The EPA is holding the first in a series of public hearings on regulating coal ash today in Arlington, Va. The event comes on the heels of a new report that found 39 additional coal ash damage cases nationwide, bringing the total number of documented cases to 137 in 34 states. More...
FACING SOUTH - Online Magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies
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Labor Day: Honoring Labor in the South
Glenn Beck may not know it, but workers' rights and a fair economy were central to Dr. Martin Luther King's vision for the South and country -- and remain urgent tasks today. More...
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Daily Blog
Who's the company behind today's Gulf of Mexico oil rig explosion? (updated)
THURS 9/2 | The recent purchase of rig owner Mariner Energy -- a former Enron subsidiary -- by Apache Corp. of Houston was hailed as Apache's big step into deepwater drilling More...
Big Oil rallies to save Big Oil
THURS 9/2 | A nationwide series of rallies organized by the American Petroleum Institute kicked off yesterday in Texas, with attendees calling on Congress to block legislation that would more strictly regulate the oil industry in the wake of the BP disaster. More...
Federal agents open inquiry into order authorizing NOPD cops to shoot looters
WED 9/1 | Federal agents are looking into allegations that high-ranking New Orleans police commanders gave orders after Hurricane Katrina authorizing officers to shoot looters. More...
Independent tests find oil spill contamination in Louisiana oysters and crabs
TUES 8/31 | Data collected by a noted environmental chemist adds to concerns about the safety of seafood from the Gulf. Meanwhile, environmentalists and lawyers team up to offer a new website to share sampling data with the public. More...
What are Obama's next steps in the Gulf Coast?
MON 8/30 | In his speech from New Orleans yesterday, President Obama signaled a redoubling of Washington's commitment the devastated Gulf. But whatever the president does, he faces deep racial divisions and the reigning anti-Washington ethos of Gulf politicians. More...
Investigations & Reports
SPECIAL REPORT: Washington has yet to address key failures exposed by Katrina
AUGUST 2010 | On the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a new Institute report finds that while community action has flourished in the wake of the storm, the President and Congress have yet to fix key problems in disaster and recovery policy -- undermining Gulf rebuilding and putting lives at risk from future disasters. More...
Life in the Gulf Dead Zone
JULY 2010 | Scientists fear the BP oil disaster will accelerate the growth of the Gulf Dead Zone -- thousands of square miles of water that can no longer support shrimp and other seafood animals. But oil isn't the only energy source that threatens Gulf waters. More...
BP, BAYOUS AND BYWAYS: Dispatches from the Gulf Coast
JUNE 2010 | Facing South traveled hundreds of miles along the Gulf Coast, interviewing dozens of residents, community leaders, government officials and BP representatives for our week-long fact-finding mission. A glimpse at the news and lessons we discovered at the scene of the oil disaster. More...
COAL'S DIRTY SECRET
MAY/JUNE 2010 | Coal ash is the country's second-biggest source of industrial waste and full of arsenic, lead and other toxins -- yet it's routinely dumped near communities with little publicity and few rules. In a week-long investigation, Facing South looks at the growing problem of coal ash and the looming battle in Washington over regulation. More...
Wall Street's strategy for opposing financial reform (video)
APRIL 2010 | A small rally by Americans for Prosperity against a North Carolina consumer rights group reveals Wall Street's approach to fighting new financial regulations. More...
REPORT: Economic woes threaten to drive down 2010 Census count
MARCH 2010 | An Institute report finds that job losses, home foreclosures and other economic factors in states like North Carolina may cause a Census undercount, causing areas to lose millions in federal funds. More...
More Recent Coverage
The road to labor justice must go through the South. More...
The Obama administration's groundbreaking report to the U.N. admits the U.S. has a less-than-perfect human rights record. But it fails to discuss a number of pressing human rights issues -- including the need to protect the rights of Americans displaced by disasters. More...
A coalition of more than 100 organizations has drawn up a blueprint for creating new jobs in spill-affected communities by building a more environmentally sustainable economy, with funding for the plan to come for the oil and gas industry. More...
After Katrina, New Orleans police officers circulated orders authorizing them to shoot looters and "take back the city," but it remains unclear who issued them. More...
The Florida Public Service Commission begins hearings today on FPL's and Progress Energy's plans to impose hefty rate hikes to cover the costs of building four proposed nuclear reactors. But is it a fair deal for ratepayers? More...
Kenneth Feinberg has taken over as the paymaster for the Gulf oil spill, and has promised new rules to speed the process. More...
Mexican guestworker Hilario Jimenez escaped from a pistol-packing employer in Tennessee -- and with the help of the Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity is now confronting the company for involuntary servitude and human trafficking. More...
