Lawsuit Targets Failure to Protect Orca Habitat

Time's running out for the West Coast's most endangered orcas. That's why, just this morning, the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration for failing to protect their habitat off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California.

This critically endangered species is down to just 75 orcas, the lowest number in more than 30 years. The National Marine Fisheries Service failed to act on the Center's 2014 petition seeking an expansion of habitat protections for Southern Resident killer whales, which are starving for lack of salmon and being hurt by boat traffic and water pollution.

"It's heartbreaking to watch them starving to death and mourning their dead calves," said the Center's Catherine Kilduff. "Every day that Trump's people delay action is a step toward extinction for these whales."

Read more and consider donating to our Trump Resistance Fund.

Brown OKs Oil Wells Mostly in Nonwhite and/or Poor Areas

A majority of new oil wells approved during California Gov. Jerry Brown's tenure are in low-income communities and communities of color, according to state data analyzed by the Center.

Our analysis found that 77 percent of the permits for new oil and gas wells issued since Gov. Brown took office in 2011 are in areas with a higher than average percentage of residents living below twice the poverty line and/or communities of color. The state approved more than 20,000 new wells during Brown's tenure.

"The massive proliferation of dirty drilling under Governor Brown isn't just hypocritical, it's horribly unjust," said the Center's Shaye Wolf.

Read more and check out this stunning time-lapse video of all the wells approved by Brown.

Oregon wolf OR-7 has sired a fifth litter of pups in the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, just north of the California border.

$289 Million Verdict Against Monsanto on Roundup Cancer

A San Francisco jury awarded groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson $289 million in damages on Friday after saying Monsanto's Roundup, the planet's most widely used pesticide, contributed to his terminal cancer.

Monsanto "acted with malice," said the jury, when it supplied glyphosate to the Benicia Unified School District without disclosing the risks.

The company plans to appeal, denying glyphosate's dangers. Meanwhile 4,000 other U.S. cases over Roundup-related illness are pending.

"Mr. Johnson's brave decision to spend his dying days fighting Monsanto to prove the dangers of Roundup is part of a global awakening to the costs of our pesticide addiction," said Center scientist Nathan Donley.

Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Wild & Weird: The San Pedro River

Flowing through the arid borderlands of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, the San Pedro is more than a river. It's a miracle.

More than 80 species of mammals — including jaguars, coatis, pumas, bears, ocelots and bats — call the river basin home. Add to that Sonoran tiger salamanders and western barking frogs, imperiled yellow-billed cuckoos, more than 250 species of migratory birds, and incredible native fish species like the Gila chub, longfin dace, desert sucker and roundtail chub, and you realize why one of the last undammed rivers in the Southwest needs to be protected.

Check out video of wildlife camera footage captured on the San Pedro on Facebook or YouTube.