CHAMPAIGN, IL – Today 18 environmental organizations and community groups representing hundreds of citizens in Illinois sent a letter to U.S. Representative John Shimkus urging the congressman to address failing coal ash pits in the state. The letter comes six months after an impoundment failure at Duke Energy’s Dan River plant in North Carolina unleashed […]
Local Communities Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Starved Rock State Park and local communities threatened by Illinois sand rush The rush for sand to fuel fracking is on, and Illinois has a lot of it. In the fracking process, silica sand is mixed with chemicals and injected underground to break apart rocks and unleash trapped oil and gas. Mississippi Sand, LLC wants […]
Prairie Rivers Network Releases Documentary and Petition on Illinois Factory Farms
“From the very beginning of the hog facility, we started experiencing, there is no other word to describe it but gut-wrenching odors that could just wake you up out of a dead sleep.” This line kicks off our new documentary on the harmful impacts that Illinois factory farms can have on rural communities. The […]
Report: Interior Must Address Bird Deaths Caused by Canada’s Tar Sands
Interior Department Must Declare Canada is Undermining International Wildlife Protections Destructive mining and drilling practices in the heart of Canada’s forest bird nurseries have already killed thousands of birds and are putting millions more at risk, including the critically endangered whooping crane. That’s according to an issue brief released yesterday by the National Wildlife Federation, and […]
Marshall County Board Votes Against Massive Hog Factory Farm
On May 8, the Marshall County Board voted 11-1 against the construction of a proposed hog factory farm. Members of Save Our Sandy were elated by the vote, which surely reflected their months of grassroots activism. The proposed Sandy Creek Lane facility would house almost 20,000 hogs on a few acres near Sandy Creek, a […]
