Stories by Kelly Hearn

Kelly Hearn is a correspondent to National Geographic News and The Christian Science Monitor. His work has been funded by The Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and The North American Congress on Latin America. A former UPI reporter, he has published in The Nation, Grist, High Country News, The Washington Times and World Politics Watch. He is a frequent contributor to Alternet.

Unregulated Clinical Trials, Exploitation, and Profit: How the FDA Allows Big Pharma to Exploit the Poor in South America

Posted on: Sep 28, 2011, Source: The Nation

In South America, Big Pharma takes advantage of an extreme lack of FDA oversight by conducting unwarranted, unsafe experiments on the poor.

Big Oil Wreaks Havoc in the Amazon, But Communities Are Fighting Back

Posted on: Mar 11, 2010, Source: AlterNet

This time it's not Chevron in Ecuador but Occidental Petroleum in Peru. And the local community has had enough of giveaways to corporate polluters.

Why the Nation's Biggest Environmental Distaster May Be About to Get Worse

Posted on: May 20, 2009, Source: The Nation

Scientists fear that the TVA's plan for cleaning up its toxic sludge spill in Tennessee may do more harm than good.

Drinking Water Threatened: TVA Tries to Hide Information About Water Contamination from Massive Coal Spill

Posted on: Apr 3, 2009, Source: The Nation

Third-party tests have found high levels of toxins in the river water and in private wells, while the TVA has assured residents the water is safe.

Biopirates Walk the Plank

Posted on: Jun 14, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Is the crackdown on biopiracy protecting the rights of indigenous people or putting the freeze on beneficial science?

Big Pharma's Deadly Experiments

Posted on: Jun 8, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Sonia Shah's new exposÃ© reveals how drug companies prey on poor people overseas by using them in tests for new -- and often dangerous -- meds.

Bringing McCarthyism to a University Near You

Posted on: Mar 15, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Is the federal government so concerned about Hugo ChÃ¡vez that it's questioning college professors about their ties to Venezuela?

A New Spin on Fighting for Justice

Posted on: Mar 9, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Activists are using a 200-year-old law -- originally intended to fight piracy -- to hold human rights abusers accountable under international law.

Google's China Syndrome

Posted on: Feb 14, 2006, Source: AlterNet

Why are some of America's biggest technology companies helping Beijing crack down on Chinese cyberdissidents?

Changing the Drug War Debate

Posted on: Jan 25, 2006, Source: AlterNet

With a former coca farmer in charge of the country, Bolivia under Evo Morales has the power to dramatically change the U.S.-led 'War on Drugs.'

Exclusive: Selling the Amazon for a Handful of Beads

Posted on: Jan 16, 2006, Source: AlterNet

In the midst of an Amazonian oil boom, classified documents reveal deep links between oil companies and Ecuador's military.

Arrested Development

Posted on: Nov 14, 2005, Source: AlterNet

More than 2.2 million Americans are behind bars today. In an exclusive interview, Nell Bernstein talks about the illogic of incarceration and how kids pay for their parents' crimes.

Patrolling America's Backyard?

Posted on: Nov 3, 2005, Source: AlterNet

As President Bush visits Latin America this weekend, he faces local hostility about why the U.S. military has stationed soldiers in Paraguay.

The NRA Takes on Gun Control -- in Brazil

Posted on: Oct 24, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The defeat of a historic referendum to ban guns in South America's largest country has the American pro-gun group's fingerprints all over it.

Stepping Up the Attack on Green Activists

Posted on: Sep 29, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A coordinated campaign by conservative lawmakers and the FBI aims to label environmental protests the newest form of terrorism.

We're All Patients Now

Posted on: Sep 13, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The authors of 'Selling Sickness' explain how pharmaceutical companies make everyday life into an illness. Now the backlash against Big Pharma has begun.

Hugo's Helping Hand

Posted on: Sep 6, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Hugo ChÃ¡vez has responded to Pat Robertson's call to assassinate him by offering discounted heating oil and health care to poor Americans.

Don't Steal This Television

Posted on: Aug 26, 2005, Source: AlterNet

In 1970, Junior Allen received a life-sentence for stealing a television. He spent the next thirty-five years in prison.

Rumsfeld's Ray Gun

Posted on: Aug 18, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A non-lethal -- but potentially harmful -- crowd control weapon that heats human skin is bound for Iraq, and possibly to a police department near you.

Freeing Up the Right to Vote

Posted on: Aug 4, 2005, Source: AlterNet

On the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, groups across the country are working to reinstate suffrage for reformed criminals.

From Defender of Nature to 'Eco-Terrorist'

Posted on: Aug 1, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Did Tre Arrow take environmental activism too far, or is the FBI desperate to make arrests in its domestic 'war on terror?'

Wal-Mart's Semi-Green Week

Posted on: Jul 27, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Last week, Wal-Mart opened an "eco-store" replete with wind turbines and bio-fuel recycling. It also applied for a banking license in Utah. Will the superstore never stop?

Taking a Closer Look at Fluoride

Posted on: Jul 20, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Is the fluoride controversy -- once a litmus test for crackpot-dom -- finally getting a little respect?

Uncle Sam, Meet the Bloggers

Posted on: Jul 17, 2005, Source: AlterNet

An FEC commissioner's comments flame through the blogosphere, mobilizing bloggers and questioning the role of 'citizen journalists.'

Google's Bias for Bigness

Posted on: Jul 13, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Could the popular search engine's quest for news quality leave alternative sources in the dust?

Testing DNA's Truth

Posted on: Jul 1, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Paul House was convicted of a murder in 1984 on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death. New DNA evidence suggests he's innocent; but with his health deteriorating, it may be too late.

South America's Mining Wars Heat Up

Posted on: Jun 27, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Activists across Latin America are taking a stand against devastating mining plans. If CAFTA passes, they won't stand a chance.

Drug Deal

Posted on: May 24, 2005, Source: AlterNet

If Congress ratifies Bush's controversial CAFTA bill, pharmaceutical companies will be in for a windfall -- and the casualties will be poor AIDS patients.

'El' Jazeera

Posted on: May 12, 2005, Source: AlterNet

To balance the anti-Chavez local press and pro-American CNN, Venezuela is launching a South American Al Jazeera. With journalistic heavyweights and a non-corporate vibe, the channel arrives on the scene as a number of Latin American nations are leaning politically left.

Brazil to U.S.: Keep Your Money

Posted on: May 9, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Brazil has become the first country to reject AIDS funding from the U.S., citing its unwillingness to play by Washington's ideological rules.

The New Schism

Posted on: Apr 20, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Home to 65 percent of the world's Catholics, Latin America is increasingly at odds with church doctrine -- especially over abortion. The appointment of ultraconservative Joseph Ratzinger as pope offers little to close the rift.

Wal-Mart's Wily Ways

Posted on: Apr 12, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A softer, gentler megacolossal? Wal-Mart would like you to think so.

Miracle Malpractice

Posted on: Mar 27, 2005, Source: AlterNet

A new book explains how the medical industry, pharmaceutical companies, the media and politicians all prey on the public's fears to sell them new drugs and the latest technology.

Brazil's Bold Move

Posted on: Mar 24, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Determined to get affordable drugs for its citizens living with HIV/AIDS, the Brazilian government threatens to break some of Big Pharma's patents.

Chemical Soup and Federal Loopholes

Posted on: Mar 10, 2005, Source: AlterNet

Toxic cosmetics ingredients were recently banned in the European Union. Here in the U.S., the $35 billion cosmetics industry is fighting a similar ban tooth and nail.

The Good Ship Rebecca

Posted on: Jan 23, 2005, Source: AlterNet

The confrontational founder of Women on Waves is determined to bring safe abortion services to women living in anti-choice countries – any way she can.

The Fire This Time

Posted on: Dec 9, 2004, Source: AlterNet

A new report saying Latinos bear the brunt of environmental health threats in the U.S. prompts soul-searching among green groups and adds new fuel to the Latino environmental justice movement.

Tempest In a Teapot

Posted on: Nov 29, 2004, Source: AlterNet

An herbal drink that busts flab, sharpens immune systems and heightens energy without any jittery side effects? Right.

Here, Kiddie, Kiddie

Posted on: Nov 28, 2004, Source: AlterNet

How drug companies are pushing ADHD drugs for children by funding researchers and advocacy groups – and ignoring the studies which question their claims.

Caution, You Are Entering a No-Condom Zone

Posted on: Oct 24, 2004, Source: AlterNet

The porn industry resists efforts to mandate condom use in its films, saying it 'destroys the fantasy.' But getting HIV is no one's fantasy.

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