2019-08-02: News Headlines

Katherine Paul (2019-08-02). When Will We Start Applying the Precautionary Principle to the Chemicals that Are Killing Our Kids? commondreams.org Today, there are more than 18,400 lawsuits pending against Bayer/Monsanto, by people who believe exposure to Roundup caused their cancer.(Photo: Georges Gobet/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/monsanto_bayer.jpeg

Staff (2019-08-02). 2nd Dem Debate Pt 2: Discusses the Climate Crisis, Tackles Endless War and Regime Change (3/4). therealnews.com The deep divide between candidates is clear as they clash over issues appearing for the first time in presidential debates. With Jacqueline Luqman, Dharna Noor, and Marc Steiner as host…

The Canary (2019-08-02). July heatwave 'more intense due to human-induced climate change'. thecanary.co The record-breaking July heatwave in central and western Europe would have been up to 3C (5.5F) cooler if the climate was not changing, new research has found.There is "extremely little chance" that some of the high temperatures would have been reached if humans had not had an impact on the climate, the World Weather Attribution report adds.It said heatwave temperatures recorded in France and the Netherlands in the last week of July, which exceeded 40C, would only occur around once every 1,000 years without climate change.And it said hot spells like the one recorded in the UK and Germany would only occur around e…

Staff (2019-08-02). Can Cap and Invest Programs Bring Environmental Justice? (1/2). therealnews.com 12 states and Washington, DC are teaming up on the Transportation & Climate Initiative, but critics from Newark and Baltimore say the program excludes frontline voices and depends too much on market forces…

Staff (2019-08-02). Climate System "Getting Unhinged" as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet. democracynow.org The massive heat dome that shattered all-time temperature records across much of Europe last week has settled in over Greenland, driving temperatures across the vast region to as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. In July, Greenland's ice sheet lost 197 billion tons of ice, the equivalent of around 80 million Olympic swimming pools. This comes as the World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that July was the warmest month in recorded human history. It followed the hottest June on record, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels climbed to a record high of 415 parts per million earlier this year. We sp…

Staff (2019-08-02). Can Cap and Invest Programs Bring Environmental Justice? (2/2). therealnews.com Critics of the Transportation & Climate Initiative say real transportation justice must include a plan for mass transit, and respect leadership from environmental justice communities…

CounterSpin (2019-08-02). Sriram Madhusoodanan on Fossil Fuel Investigations, Amin Husain on Decolonizing Museums. fair.org Media…

Kristen Pope (2019-08-02). People don't need to 'believe' in climate change to act on it, study suggests. nationofchange.org Skiing and glacier-viewing are two of the most popular tourist draws in Washington state's North Cascades communities of Glacier and Concrete, but residents worry that uncertain snowfall and receding glaciers may put their tourism-based livelihoods in jeopardy. To encourage tourism, these Washington communities on the slopes of Mount Baker are adapting to climate change by holding new festivals and …

United Nations (2019-08-02). Friday's Daily Brief: Security Council Ebola response, UNICEF chief on 'devastating week' for children in Middle East and North Africa, climate and migration links. un.org Our main stories today: Security Council concern over DRC Ebola outbreak, head of UNICEF deplores 'devastating week' for children in MENA region, climate crisis to have 'extensive' effect on human settlement…

Svetlana Skarbo (2019-08-02). Climate Change in Siberia: Massive Wildlife Tragedy as Bears and Foxes Flee Taiga, While Smaller Animals Suffocate in Smoke. globalresearch.ca Wild animals are turning to humans as they escape gas-chamber-like woods, with wildfires continuing to rage across almost 3 million hectares. | Even the Arctic is on fire, with smoke blanketing an area larger than the European Union, and a state …

pip.hinman (2019-08-02). What kind of rebellion will it take to save humanity from extinction? greenleft.org.au We live in a dystopian age. Governments have known since at least the mid-'90s about the potentially devastating impact of human-induced climate change. But for the most part they have either disputed and denied this, or pretended to be responding to scientists' findings. | Despite overwhelming evidence that the world has already passed certain tipping points, setting off large and unpredictable changes in the climate, why are governments still refusing to act on the scale and pace required? | Why are some still denying that there is a climate emergency? | Why, despite the sorts of technological advances that m…

pip.hinman (2019-08-02). Help build the movement for system change — become a Green Left supporter. greenleft.org.au It's understandable to feel enraged watching the news about our climate: record-breaking summer temperatures across Europe, the disappearing Arctic ice sheet, deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. | It's depressing stuff. | I am enraged on a daily basis listening to the business-as-usual, head-in-the-sand responses to climate change from pro-capitalist governments and mining company spin doctors. | Or hearing that US President Donald Trump has allowed the use of bee-killing pesticides and that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has green-lighted illegal land clearing in the Amazon. | Or reading that the Australi…

San Francisco-Bay Area Veterans For Peace (2019-08-02). Vigil to Expose Monsanto. indybay.org Union Square, Downtown San Francisco. Bordered by Geary Blvd. and Post Street; and Powell and Stockton Street.

Center for Biological Diversity (2019-08-02). Lawsuit Launched Over Trump Administration's Approval of Oil-waste Dumping in Arroyo Grande Aquifer. indybay.org SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., July 25, 2019 — The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice today of its intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for ignoring threats to endangered wildlife in its recent approval of an aquifer exemption in the area around the Arroyo Grande oilfield.

Extinction Rebellion: Santa Cruz (2019-08-02). Direct Action Training – Prep for Climate Strike Week in September. indybay.org Resource Center for Nonviolence | 612 Ocean St, Santa Cruz…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2019-08-02). 'July Has Re-Written Climate History': Month Could Go Down as Planet's Hottest Ever. commondreams.org www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/hottest-july-wmo.jpg

pip.hinman (2019-08-02). 10 reasons to join the September 20 Climate Strike. greenleft.org.au School Strike 4 Climate outline just 10 of many reasons why you should join students when they go on strike to save the climate on September 20. | 1. Millions of people will be striking around the world with us. Beat the fear of missing out and make a plan to be there. | 2. Australia's climate pollution has never been higher than it is right now. We're on track to be responsible for almost one-fifth of the world's climate pollution by 2030. | 3. The people who did the least to contribute to this are being hit first and worst by climate impacts. And that is deeply unfair. | 4. This is only the biggest challenge hu…

Marlee Kokotovic (2019-08-02). July has been the planet's hottest month on record. nationofchange.org The World Meteorological Organization says this July could possibly go down as the hottest month in recorded history. The previous record was set in July 2016 as a result of the occurrence of an El Niño phenomenon. "July has re-written climate history, with dozens of new temperature records at local, national, and global level," says …

Eds. (2019-08-02). Killer heat in the United States: Climate Choices and The Future of Dangerously Hot Days. mronline.org Extreme heat is poised to rise steeply in frequency and severity over the coming decades, bringing unprecedented health risks for people and communities across the country. | Source

Staff (2019-08-01). 2nd Democratic Debate Pt. 1: Reparations, Race, and the New Green Economy (3/3). therealnews.com Reparations are no longer a backburner issue, and candidates are being forced to address climate change and the new green economy. With guests Kimberly Moffit and Jeet Heer, hosted by Marc Steiner…

Staff (2019-08-01). Headlines for August 1, 2019. democracynow.org Presidential Hopefuls Take Aim at Joe Biden During Second Night of Debates, Protesters Confront Joe Biden over Immigration Record, Protesters Confront NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio over Eric Garner's Death, NY Medical Examiner: Layleen Polanco Died of Epilepsy in Solitary Cell, U.N. Warns 21st Century's Worst Humanitarian Crisis Unfolding in Syria, Trump Administration Sanctions Iran's Foreign Minister, Sudan Schools Closed After Soldiers Massacre Students, Greenland Ice Melts at Rapid Pace as Temperatures Climb 30 Degrees Above Normal, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee Promotes Climate Justice Proposal, 66 Seek Medical Care…

John Shafthauer (2019-08-01). Murdoch's press attacking a teenage climate activist shows why young people don't read tabloids. thecanary.co It's well established that newspapers are losing readers. They're especially struggling to pick up younger ones. Going off this latest attack on a teenage climate activist by the Rupert Murdoch-owned Herald Sun, it's easy to see why: | As the deeply disturbed Greta Thunberg spreads her climate panic, we should ask why…

United Nations (2019-08-01). A dangerously hot climate, simmering political tensions: 'This is not the summer of our youth,' UN chief warns. un.org Global warming and rising political tensions are dangerous and avoidable, Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters on Thursday, previewing the UN's upcoming Climate Action Summit, and spotlighting geopolitical hotspots.

teleSUR (2019-08-01). 'This Is Not the Summer of Our Youth:' UN Chief Warns. telesurenglish.net The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that 2019 broke the records of the hottest June ever, as July is also on the path to equal or surpass the hottest month in recorded history. | RELATED: | Climate Change the Culprit for European Heatwave: Expert | "We have always lived through hot summers. But this is not the summer of our youth. This is not your grandfather's summer," U.N. chief‚Äã‚Äã‚Äã‚&Aum…

United Nations (2019-08-01). Thursday's Daily Brief: Climate emergency, call to support breastfeeding, rising political heat and new investigation board for Syria. un.org Today, our main stories include: UN chief's warning on climate and global politics; UNICEF's call to bolster breastfeeding and new Board of Inquiry in Syria…

RT (2019-08-01). Oddball Dem hopeful Andrew Yang's advice against climate change: Run for the hills. rt.com Andrew Yang, a wacky tech candidate in the crowded Democratic presidential field, broke from the party line on climate change, saying it's too late for last-ditch efforts to stop it, so people might as well move to higher ground.

Alex Emmons (2019-08-01). Candidates, Your Views on the Middle East? You Have 30 Seconds. theintercept.com If you blinked, you might have missed it. | Across the five hours of Democratic primary debates split between two nights this week, the presidential hopefuls discussed the future of U.S. foreign policy for no more than 25 minutes. | Other policy areas had it worse. There were no questions either night on Puerto Rico, for example, or LGBT issues, or reproductive rights. But the scant attention to foreign policy was striking precisely because it's the area in which a president has the most power to change things on their own. If the next president wants to rejoin the Paris climate agreement or renegotiate the Iran…

Eds. (2019-08-01). How fast is the climate changing? mronline.org Are recent weather patterns a prescient warning that Climate Change is upon us? Yes, according to John Molyneux, and time is running out. | Source

Ryan Cooper (2019-08-01). Jay Inslee Just Wants to Save the World From Climate Change. commondreams.org Inslee did use most of his time to hammer on the "climate crisis."(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot_2019-08-01_at_2.19.27_pm.png

United Nations (2019-07-31). Wednesday's Daily Brief: World Breastfeeding Week kickoff, Second Ebola death on DR Congo's eastern border,‚ÄØUN chief lauds climate activist Thunberg, Afghan bus attack, and outgoing UN agriculture chief hands over reigns. un.org Our main stories today cover: ‚ÄØWorld Breastfeeding Week kickoff, Ebola on DR Congo side of Rwandan border, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg to said to UN climate summit, UN chief condemns deadly Afghan bus attack and UN agriculture agency chief marks last day.

United Nations (2019-07-31). Migration and the climate crisis: the UN's search for solutions. un.org Throughout human history, migration and climate have always been connected, but in the modern era, the impacts of the man-made climate crisis are likely to extensively change the patterns of human settlement.

United Nations (2019-07-31). FROM THE FIELD: Turning waste into a business in the slums of Yaoundé, Cameroon. un.org The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with modern economies is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tons of solid waste are collected worldwide, according to the UN Environment Programme.

Jodi Dean (2019-07-31). Climate change is class war. liberationnews.org Our challenge is to build the collective power that can force the changes the capitalist system refuses to make.

Joshua Cho (2019-07-30). Media Downplay Climate Disruption's Ever-Growing Role in Driving Migration. fair.org Washington Post ( 4/16/19) | Journalists routinely dehumanize human beings crossing the southern border by comparing them to natural disasters like a " flood" or " deluge." But while migration has always been a natural…

Staff (2019-07-30). Headlines for July 30, 2019. democracynow.org Gilroy, CA Shooter Touted White Supremacist Text, Posted Racist Content Before Massacre, Trump Renews Attacks on Rep. Cummings, Lashes Out at Al Sharpton, Senate Fails to Override Trump Vetoes on Bills Blocking Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Air Raids Kill At Least 10 in Northern Yemen, 5 Teenage Students Killed by Security Forces in Sudan, Brazil: At Least 57 Killed in Prison Riot, 164 Environmental Activists Killed in 2018, Indigenous Activists Protest Real Estate Development in New Zealand, Greenland's Ice Sheet at Risk of Record Melting, CNN and MSNBC to Host Climate Crisis-Centered Events, Kamala Harris R…

Staff (2019-07-30). Exterminating the Future: World Outcry Grows as Brazil Rapidly Expands Deforestation of Amazon. democracynow.org New government data in Brazil shows that deforestation in the Amazon has dramatically increased since the far-right former military officer Jair Bolsonaro became president in January. Brazil has lost more than 1,300 square miles of forest cover this year, and the pace of deforestation is increasing. One report claims that the equivalent of three soccer fields are being deforested every minute in the Amazon. In June, deforestation increased by 88% over the same month last year. The drastic spike is due to Bolsonaro's rolling back of regulations and allowing illegal land invasions, logging and burning. Climate scie…

Lawrence Wittner (2019-07-30). Dear Moderators of the Presidential Debates. dissidentvoice.org You mass media folks lead busy lives, I'm sure. But you must have heard something about nuclear weapons — those supremely destructive devices that, along with climate change, threaten the continued existence of the human race. Yes, thanks to popular protest and carefully-crafted arms control and disarmament agreements, there has been some progress in limiting …

United Nations (2019-07-30). Conflict, climate change among factors that increase 'desperation that enables human trafficking to flourish', says UN chief. un.org To mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that "human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects every region of the world" — especially women and children.

Robert Hunziker (2019-07-29). Alaska Governor Demolishes Climate Research. dissidentvoice.org "The University of Alaska Fairbanks ("UAF") is a hub for Arctic climate research, and a magnet for top scientists and international collaborations— and it's in trouble."1 UAF's International Arctic Research Center sits at the pinnacle of worldwide climate research "with experts on permafrost, short-lived climate pollutants, sea ice and more, UAF has earned a reputation …

United Nations (2019-07-29). Monday's Daily Brief: Nigeria massacre, Libya shelling condemned; recycled plastic used to build classrooms in Cà¥te d'Ivoire. un.org Our main stories today: UN chief and senior UN official condemn the 'terrible massacre' in Nigeria that left some 65 dead, and the shelling of a hospital in Libya that killed medical workers; UN Secretary-General António Guterres reacts to a deadly landslide in China; recycled plastic waste is used to build classrooms in Cà¥te d'Ivoire; and scouts are urged to become human rights defenders.

United Nations (2019-07-29). Easing 'classroom crisis' in Cà¥te d'Ivoire, brick by (plastic) brick. un.org In an innovative partnership, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and a Colombian social enterprise announced on Monday that it had broken ground on a first-of-its-kind factory to convert plastic waste in Cà¥te d'Ivoire into modular, easy-to-assemble, low-cost plastic bricks for classrooms in the West African country.