Salmon advocates slam Trump rules slashing Endangered Species Act protections
Dan Bacher | indybay.org | 2019-08-14
"Here in California we're likely to see salmon, sturgeon, steelhead trout, wolves, wolverines, kit fox and many others all slide towards extinction as a result of today's action by the Trump White House," said John McManus, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Salmon Association.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/08/13/18825452.php

Why Marx matters: capitalism and the Metabolic Rift
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-08-14
CO2 was identified as a prime driver of global warming in the 1950s and has been the subject of many international meetings over the past 30 years. Despite increasing calls to reduce carbon emissions, they continue to rise faster and faster. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/08/14/why-marx-matters-capitalism-and-the-metabolic-rift/

Australia 'tips petrol on the fire' at Pacific Islands Forum
susan_p | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-14
Australia's bullying behaviour was in full view again at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) this week in Tuvalu, as it ignored pleas to take climate change seriously. | Phil Glendenning, who is attending the PIF for the Edmund Rice Centre, told Green Left Weekly on August 13: "When someone's house is burning, you're not being a good neighbour by tipping more petrol on the flames." | "It doesn't matter if you have a hose handy while you're pouring the petrol," he added, a reference to Australia's pretence at concern. | Glendenning said Australia had ruled out giving more to help with climate abatement because the $50…
greenleft.org.au/content/australia-tips-petrol-fire-pacific-islands-forum

Bayer/Monsanto Silencing Journalists, Activists, and Scientists
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-13
Investigative reporter Carey Gillam talks about Bayer/Monsanto's efforts to discredit her work and deflect criticism about cancer-causing glyphosate, a major ingredient in Roundup pesticide…
therealnews.com/stories/bayer-monsanto-silencing-journalists-activists-and-scientists

Crisis, which crisis? climate change and capitalism
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-08-13
The essays compiled in this special issue of Key Words address the theme of crisis. But which crisis? | Source…
mronline.org/2019/08/13/crisis-which-crisis-climate-change-and-capitalism/

MPs urge PM to remove barriers to new onshore wind schemes
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-08-13
Dozens of Tories are among more than 150 MPs who have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to remove barriers to new onshore wind farms. | The letter, co-ordinated by campaign groups 10: 10 Climate Action and Power for People, has been signed by 157 Members of Parliament, including 35 Conservatives, urging the Government to change course on onshore wind. | Boris Johnson has pledged to ensure the UK meets its recently agreed legal target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero" by 2050. | The letter from the cross-party group of MPs welcomed the pledge and said new onshore wind, which is effect…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/08/13/mps-urge-pm-to-remove-barriers-to-new-onshore-wind-schemes/

Trump admin guts Endangered Species Act in midst of climate crisis
Olivia Rosane | peoplesworld.org | 2019-08-13
The Trump administration announced sweeping changes to the Endangered Species ActMonday in a move that could make it harder to protect plants and animals from the climate crisis, The New York Times reported. The changes would make it easier to remove species from the list, end the blanket rule giving threatened species the same protections as endangered ones, allow regulators to assess the economic …
peoplesworld.org/article/trump-admin-guts-endangered-species-act-in-midst-of-climate-crisis/

The Once Common Republican Environmentalist Is Virtually Extinct
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-08-13
The Once Common Republican Environmentalist Is Virtually Extinct…
thenation.com/article/republican-environmentalist-virtually-extinct/

'Disgusting and disturbing': Trump guts Endangered Species Act in gift to big business
Jake Johnson | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-13
Environmentalists denounced the Trump administration for crashing a " bulldozer" through the Endangered Species Act on Monday after the Interior Department finalized a series of rollbacks to the 46-year-old law that will further imperil hundreds of vulnerable animal and plant species while paving the way for business development projects. | "We are in the midst of an unprecedented extinction crisis, yet the Trump administration is steamrolling our most effective wildlife protection law," R…
nationofchange.org/2019/08/13/disgusting-and-disturbing-trump-guts-endangered-species-act-in-gift-to-big-business/

To Stave Off 'Climate Disaster,' 29 States and Major Cities Sue Trump EPA Over 'Dirty Power' Rule
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-13
A coalition of 22 states and seven major American cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and a replacement that critics have dubbed the "Dirty Power Rule." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/mn_coal_plant_flickr_tony_webster.jpg …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/13/stave-climate-disaster-29-states-and-major-cities-sue-trump-epa-over-dirty-power?cd-origin=rss

'This Is Crazy': Scientists Alarmed as Lightning Near North Pole Seen as Latest Sign of Climate Breakdown
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-13
Meteorologists and climate scientists were startled Monday after the U.S. National Weather Service confirmed that an extremely rare occurrence of lightning had been observed at the North Pole. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-517643357.png …
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/13/crazy-scientists-alarmed-lightning-near-north-pole-seen-latest-sign-climate?cd-origin=rss

How Climate Activists Can Benefit from Solidarity with Kentucky Coal Miners
Ryan Driskell Tate | progressive.org | 2019-08-12
As fossil-fuel workers lose their jobs today, the urgency of what climate activists call the "just transition" becomes all the more apparent.
progressive.org/dispatches/climate-activists-benefit-from-solidarity-with-coal-miners-tate-190812/

Our Vanishing World: Rainforests
Robert J. Burrowes | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-12
Rainforests are a crucial feature of Earth's biosphere. Apart from being critical to Earth's climate and vital carbon sinks, the major player in Earth's hydrological (water) cycle, a massive producer of oxygen and home to most of the world's species, rainforests are the home of a large Indigenous human population. They are also the source …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/our-vanishing-world-rainforests/

"Empowering women and indigenous peoples" will help us more effectively combat climate change says UN report
Alexandra Jacobo | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-12
Recognizing indigenous lands rights and empowering women and indigenous communities is crucial if we are to fight climate change, says a new UN report released last week. | In the special report released by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists call for policy changes in land use, farming, and eating habits in order to help cut emissions that are heavily contributing to the warming of the Earth. | The report calls for: "Policies that enable and incentivise sustainable land management for cli…
nationofchange.org/2019/08/12/empowering-women-and-indigenous-peoples-will-help-us-more-effectively-combat-climate-change-says-un-report/

University bans beef burgers to do its part in the fight against climate chaos
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2019-08-12
Beef burgers have been banned by a university as part of efforts to tackle the climate emergency.Goldsmiths, University of London said it will remove all products containing beef from sale from next month as the institution aims to become carbon neutral by 2025.Students will also face a 10p levy on bottles of water and single-use plastic cups when the academic year starts to discourage use of the products.The college's new Warden, Prof Frances Corner, said staff and st…
thecanary.co/discovery/news-discovery/2019/08/12/university-bans-beef-burgers-to-do-its-part-in-the-fight-against-climate-chaos/

When Americans Act Like Millionaires
Paul Haeder | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-08-12
Words, and spin, and the Mad Men and Mad Women of this perverse consumerism and cultural wasteland tied to Predatory Capitalism, Celebrity Culture and Americans who have perpetual ennui because of their perpetual dumb-downing, perpetual swallow of exceptionism as a core value of the American Project To Take Over the World. So many, and they …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/08/when-americans-act-like-millionaires/

FROM THE FIELD: 'Eco-warriors' fight climate change in South Africa
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-11
Schools in South Africa have been designating students as "eco-warriors" as part of an initiative supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), to drive environmental and climate change awareness amongst the young and old in their communities.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1044101

Is 'political correctness' threatening freedom of speech?
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-10
"As a result of the cultural-left's long march through the institutions … political correctness involving identity politics, privileging victimhood and virtue signalling dominate public policy and debate", whined Kevin Donnelly, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University, in the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). | "Like never before Free Speech is facing extinction in Australia", exclaimed conservative activist group Advance Australia…
greenleft.org.au/content/political-correctness-threatening-freedom-speech

New IPCC Report Warns of Vicious Cycle Between Soil Degradation and Climate Change
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-09
Greenpeace's Diana Ruiz discusses the new IPCC Climate report, "Climate Change and Land," which issues a dire warning about how climate change and destructive land use reinforce each other, leading to serious threats for human survival…
therealnews.com/stories/new-ipcc-report-warns-of-vicious-cycle-between-soil-degradation-and-climate-change

Socialist seminar discusses anti-capitalist solutions
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-09
Socialism. Today. was the theme of a lively day-long seminar about critical issues facing the movements for social and ecological change, hosted by the Socialist Alliance on August 4. | Extinction Rebellion and Student Strike 4 Climate activist Parker Craig said support for the September 20 student climate strike is growing, despite attempts by some school authorities to stifle it. | Maritime Union of Australia activist and author Penny McCall Howard said the recent student climate strikes had helped shift politics, including in the union movement. | She said: "We now face the task of building a class-conscious e…
greenleft.org.au/content/socialist-seminar-discusses-anti-capitalist-solutions

Documents Reveal Monsanto Surveilled Journalists, Activists & Even Musician Neil Young
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-09
Explosive new documents reveal the U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto ran a "fusion center" to surveil and discredit journalists and activists who criticized or wrote damning reports about Monsanto, as well as legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young, who released an album in 2015 called "The Monsanto Years." Monsanto monitored Young's Twitter activity and even analyzed the lyrics of his album. The fusion center also surveilled journalist Carey Gillam, who has done extensive research and writing about Monsanto and its popular pesticide Roundup, which has been linked to cancer. The corporation also targeted the nonpro…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/9/monsanto_fusion_center_surveillance_of_critics

Supersizing Climate Change: U.N. Says Meat Production Destroys Land & Diminishes Key Water Sources
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-09
The United Nations' top panel of climate scientists warns that humans are consuming land and water resources at an unprecedented rate, with the destructive effects of the climate crisis increasingly threatening the planet's biodiversity and the food security of hundreds of millions of people. In its latest climate change and land special report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that without dramatic action, extreme weather and rising temperatures will turn even more fertile land into desert, shrinking the global food supply, even as the world's population rises to more than 7.5 billion people.
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/9/ipcc_report_climate_change_and_land

World food security increasingly at risk due to 'unprecedented' climate change impact, new UN report warns
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-08
More than 500 million people today live in areas affected by erosion linked to climate change, the UN warned on Thursday, before urging all countries to commit to sustainable land use to help limit greenhouse gas emissions before it is too late.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043921

Thursday's Daily Brief: Climate crisis and food risks, fresh violence threat for millions of Syrians, calls for calm in Kashmir
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-08
Thursday's top stories: food security risk from climate crisis, fresh violence threat for millions of Syrians, UN chief urges "maximum restraint" in Jammu and Kashmir, calls for investigations into "brutal abduction" of Libyan politician.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043971

We Must Change Land Use to Save Humanity
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-08
What you need to know about the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's new Special Report…
therealnews.com/stories/we-must-change-land-use-to-save-humanity

Puerto Rico in Political Crisis: Senate Sues over Appointment of New Governor Pierluisi
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-06
The political crisis in Puerto Rico continues as its Senate has sued against the appointment of Pedro Pierluisi as the new governor following Ricardo Rosselló's resignation last week. Pierluisi was sworn in despite not having been confirmed by the Puerto Rican Senate. But he argues that he is in the line of succession for governor after being nominated as secretary of state by Rosselló last week. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz also sued after his swearing-in. We speak with Democracy Now! co-host Juan González for his analysis of the current political climate.
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/6/juan_gonzalez_puerto_rico_pedro_pierluisi

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