2018-12-14: Social Media Postees

Bangladeshi Scientist: World Leaders Must Take Urgent Action to Prevent Climate Crisis Rise
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-14
At the U.N. Climate talks in Katowice, Poland, we speak with climate scientist Saleemul Huq, who is advising the bloc of least developed countries in the climate negotiations, about their demands. He is director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/bangladeshi_scientist_world_leaders_must_take

"We Are Not Prepared to Die": Ex-Maldives President Warns of Catastrophic Climate Change
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-14
"We are not prepared to die." Those are the words that Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the low-lying island country of Maldives, delivered at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, this week. In an impassioned plea for nations to overcome their differences, he urged world leaders to take decisive action to tackle climate change. Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed returned home to his island nation in November after two years in exile. Just a month later, Nasheed is now leading the Maldives delegation at the U.N. climate summit. We speak with him from the U.N. climate talks.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/we_are_not_prepared_to_die

COP24: Climate Summit to Conclude With a Response Deficit
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2018-12-14
The United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Katowice, Poland concludes Friday. The final agreement, however, may be insufficient to address the global effects of human-driven climate change. | RELATED: | COP24: Dominican Republic Requests Funds for Affected Countries | "To waste this opportunity in Katowice would compromise our last best chance to stop runaway climate change. It would not only be immoral, it would be suicidal," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned.
telesurenglish.net/news/COP24-Climate-Summit-to-Conclude-With-a-Response-Deficit-20181214-0004.html

Five things we can do to combat climate change
aljazeera | aljazeera.com | 2018-12-14
Climate scientists say if we don't act there will be irreversible damage to our planet within decades, so here are five ways we can change our own lives to help create change.
aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/combat-climate-change-181214173356920.html

Climate Change and the Limits of Reason
Michael Duggin | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-14
Modern urban-industrial man is given to the raping of anything and everything natural on which he can fasten his talons. He rapes the sea; he rapes the soil; the natural resources of the earth. He rapes the atmosphere. He rapes the future of his own civilization. Instead of living off of nature's surplus, which he…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/14/climate-change-and-the-limits-of-reason/

Crimes Against the Earth
Andrew Glikson | counterpunch.org | 2018-12-14
Dear Caesar Keep Burning, raping, killing But please, please Spare us your obscene poetry And ugly music — From Seneca's last letter to Nero The excavation of more than 600 billion tons of toxic carbon and hydrocarbon geological remains of previous biospheres and their transfer to the atmosphere as carbon gases constitutes nothing less than…
counterpunch.org/2018/12/14/crimes-against-the-earth/

Extinction Rebellion: UK Protesters Are Supergluing Themselves to Buildings to Fight Climate Crisis
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-14
As protests erupt at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, we speak with Liam Geary Baulch, part of the new movement called Extinction Rebellion that began six months ago in the United Kingdom and has now spread to 35 countries. Members are taking extreme action to fight the climate crisis, including supergluing themselves to government buildings, shutting down London Bridge and taking to the streets to sound the alarm about the impending catastrophe of global warming. They are demanding governments commit to legally binding measures to slash consumption and reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/extinction_rebellion_uk_protesters_are_supergluing

Climate Strike: Heeding Call of Greta Thunberg, Polish Students Walk Out of Class
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-14
Fifteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has called for a global climate strike today to protest inaction at the U.N. climate summit. Greta made international headlines after she refused to go to school in August and began a School Strike for Climate. Greta made the call for today's strike in a video posted on Twitter.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/climate_strike_heeding_call_of_greta

Hundreds of Activists Stage Sit-in Against Big Polluters on Final Day of COP24 U.N. Climate Talks
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-14
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, on Friday, demanding bolder action from world leaders on climate change. The action was organized by the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. Demonstrators filled the staircase inside the conference center holding banners reading "Which side are you on?" and "People Not Polluters" and "System change not climate change." As protesters marched out of U.N. climate talks, Democracy Now! spoke with Maya Menezes, Canadian climate activist and member of the Canadian Youth Delegation with the climate justice organization The Leap. Sh…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/14/hundreds_of_activists_stage_sit_in

Trouble in Paradise: Climate change is war against the poor
Allison L. Hurst | peoplesworld.org | 2018-12-14
On the 8th of November, Paradise went up in flames. This small town in Northern California held about 28,000 people, many retirees on a fixed budget. This was not a rich town. The median household income was $41,000, 94 percent of the residents were white, and a third of the town was occupied by people who rented their …
peoplesworld.org/article/trouble-in-paradise-climate-change-is-war-against-the-poor/

Crimes Against the Earth
Dr. Andrew Glikson | globalresearch.ca | 2018-12-14
"Dear Caesar | Keep Burning, raping, killing | But please, please | Spare us your obscene poetry | And ugly music " | (From Seneca's last letter to Nero) | The excavation of more than 600 billion tons of toxic carbon and hydrocarbon geological remains of … | The post Crimes Against the Earth appeared first on Global Research.
globalresearch.ca/crimes-against-the-earth-2/5662944

Santa Cruz Earth First! Spokesperson Dennis Davie Has Gone to the Summerland
Craig Louis Stehr | indybay.org | 2018-12-14
Long time Santa Cruz Earth First! spokesperson Dennis Davie left the earth plane on Monday December 10th.
indybay.org/newsitems/2018/12/12/18819761.php

How School Districts Weaponize Child Protection Services Against Parents
Kerry McDonald | theantimedia.com | 2018-12-14
Parents are increasingly required to obey, to conform to a school's demands even if they believe such orders may not be appropriate for their child. (FEE) — Schooling is adept at rooting out individuality and enforcing compliance. In his book, Understanding Power, Noam Chomsky writes: "In fact, the whole educational and professional training system is a very …

How School Districts Weaponize Child Protection Services Against Parents

From Obama to Trump, Climate Negotiations Are Being Run by the Same Crew of American Technocrats
Kate Aronoff | theintercept.com | 2018-12-14
On Monday, the Trump administration hosted an event on behalf of the fossil fuel industry at the United Nations climate talks in Poland, known as COP24. It was almost identical to the one it hosted at last year's climate talks in Germany: trying to write coal, oil, and gas into the world's response to climate change, and bemoaning "alarmism" on climate. Both were disrupted by organizers from the United States voicing their opposition, and both received more media coverage than just about anything else happening at either talks, which this year are focused on arriving at a deeply technical rulebook to implement th…
theintercept.com/2018/12/14/cop24-climate-change-talks-paris-agreement/

Hundreds of Activists Stage Sit-In Against Big Polluters on Final Day of COP24
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2018-12-14
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, on Friday, demanding bolder action from world leaders on climate change. The action was organized by the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice. Demonstrators filled the staircase inside the conference center holding banners reading "Which side are you on?" and "People Not Polluters" and "System change not climate change." As protesters marched out of UN climate talks, Democracy Now! spoke with Maya Menezes, Canadian climate activist and member of the Canadian Youth Delegation with the climate justice organization The Leap. She…
truthout.org/video/hundreds-of-activists-stage-sit-in-against-big-polluters-on-final-day-of-cop24/

UK Protesters Are Supergluing Themselves to Buildings to Fight Climate Crisis
Shared by Cherise | truthout.org | 2018-12-14
As protests erupt at the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, we speak with Liam Geary Baulch, part of the new movement called Extinction Rebellion that began six months ago in the United Kingdom and has now spread to 35 countries. Members are taking extreme action to fight the climate crisis, including supergluing themselves to government buildings, shutting down London Bridge and taking to the streets to sound the alarm about the impending catastrophe of global warming. They are demanding governments commit to legally binding measures to slash consumption and reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2025.
truthout.org/video/uk-protesters-are-supergluing-themselves-to-buildings-to-fight-climate-crisis/

Greenland ice sheet melting at an accelerating rate due to global warming
WSWS | wsws.org | 2018-12-14
Data obtained from ice cores taken from the Greenland ice sheet reveal that the past decade has seen the fastest melt rate in 350 years.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/12/14/melt-d14.html

Fossil-Free Costa Rica: How One Country Is Pursuing Decarbonization Despite Global Inaction
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-13
As world leaders struggle to agree on a plan to curb global emissions at the U.N. climate talks in Katowice, Poland, we look at Costa Rica's plan to go fossil-free beginning next year. It will be the first country in the world to decarbonize its economy. Costa Rica generates more than 90 percent of its electricity using renewable energy. Costa Rican officials have announced they want to host U.N. climate talks in 2019, since Brazil rescinded its offer to host the summit following the election of right-wing climate change denier President-elect Jair Bolsonaro. We speak with Mónica Araya, a Costa Rican climate acti…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/fossil_free_costa_rica_how_one

A "Conference of Polluters": How Fossil Fuel Companies Are Shaping Policy at the U.N. Climate Summit
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-13
Officials from nearly 200 countries are in Katowice, Poland, to negotiate how to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement. But so are representatives from many of the world's largest fossil fuel companies, including a lobby group that represents BP, Shell and ExxonMobil. Just last week, The Intercept reported that an executive from Shell Oil told participants at a COP side event that Shell helped draft a portion of the 2015 Paris climate agreement dealing with emissions mitigation. This week, activists protested outside an event hosted by Shell. Among them was Nnimmo Bassey, a Nigerian environmental activist and the di…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/a_conference_of_polluters_how_fossil

Green New Deal Advocates Shouldn't Overlook Militarism
Medea Benjamin | mintpressnews.com | 2018-12-13
In the spirit of a new year and a new Congress, 2019 may well be our best and last opportunity to steer our ship of state away from the twin planetary perils of environmental chaos and militarism, charting a course toward an earth-affirming 21st century. | The environmental crisis was laid bare by the sobering December report of the UN Climate panel: If the world fails to mobilize within the next 12 years on the level of a moon shot, and gear up to change our energy usage from toxic fossil, nuclear and industrial biomass fuels to the already known solutions for employing solar, wind, hydro, geothermal energy and…
mintpressnews.com/green-new-deal-advocates-shouldnt-overlook-militarism/252864/

EPA slams door to justice on historic Black community
Special to PeoplesWorld | peoplesworld.org | 2018-12-13
TALLASSEE, Al. — On December 10, leaders of a historic Black community in Tallassee, Alabama, denounced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for closing a civil rights complaint filed in 2017 against the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in the face of clear evidence, acknowledged by EPA, that the state's actions caused "adverse harms" to …
peoplesworld.org/article/epa-slams-door-to-justice-on-historic-black-community/

As U.N. Calls for Urgent Action on Climate Change, U.S. Seeks to Dilute Pact to Cut Carbon Emissions
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-13
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres issued a dire warning Wednesday that nations must act now to save humanity from devastating climate change. Despite this call to action, talks here in Katowice have been hindered by the United States and the world's other biggest polluters, who are promoting fossil fuels and focusing on reducing emissions in developing countries but not their own. Talks are supposed to conclude Friday, but negotiators have expressed little hope in meeting the deadline. "It's really hypocritical that the United States is here, negotiating in what I would characterize as bad faith," says Meen…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/as_un_calls_for_urgent_action

You Are Stealing Our Future: Greta Thunberg, 15, Condemns the World's Inaction on Climate Change
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-13
Fifteen-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the U.N. plenary last night in Katowice, Poland, condemning global inaction in the face of catastrophic climate change.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/13/you_are_stealing_our_future_greta

Elizabeth Warren Has a Track Record of Taking on the Rich and Powerful. Don't Write Her Off for 2020
Mehdi Hasan | theintercept.com | 2018-12-13
Sen. Warren stumbled with a DNA test on her Native American ancestry. But she's harder on Wall Street than Kamala Harris and Cory Booker combined. | The post Elizabeth Warren Has a Track Record of Taking on the Rich and Powerful. Don't Write Her Off for 2020. appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/12/13/elizabeth-warren-presidential-run/

US Consumer Board Conceals how Wells Fargo Fleeces Students
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2018-12-13
The Consumer Financial Protection Board kept a detailed report about how Wells Fargo has long been involved in charging students up to three times more for financial services than other banks do. Why did the CFPB not reveal this? Bill Black explains | The post US Consumer Board Conceals how Wells Fargo Fleeces Students appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/us-consumer-board-conceals-how-wells-fargo-fleeces-students

U.S. & Other Big Polluters Obstruct U.N. Climate Talks, Stalling Efforts to Reduce Carbon Emissions
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-12
The world's worst emitters are hindering negotiations at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, even as countries from the Global South warn that they could face annihilation without drastic action to confront climate change. We speak with Harjeet Singh, who has been observing how the U.S. and other big polluters are hindering climate talks. He is the global lead on climate change for ActionAid. He's been working with climate migrants in several countries, and he is based in New Delhi, India.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/12/us_other_big_polluters_obstruct_un

Typhoon Haiyan Survivor: Fossil Fuel Companies Killed My Family by Hastening Climate Change
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-12
As we broadcast from the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, world leaders and officials from nearly 200 countries are here to negotiate how to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement. But three years after Paris, they appear no closer to curbing global emissions and halting catastrophic climate change. New studies show global carbon emissions may have risen as much as 3.7 percent in 2018, marking the second annual increase in a row. As the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that humanity has only a dozen years to mitigate climate change or face global catastrophe, we speak with Joanna Sustent…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/12/typhoon_haiyan_survivor_fossil_fuel_companies

"Ha, Ha, Ha": At U.N. Climate Talks, Protesters Laugh Out Trump Admin Official Pushing Fossil Fuels
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-12
Democracy Now! was in the room when indigenous and youth leaders disrupted an event Monday hosted by Trump administration officials promoting fossil fuels and nuclear interests at the U.N. climate talks in Katowice, Poland. Wells Griffith, special assistant to the president for international energy and environment, represented the U.S. at the event. Griffith said in his remarks, "We strongly believe that no country should have to sacrifice economic prosperity or energy security in pursuit of environmental sustainability." Moments later, nearly a hundred protesters began laughing, drowning out Griffith, calling th…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/12/keep_it_in_the_ground_at

The Nobel Prize for climate catastrophe
Jason Hickel | mronline.org | 2018-12-12
The economist William Nordhaus will receive his profession's highest honor for research on global warming that's been hugely influential–and entirely misguided. | Source…
mronline.org/2018/12/12/the-nobel-prize-for-climate-catastrophe/

Trump's Energy Adviser Runs Away When Questioned by Democracy Now! at U.N. Climate Talks
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-12
The Trump administration is promoting fossil fuels at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, despite outcry from climate activists and world leaders concerned about the devastating threat of climate change. Chief among Trump's representatives at the climate summit is Wells Griffith, special assistant to the president for international energy and environment. He is a longtime Republican operative who served as deputy chief of staff to Reince Priebus when Priebus was chair of the Republican National Committee. Amy Goodman attempted to question Wells Griffith about the Trump administration's climate policy at…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/12/trumps_energy_adviser_runs_away_when

"Our Leaders Are Behaving Like Children": Teen Climate Activist Confronts World Leaders at U.N. Summit
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-11
Democracy Now! is broadcasting from the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, this week, where world leaders gathered to negotiate climate solutions were confronted last week by a teenage climate activist who says they are not doing enough to turn back the clock and prevent catastrophic climate change. Fifteen-year-old Greta Thunberg stunned the world last week when she denounced world leaders for inaction and told them: "change is coming whether they like it or not. The people will rise to the challenge. And since our leaders are behaving like children, we will have to take the responsibility they should have…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/11/our_leaders_are_behaving_like_children

Congress Must Take Action on Toxins
Jill Ryan | progressive.org | 2018-12-11
Why is the Environmental Protection Agency refusing to study PFAS? The toxic chemicals are found in drinking water around the country.
progressive.org/op-eds/congress-must-take-action-on-toxins-181211/

School Strike for Climate: Meet 15-Year-Old Activist Greta Thunberg, Who Inspired a Global Movement
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-11
As government ministers from around the globe gather in Katowice, Poland, for the final days of the 24th U.N. climate summit, we speak with 15-year-old activist Greta Thunberg, who denounced politicians here last week for their inaction on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. She has garnered global attention for carrying out a weekly school strike against climate change in her home country of Sweden. "We need to change ourselves now, because tomorrow it might be too late," says Thunberg. We are also joined by her father, Svante Thunberg, a Swedish actor.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/11/meet_the_15_year_old_swedish

Climate Scientist: World's Richest Must Radically Change Lifestyles to Prevent Global Catastrophe
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-11
The 24th United Nations climate summit comes amid growing warnings about the catastrophic danger climate change poses to the world. In October, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that humanity has only a dozen years to mitigate climate change or face global catastrophe–with severe droughts, floods, sea level rise and extreme heat set to cause mass displacement and poverty. But on Saturday, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait blocked language "welcoming" the landmark IPCC climate report. New studies show global carbon emissions may have risen as much 3.7 percent in 2018,…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/11/scientist_kevin_anderson_worlds_biggest_emitters

Young Climate Activists Storm Capitol Hill Demanding A Green New Deal
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2018-12-11
Over 140 were arrested in protests calling for Democratic leaders to create a plan to decarbonize the economy | The post Young Climate Activists Storm Capitol Hill Demanding A Green New Deal appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/climate-activists-storm-capitol-hill-demanding-green-new-deal

WATCH NOW: NAACP Represents Communities of Color at United Nations Climate Conference in Poland
Vanessa Mbonu@naacpnet | naacp.org | 2018-12-10
Katherine Egland, Member NAACP National Board of Directors and Chairwoman, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, was among an NAACP delegation at the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties #24. | The post WATCH NOW: NAACP Represents Communities of Color at United Nations Climate Conference in Poland appeared first on NAACP.
naacp.org/latest/watch-now-naacp-represents-communities-color-united-nations-climate-conference-poland/

As Polish Gov't Promotes Coal, Advocate Warns Coal Hastens Climate Change, Devastates Human Health
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-10
This year's U.N. climate summit is in Katowice, Poland, and the Polish government is using the summit to promote coal, with several state-owned Polish coal companies sponsoring parts of the talks. Democracy Now! visited the Guido coal mine near Katowice, which has been turned into a mining museum, to speak with Polish environmental lawyer Bartosz Kwiatkowski. He is the director of the Frank Bold Foundation, which is involved in numerous lawsuits challenging the expansion of coal mining in Poland.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/10/as_poland_uses_un_climate_summit

Thousands Protest at U.N. Climate Summit in Coal-Heavy Poland, Facing Riot Police & Intimidation
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-10
This week Democracy Now! is broadcasting from the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, where the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait have blocked language "welcoming" October's landmark IPCC climate report that warned of the catastrophic effects of a global temperature increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius, beyond which global crises could unfold at a rapid pace. The four countries rejected using the word "welcome," insisting that members instead "note" the findings of the widely cited U.N. report. We begin our coverage with voices of some of the thousands of climate activists from around the world who marched in…
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/10/thousands_protest_at_un_climate_summit

"Shame on You!" Protesters Interrupt Trump Admin Promoting Coal & Fossil Fuels at U.N. Climate Talks
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-10
Just minutes before we began our Monday broadcast, Democracy Now! spoke to protesters at the U.N. climate summit in Katowice, Poland, as they interrupted a Trump administration event promoting coal and other fossil fuels. We speak with Diné climate activist Leona Morgan.
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/10/shame_on_you_protesters_interrupt_trump

Climate movement attracts new generation of activists
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-10
The latter part of 2018 will be remembered for the re-emergence of climate action on the national agenda. | Independent Kerryn Phelps' win in the Wentworth byelection promising "meaningful environmental action" and Labor's subsequent adoption of a 50% renewable energy policy by 2030 has come in the midst of researcher Rebecca Huntley's findings that "climate and environmental concerns" have increasingly become "a test of leadership" for voters. | These centrist platforms, however, have been rightly superseded by the newest base of the climate movement: high school students. | Tired of the "dinosaurs in parliament…
greenleft.org.au/content/climate-movement-attracts-new-generation-activists

As Uprising Spreads Across Globe, Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky Among Signers of Open Letter Backing Extinction Rebellion
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2018-12-10
After starting in the United Kingdom just months ago with a mere 10 members dedicated to pressuring their elected officials to urgently confront the climate crisis, the Extinction Rebellion has quickly ballooned into a global movement spanning an estimated 35 countries—a testament to the growing disaffection with the deadly climate status quo and hunger for transformative change among the world's population. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2018-12-10_at_2.01.17_pm_0.png
commondreams.org/news/2018/12/10/uprising-spreads-across-globe-naomi-klein-and-noam-chomsky-among-signers-open-letter

We Can't Separate Climate Justice from Opposing Militarism
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2018-12-10
At the conclusion of the Sanders Institute Gathering, RoseAnn De Moro, John Cusack and Bob Pollin discuss the key policy ideas coming out of the sessions, with host Paul Jay | The post We Can't Separate Climate Justice from Opposing Militarism appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/we-cant-separate-climate-justice-from-opposing-militarism

Day 4: CTU charter school teachers continue strike
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2018-12-09
Chicago, IL – UNO/Acero teachers and paraprofessionals continue to strike at 15 schools, December 7. Since Tuesday, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) educators at UNO/Acero schools have held the picket lines and protested for more classroom resources, smaller class sizes, sanctuary protections for their immigrant students and fair wages–particularly for low-wage paraprofessionals. | The strike is the first of a charter operator in the nation. It began almost five years to the day after the charter operator's previous CEO was forced to resign for doling out insider contracts and living large on public dollar…
www.fightbacknews.org/2018/12/8/day-4-ctu-charter-school-teachers-continue-strike

Trump's Attack on the Clean Water Act Will Fuel Destructive Pipeline Boom
Sharon Lerner | theintercept.com | 2018-12-09
A new water rule that will strip federal protections from an estimated 60-90 percent of U.S. waterways will dramatically ease restrictions on how polluting industries do business. | According to the rule, which is due out next week, streams that don't run year-round and many wetlands will no longer be subject to the Clean Water Act. As a result, a wide range of industries — including agriculture, mining, waste management, chemical companies, real estate development, and road construction — will be free…
theintercept.com/2018/12/09/clean-water-act-regulations/

Reviving the Nuclear Disarmament Movement: A Practical Proposal
Lawrence Wittner | zcomm.org | 2018-12-08
In late November 2018, Noam Chomsky, the world-renowned public intellectual, remarked that "humanity faces two imminent existential threats: environmental catastrophe and nuclear war." Curiously, although a widespread environmental movement has developed to save the planet from accelerating climate change, no counterpart has emerged to take on the rising danger of nuclear disaster. Indeed, this danger‚Äïexemplified Read…
zcomm.org/zblogs/reviving-the-nuclear-disarmament-movement-a-practical-proposal/

Don't Do Anything About Climate Disaster, USA Today Warns Dems
Miranda Spencer | fair.org | 2018-12-06
USA Today ( 11/27/18) warns Democrats that efforts to address climate change might "whisk them out of power" again. | "Democrats Will Push on Climate Change," declared the lead story on the front page of the November 27 USA Today. (The online version bore the more verbose headline, "Once Democrats Take Charge of the…
fair.org/home/dont-do-anything-about-climate-disaster-usa-today-warns-dems/

Climate Sanity–How We Get There from Here
Bill McKibben | progressive.org | 2018-12-06
The path out of this nightmare is relatively clear–and communities on the frontlines are leading the way.
progressive.org/magazine/comment-climate-sanity-McKibben/

On the Line: A Bright REDD+ Line
progressive | progressive.org | 2018-12-06
Indigenous peoples fight schemes to buy and sell their land in the name of a climate change 'solution.'…
progressive.org/magazine/on-the-line_bright-REDD-line/

The fightback against Adani and Aurizon steps up
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2018-12-06
Adani CEO Lucas Dow's November 29 declaration that work on a scaled-down coalmine in Queensland's Galilee Basin would begin before Christmas was met with one of the most powerful nationwide protests against it so far as primary and high school students walking out of class the next day for the Student Strike 4 Climate Action. | A reported 20,000 students, many of them with their parents and grandparents in tow, took to the streets with a powerful message to Adani and policymakers: ignore us at your peril. | This was followed by a sit-in at Parliament House in Canberra on December 5. | Another round of #StopA…
greenleft.org.au/content/fightback-against-adani-and-aurizon-steps

President Trump Is Accelerating the Militarization of the Southwest Border
ACLU | aclu.org | 2018-12-05
Under President Trump, the slide toward a fully militarized border between the U.S. and Mexico is happening rapidly to the detriment of civil rights. | For decades, the ACLU has fought back against the militarization of domestic law enforcement agencies and the use of the military in our communities. Nowhere is this militarization more pronounced than on the border between the U.S. and Mexico — and President Trump is only making it worse. | The creation of the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11 accelerated the government's operations on the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP…
aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/president-trump-accelerating-militarization-southwest-border