The Miraculous Hope of Climate Realists
Erika Spanger-Siegfried | commondreams.org | 2019-01-07
Scientists in the Arctic observe the Aurora Borealis. (Photo: US Department of Defense) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/lights_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/01/07/miraculous-hope-climate-realists?cd-origin=rss
US Policy Is Causing the Next Mass Extinction
Tom Engelhardt | thenation.com | 2019-01-07
US Policy Is Causing the Next Mass Extinction…
thenation.com/article/trump-us-policy-infinite-wars-climate-change-mass-extinction/
CIEL Response to US Supreme Court's Rejection of ExxonMobil's Appeal to Block MA Attorney General Consumer Protection Probe
commondreams | commondreams.org | 2019-01-07
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commondreams.org/newswire/2019/01/07/ciel-response-us-supreme-courts-rejection-exxonmobils-appeal-block-ma-attorney?cd-origin=rss
Senator Warren's Push for Climate Risk Disclosure
Ben Lilliston | commondreams.org | 2019-01-07
While most of the focus on climate risk disclosure has been on the fossil fuel industry, few sectors face as much risk as food and agriculture—in particular, companies with long supply chains increasingly vulnerable to disruption.(Photo: shutterstock) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/dirt_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/01/07/senator-warrens-push-climate-risk-disclosure?cd-origin=rss
Sunrise Movement: Pelosi's Actions on Climate Fall Woefully & Inexcusably Short of What We Need
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-07
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing criticism from some climate activists for failing to back a Green New Deal. Last week Pelosi announced the formation of a new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, headed by long-standing Florida Congressmember Kathy Castor. But the committee is far weaker than what backers of a Green New Deal had envisioned. The committee will not have subpoena power or the power to draft legislation. We speak with Varshini Prakash, founder of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group that has occupied and lobbied at congressional offices, risking arrest to demand adoption of the Gree…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/7/sunrise_movement_pelosis_actions_on_climate
Scientists Are Stumped by This Climate Puzzle
STAFF | truthdig.com | 2019-01-07
Two new studies have highlighted yet more unexpected findings in the epic story of the Earth's carbon stores: how the world's waters and soils accumulate and discharge them. | One team of researchers has found, to their surprise, that the meltwaters of Greenland are washing measurable quantities of carbon into the atmosphere in the form of the potent greenhouse gas methane. | And another has looked more closely at the way carbon is stored in the world's soils, and come to the conclusion that even the minerals in the bedrock play a rol…
truthdig.com/articles/scientists-are-stumped-by-this-climate-puzzle/
Make 2019 the year of action on climate change
kathy_f | greenleft.org.au | 2019-01-07
Australia is sweltering through another summer heatwave, with disastrous consequences for many vulnerable people. Walgett, in north-west NSW, ran out of water and catastrophic fires are threatening communities in Victoria and Tasmania. | As we make a plan for a new year of activism, we can take some heart from the growing student movement for real climate action. They are responding to the science and showing an awareness of the scale of the pending climate catastrophe. They know what needs to be done and are demonstrating that leadership comes from those who act. | Students 4 Climate Action have already agreed t…
greenleft.org.au/content/make-2019-year-action-climate-change
Compulsory earthquake warnings are racist, Portland NAACP says
RT | rt.com | 2019-01-07
Protesters in Portland, Oregon have rallied against a city policy demanding that owners of brick houses post warnings of potential collapse in case of an earthquake. Civil rights activists say the order targets black people. | …
rt.com/usa/448213-portland-earthquake-warning-racist/
Supreme Court Blocks ExxonMobil's Effort to Conceal Decades of Documents in Probe of Oil Giant's Climate Deception
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-07
In a win for climate campaigners and Massachusetts' Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected ExxonMobil's attempt to block Healey's demand for documents related to her state's ongoing investigation into allegations that one of the world's largest oil and gas corporations deceived the public and investors for decades about how fossil fuels drive global warming. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-643780060_0_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/07/supreme-court-blocks-exxonmobils-effort-conceal-decades-documents-probe-oil-giants?cd-origin=rss
With Nationwide Tour Targeting Untapped Youth Power, Sunrise Movement Aims to 'Make Green New Deal an Inevitability'
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-01-07
The millennial-led Sunrise Movement has succeeded in convincing 45 House Democrats and several senators to support the Green New Deal, and now the grassroots group is planning to focus on young voters across the country to gather as much support as possible for the bold climate action and jobs proposal. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-01-07_at_9.48.01_am.jpg…
commondreams.org/news/2019/01/07/nationwide-tour-targeting-untapped-youth-power-sunrise-movement-aims-make-green-new?cd-origin=rss
Standing Rock's Surprising Legacy: A Push for Public Banks
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2019-01-07
In February 2017, Seattle became the first city to pass legislation to divest from a financial institution because of its role in funding the Dakota Access pipeline. | Months of rallies, public testimony at city council meetings, and protests at Wells Fargo branches across Seattle led to the unanimous vote to divest billions from the bank. Los Angeles and Philadelphia would follow. But when the time came to withdraw its money from the bank at the end of 2018, Seattle instead renewed its contract with Wells Fargo. The political decision to divest city money from one of the biggest banks funding DAPL was reverse…
truthout.org/articles/standing-rocks-surprising-legacy-a-push-for-public-banks/
Pelosi's Actions on Climate Fall Woefully and Inexcusably Short of What We Need
Shared by Samantha Borek | truthout.org | 2019-01-07
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing criticism from some climate activists for failing to back a Green New Deal. Last week Pelosi announced the formation of a new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, headed by long-standing Florida Congressmember Kathy Castor. But the committee is far weaker than what backers of a Green New Deal had envisioned. The committee will not have subpoena power or the power to draft legislation. We speak with Varshini Prakash, founder of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group that has occupied and lobbied at congressional offices, risking arrest to demand adoption of the G…
truthout.org/video/pelosis-actions-on-climate-fall-woefully-and-inexcusably-short-of-what-we-need/
Protecting Undocumented Victims of Abuse: Does Hope Lie in Legislative History?
Shared by Anton Woronczuk | truthout.org | 2019-01-07
This is no requiem, no eulogy for the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) — especially as it relates to the undocumented, who are among the most marginalized people it is meant to protect. The current government shutdown triggered the expiration of this statute that makes lawful immigration status a reality for undocumented people who have been victims of domestic abuse by US citizens or lawful permanent resident spouses. VAWA also provides protections for victims with lawful immigration status, including shelter space, counseling or legal assist…
truthout.org/articles/protecting-undocumented-victims-of-abuse-does-hope-lie-in-legislative-history/
Group submits petitions with 1 million signatures urging Brown to phase out fossil fuels
Dan Bacher | indybay.org | 2019-01-07
In spite of receiving 1,000,000 signed petitions on November 1 and being confronted with 30,000 people marching in a climate protest in San Francisco in September, Governor Jerry Brown did not change any of his positions on fossil fuel extraction, carbon trading, the Delta Tunnels and other questionable environmental policies.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/07/18820154.php
Canadian Government Of Trudeau And Its Murder Of Animals, Destruction Of Environment
FN | indybay.org | 2019-01-07
Seal clubbing, trophy hunting profiteering, cattle ranching, dairy product marketing, collateral damage of war, dearth of animal protection laws for lab animals or animals factory farmed or in cattle ranches etc by Canada…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/04/18820101.php
Fed Gov Shutdown & SF Hunters Point Treasure Island Whistleblowers Face Cover-up/Corruption
KPFA WorkWeek Radio | indybay.org | 2019-01-07
KPFA WorkWeek radio covers the government shutdown and threats to our public services and health and safety in the air transportation system. Next it looks at the growing scandal and cover-up of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Treasure Island cleanup. Over $1 billion has been spent to supposedly remediate the sites but there continue to be dangerous radioactive contamination and Tetra Tech and Test American fired OSHA and health and safety whistleblowers. The program looks at the failure of the San Francisco Department of Public Health and California State Department of Public Health that will now be run by…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/01/02/18820075.php
With Self-Inflicted Pay-Go Rule, Democratic Victory in 2020 Just Got Harder
John Atcheson | commondreams.org | 2019-01-06
"It will take money and fiscal tools and policies to create the kind of investments in renewable energy infrastructure that would allow us to preserve a livable climate," writes Atcheson. "Pay-go makes that kind of investment more difficult." (Photo: House Dems / flickr / cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/house_democrats_0.jpg…
commondreams.org/views/2019/01/06/self-inflicted-pay-go-rule-democratic-victory-2020-just-got-harder?cd-origin=rss
3135. Opportunities and challenges posed by the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protests and the Sunrise movement
Kamran Nayeri | mronline.org | 2019-01-05
In this essay, I will argue that the leadership of the climate justice movement and the movement for radical social change, which in my opinion is essential for tackling the eco-social world crisis, have fallen short to meet the opportunities and challenges that the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protests in France (Greeman, December 3, 2018; […] | Source…
mronline.org/2019/01/05/3135-opportunities-and-challenges-posed-by-the-gilets-jaunes-yellow-vests-protests-and-the-sunrise-movement/
As Most Diverse Congress in History Takes Office, Dems Push to End Shutdown Without Funding for Wall
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-01-04
The 116th Congress made history Thursday, swearing in the most diverse group of lawmakers ever and more than 100 women in the House, including the first two Native American women, the first two Latina women from Texas and the first two Muslim women. The first-ever African-American women congressmembers from Connecticut and Massachusetts were sworn in, as was Colorado's first-ever African-American member of Congress. The first-ever and now second female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and House Democrats sought to end the government shutdown as their first order of business, passing a package of spending bills that w…
www.democracynow.org/2019/1/4/most_diverse_house_in_us_history
Our Top Stories of 2018
CounterPunch | counterpunch.org | 2019-01-04
What Brett Kanavaugh Really Learned in High School by JoAnn Wypijewski Ghosts in the Propaganda Machine by Jeffrey St. Clair & Joshua Frank Capitalism as an Obstacle to Equality and Democracy by Richard D. Wolff The Mind-Benders: How to Harvest Facebook Data, Brainwash Voters, and Swing Elections by Roberto Gonzales Trump's Travesty of Protectionism by…
counterpunch.org/2019/01/04/our-top-stories-of-2018/
On Pocahontas: Democrats, Press Must Stop Playing Into the Master Manipulator's Hands
Chris Orlet | counterpunch.org | 2019-01-04
The day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced that she was launching an exploratory committee for the 2020 presidential race, National Public Radio reported that President Donald Trump had responded to the news by again referring to the Massachusetts senator as "Pocahontas" and ridiculing her recent attempt to prove her Native American ancestry via a DNA…
counterpunch.org/2019/01/04/on-pocahontas-democrats-press-must-stop-playing-into-the-master-manipulators-hands/
When "green" doesn't "grow"
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-01-03
The onslaught of extreme weather and the increasingly stark scientific assessment leave no doubt that we face an ecological and civilizational emergency. But in the year since COP23 in Bonn, Germany, a constant stream of headlines and reports have confirmed that governments are not on track to meet their climate commitments. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/01/03/when-green-doesnt-grow/
If You Pave It, They Will Come – As climate teeters, Washington Post pushes for more highway
Pete Tucker | fair.org | 2019-01-03
As world leaders gathered in Poland for the UN climate conference, the Washington Post threw its support behind a $9 billion plan to add over 100 miles of toll lanes to Maryland highways in the traffic-choked DC region. The Post offered its hearty initial support, despite the fact that studies show adding more lanes …
fair.org/home/if-you-pave-it-they-will-come/
Proposed Florida law would stop local governments from removing racist Confederate monuments
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2019-01-02
Jacksonville, FL – Pensacola State Representative Mike Hill has introduced a bill in the state legislature, House Bill 97, titled the Soldiers' and Heroes' Monuments and Memorials Protection Act, that would stop local authorities from removing racist confederate monuments. Hill is an African American Republican. Hill acknowledges his lack of support in the Black community. | Todd Wells, an African American member of Take Em Down Jax, a group devoted to removing these monuments to the cause of white supremacy, stated, "The struggle for the removal of Confederate statues has been ongoing since they were e…
fightbacknews.org/2019/1/2/proposed-florida-law-would-stop-local-governments-removing-racist-confederate-monuments
As the 115th Congress Ends, Here Are the Important Civil Rights Battles We've Won
ACLU | aclu.org | 2019-01-02
During the last two years of Trump, ACLU activists have won fights ranging from advancing criminal justice reforms to stopping border wall funding. | The past two years have been challenging times, as we have witnessed attacks on our shared values and civil rights from the Trump White House and a Republican-dominated Congress. It can sometimes feel difficult to make change happen, but even in this hostile climate, ACLU activists helped drive key legislative victories to advance civil liberties during the 115th Congress, which ends on Thursday. As the new Congress is sworn in on Thursday, these victories should re…
aclu.org/blog/mobilization/115th-congress-ends-here-are-important-civil-rights-battles-weve-won
Noam Chomsky: The Future of Organized Human Life Is At Risk Thanks to GOP's Climate Change Denial
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2018-12-31
As the death toll from the climate change-fueled Camp Fire in California continues to rise and hundreds remain missing, we rebroadcast our conversation about climate change with world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky from October. He says Republican Party leaders are dedicated to "enriching themselves and their friends" at the cost of the planet, and warns: "We have to make decisions now which will literally determine whether organized human life can survive in any decent form."
www.democracynow.org/2018/12/31/noam_chomsky_the_future_of_organized
Climate Crisis Is "Existential Threat," House Democrats Say — but Protecting Turf Comes First
Kate Aronoff | theintercept.com | 2018-12-30
Rep. Nancy Pelosi in her statement deemed the climate crisis an "existential threat," but her new committee will not have the power to issue subpoenas. | The post Climate Crisis Is "Existential Threat," House Democrats Say — but Protecting Turf Comes First appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/12/30/climate-crisis-green-new-deal-nancy-pelosi/
How an Undercover Oil Industry Mercenary Tricked Pipeline Opponents Into Believing He Was One of Them
Alleen Brown | theintercept.com | 2018-12-30
A former Marine working for the private security firm TigerSwan infiltrated an array of anti-Dakota Access pipeline groups at Standing Rock and beyond. | The post How an Undercover Oil Industry Mercenary Tricked Pipeline Opponents Into Believing He Was One of Them appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2018/12/30/tigerswan-infiltrator-dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock/
A "Massive Outlaw"
Ralph Nader | zcomm.org | 2018-12-24
Interview on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment…
zcomm.org/zvideo/a-massive-outlaw/
ANC Deputy Julio Escalona: 'The People are Angry Because They Consider that We Aren't Doing Our Job'
Paul Dobson | venezuelanalysis.com | 2018-12-20
The revolutionary's criticisms came during the passing of 2019's budget, 75% of which is destined for "social protection."
venezuelanalysis.com/news/14195
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
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/