2018-09-23: News Headlines

Dan Bacher (2018-09-23). Jerry Brown announces satellite launch as frontline communities protest oil drilling expansion. indybay.org Regarding Brown's call for launching a climate satellite, Zizi stated, "I felt it's a joke to have this satellite to find out more statistics on climate change when during the Global Climate Action Summit, there were hundreds of people on the street who are on the front lines dealing with climate change on a daily basis. We have the truth. We have the statistics.

Olivia Alperstein (2018-09-21). An Environmental 9/11: the EPA's Gutting of Methane Regulations. counterpunch.org September 11 is already an annual day of mourning. But while the nation grieved over victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency announced a plan future generations may well grieve as a tragedy in its own right. While Americans attended memorial services, the EPA announced plans to roll back regulations on methane More

Robert Walker, Independent Media Institute (2018-09-21). Our Worsening Natural Disasters Aren't Just Tragedies — They're Signs of What's Coming. alternet.org Florence's sluggish movement is a grand metaphor for politicians who have stalled on meaningful climate change action. | Call it "The Great Stall. " Hurricane Florence lingered over the Carolinas for four days, dumping some 30 inches of rain. Flood waters are still rising, even as Typhoon Mangkhut, a superstorm 500 miles across, rakes the Philippines, Hong Kong and crashes into China. Florence is just the latest in a long series of catastrophic events g. . .

Kate Aronoff (2018-09-21). All of a Sudden, Adding "Green" to a Policy Idea Makes It More Popular. theintercept.com As the residents of the southeast recover from Hurricane Florence, wall-to-wall network coverage of the catastrophic storm has told stories of human tragedy and resilience, heroes rescuing their neighbors, and even the quality of the federal disaster response. Climate change — which almost certainly made Florence a nastier storm than it would have been otherwise — has barely been mentioned. An analysis from Public Citizen found that climate change came up in just 4.3 percent of broadcast news segments about Florence. | The dynamic isn't new. Climate change — as political commentator Chris Hayes recently pointed out — is a "ratings killer," which is kind of a bummer considering one major, potential consequence of not doing something about climate charge is the end of human civilization. It's long been considered a political nonstarter that's just too complicated, too expensive, and too divisive…

Ernie Niemi (2018-09-21). Logging and Climate Change: Oregon is Appalachia and Timber is Our Coal. counterpunch.org There are a lot of similarities between the timber and coal industries. They use essentially the same raw material. They both have contributed a lot to past economic growth, but now mostly do more harm than good. They both generate wide-ranging environmental damage, receive massive subsidies and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. To avoid More

Roger Kimmel Smith (2018-09-21). Randy Forsberg and the Quest for Peace on Earth. progressive.org On the International Day of Peace, remembering a pioneer in nuclear disarmament and the evolution of humanity away from war.

Jonah Raskin (2018-09-21). Green Capitalism Rears Its Head at Global Climate Action Summit. counterpunch.org Have no fear. The end is not near or here. Victory is ours, earthlings. Or so the website for the Global Climate Action Summit declared, though not in those exact words at the end of a week-long series of panels, talks, interviews and informal conversations that brought together, under the same roof, dozens of official More

Robert Hunziker (2018-09-21). Is Paris 2015 Already Underwater? counterpunch.org The Paris Agreement of 2015 remarkably brought together all of the nations of the world, except for the United States after Trump cancelled, in a concerted effort to combat the dire consequences of global warming, which on a worst-worst-worst case basis could lead to human extinction; although, not many climate scientists discuss that possibility. But, More

Shared by Hezvo Mpunga (2018-09-21). Trump's Methane Deregulation: Another Blow to Slowing Down Climate Change. therealnews.com The Trump administration announced new methane rules, which roll back rules President Obama had put into place to reduce pollution, capture methane for sale, and slow down climate change. Aaron Mintzes of Earthworks explains the implications

Jim Naureckas (2018-09-20). Climate Change Made Florence a Monster—but Media Failed to Tell That Story. fair.org The Miami Herald never mentioned global warming in 21 stories on Hurricane Florence, Public Citizen found—despite being based in one of the US cities most vulnerable to climate change. | That Hurricane Florence broke rainfall records for tropical storms in both North and South Carolina shouldn't be surprising, as global climate change has increased extreme precipitation in all areas of the continental United States. One analysis released before the massive storm hit, by researchers at Stony Brook, Berkeley National Lab and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, projected that warming would cause Florence to bring twice as much rain compared to a similar storm with normal temperatures. | But news audiences were rarely informed about the contribution of human-caused climate disruption to the devastating storm, according to a study of hurricane coverage by Public Citizen. Less than…

RT (2018-09-20). 'Deep creep' discovery near California's deadliest faults could explain mystery earthquakes. rt.com The discovery of unusual behavior deep beneath the surface near California's deadliest faults has shed new light on seismic activity in the area and could explain nearby enigmatic earthquakes. |

Jordan Holycross (2018-09-18). Morning Edition's Think Tank Sources Lean to the Right. fair.org Ideology of think tanks sources on Morning Edition (2—7/18) | When it comes to seeking "expert" opinions on events for its reports, NPR often looks to a trusted roster of think-tank sources. In a study of NPR's Morning Edition from February to July 2018, FAIR found that sources from left-of-center think tanks were underrepresented, with right-leaning think tank sources appearing almost twice as often. | Out of 129 episodes aired Monday through Friday over the course of six months, researchers and fellows representing think tanks were quoted 144 times. Centrist think tanks were most commonly heard on Morning Edition, with 63 interview (44 percent of citations). Fifty-one (35 percent) of the show's interviews were with conservative or center-right groups, while 28 (19 percent) involved progressive or center-left groups. | Representatives from two think tanks—the pro-seafood Lobster Institute and the Rich Earth Institute, which…

Shared by Hezvo Mpunga (2018-09-18). How Global Warming and Arctic Ice Melt Intensify Hurricanes. therealnews.com Arctic ice melt, due to global warming, not only intensifies hurricanes, but also steers them in previously uncommon directions, which is why Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas, says Prof. Jennifer Francis

Democracy Now! (2018-09-14). A Debate on Geoengineering: Should We Deliberately "Hack" Planet Earth to Combat Climate Change? democracynow.org As California Governor Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit is underway in San Francisco, we look at one of the more controversial solutions to climate change: geoengineering. Sometimes called "climate manipulation," geoengineering involves the deliberate altering of the Earth to decrease the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Such proposals are already being explored by government agencies, scientists and businesses around the world. Supporters of geoengineering endorse radical ways to manipulate the planet, from spraying aerosols with sulfur particles into the stratosphere, to scrubbing carbon dioxide fr…

Democracy Now! (2018-09-12). Amika Mota Fought Fires as a Prisoner for 53 Cents/Hour. Now Free, She Can't Work as a Firefighter. democracynow.org We continue our conversation about California's incarcerated firefighters with a look at the women fighting the state's climate change-fueled blazes. We speak with Amika Mota, a former prisoner firefighter. She didn't even make $1 per hour while on duty as a firefighter—she made just 53 cents. Amika Mota is now the director of prison re-entry at the Young Women's Freedom Center in San Francisco.

Democracy Now! (2018-09-11). Climate Change Supercharges Hurricane Florence as 1.5 Million Evacuate in Carolinas & Virginia. democracynow.org More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence continues to gain strength as it barrels toward the East Coast. The enormous Category 4 storm is projected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday, bringing with it heavy rains and high winds that could linger for days after hitting land. People up and down the coast are preparing for extreme flooding and what the National Hurricane Center is calling a "life-threatening storm surge." Experts are warning the damage could be catastrophic.

Democracy Now! (2018-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2018. democracynow.org John Bolton Threatens International Criminal Court Judges with Sanctions, More Than 1 Million Ordered to Evacuate as Florence Barrels Toward East Coast, Trump Admin Plans to Roll Back Regulations Limiting Methane Gas Emissions, Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Law to Move California to Carbon-Free Energy by 2045, In Urgent Plea, U.N. Secretary-General Warns of Risks of "Runaway Climate Change", Bill McKibben: More Than $6 Trillion Divested from Fossil Fuel Companies So Far, WaPo: 1,600 Federal Workers Have Departed EPA in Mass Exodus, U.N. Warns Offensive in Idlib Could Lead to Worst Loss of Life in 21st Century, Afghanist…

Democracy Now! (2018-09-10). Headlines for September 10, 2018. democracynow.org Activists Rally at Protests Worldwide to Demand Urgent Action on Climate Change | , Syrian and Russian Militaries Continue Offensive in Idlib, Obama Slams Trump as "Threat to Democracy", Trump Ex-Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos Sentenced to 14 Days in Prison | , Senator Warren: Time to Use 25th Amendment to Remove Trump from Office | , U.S. to Adopt Aggressive Stance Against International Criminal Court, Israeli Soldiers Kill 2 Palestinian Protesters Friday | , NYT: U.S. Officials Met with Rebel Venezuelan Officials to Discuss Coup Against Maduro | , Egyptian Court Sentences 75 Muslim Brotherhood Members to…

Democracy Now! (2018-09-10). Rise for Climate: Tens of Thousands March in San Francisco Calling for Fossil-Free World. democracynow.org Hundreds of thousands of protesters in more than 90 countries joined a worldwide day of protest demanding urgent action to address climate change Saturday. In San Francisco, up to 30,000 people took part in the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice march. It is believed to be the largest climate march ever on the West Coast. The protest came just days before the start of the Global Climate Action Summit being organized by California Governor Jerry Brown. Democracy Now! was in the streets of San Francisco for the march.

TeleSur English (2018-08-22). Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast. venezuelanalysis.com According to the Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, the quake registered at 6.9 on the Richter Scale and left parts of Trinidad and Tobago without electricity.