More Bad News for the Pebble Mine: Rio Tinto Announces It May Divest by Joel Reynolds, NRDC

More Bad News for the Pebble Mine: Rio Tinto Announces It May Divest

by Joel Reynolds, Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles Posted: 12/23/2013 4:31 pm

Photograph Copyright 2013 Robert Glenn Ketchum

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for Kids

From classic toys to comfy, we've rounded up some kid-friendly presents sure to delight come Christmas morning. Happy Holidays to the young, & young-at-heart.

Sundance Catalog, Make Your Own Spy Kit, $40.00

Click Image for more info or to purchase

Inside every child is an artist waiting to be discovered. Help unleash their creative genius with this great spy making kit. It has everything needed—from mustaches to a magnifying glass and accoutrements for the well-dressed spy.

Gift Guide: Gifts for Her

Looking for the perfect gift for that special woman in your life? Here are some holiday gift ideas hand selected by our staff. Happy Holidays!

Sundance Catalog, Evening Skies Ring $168.00, Sale $134.99

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Faceted chalcedony set in a tapered sterling bezel holds the luminescence of idyllic evening skies. Handcrafted exclusively for Sundance. Whole sizes 5 to 9.

Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts for Dog Lovers

Looking for the perfect gift for celebrating the holidays with your canine companion? Here are some holiday gift ideas for dog owners hand selected by our staff. Happy Holidays!

 Sundance Catalog, Favorite Dog Breeds Tote Bag, $49.00

Click Image for more info or to purchase

A colorful reusable tote bag that comes in handy at the farmer's market and grocery store. Keep one in the car and one at your desk at work. Our reusable tote bag features unique artwork of your favorite dog breed along with general characteristics. Choose beagle, black Lab, boxer, bulldog, chocolate Lab, dachshund, golden retriever, jack russell, shih tzu, yellow Lab, yorkie. 18" x 18". Polyester poplin. Made in USA.

"The Racers" by Al Satterwhite - A Few Copies Remaining!

Looking for the perfect gift for the automotive lover in your life? There are only a few copies left of Al Satterwhite's limited edition book, "The Racers"!

"The Racers" stems from Satterwhite's coverage of endurance racing for Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and Life magazines between 1963 and 1973, along with personal effects from his career as an internationally acclaimed photojournalist. “I had saved all of my credentials and photo passes, so I photographed them and scattered them throughout the book to add a little more interest.”

Mountain Lodge Telluride Converts to Direct TV

BREAKING NEWS – EXCITING TIMES

 

The Mountain Lodge is pleased to announce our conversion to Direct TV. Starting with the 2013-2014 ski season this Thanksgiving, our entire property has been converted over to Direct TV with 75 channels, 36 of which are High Definition in each of our units.

The Cozumel Diary By Al Satterwhite - Available Now for Pre-Order

The Cozumel Diary By Al Satterwhite

Currently in production, available late December. Pre-order yours now as the perfect gift for any Hunter S. Thompson fan!

CLICK HERE to pre-order The Cozumel Diary by Al Satterwhite, The Artist's Editon ($500 + shipping)

CLICK HERE to pre-order The Cozumel Diary by Al Satterwhite, The Collector's Edition ($150 + shipping)

The Cozumel Diary chronicles a week in the life of Hunter S. Thompson, as photographed by internationally acclaimed photographer Al Satterwhite.  Featuring over 40 never-before-released images from that week, this "diary" recounts the misadventures of one particularly memorable assignment.

Upcoming Shows Featuring Robert Glenn Ketchum

I will celebrate a birthday on December 1st and one of my presents is that a number of institutions are looking back over the last 40-years and recognizing artists and bodies of their work that broadened the conceptual dialogue around photography, and COLOR photography in particular.  On December 15th, the ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART will open the exhibition, "Landscape Into Abstraction", (December 15, 2013 -March 9, 2014) a selection of paintings and photographs from the permanent collection that reflect that transition in artistic concept.

Film Review(s): El último Elvis, Las acacias, and El Estudiante, by Tomás Crowder-Taraborrelli

Three recent Argentine films explore the social reality of marginalized communities.                                                                          

                                                                                    

Homo artis, Homo laborans, and Homo politicus

The Pursuit of Redemption in Three Recent Argentine Films

by

 Tomás Crowder-Taraborrelli

El último Elvis, directed by Armando Bo; 
Las acacias, directed by Pablo Giorgelli; 
El Estudiante, directed by Santiago Mitre

Rio Tinto's Opportunity: Leave the Pebble Mine by Joel Reynolds, Natural Resources Defense Council

Rio Tinto's Opportunity: Leave the Pebble Mine
by Joel Reynolds, Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles
Posted: 09/24/2013 4:24 pm Huffington Post

Yesterday, in Forbes, mining giant Rio Tinto's CEO Sam Walsh, with General Electric's CEO Jeffrey Immelt, offered his support to the process, underway at the United Nations this week, for the design of global sustainable development goals, replacing the Millennium Development Goals in 2015. NRDC has been deeply involved in this process -- one whose fundamental purpose is to create a global roadmap to sustainability -- and we welcome the engagement of these two global companies. We endorse the view that business is an essential partner in designing and achieving these goals.

But we believe it is essential that these companies, two of the world's largest, acknowledge and fully endorse the "three pillars of sustainability" -- economics, social equity, and environment. In their statement today, while much is said about the need for a growing economy, the importance of addressing infrastructure poverty and empowering women, and the value of transparency, nothing is said about the environmental dimension of sustainability or the importance of protecting the ecosystems that sustain us today. In this fundamental respect, we believe they have failed to articulate an effective vision.

Anglo American Dumps the Pebble Mine by Joel Reynolds, Natural Resources Defense Council

Anglo American Dumps the Pebble Mine 
by Joel Reynolds, Western Director and Senior attorney, NRDC, Los Angeles 
Posted: 09/17/2013 8:26 am HUFFINGTON POST

Yesterday Anglo American, a 50 percent partner in the Pebble Limited Partnership, announced that it is withdrawing from Pebble Mine, a giant gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. The London-based mining giant finally recognized what Alaska Natives, Bristol Bay residents, commercial fishermen, sportsmen, lodge owners, chefs, jewelers, EPA scientists, NRDC and others have been saying for years: Pebble Mine poses too great of a risk.

Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani issued a statement lauding the "rare magnitude and quality" of the Pebble deposit, while also justifying Anglo's plans to withdraw from the risky venture: "Our focus has been to prioritise capital to projects with the highest value and lowest risks within our portfolio, and reduce the capital required to sustain such projects during the pre-approval phases of development as part of a more effective, value-driven capital allocation model."

There is no question that Pebble Mine is a bad investment, replete with environmental, economic, operational, reputational, social, regulatory, and legal risks. Mitsubishi Corporation realized it in 2011 when it sold 100% of its interest in the Pebble project. Anglo American realized it only after spending $541 million trying to develop Pebble Mine.

Proposed at the headwaters of the world's greatest wild salmon fishery, Pebble Mine would threaten the region's internationally renowned salmon runs. Salmon are the economic, cultural, and ecological linchpin of the region, supporting a $1.5 billion annual commercial fishery that employ 14,000 workers. Salmon also sustain the culture, tradition, and spirituality of native communities that have relied on subsistence fishing for thousands of years, and they are food to a vast array of wildlife, including bears, eagles, seals and whales.

But no one should be misled into thinking that yesterday's announcement, while a huge blow to the project, means the fight to stop Pebble Mine is over. Far from it.

Northern Dynasty Minerals, now the sole owner of the project, immediately issued a press release reassuring anyone who will listen that plans to build Pebble Mine will move forward: "Northern Dynasty will again own 100% of one of the world's most important copper & gold resources and will have the benefit of $541 million worth of expenditures, which opens the door to a number of exciting possibilities for Northern Dynasty and its shareholders and the Pebble Project and its stakeholders. Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Partnership have both the expertise and resources necessary to advance the Pebble Project."

Notably, Rio Tinto owns almost 20 percent of Northern Dynasty's interest in Pebble Mine.

Despite its attempt to portray a silver lining, Northern Dynasty Minerals' stock plummeted approximately 30 percent today alone, following a 90 percent fall beginning in early 2011. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this 5-day chart of Northern Dynasty's stock prices says it all:

NAK:NYSE MKT LLC
As of close Monday, 09/16/2013
-0.64 (-30.04%)

Anglo's announcement comes at the same time groups opposed to Pebble Mine are celebrating the significant public opposition to the mine. An analysis of 895,195 public comments submitted to EPA regarding its Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment found that 73 percent of all comments were supportive of EPA protecting Bristol Bay, including 84 percent of individual comments from Alaska and a staggering 98 percent of individual comments from Bristol Bay residents. EPA issued a revised draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment earlier this year concluding that Pebble Mine would have "significant" and even "catastrophic" impacts -- including the certain dewatering, destruction, and pollution of the Bristol Bay watershed. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visited the Bristol Bay region last month in order to learn more about Pebble Mine, where she heard a unanimous request from a capacity crowd in Dillingham, Alaska to stop the Pebble Mine.

While yesterday's announcement is a positive development, the fight to stop Pebble Mine must continue and, if possible, intensify. With Northern Dynasty Minerals' bulldozing ahead with plans for Pebble Mine, it remains critically important for EPA to take action under the Clean Water Act to permanently protect the fishery and water resources of Bristol Bay -- and the economic, environmental subsistence values that depend on those resources.

Click here and urge EPA to protect Bristol Bay.

So Long Ray Dolby, by Al Satterwhite

So Long Ray Dolby, by Al Satterwhite

Ray Dolby, April 10, 1979, Fortune Magazine profile 
Photograph © 2013 @AlSatterwhite 
All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

My friend, Ray Dolby, was a very willing model for a 1979 @FortuneMagazine profile. I met him at his office and we walked down the street to a local movie theatre that hadn't yet opened for business. The manager let us in and even sold us a bag of popcorn. Mr. Dolby was gracious and easy to work with. He and I collaborated on a fun photo to illustrate the magazine story on him.
~Al Satterwhite


Ray Milton Dolby
January 18, 1933 – September 12, 2013

Los Angeles Times | Obituaries:
"Ray Dolby dies at 80; engineer's sound system eliminated underlying noise" By David Colker
The Dolby Sound System was first used commercially in recording studios nearly 50 years ago and then adopted by the film industry.

#LittleBearProd @LittleBearProd

Orvis Fly-Fishing and Wingshooting Schools

The Environment's Wildlife Dangers by Robert Glenn Ketchum

Before I began to use Facebook (FB) as an autobiography with my photographs, those of you who follow me know I was posting stories and data related to specific environmental issues. I have now reserved my Saturday-Sunday FB postings to announce my various public events, AND to occasionally re-visit some of those important environmental issues of interest.

A recent series of articles in the Los Angeles Times (LATimes) reminded me of a Facebook post I put up awhile back, entitled 'Thunderheads', in which the Smithsonian Channel brought together 250 international researchers take part in a unique collective project studying thunderstorms. The pertinent part of their many discoveries for me was the fact that hailstones, especially large ones, form around a VERY particular particle of matter – the particle matter put up in the air by wildfires! I've embedded the 'sneak peak' video, as it's going to air early August. Check your local listings for the next time this show airs, as it's a must see!

So the LATimes stories that triggered my recall of this Smithsonian show were a sequence of articles – these are worth a complete read not only because they are informative, however I have ALSO HIGHLIGHTED A MORE SUBTLE THREAD OF THOUGHT that ties these articles together in a disturbing way.

(Photograph © 2013 Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times, October 2006)  

Oasis of Stone, Visions of Baja California by Miguel Ángel de la Cueva, July 8, 2013

Oasis of Stone, Visions of Baja California
by Miguel Ángel de la Cueva, Associate Fellow, International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), July 8, 2013

Happy National Sunglasses Day from Teeny Tiny Optics!

#HAPPY NATIONAL SUNGLASSES DAY!

#NationalSunglassesDay is celebrated June 27th each year.  

Al Satterwhite's Successful Hunter S. Thompson Campaign on Kickstarter!

Many thanks to the numerous contributors who supported my successful @Kickstarter campaign, "Hunter Thompson: The Cozumel Diary". Thanks to you, we raised $55,987; 254% of my initial goal!  ~Al Satterwhite The Cozumel Diary .... running amuck with the King of Gonzo, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in Mexico and other weird tales

Al Satterwhite: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

The Editors of Playboy Magazine have just re-released Craig Vetter's 1974 interview of my friend, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in their March 2013 issue, as part of their '50 Years of the Playboy Interview' series.

Al Satterwhite: "Fast cars and Hollywood stars", by Cody McCloy, CNN

"Fast cars and Hollywood stars", by Cody McCloy, CNN

Daytona 2000 Kilometer race  •  February 16, 1964  •  4727cc  V8 Ford#16 Shelby Cobra roadster > Bob Johnson driving/Dan Gurney - fin 4th. Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions.

LittleBearProd Client, Robert Glenn Ketchum - ARTIST, AUTHOR, CONSERVATIONIST

For 45-years Robert Glenn Ketchum's imagery and books have helped to define contemporary color photography while at the same time addressing critical national environmental issues. His advocate use of photography has inspired successive generations of image-makers to be purposeful with their work on behalf of social and environmental justice, and led to the creation of the International League of Conservation Photographers, of which Ketchum is a Founding Fellow.

LittleBearProd Client, r. r. bernet - ARTIST, BIONIC EYE RECIPIENT

r. r. bernet is a classically trained artist who has painted since the age of 15, and has explored many other mediums, as well. She was temporarily blinded at the age of 19, by an over-pressurized champagne bottle that exploded directly into her left eye.  Visually impaired, she was told that she'd never complete college by a top Neuro-Ophthalmologist in Chicago. This same specialist told her she would eventually go completely blind in her '40's. Four years later, she graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a B.A. in History.

LittleBearProd Client, Al Satterwhite - PHOTOGRAPHER, AUTHOR, CURATOR

Al Satterwhite started shooting photographs while in high school in the early 1960s in Florida, when he first became interested in photography professionally. Still in highschool, he worked as a staff photographer for The St. Petersburg Times newspaper. He took on freelance work as a UPI (United Press International) contributor, in addition to working at the paper.

LittleBearProd Client, Tom Zimberoff - PHOTOGRAPHER, AUTHOR, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Photographer, author and curator, Tom Zimberoff, began his career as a clarinetist turned photojournalist.  For 30-years his images of celebrities, scholars, artists, business leaders, and politicians -- including two American Presidents -- were published regularly worldwide.  Zimberoff's work has appeared on the covers of Time, Fortune, Money, People, and many other publications.  His work also includes corporate annual reports and advertising campaigns.

NRDC's "Splash Ball": SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE

I would like to thank @NRDC and the organizers / supporters of "The Splash Ball" - a fun evening Friday nite in #SanFrancisco to raise awareness about #BristolBay and to SAY NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE. Thank you also to those that bid and purchased the limited edition print and photographically imprinted luxurious silk scarf I donated for the auction. I hope their new owners will enjoy them (and "like" my FB pages: www.facebook.com/RobertGlennKetchum & www.facebook.com/NoPebbleMine.photos ). I Trust a good time was had by all!
Photograph © 2013 @RbtGlennKetchum #LittleBearProd

Film Review: 'La vida útil' ('A Useful Life') by Kristi Wilson

On the Decay of the Art of Going to the Movies

by Kristi M. Wilson

1. Federico Veiroj, La Vida Útil, Uruguay/Spain, 2010

In their imaginations they saw the cinema as a total and complete representation of reality; they saw in a trice the reconstruction of a perfect illusion of the outside world in sound, color, and relief.  ~Andre Bazin 

It is in the nature of analogical worlds to provoke a yearning for the past...The digital will wants to change the world. ~D. N. Rodowick

'La vida útil' ('A Useful Life') is simultaneously a cinephile’s dream picture, in its stylized look back at the history of cinema, and a biting satire about the fact that in the digital age of reproduction even the art of filmmaking has lost its aura. Uruguayan film buffs will recognize the film enthusiast and regular film festival patron Jorge Jellinek as the film’s central protagonist, Jorge, and the legendary film critic and real-life Cinemateca director Manuel Martínez Carril as a version of himself. Veiroj’s film captures the dying urban experience of going to the neighborhood movie theater—a collective encounter with celluloid and film history that, all over the world, is slowly but surely being replaced by private, digital, on-demand, and Hollywood multiplex practices of viewing. In this dark comedy about one man’s attempt to save Montevideo’s Cinemateca, an independent theater he has managed for 25 years, we get a glimpse of the many traditions that have helped shape the New Latin American cinema, a distinct film movement of which La vida útil can be considered a recent shining example.

Interview with Bill Nichols by Tomás Crowder-Taraborrelli

Bill Nichols is one of the most influential historians and theorists of documentary film.                                                        
He is widely cited in articles across the world. Some of his most important works are: Ideology and the image: social representation in the cinema and other media (Bloomington Indiana University Press, 1981), Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary (Indiana University Press, 1991), Blurred Boundaries (Indiana University Press, 1994) and Introduction to Documentary (Indiana University Press, 2001). He teaches film at San Francisco State University. His enthusiasm for documentary film comes through even in casual conversations and especially during this interview in Tijuana, in the first week of BorDocs, the documentary film forum. http://bordocs.com/?lang=en. A few minutes before the interview, Mr. Nichols had given a two-hour master class on the ethical challenges of documentary filmmakers. 

*This interview appears courtesy of Revista Cine Documental:
http://revista.cinedocumental.com.ar/5/teoria_01.html

Transcribed by January J. Coleman-Jones and Jake Nevrla

Al Satterwhite: Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, CA, 1979

I photographed Mel in 1979 in his office for a People magazine story; he was incredibly funny, always 'on' - in a good way. As the writer asked him questions, Mel kept interrupting with one funny story after another. He had my assistant and me rolling on the floor gasping for air.

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

This shot above is my favorite photo I took of Mel.  Back in the days of manual photography, I used to be obsessed with focus; everything had to be 'sharp'. Now it's my favorite photo because it captures his energy - and boy, did he have a lot of energy!

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

Although 'History of the World, Part I' wasn't in the People magazine story line, you can see mock-ups in the background that Mel obviously was working on.

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

'History of the World, Part I' came out in 1981, written, produced, directed, and starring Mel in five roles! Talk about energy; all you have to do is watch that film to see what I mean.

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

When we were finished with the interview & photoshoot, Mel escorted us to the elevator, still telling us funny stories; we almost didn't leave.

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

What a wit! One of the nicest celebrities you could hope to meet. A real human being.

Mel Brooks, 20th Century Fox Studio, Hollywood, California. May 1979. 
Photograph © 2013 Al Satterwhite. All rights reserved. No usage whatsoever without written permission - No Exceptions. 

~Al Satterwhite, February 6, 2013

#LittleBearProd

No Pebble Mine: Pictures from Ground Zero. An Autobiographical Photo Series by Robert Glenn Ketchum.

January 16, 2013 - NO PEBBLE MINE #18, Pictures from Ground Zero:

The habitat of southwest Alaska supports the most productive salmon fishery in the world, but there is also arctic char, dolly varden, and huge rainbow trout in abundance, not to mention all the other animals, birds, and epic American parkland. President Obama has my books to ensure that he and his family can SEE what is at stake. Contact him now, tell him to support the EPA and direct them to say NO TO THE PEBBLE MINE. 

Photograph © 2013 Robert GlennKetchum #LittleBearProd