Final construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline could begin now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed a notice of intent on Tuesday to grant Energy Transfer Partners the easement necessary to drill under the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir.

By: Claire Bernish / The Free Thought Project   Cannon Ball, ND — Final construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline could begin as soon as today, now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filed a notice of intent on Tuesday to grant Energy Transfer Partners the easement necessary to drill under the Missouri River’s Lake Oahe reservoir.

In short, the Army Corps failed to uphold a December announcement it would complete a full environmental impact assessment as the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe had requested, and has instead abruptly sided with the Trump administration for Big Oil over environmental concerns and treaty rights.

by Jessica Murray, True Activist

The variety of cannabis has been used for centuries and has a huge array of health benefits.

The production of hemp is continually increasing within the southeastern state of Kentucky, where production originated. Following decades of prohibition, hemp is now becoming a common agricultural commodity throughout America. Hemp is not a recreational drug but in fact a variety of Cannabis that does not contain the psychoactive component that is present in Marijuana. According to Real Farmacy, hemp was first grown back in 1775 in Kentucky, where nearly all of the hemp production during the Post-Civil-War times originated from the Bluegrass state.

by Amanda Froelich, True Activist

The two towers will clean the air of Nanjing, China, with 1,100 trees and 2,500 shrubs and plants.

When Stefano Boeri Architetti presented the idea of installing a vertical forest in Milan, people were beyond thrilled with the idea. Following the success of that introduction, the architecture firm now seeks to construct similar, but in Nanjing, China.

Inhabitat reports that two towers which overlook the Nanjing Pukou District will be completed by the end of 2018. Overflowing with 1,100 trees from 23 local species, as well as 2,500 cascading shrubs and plants, the installation will clean the city’s air by producing 132 pounds of oxygen every day. Additionally, passersby and tourists will be greeted with a breathtaking view.

by Whitney Webb, True Activist

Nearly six years after the initial explosion caused a catastrophic meltdown at the Daiichi nuclear power plant in the Fukushima prefecture of Japan, the situation has suddenly taken a drastic turn for the worst. Last Thursday, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company which owns and operates the now defunct power plant, announced that radiation inside the containment vessel of one of the plant’s failed reactors has now reached levels undetected since the disaster first occurred in 2011. Radiation inside the reactor has reached 530 sieverts per hour, a drastic increase from the previously recorded 73 sieverts per hour recorded in the aftermath of the meltdown. The level of radiation is so high that an official of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences told the Japan Times that medical professionals have never considered dealing with this level of radiation in their work.

A group of veterans has vowed to defend the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, saying DAPL will never be completed, 'not on our watch.'

By: Claire Bernish / The Free Thought Project   A group of U.S. military veterans, standing in defense of Indigenous rights, has vowed construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline will never be completed — and will put boots on the ground to ensure it.

“We are committed to the people of Standing Rock, we are committed to nonviolence, and we will do everything within our power to ensure that the environment and human life are respected,” Anthony Diggs, spokesman for Veterans Stand, told CNBC. “That pipeline will not get completed. Not on our watch.”

Veterans, said Diggs, seek to raise enough funds “to have a larger, solid boots-on-the-ground presence.”

As staunch a stance as that might sound, the veterans remain committed to nonviolent action in defense of the Standing Rock Sioux against Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for pipeline construction.