of 2010?

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Perdue Chicken pecking away at UMD Law Clinic

The University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic has been fighting to preserve Maryland’s environment on behalf of citizens for years. Most recently, the law clinic has been investigating massive factory farms that contaminate waterways. In retaliation, these factory farms, led by Perdue Chicken, are pushing the Maryland General Assembly to take away funding for the law clinic. Read more in the Baltimore Sun.

The University of Maryland is one of the largest pro-bono law firms in Maryland and represents clients from all over the state, including CCAN. This move could seriously undermine its ability to continue its vital work.

The Maryland General Assembly will be voting on this provision soon as part of the larger budget.

Ask your state legislator to take a stand against big polluters by keeping the University of Maryland Law Clinic’s funding.