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Dr. Nathan Donley, (971) 717-6406, ndonley@biologicaldiversity.org
California's Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will list glyphosate -- a widely used herbicide dangerous to people and linked to the dramatic decline of monarch butterflies -- as a chemical known to cause cancer.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California's Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will list glyphosate -- a widely used herbicide dangerous to people and linked to the dramatic decline of monarch butterflies -- as a chemical known to cause cancer. Earlier this year the World Health Organization found that glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup, was a probable human carcinogen based on extensive research.
"California's taking an important step toward protecting people and wildlife from this toxic pesticide," said Dr. Nathan Donley, a staff scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. "More than 250 million pounds of glyphosate are used each year in the United States, and the science is clear that it's a threat to public health and countless wildlife species. It's long past time to start reining in the out-of-control use of glyphosate in the United States."
World usage of glyphosate is at an all-time high. Its use increased more than 20-fold, from 10 million pounds in 1990, largely due to the widespread adoption of crops, particularly corn and soy, that are genetically engineered to withstand what would otherwise be fatal doses of glyphosate. Accordingly, glyphosate residues are now found on 90 percent of soybean crops. In addition to being carcinogenic, recent research indicates, chronic, low-dose exposure to glyphosate can lead to liver and kidney damage.
"The spike in usage of glyphosate is really concerning because more use equals more exposure," said Donley. "It's nearly impossible for people to limit exposure to this toxin because it is just so widespread. That's why we need much tighter controls on its use."
Recent studies have pointed to glyphosate as one of the leading causes of the decline in monarch butterflies because it destroys milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's sole food source. The ever-increasing use of Roundup on genetically engineered crops has nearly eliminated milkweed from midwestern agricultural fields, with devastating consequences for monarchs. Monarch butterflies have declined by more than 80 percent in the past 20 years -- the same period of time during which glyphosate use has grown exponentially.
Last year the Center filed a petition to protect monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act because of the population declines associated with glyphosate. In June the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to analyze the effects of glyphosate on 1,500 endangered species in a historic settlement agreement with the Center.
This proposed listing from California under Proposition 65 will also include tetrachlorvinphos, parathion and malathion, three other pesticides with demonstrated carcinogenic potential.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252"Trump's White House is government by the billionaires, for the billionaires," said the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
While President-elect Donald Trump is expected to hail the "start of a thrilling new era of national success" during his inaugural speech on Monday, progressives said the presence of some of the nation's most powerful billionaires at the event signals that the incoming administration's agenda will prioritize the success the country's wealthiest.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are among the billionaires set to attend the inauguration ceremony. The trio will "have a prominent spot," according toNBC News, "seated together on the platform with other notable guests, including Trump's Cabinet nominees and elected officials."
“Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos know a thing or two about screwing over workers. It's no wonder they're sitting ringside for the inauguration of a man who's built a career out of cheating workers, ripping off families, and skipping out on paying taxes," Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement Monday, characterizing the mega-rich attendees as "billionaires' row."
"The billionaires in attendance today have one goal: to get even richer by gutting our health care, public education, and Social Security," Mitchell added. "We're going to expose their grift, and bring new people with us along the way, until working people are the ones with the power, not billionaire bosses."
"Lobbyists and corporations have donated over $200 million to today's inauguration of Donald Trump—a small price to pay for buying off history's most corrupt grifter-in-chief."
A number of other high-profile billionaires are expected to attend the president-elect's swearing-in ceremony, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Apple CEO Tim Cook—both of whom donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, which brought in record-shattering donations.
"Trump's White House is government by the billionaires, for the billionaires," Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement ahead of the inauguration. "Lobbyists and corporations have donated over $200 million to today's inauguration of Donald Trump—a small price to pay for buying off history's most corrupt grifter-in-chief. On Day One, Trump has shown us who he really is—a fighter for the wealthy, not the working class."
In addition to the outside billionaires backing Trump's second administration, which is pushing for another round of tax breaks for the rich and large corporations, the president-elect has proposed staffing his White House with at least 13 billionaires—from education secretary nominee Linda McMahon to treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent.
Including Musk—who is set to co-lead an advisory commission tasked with gutting federal regulations and spending—the combined net worth of Trump's incoming administration could exceed $460 billion, according toABC News.
In a Fox Newsop-ed published Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote that "we must not allow billionaire oligarchs to buy our government."
"Trump has repeatedly claimed that he wants the Republican Party to represent the needs of working people," Sanders continued. "Well, you don't do that by surrounding yourself with the richest people in the world and putting 13 billionaires in your Cabinet, many of whom have a direct financial stake in the industries they are charged with regulating."
"Even when individuals have done nothing wrong—and in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances," said the outgoing president.
This is a developing news story... Please check back for possible updates...
In the final hours of his presidency, Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons to a number of current and former lawmakers and public officials whom President-elect Donald Trump has attacked.
Those pardoned include Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and members of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 insurrection incited by Trump, who has pledged to pursue retribution against his political opponents.
"The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense," Biden said in a statement. "Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country."
"These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing," the outgoing president continued. "Even when individuals have done nothing wrong—and in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances."
Biden has made sweeping use of his clemency powers in the final days of his White House term, commuting the sentences of thousands of people convicted for nonviolent drug offenses and almost completely emptying federal death row.
But Biden has not granted clemency to several high-profile individuals whose causes progressive lawmakers and human rights organizations have championed, including Charles Littlejohn—a former IRS contractor serving a five-year prison sentence for leaking the income tax records of thousands of rich Americans, Trump among them—and Steven Donziger, who faced an unprecedented legal assault led by Chevron after he helped secure a historic settlement against the company over oil dumped in the Amazon rainforest.
"The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once considered unimaginable," said the executive director of Oxfam International.
An Oxfam report published Monday shows that the combined wealth of the world's billionaires surged three times faster in 2024 than the previous year, rising by $2 trillion as efforts to combat global poverty remained stagnant.
The findings come hours before the U.S. is set to inaugurate President-elect Donald Trump, a billionaire whose campaign for a second White House term was backed by the world's richest man and whose proposed Cabinet is stacked with billionaires. The report was also released as business and political elites gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the annual World Economic Forum summit.
According to Oxfam, an average of nearly four new billionaires emerged every week in 2024, and billionaires saw their wealth grow by roughly $5.7 billion per day.
"The capture of our global economy by a privileged few has reached heights once considered unimaginable," said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International's executive director. "The failure to stop billionaires is now spawning soon-to-be trillionaires. Not only has the rate of billionaire wealth accumulation accelerated—by three times—but so too has their power."
"The crown jewel of this oligarchy is a billionaire president, backed and bought by the world's richest man Elon Musk, running the world's largest economy," Behar added. "We present this report as a stark wake-up call that ordinary people the world over are being crushed by the enormous wealth of a tiny few."
"Untaxed billions of dollars in inheritance is an affront to fairness, perpetuating a new aristocracy where wealth and power stays locked in the hands of a few."
Oxfam's new report—titled Takers, Not Makers—estimates that 36% of billionaire wealth is inherited and 18% stems from monopoly power accrued by corporate behemoths such as Amazon. Every billionaire under the age of 30 inherited their wealth, according to Oxfam.
Another 6% of global billionaire wealth can be attributed to "crony sources" such as "lobbying, funding political campaigns, and creating revolving doors between the private sector and civil service," the new report finds.
All told, "most billionaire wealth is taken, not earned—60% comes from either inheritance, cronyism and corruption, or monopoly power," the report estimates.
"The ultra-rich like to tell us that getting rich takes skill, grit, and hard work. But the truth is most wealth is taken, not made," said Behar. "So many of the so-called 'self-made' are actually heirs to vast fortunes, handed down through generations of unearned privilege. Untaxed billions of dollars in inheritance is an affront to fairness, perpetuating a new aristocracy where wealth and power stays locked in the hands of a few."
If current trends persist, Oxfam estimates that the world is on track to see at least five trillionaires within a decade.
"Last year we predicted the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade, but this shocking acceleration of wealth means that the world is now on course for at least five," said Anna Marriott, Oxfam's inequality policy lead. "The global economic system is broken, wholly unfit for purpose as it enables and perpetuates this explosion of riches, while nearly half of humanity continues to live in poverty."
In the face of such staggering wealth accumulation at the very top, Oxfam called on governments to abolish tax havens, tax the inheritances of the ultra-rich, more strictly regulate corporations to "ensure they pay living wages and cap CEO pay," and provide debt relief to economically struggling nations to "end the flow of wealth from South to North."
"Taken together, today's levels of extreme wealth concentration are based not on merit," said Oxfam. "These are takers, and not makers."