(2018-12-10). As Polish Gov't Promotes Coal, Advocate Warns Coal Hastens Climate Change, Devastates Human Health. democracynow.org 
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.
(2018-12-10). The Terrifying New Climate Record We'll Set in 2018. truthdig.com For the second year running, the world will have a doubtful achievement to claim by 31 December: record carbon emissions. | Even before the close of 2018, scientists behind the biggest accounting effort on the planet, the Global Carbon Budget, warn that emissions from coal, oil and gas will have dumped a record 37 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (a way of comparing the emissions from various greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential) into the atmosphere by the end of this month. | This is 2.7% more than las…
(2018-12-10). Indigenous Groups Join UN to Strategize Climate Mitigation Plan. telesurenglish.net Centuries of knowledge and Indigenous customs will pass from communities to the world after an accord was formed with the United Nations during the Climate Summit (COP24) Monday. | RELATED: | Human Rights in Latin America: A Struggle for Land and Life | Fourteen communities make up the members of the Platform of Local Communities which will work with local governments, relying on ancient techniques to overturn the turbulent climate changes rocking the world within the U.N. Framework…
(2018-12-10). 60,000 liters of oil spills from pipeline into Brazilian bay. peoplesworld.org 
About 60,000 liters (15,850 gallons) of oil spilled from a pipeline into the Estrela River and spread to Rio de Janeiro's famed Guanabara Bay over the weekend, according to Reuters and local reports. The pipeline is owned by Transpetro, the largest oil and gas transportation company in Brazil, and a subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro (commonly known as Petrobras). Transpetro claims the leak …
(2018-12-10). 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. peoplesworld.org 
Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 10 December 2018, Marrakesh, Morocco Seventy years ago today, the world's States recognized, for the first time, that all people have universal human rights and they promised to promote and protect those rights. The right to equal protection of the law. The right to life, …
(2018-12-10). Thousands Protest at U.N. Climate Summit in Coal-Heavy Poland, Facing Riot Police & Intimidation. democracynow.org 
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…
(2018-12-10). We Can't Separate Climate Justice from Opposing Militarism. therealnews.com 
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
(2018-12-10). WATCH NOW: NAACP Represents Communities of Color at United Nations Climate Conference in Poland. naacp.org 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.
(2018-12-10). "Shame on You!" Protesters Interrupt Trump Admin Promoting Coal & Fossil Fuels at U.N. Climate Talks. democracynow.org 
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.
(2018-12-10). Reviving the Nuclear Disarmament Movement: a Practical Proposal. counterpunch.org 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 More
(2018-12-10). Demonstrators at UN Climate Summit Face Riot Police and Intimidation. truthout.org This week Democracy Now! is broadcasting from the UN climate summit in Katowice, Poland, where the US, 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 UN report. We begin our coverage with voices of some of the thousands of climate activists from around the world who marched in Ka…
(2018-12-10). Human Rights are Key to Success at Climate Talks. hrw.org 
| | Woman holds sign during March for Climate at UN Climate Talks in Katowice, Poland. | © 2018 Cara Schulte/Human Rights Watch | Today, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, governments at the climate summit COP24 in Poland are working around the clock to finalize the Paris "Rulebook" — the regulations that will guide the implementation of the Paris Agreement to…
(2018-12-10). Headlines for December 10, 2018. democracynow.org Sentencing Memo for Cohen Implicates Trump in Federal Crimes, Trump's Chief-of-Staff Kelly to Leave Post by End of Year, NYT: Kushner Helped Crown Prince "Weather the Storm" After Khashoggi Murder, Trump Nominates William Barr as Next Attorney General, Brexit Vote Halted as EU Court Says U.K. Has Power to Reverse Course, France: Fourth Week of Mass Protests as Movement Spills over Border, COP24: U.S., Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait Block Adoption of U.N. Climate Report, Protesters Take to the Streets as COP24 Heads into Second Week, Colombia: Indigenous Governor Killed Amid Mounting Violence, Charlottesville: Ju…
(2018-12-10). Climate movement attracts new generation of activists. greenleft.org.au 
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…
(2018-12-10). Valentin Lopez Speaks on the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. indybay.org Valentin Lopez, Chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, spoke at an event in celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, hosted by the United Nations Association: USA Santa Cruz, CA Chapter on December 8 at the Resource Center for Nonviolence.
(2018-12-10). Climate Town Hall. indybay.org 275 Main St, Watsonville, CA…
(2018-12-09). A Bold New Plan to Tackle Climate Change. zcomm.org In a livestreamed town hall event, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez laid out the best hope yet to stave off climate disaster and transform our economy: A Green New Deal. And now it's gaining support in Congress…
(2018-12-09). Trump's Attack on the Clean Water Act Will Fuel Destructive Pipeline Boom. theintercept.com 
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…
(2018-12-08). Global Carbon Emissions Set to Hit Record High in 2018. therealnews.com 
From COP24 in Poland, Greenpeace USA's Naomi Ages says that carbon emissions are set to rise by 2.7% in 2018 due to more coal use in Asia, and that to combat this trend nations need to do more than what they agreed to in the 2015 Paris Accord
(2018-12-08). Reviving the Nuclear Disarmament Movement: A Practical Proposal. zcomm.org 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 more…
(2018-12-08). Making Global Climate Change Local. therealnews.com 
At the Sanders Institute Gathering, Abdul El-Sayed, the runner-up in Michigan's Democratic 2018 governor's race primary, talks about how to bridge fights for environmental health and justice with the global fight to reduce carbon emissions
(2018-12-08). Shell Oil Executive Boasts That His Company Influenced the Paris Agreement. theintercept.com Shell oil helped write the Paris climate agreement, according to a top Royal Dutch Shell executive. | They're also the world's ninth-largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. | The executive, Shell's Chief Climate Change Adviser David Hone, made his comments at the international climate change conference COP 24 on Friday. Hone was candid about just how much of a hand his company — through their involvement with the Internation…
(2018-12-07). The Deadly Cost of Pipelines in Native Land: Winona LaDuke on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. democracynow.org 
As the oil and gas pipeline boom crosses the United States and Canada, indigenous activists say the influx of male workers in Native communities has corresponded with a spike in the kidnapping and murder of indigenous women. We speak with Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe environmental leader and executive director of the group Honor the Earth. She lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.
(2018-12-07). Climate Crisis Critical Issue in 2020 Elections — Jane Sanders. therealnews.com 
Jane Sanders tells Paul Jay that voters shouldn't support candidates who claim to be progressive, but don't prioritize the fight against fossil fuel interests
(2018-12-07). What If We Just Buy Off Big Fossil Fuel? A Novel Plan to Mitigate the Climate Calamity. counterpunch.org 
Photo Source Food & Water Watch | CC BY 2.0 | As the nations of the world are gathered in Poland to fret about the state of the climate, there's an unpleasant truth—one might say an inconvenient truth—that climate advocates have long refused to face: Big Fossil Fuel has beaten us. | We've done our damnedest to stop them from wrecking the climate, but they're nonetheless pulling carbon from the ground in wondrous quantities. It was once astonishing that in the U.S. alone they could extract 55 quadrillion BTUs worth of oil, gas, and coal each ye…
(2018-12-07). Winona LaDuke Calls for Indigenous-Led "Green New Deal" as She Fights Minnesota Pipeline Expansion. democracynow.org 
While world leaders converge in Poland for the U.N. climate change summit, we look at the indigenous-led fight against destructive oil pipelines and the revolutionary potential of the Green New Deal with Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe environmental leader and executive director of the group Honor the Earth. She lives and works on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota.
(2018-12-07). EPA's New Water Rule Will Gut the Clean Water Act. theintercept.com A new water rule will greatly reduce federal water protections, imperiling drinking water, endangered species, and ecosystems across the country. According to the rule that the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to release next week — some details of which were leaked Thursday — streams that are dependent on rainfall and wetlands not physically connected to year-round waterways will no longer be covered by the Clean Water Act. | As a result of the change, an estimated 60-90 percent of U.S. waterways could lose federal protections that cu…
(2018-12-07). Poland Denies Entry to Environmental Activists to Attend Climate Talks. hrw.org 
When I traveled to Poland to attend the United Nations climate conference yesterday, I passed through immigration without any problems. But not all representatives of civil society groups participating in the negotiations have been that lucky. | | | Women climate change activists demand respect for rights at Paris Agreement signing ceremony outside the United Nations in New York, April 2016. | © 2016 Katharina Rall/Human Rights Watch | Human Rights Watch is aware of at least 13 people whom Polish authorities, over the pas…
(2018-12-07). Russia: Human Rights Defender Jailed. hrw.org 
| | Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomarev at an All-Russian convention on the protection of human rights. | © 2017 Anton Novoderezhkin\TASS via Getty Images |
| (December 10) Lev Ponomarev filed a court petition to attend the funeral on December 11, 2018 for Ludmila Alexeeva, the champion of Russia's human rights movement and Ponomarev's close friend and colleague. | On December 10, the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow r…
(2018-12-06). Climate Sanity—How We Get There from Here. progressive.org The path out of this nightmare is relatively clear—and communities on the frontlines are leading the way.
(2018-12-06). A Conference on Climate Change Became a Conference on Coal. thenation.com A Conference on Climate Change Became a Conference on Coal…
(2018-12-06). On the Line: A Bright REDD+ Line. progressive.org Indigenous peoples fight schemes to buy and sell their land in the name of a climate change 'solution.'
(2018-12-06). Headlines for December 6, 2018. democracynow.org Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions Rise to Record High in 2018, WHO Says Meeting Paris Climate Goal Would Save Millions of Lives, Quebec Youth Sue Canada, Citing Gross Negligence on Climate Change, Barclays Customers Demand Divestment from Tar Sands Pipelines, George H.W. Bush Remembered at Washington National Cathedral, Canada Arrests Huawei Executive for Extradition to U.S., Trump Praises Chinese Death Penalty for Drug Dealers, Wisconsin Republicans Complete Legislative Power Grab, Michigan Republicans Move to Limit Power of Incoming Democratic Leaders, NYT: Paul Manafort Discussed Deal to Seize Julian Assange, Sa…
(2018-12-06). The fightback against Adani and Aurizon steps up. greenleft.org.au 
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…
(2018-12-05). President Trump Is Accelerating the Militarization of the Southwest Border. aclu.org 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…
(2018-12-05). What Response to Climate Change Gives You Hope? progressive.org Movement leaders tells us about communities making concrete change in the face of planetary crisis.
(2018-12-04). Sorry To Bother You offers rich lessons in seeking radical social change. greenleft.org.au 
Sorry to Bother You
| Written & directed by Boots Riley
| In cinemas now | This review includes mild spoilers. | As an Australian living abroad, incidents of Australians being racist and/or misogynistisic that attract attention from international media outlets are frequently forwarded to me in anticipation of a seething refrain. | My response is typically motivated by a mix of rage and embarrassment, as well as a deep concern for how racial capitalism has been almost completely normalised. I am deeply concerned by the fact that not only is our social and political climate ill-equipped to address racism, i…
(2018-12-03). NSW law will 'lead to a new stolen generation'. greenleft.org.au 
Another stolen generation appears certain to be created in NSW, after the Coalition government passed a new adoption law making it easier for a child to be adopted by a foster family without parental consent. | The new adoption law, Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Amendment Bill, passed on November 22 despite fierce opposition, imposes a two-year limit on fostering a child. The Children's Court now has the power to decide whether a birth parent should be rei…
(2018-12-02). Debunking the Times on Bush I:s foreign policy record. zcomm.org Below is a list of the most blatant pieces of deception concerning George H.W. Bush's foreign policy record, reported in Adam Nagourney's commemorative NYT piece. Nagourney writes that "Environmental groups praised Mr. Bush's record on climate change and the environment. As president, he signed the United States to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Read more…
(2018-12-01). Eight new books for ecosocialists. greenleft.org.au 
Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus offers up eight new books as recommended reading for ecosocialists. Inclusion does not imply agreement with a book's contents. | ***
1. The Biofuels Deception: Going Hungry on the Green Carbon Diet
| By Okbazghi Yohannes
| Monthly Review Press, 2018 | Eliminating fossil fuels is essential, but biofuels have far more to do with sating profit-hungry corporations than saving the Earth. Combining meticulous scientific narrative with devastating economic analy…
(2018-12-01). A true people's artist. greenleft.org.au 
Rock & Roll Harbour
| Exhibition by The Shop Gallery
| 112 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
| Thurs January 3 — Wed Jan 9 | Peter Gow is the people's artist. | His ouvre is driven by his down-to-earth, inner-city environment such as boathouses and the heritage-listed Sydney Harbour Bridge in various attitudes, all of which feature prominently in this exhibition. | Gow is a qualified electrician and builder as well, very handy for making the frames in his spare time that embrace his art. | His deep, rich, contrasting colours leap from his palette onto the canvas. His short brush strokes create a palindrom…
(2018-11-30). "No Deal" Brexit predictions, GDP, average incomes, austerity and the CLIMATE CRISIS. zcomm.org If Bill Gates walks into a room full of factory workers then the average income of everybody in the room skyrockets. It would skyrocket even if everybody else in the room were going bankrupt as Gates entered. Similarly, the average income of the people in the room would plummet as Gates walked out the door even Read more…
(2018-11-30). WA Labor opens the gate to fracking. greenleft.org.au 
The Western Australian Labor government announced it is opening up 5.2 million hectares — an area roughly the size of 75% of Tasmania — to potential fracking operations on November 27. | The decision follows advice from an inquiry carried out by the WA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that said fracking in the Kimberley, Mid-West and Gascoyne regions would not pose a serious threat to people, agriculture or the environment. | Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a dangerous process that involves fracturing rock with pressurised liquid to mine unconventional gas. | Prior to last year's state ele…
(2018-11-30). New maps of land destruction show why people flee Central America. greenleft.org.au 
A new map developed at the University of Cincinnati illustrates one motivating force behind migrant caravans leaving Guatemala and Honduras to reach the United States. | UC geography professor Tomasz Stepinski has turned high-resolution satellite images from the European Space Agency into one of the most detailed looks so far at how people are reshaping the planet. | Stepinski said: "Right now there are caravans of people walking to the United States. Many of them are coming from Guatemala." | News agencies such as The Guardian have called some of the Central American migrants "climate-change refugees" since many…
(2018-11-30). US condemned for tear-gassing refugees, children. greenleft.org.au 
Legal experts and human rights advocates have denounced the tear gassing of children and other asylum seekers by US forces at the Mexico border on November 25. | "The migrants at our southern border include mothers and small children exercising their legal, human right to seek asylum," declared the ACLU in a tweet on November 26. It told the US Customs and Border Protection agency: "Tear gassing children is out…
(2018-11-22). Elected Constituent Assembly in Venezuela provoked International Outrage, not the illegal handpicked one in Ecuador. zcomm.org "CONAIE and CREO direct the new National Electoral Council" announces a headline yesterday in the rightwing Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo. CONAIE is a self-declared "left" federation representing indigenous peoples in Ecuador. CREO is the party of the "defeated" right wing presidential candidate in 2017. I put "defeated" in quotes because CREO's electoral defeat — which they stupidly Read more…
(2018-11-05). Maduro: Venezuela Sitting on 2nd Biggest Gold Reserve on Earth. venezuelanalysis.com President Nicolas Maduro described the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela as "crazy" and "criminal."
(2018-10-18). Nuclear Power & Climate. zcomm.org The great environmental challenge of our time is to understand that the many sources of biodestruction are interconnected and must be confronted simultaneously, rather than disparaging one danger to focus on another…