Daily Archives: February 14, 2019

2019-02-14: News Headlines

Whitney Webb (2019-02-14). Corporations see a different kind of "green" in Ocasio-Cortez's "green new deal" mronline.org The plan claims that it seeks to "transform the U.S. economy in an effort to fight climate change" that would ostensibly push the U.S. from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy in a little over a decade. | Source

Lance Olsen (2019-02-14). Heat and the End of the World as We Know It. counterpunch.org I'm no climate scientist. The best I can say for myself is that I've been a pretty close student of varied specialties associated with climate science for about four decades. My somewhat lengthy acquaintance with climate science hasn't led me to see a lifeless planet, a treeless planet, or human extinction across the entire planet. More

Eds. (2019-02-14). Why the rich are to blame for climate crisis. mronline.org Some people, some companies, some decision makers in particular, have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money. And I think many of you here today belong to that group of people. | Source

Robert Hunziker (2019-02-14). Capitalism's Ownership of Global Warming. counterpunch.org Capitalism not only owns global warming, there's a big red mitigation arrow pointed at the heart of today's rampant capitalism, which is eerily similar to the loosie goosie version of the Roaring Twenties, but with a high tech twist. After all, somebody's got to pony-up for climate change/global warming mitigation. Who better than deep pocket More

teleSUR (2019-02-14). Tanzania: Dinosaur Fossils With Heart-Shaped Vertebrae Found. telesurenglish.net A group of scientists announced, Wednesday, the discovery of a nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur which was unearthed from a cliff near the Mtuka River bed in southwestern Tanzania. | RELATED: | Scientists: World's Oldest Large-Predator Dinosaur Was Italian | The dinosaur, Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia, which had four pillar-like legs, a long neck, a long tai…

Fred_F (2019-02-14). NSW Land Court rules against new coalmine. greenleft.org.au The NSW Land and Environment Court's decision to refuse the Rocky Hill coalmine near Gloucester on February 8 is ground breaking. For the first time in legal history, the impact of a new coalmine on climate change was a determining factor in refusing consent. | It is the result of years of work by the community in the Upper Hunter, as well as others campaigning for a safe climate. | Groundswell Gloucester chairperson Julie Lyford was ecstatic about the judgement, which had saved the community from a 250-metre-deep open cut coalmine less than 1 kilometre from family homes. She said the Court posed a foundational q…

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-14). An Emirati Woman's Ordeal to Seek Protection from Abuse. hrw.org | | © Hind Albolooki/Twitter | Hind Albolooki fled the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after receiving threats from family members for wanting to divorce an abusive husband. | "I am a mother of four children," she said. "No mother would leave her children just like this. But I had to leave my kids. I had no other choice." Her decision to flee says much about the lack of protection available to women in the UAE. | Hind sought asylum in North Macedoni…

Dan Bacher (2019-02-14). Former Westlands lawyer David Bernhardt working to strip Delta Smelt protections. indybay.org The exposure of David Bernhardt's enormous conflict of interest takes place at a critical time for Delta smelt, salmon and other San Francisco Bay Delta fish populations. For the first time ever, a fish survey that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) conducts every autumn turned up zero Delta smelt throughout the monitoring sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in September, October, November and December 2018.

Zachary RunningWolf (2019-02-14). Stop Driving 4-Day Boycott (!Global Warming!). indybay.org Everywhere…

unitedEditor (2019-02-13). Red China goes green: a broad look at Sino-environmentalism. uwidata.com Most people see China as anything but environmentalist, having for some time been one of the most polluted countries on earth. Images in the media are often heart-wrenching, children wearing pollution masks while their parents go through the day more or less helpless to protect them, all while the Chinese government continues to push mass-industrialization […]

Eds. (2019-02-13). In response to lies and hate, let me make some things clear about my climate strike. mronline.org If everyone listened to the scientists and the facts that I constantly refer to—then no one would have to listen to me or any of the other hundreds of thousands of school children on strike for the climate across the world. Then we could all go back to school. | Source

teleSUR (2019-02-13). Sex Abuse Crusaders Graduate from Vatican University. telesurenglish.net "So many children have been abused," sighs Vincent Moba, a Zambian Catholic priest who has just graduated from Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University with a diploma in safeguarding children. | RELATED: | Mexican Bishop Admits Sexual Abuse is Rampant Amid Revelation | Moba, 47, has completed the five-month curriculum at the Center for the Protection of Minors to join a worldwide network of experts fighting sexual abuse at all levels of society. | Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, a Ge…

Democracy Now! (2019-02-12). The End of Ice: Dahr Jamail on Climate Disruption from the Melting Himalayas to Insect Extinction. democracynow.org A new report finds at least a third of the Himalayan ice cap will melt by the end of the century due to climate change, even if the world's most ambitious environmental reforms are implemented. The report, released by the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment earlier this month, is the culmination of half a decade's work by over 200 scientists, with an additional 125 experts peer reviewing their work. It warns rising temperatures in the Himalayas could lead to mass population displacement, as well as catastrophic food and water insecurity. The glaciers are a vital water source for the 250 million people who live in the…

Eds. (2019-02-12). Terrifying assessment of a Himalayan melting. mronline.org New report predicts the impact of climate change on Nepal's mountains may be much worse than we thought. | Source

Sara Darehshori (2019-02-12). New Rules Would Discourage Colleges From Investigating Rape Accusations. thenation.com New Rules Would Discourage Colleges From Investigating Rape Accusations…

pip.hinman (2019-02-12). Unions join students' call to strike for real climate action. greenleft.org.au School students are calling on universities, unions, faith groups and others to join their next strike for climate on March 15. | They are leading the debate on climate change by organising large gatherings of students, across the nation, to demand governments stop perpetuating catastrophic climate change. | They have the high moral ground: they are not responsible for the climate disasters that are unfolding, disproportionately hurting the poor. But, they will have to pick up the pieces after bad policy wrecks global havoc on communities, ecosystems and the climate. | Embarrassingly for the prime minister, it is…

Will Parrish (2019-02-11). North Dakota Seeks to Restrict Access to Public Records After Standing Rock Reporting Exposed Law Enforcement Abuses. theintercept.com A new bill would prevent the release of records related to security operations involving "critical infrastructure," which includes fossil fuel pipelines.

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-11). Gutting Payday Loan Rules Will Harm Vulnerable Families. hrw.org | | Gutting payday loan rules will harm vulnerable families | © Seth Anderson/Flickr | Proposed plans to get rid of rules designed to protect largely low-income consumers from abusive high-interest loans risk the well-being of some of America's most vulnerable households. | The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced the proposal to rescind rules that would have meant payday and auto-title lenders had to make sure that customers could repay loans under the terms of the contract. Loans not…

Human Rights Watch (2019-02-10). Australia Court Rules it is the 'Wrong Time' for Coal. hrw.org | | A coal mine near Gunnedah, Australia, September 11, 2012. | © AP Photo/Rob Griffith | An Australia court has rejected an appeal to grant permission to develop a new coal mine because it will contribute to global warming, the latest in a series of court rulings grounded in concerns over climate change. | It is the "wrong time" for coal, the Environmental and Land Court of New South Wales concluded, "because the GHG [Greenhouse Gas] emissi…

Shared by Hezvo Mpunga (2019-02-09). A conversation about Climate Change with Dharna Noor and Steve Horn — The Baltimore Podcast Show. therealnews.com Eze Jackson and Tracey Beale talk with Dharna Noor and Steve Horn about their work reporting on climate change and the urgency for us to act now

Democracy Now! (2019-02-08). Ocasio-Cortez & Markey Unveil Sweeping "Green New Deal" to Radically Shift U.S. Off Fossil Fuels. democracynow.org After months of anticipation, Democratic New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey introduced a resolution for the Green New Deal Thursday, presenting a sweeping plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 10 years, make major investments in public transit and federal jobs, fully transition the U.S. electricity off fossil fuels and codify indigenous peoples' rights to prior consent and approval for decisions that affect them. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed to mock the proposal on Wednesday, referring to it as a "green dream, or whatever they call i…

splcenter (2019-02-08). SPLC statement on removal of provisions that protect consumers from predatory lenders. splcenter.org We are deeply disappointed in a decision this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to rescind rules that would have protected consumers from predatory lenders.

stuart_m (2019-02-08). The UN climate conference: where ambition goes to die. greenleft.org.au This is an eyewitness account of the UN Climate Conference COP24, held in Katowice, Poland, in December last year from the perspective of one of the 30,000 participants. All attempts will be taken to avoid acronyms of climate terms, or at least explain them, and I will outline the 'insider information' that I got from my first COP. | As a political advisor in the European Parliament, I am used to working on EU-level climate and energy legislation, but now I found myself with an access badge to a global conference on the even messier stage of climate politics, the international level. A cup of tea with a curious f…

stuart_m (2019-02-08). Five new books for ecosocialists — February edition. greenleft.org.au Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus takes a look at five new releases for an ecosocialist bookshelf. Inclusion doesn't necessarily imply agreement with a book's contents. | *** | End Of The Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest and Strangest Animals
| Written by Ross DE MacPhee & illustrated by Peter Schouten
| WW Norton, 2019 | Until a few thousand years ago, gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and 2000-pound crocodiles lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. Many scientists blame human overhunting…

Hatewatch Staff (2019-02-07). Anti-LGBT Groups Launch Movement Against Federal Equality Act. splcenter.org Anti-LGBT hate group leaders and activists recently launched a new project, the #Gone2Far movement (GTFM), to oppose H.R. 2282, the federal Equality Act, which seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections for the categories of a person's sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ed Rampell (2019-02-05). Birds of Passage Depicts the Devastation of Drug Trafficking for South America's Indigenous People. progressive.org Blame it on the Peace Corps.

Jeremy Brecher (2019-02-01). Climate Jobs for All. zcomm.org Building Block for the Green New Deal…

Ralph Nader (2018-12-24). A "Massive Outlaw" zcomm.org Interview on Single Payer, Climate Devastation, Impeachment…

2019-02-14: Social Media Postees

Corporations see a different kind of "green" in Ocasio-Cortez's "green new deal"
Whitney Webb | mronline.org | 2019-02-14
The plan claims that it seeks to "transform the U.S. economy in an effort to fight climate change" that would ostensibly push the U.S. from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy in a little over a decade. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/02/14/corporations-see-a-different-kind-of-green-in-ocasio-cortezs-green-new-deal/

Tanzania: Dinosaur Fossils With Heart-Shaped Vertebrae Found
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-14
A group of scientists announced, Wednesday, the discovery of a nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur which was unearthed from a cliff near the Mtuka River bed in southwestern Tanzania. | RELATED: | Scientists: World's Oldest Large-Predator Dinosaur Was Italian | The dinosaur, Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia, which had four pillar-like legs, a long neck, a long tai…
telesurenglish.net/news/Tanzania-Dinosaur-Fossils-With-Heart-Shaped-Vertebrae-Found-20190214-0004.html

Capitalism's Ownership of Global Warming
Robert Hunziker | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-14
Capitalism not only owns global warming, there's a big red mitigation arrow pointed at the heart of today's rampant capitalism, which is eerily similar to the loosie goosie version of the Roaring Twenties, but with a high tech twist. After all, somebody's got to pony-up for climate change/global warming mitigation. Who better than deep pocket…
counterpunch.org/2019/02/14/capitalisms-ownership-of-global-warming/

Heat and the End of the World as We Know It
Lance Olsen | counterpunch.org | 2019-02-14
I'm no climate scientist. The best I can say for myself is that I've been a pretty close student of varied specialties associated with climate science for about four decades. My somewhat lengthy acquaintance with climate science hasn't led me to see a lifeless planet, a treeless planet, or human extinction across the entire planet.
counterpunch.org/2019/02/14/heat-and-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it/

Why the rich are to blame for climate crisis
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-02-14
Some people, some companies, some decision makers in particular, have known exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money. And I think many of you here today belong to that group of people. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/02/14/why-the-rich-are-to-blame-for-climate-crisis/

NSW Land Court rules against new coalmine
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-14
The NSW Land and Environment Court's decision to refuse the Rocky Hill coalmine near Gloucester on February 8 is ground breaking. For the first time in legal history, the impact of a new coalmine on climate change was a determining factor in refusing consent. | It is the result of years of work by the community in the Upper Hunter, as well as others campaigning for a safe climate. | Groundswell Gloucester chairperson Julie Lyford was ecstatic about the judgement, which had saved the community from a 250-metre-deep open cut coalmine less than 1 kilometre from family homes. She said the Court posed a foundational q…
greenleft.org.au/content/nsw-land-court-rules-against-new-coalmine

An Emirati Woman's Ordeal to Seek Protection from Abuse
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-14
© Hind Albolooki/Twitter | Hind Albolooki fled the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after receiving threats from family members for wanting to divorce an abusive husband. | "I am a mother of four children," she said. "No mother would leave her children just like this. But I had to leave my kids. I had no other choice." Her decision to flee says much about the lack of protection available to women in the UAE. | Hind sought asylum in North Macedoni…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/14/emirati-womans-ordeal-seek-protection-abuse

Former Westlands lawyer David Bernhardt working to strip Delta Smelt protections
Dan Bacher | indybay.org | 2019-02-14
The exposure of David Bernhardt's enormous conflict of interest takes place at a critical time for Delta smelt, salmon and other San Francisco Bay Delta fish populations. For the first time ever, a fish survey that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) conducts every autumn turned up zero Delta smelt throughout the monitoring sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in September, October, November and December 2018.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/02/13/18821153.php

Stop Driving 4-Day Boycott (!Global Warming!)
Zachary RunningWolf | indybay.org | 2019-02-14
Everywhere…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/02/13/18821152.php

Red China goes green: a broad look at Sino-environmentalism
unitedEditor | uwidata.com | 2019-02-13
Most people see China as anything but environmentalist, having for some time been one of the most polluted countries on earth. Images in the media are often heart-wrenching, children wearing pollution masks while their parents go through the day more or less helpless to protect them, all while the Chinese government continues to push mass-industrialization […] | The post Red China goes green: a broad look at Sino-environmentalism appeared first on United World International.
uwidata.com/2156-red-china-goes-green-a-broad-look-at-sino-environmentalism/

In response to lies and hate, let me make some things clear about my climate strike
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-02-13
If everyone listened to the scientists and the facts that I constantly refer to–then no one would have to listen to me or any of the other hundreds of thousands of school children on strike for the climate across the world. Then we could all go back to school. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/02/13/in-response-to-lies-and-hate-let-me-make-some-things-clear-about-my-climate-strike/

Sex Abuse Crusaders Graduate from Vatican University
teleSUR | telesurenglish.net | 2019-02-13
"So many children have been abused," sighs Vincent Moba, a Zambian Catholic priest who has just graduated from Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University with a diploma in safeguarding children. | RELATED: | Mexican Bishop Admits Sexual Abuse is Rampant Amid Revelation | Moba, 47, has completed the five-month curriculum at the Center for the Protection of Minors to join a worldwide network of experts fighting sexual abuse at all levels of society. | Jesuit priest Hans Zollner, a Ge…
telesurenglish.net/news/Sex-Abuse-Crusaders-Graduate-from-Vatican-University-20190213-0029.html

The End of Ice: Dahr Jamail on Climate Disruption from the Melting Himalayas to Insect Extinction
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-12
A new report finds at least a third of the Himalayan ice cap will melt by the end of the century due to climate change, even if the world's most ambitious environmental reforms are implemented. The report, released by the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment earlier this month, is the culmination of half a decade's work by over 200 scientists, with an additional 125 experts peer reviewing their work. It warns rising temperatures in the Himalayas could lead to mass population displacement, as well as catastrophic food and water insecurity. The glaciers are a vital water source for the 250 million people who live in the…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/12/the_end_of_ice_dahr_jamail

New Rules Would Discourage Colleges From Investigating Rape Accusations
Sara Darehshori | thenation.com | 2019-02-12
New Rules Would Discourage Colleges From Investigating Rape Accusations…
thenation.com/article/campus-protections-sexual-assault-title-ix/

Terrifying assessment of a Himalayan melting
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-02-12
New report predicts the impact of climate change on Nepal's mountains may be much worse than we thought. | Source…
mronline.org/2019/02/12/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting/

Unions join students' call to strike for real climate action
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-12
School students are calling on universities, unions, faith groups and others to join their next strike for climate on March 15. | They are leading the debate on climate change by organising large gatherings of students, across the nation, to demand governments stop perpetuating catastrophic climate change. | They have the high moral ground: they are not responsible for the climate disasters that are unfolding, disproportionately hurting the poor. But, they will have to pick up the pieces after bad policy wrecks global havoc on communities, ecosystems and the climate. | Embarrassingly for the prime minister, it is…
greenleft.org.au/content/unions-join-students-call-strike-our-climate

North Dakota Seeks to Restrict Access to Public Records After Standing Rock Reporting Exposed Law Enforcement Abuses
Will Parrish | theintercept.com | 2019-02-11
A new bill would prevent the release of records related to security operations involving "critical infrastructure," which includes fossil fuel pipelines. | The post North Dakota Seeks to Restrict Access to Public Records After Standing Rock Reporting Exposed Law Enforcement Abuses appeared first on The Intercept.
theintercept.com/2019/02/11/north-dakota-public-records-pipeline-protest/

Gutting Payday Loan Rules Will Harm Vulnerable Families
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-11
Gutting payday loan rules will harm vulnerable families | © Seth Anderson/Flickr | Proposed plans to get rid of rules designed to protect largely low-income consumers from abusive high-interest loans risk the well-being of some of America's most vulnerable households. | The United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced the proposal to rescind rules that would have meant payday and auto-title lenders had to make sure that customers could repay loans under the terms of the contract. Loans not…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/11/gutting-payday-loan-rules-will-harm-vulnerable-families

Australia Court Rules it is the 'Wrong Time' for Coal
Human Rights Watch | hrw.org | 2019-02-10
A coal mine near Gunnedah, Australia, September 11, 2012. | © AP Photo/Rob Griffith | An Australia court has rejected an appeal to grant permission to develop a new coal mine because it will contribute to global warming, the latest in a series of court rulings grounded in concerns over climate change. | It is the "wrong time" for coal, the Environmental and Land Court of New South Wales concluded, "because the GHG [Greenhouse Gas] emissi…
hrw.org/news/2019/02/10/australia-court-rules-it-wrong-time-coal

A conversation about Climate Change with Dharna Noor and Steve Horn — The Baltimore Podcast Show
Shared by Hezvo Mpunga | therealnews.com | 2019-02-09
Eze Jackson and Tracey Beale talk with Dharna Noor and Steve Horn about their work reporting on climate change and the urgency for us to act now | The post A conversation about Climate Change with Dharna Noor and Steve Horn — The Baltimore Podcast Show. appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/a-conversation-about-climate-change-with-dharna-noor-and-steve-horn-the-baltimore-podcast-show

The Green New Deal Must Take on the Fossil Fuel Industry
Shared by Jocelyn Dombroski | therealnews.com | 2019-02-08
Greenpeace's Janet Redman says the Green New Deal proposal from Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey is a step towards unprecedented climate action, but that it must mandate a phase-out of oil, gas, and coal | The post The Green New Deal Must Take on the Fossil Fuel Industry appeared first on The Real News Network.
therealnews.com/stories/the-green-new-deal-must-take-on-the-fossil-fuel-industry

Ocasio-Cortez & Markey Unveil Sweeping "Green New Deal" to Radically Shift U.S. Off Fossil Fuels
Democracy Now! | democracynow.org | 2019-02-08
After months of anticipation, Democratic New York Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey introduced a resolution for the Green New Deal Thursday, presenting a sweeping plan to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 10 years, make major investments in public transit and federal jobs, fully transition the U.S. electricity off fossil fuels and codify indigenous peoples' rights to prior consent and approval for decisions that affect them. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed to mock the proposal on Wednesday, referring to it as a "green dream, or whatever they call i…
www.democracynow.org/2019/2/8/ocasio_cortez_markey_unveil_sweeping_green

SPLC statement on removal of provisions that protect consumers from predatory lenders
splcenter | splcenter.org | 2019-02-08
We are deeply disappointed in a decision this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to rescind rules that would have protected consumers from predatory lenders.
splcenter.org/news/2019/02/08/splc-statement-removal-provisions-protect-consumers-predatory-lenders

The UN climate conference: where ambition goes to die
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-08
This is an eyewitness account of the UN Climate Conference COP24, held in Katowice, Poland, in December last year from the perspective of one of the 30,000 participants. All attempts will be taken to avoid acronyms of climate terms, or at least explain them, and I will outline the 'insider information' that I got from my first COP. | As a political advisor in the European Parliament, I am used to working on EU-level climate and energy legislation, but now I found myself with an access badge to a global conference on the even messier stage of climate politics, the international level. A cup of tea with a curious f…
greenleft.org.au/content/un-climate-conference-where-ambition-goes-die

Five new books for ecosocialists — February edition
stuart_m | greenleft.org.au | 2019-02-08
Climate and Capitalism editor Ian Angus takes a look at five new releases for an ecosocialist bookshelf. Inclusion doesn't necessarily imply agreement with a book's contents. | *** | End Of The Megafauna: The Fate of the World's Hugest, Fiercest and Strangest Animals | Written by Ross DE MacPhee & illustrated by Peter Schouten | WW Norton, 2019 | Until a few thousand years ago, gorilla-sized lemurs, 500-pound birds, and 2000-pound crocodiles lived on every habitable continent and on many islands. Many scientists blame human overhunting…
greenleft.org.au/content/five-new-books-ecosocialists-february-edition

Anti-LGBT Groups Launch Movement Against Federal Equality Act
Hatewatch Staff | splcenter.org | 2019-02-07
Anti-LGBT hate group leaders and activists recently launched a new project, the #Gone2Far movement (GTFM), to oppose H.R. 2282, the federal Equality Act, which seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections for the categories of a person's sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/02/08/anti-lgbt-groups-launch-movement-against-federal-equality-act

Birds of Passage Depicts the Devastation of Drug Trafficking for South America's Indigenous People
Ed Rampell | progressive.org | 2019-02-05
Blame it on the Peace Corps.
progressive.org/dispatches/birds-of-passage-rampell-190205/

Climate Jobs for All
Jeremy Brecher | zcomm.org | 2019-02-01
Building Block for the Green New Deal…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/climate-jobs-for-all/