 | Regulating Ramatex: Authorities Shut Out as Malaysian Investor Threatens Namibian Environment by Moses Magadza, Special to CorpWatch April 5th, 2009 For nearly six years Ramatex Textile and Garment Factory barred government regulators from entering industrial premises leased from the City of Windhoek. Ramatex came to Namibia in 2001, lured by the newly implemented African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Evidence of environmental violations finally emerged after the company absconded. |
 | Xstrata Dreaming: The Struggle of Aboriginal Australians against a Swiss Mining Giant by Michael Deibert, Special to CorpWatch February 16th, 2009 The McArthur River winds through Australia’s remote Northern Territory, home to four main Aboriginal linguistic groups: the Gurdanji, Yanyuwa, Garawa and Mara. Earlier this month Australian Minister for Environment Peter Garrett announced conditional approval for a bid by Swiss mining giant Xstrata to expand its zinc mining operations in the sacred McArthur River floodplain. |
 | Norilsk Nickel: A Tale of Unbridled Capitalism, Russian Style by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch October 9th, 2008 The launch of Russia’s stock markets in the early 90s and privatization of state assets has profoundly impacted Russian society. As the case of mining giant Norilsk Nickel illustrates, this experiment has given rise to both immense personal wealth for a new elite, and economic uncertainty for the ordinary citizen. |
 | Ducking Responsibility: Entergy Spins Its Nukes by Shay Totten, Special to CorpWatch August 4th, 2008 Entergy Nuclear (part of the broader Entergy energy family) is spinning off its northeastern U.S.-based nuclear power plants into a related limited liability corporation, Enexus. Stakeholders in Vermont, home of the Yankee Nuclear power plant, are less than happy, with Entergy also reneging on prior commitments to cover eventual plant decommissioning costs, potentially stranding taxpayers with much of the bill. |
 | Dark Side of the Tourist Boom: Cruise Ship Controversies Cross Borders by Kent Paterson, Special to CorpWatch July 9th, 2008 The Mexican Pacific resort of Zihuatanejo recently cancelled a major new cruise ship terminal, giving a victory to environmental activists and other opponents. However, Mexico remains the world’s Number One cruise ship destination; and with little regulation, allegations of onboard crime, and increasing militarization as regards security while ships are in port, the rapidly expanding industry is facing new challenges. |
 | A Glittering Demon: Mining, Poverty and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo by Michael Deibert, Special to CorpWatch June 26th, 2008 In the DRC, a nation rich in natural resources yet confounded by civil war and endemic poverty, artisanal mining communities are struggling for their livelihoods as foreign multinationals like AngloGold Ashanti rush to cash in. |
 | Crossing the Wayúu: Pipeline Divides Indigenous Lands in South America by Jonathan Luna , Special to CorpWatch June 5th, 2008 Touted as the first step in a major regional integration project, the 225-kilometer TransCaribe pipeline travels underground across Colombia's Guajira Peninsula to the gas refineries of Maracaibo, Venezuela. Protesting the mega project's impacts on the peninsula's indigenous communities, the Wayúu community of Mashiis-Manaa is leading the struggle against oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela. |
 | Suing the Smelter: Oklahoma Town Takes on Freeport by Eliza Strickland, Special to CorpWatch May 15th, 2008 Residents of the town of Blackwell, Oklahoma have brought a class action lawsuit against mining giant Freeport McMoRan. The plaintiffs say that the company's zinc smelter, which closed in 1974, left a toxic legacy in the town, including contaminated sand from the smelter that was given away for free. |
 | Booming Chinese Demand Has Ripples Down Under In Queensland by Patrick O'Keeffe, Special to CorpWatch April 16th, 2008 A bauxite mine and a proposed refinery in northern Queensland, Australia, to be developed by a Chinese mineral company, has divided local and traditional landowners. Part of a major industrialization scheme, it has also sparked worries among environmentalists. |
 | Smokestack Injustice? Toxic Texas Smelter May Reopen by Kent Paterson, Special to CorpWatch April 2nd, 2008 The old American Smelting and Refining Company (Asarco) copper smelter in El Paso, Texas, which has spewed out toxins for over a century, has been granted a new five-year permit. This is despite the fact that it violates international laws by polluting communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. |
 | Ecuador's Yasuni Park: Oil Exploration or Nature Protection? by Agneta Enström, Special to CorpWatch March 20th, 2008 Permission for Petrobras of Brazil to drill for oil in Yasuni National Park, one of the most biologically diverse places in the world, has been suspended, but some damage has already been done by Swedish construction giant Skanska. Unless new money is found to protect the forest, exploration may resume. |
 | Climate Change Debate Fuels Greenwash Boom by Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch December 11th, 2007 On the Indonesian island of Bali, thousands of senior government officials are negotiating a plan to slow global warming. The coal, gas and oil companies that are major producers of greenhouse gases are finally taking notice of these high-level political discussions, and many have mounted spirited public relations exercises to defend themselves. |
 | Titanium or Water? Trouble brews in Southern India by Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatch October 24th, 2007 Tata, India's largest conglomerate, wants to take 10,000 acres of land to mine ilmenite in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plan has sparked protests by local villagers who say the project will destroy their traditional way of life and the environment. |
 | Lessons of Empire: India, 60 Years After Independence by Nick Robins and Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch August 14th, 2007 60 years after India gained independence, British capital is still exploiting poor communities in its former colony. Centuries after Britain's East India Company -- the world's first multinational -- faced protests in London, a group of villagers continue the tradition of resistance. |
 | Mud and the Minister: A Tale of Woe in Java by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch July 20th, 2007 Over a year after a torrent of liquid mud at an Indonesian oil exploration site inundated four villages, killing almost 100 people, the local community is still awaiting clean-up and proper compensation. This is despite the fact that the drilling company is owned by the family of a senior Indonesian minister. |
 | Barrick's Dirty Secrets: Communities Respond to Gold Mining's Impacts Worldwide May 1st, 2007 A new CorpWatch report details the operations of Barrick Gold in nine different countries, focusing on the efforts on the part of the communities to seek justice from this powerful multinational. Download Spanish version of report |
 | Speaking Diné to Dirty Power: Navajo Challenge New Coal-Fired Plant by Jeff Conant, Special to CorpWatch April 3rd, 2007 A small, but growing, group of Diné indigenous peoples in New Mexico are protesting against a planned new huge coal-fired power plant. This is one of 150 similar plants scheduled to supply an anticipated boom in energy demand in the U.S. |
 | Barrick Gold Mine Transforms Pacific Island by David Martinez, Special to CorpWatch February 21st, 2007 Papua New Guinea, one of the world's largest islands, has fortunes in gold under its lush green mountains and a diversity of indigenous culture. The arrival of a Canadian mining company has brought violent clashes and transformed the indigenous lands forever. Listen to an interview with the author, David Martinez. |
 | A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOs by Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatch June 13th, 2006 Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat. |
 | Coca Farmer Wins Bolivian Election: New President to Challenge Multinationals by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch December 28th, 2005 Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian who grew up in childhood poverty, has won the Bolivian presidential elections. He is part of a wave of leftists taking power in Latin America and challenging multinational corporations. |