Daily Archives: August 5, 2019

2019-08-05: News Headlines

Thomas Mote (2019-08-05). Greenland's Ice Wasn't Supposed to Melt Like Last Week Until 2070. commondreams.org It is clear that the Greenland ice sheet is rapidly responding to climate change, even faster than many scientists expected. (Photo: NASA/Maria-Jose Viñas) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/greenland.jpeg

Joëlle Gergis (2019-08-05). The Terrible Truth of Climate Change. commondreams.org We still have time to try and avert the scale of the disaster, but we must respond as we would in an emergency. (Photo: Martyn Aim/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/sos.jpeg

Alexandra Jacobo (2019-08-05). Environmental groups sue BLM for not conducting environmental reviews in New Mexico fracking permits. nationofchange.org Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, the Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardian, and other environmental and indigenous groups have filed a suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for approving over 250 oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico without conducting any environmental reviews. | The groups allege that in the 255 permits approved by the BLM between 2016 and now, the bureau "did not conduct any analysis of fracking's impacts on the environment," and therefore completely failed to consider the environmental and public health impacts of fracking. | Rather than conduct environmental review…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2019-08-05). Top Scientist Says He Quit USDA Because Trump Admin Tried to Bury His Study on Climate and Nutrition. commondreams.org The exodus of federal scientists in the era of President Donald Trump continues with 62-year-old plant physiologist Lewis Ziska leaving the U.S. Department of Agriculture "over the Trump administration's efforts to bury his groundbreaking study about how rice loses nutrients due to rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," Politico reported Monday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ziska_usda.jpg

Jake Johnson, staff writer (2019-08-05). 'Despair Ends and Tactics Begin': Extinction Rebellion Aims to Shut Down Brisbane With Mass Civil Disobedience. commondreams.org "Our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/extinction_rebellion_1.jpg

350.org youth (2019-08-05). Climate Strike: SF Youth and Allies Climate Emergency Protest in San Francisco. indybay.org San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco, California 94103…

Fred_F (2019-08-05). Victorian teachers' union votes to support Climate Strike. greenleft.org.au The Australian Education Union's (AEU) Victorian branch has voted to support a student-initiated call for a Climate Strike on September 20. The internationally coordinated strike, which will be held just days before a United Nations Emergency Climate Summit, is seeking to pressure governments to take serious action to address the climate crisis. | The motion, which was passed unanimously at the union's August 2 state council meeting, calls on AEU officials to negotiate with the state government "to ensure students participating in the student strike planned for Sept 2019 and future actions are afforded thei…

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…

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

Akela Lacy (2019-08-02). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office. theintercept.com Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office. | Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who, through their work with Justice Democrats, have been alongside Ocasio-Cortez since her primary run — will leave the lawmaker's office. Chakrabarti will go to New Consensus, a nonprofit focused on climate issues and promoting the Green New Deal. Trent will direct communications on Ocasio-Cortez's 2020 campaign, the same role he played during her first congressional run. | "Saikat has decided to leave the office of Rep. Ocasio-Corte…

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). 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…

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…

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…

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). 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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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). 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…

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…

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.

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 (2019-07-29). 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.

2019-08-05: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Greenland's Ice Wasn't Supposed to Melt Like Last Week Until 2070
Thomas Mote | commondreams.org | 2019-08-05
It is clear that the Greenland ice sheet is rapidly responding to climate change, even faster than many scientists expected. (Photo: NASA/Maria-Jose Viñas) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/greenland.jpeg
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/05/greenlands-ice-wasnt-supposed-melt-last-week-until-2070?cd-origin=rss

The Terrible Truth of Climate Change
Joëlle Gergis | commondreams.org | 2019-08-05
We still have time to try and avert the scale of the disaster, but we must respond as we would in an emergency. (Photo: Martyn Aim/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/sos.jpeg
commondreams.org/views/2019/08/05/terrible-truth-climate-change?cd-origin=rss

Environmental groups sue BLM for not conducting environmental reviews in New Mexico fracking permits
Alexandra Jacobo | nationofchange.org | 2019-08-05
Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment, the Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardian, and other environmental and indigenous groups have filed a suit against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for approving over 250 oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico without conducting any environmental reviews. | The groups allege that in the 255 permits approved by the BLM between 2016 and now, the bureau "did not conduct any analysis of fracking's impacts on the environment," and therefore completely failed to consider the environmental and public health impacts of fracking. | Rather than conduct environmental review…
nationofchange.org/2019/08/05/environmental-groups-sue-blm-for-not-conducting-environmental-reviews-in-new-mexico-fracking-permits/

Top Scientist Says He Quit USDA Because Trump Admin Tried to Bury His Study on Climate and Nutrition
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-05
The exodus of federal scientists in the era of President Donald Trump continues with 62-year-old plant physiologist Lewis Ziska leaving the U.S. Department of Agriculture "over the Trump administration's efforts to bury his groundbreaking study about how rice loses nutrients due to rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," Politico reported Monday. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ziska_usda.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/05/top-scientist-says-he-quit-usda-because-trump-admin-tried-bury-his-study-climate-and?cd-origin=rss

'Despair Ends and Tactics Begin': Extinction Rebellion Aims to Shut Down Brisbane With Mass Civil Disobedience
Jake Johnson, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2019-08-05
"Our rebellion must happen to disrupt the business as usual of a system that is accelerating the existential threat." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/extinction_rebellion_1.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2019/08/05/despair-ends-and-tactics-begin-extinction-rebellion-aims-shut-down-brisbane-mass?cd-origin=rss

Climate Strike: SF Youth and Allies Climate Emergency Protest in San Francisco
350.org youth | indybay.org | 2019-08-05
San Francisco Federal Building, San Francisco, California 94103…
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/08/03/18825171.php

Victorian teachers' union votes to support Climate Strike
Fred_F | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-05
The Australian Education Union's (AEU) Victorian branch has voted to support a student-initiated call for a Climate Strike on September 20. The internationally coordinated strike, which will be held just days before a United Nations Emergency Climate Summit, is seeking to pressure governments to take serious action to address the climate crisis. | The motion, which was passed unanimously at the union's August 2 state council meeting, calls on AEU officials to negotiate with the state government "to ensure students participating in the student strike planned for Sept 2019 and future actions are afforded thei…
greenleft.org.au/content/victorian-teachers-union-votes-support-climate-strike

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office
Akela Lacy | theintercept.com | 2019-08-02
Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office. | Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who, through their work with Justice Democrats, have been alongside Ocasio-Cortez since her primary run — will leave the lawmaker's office. Chakrabarti will go to New Consensus, a nonprofit focused on climate issues and promoting the Green New Deal. Trent will direct communications on Ocasio-Cortez's 2020 campaign, the same role he played during her first congressional run. | "Saikat has decided to leave the office of Rep. Ocasio-Corte…
theintercept.com/2019/08/02/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-saikat-chakrabarti-corbin-trent/

2nd Dem Debate Pt 2: Discusses the Climate Crisis, Tackles Endless War and Regime Change (3/4)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
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…
therealnews.com/stories/2nd-dem-debate-pt-2-discusses-the-climate-crisis-tackles-endless-war-and-regime-change-3-4

Climate System "Getting Unhinged" as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-08-02
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…
www.democracynow.org/2019/8/2/greenland_melting_climate_crisis_jason_box

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

Killer heat in the United States: Climate Choices and The Future of Dangerously Hot Days
Eds. | mronline.org | 2019-08-02
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…
mronline.org/2019/08/02/killer-heat-in-the-united-states-climate-choices-and-the-future-of-dangerously-hot-days/

Can Cap and Invest Programs Bring Environmental Justice? (1/2)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-02
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…
therealnews.com/stories/can-cap-and-invest-programs-bring-environmental-justice-1-2

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
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-02
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…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043661

What kind of rebellion will it take to save humanity from extinction?
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
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…
greenleft.org.au/content/what-kind-rebellion-will-it-take-save-humanity-extinction

Help build the movement for system change — become a Green Left supporter
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
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…
greenleft.org.au/content/help-build-movement-system-change-become-green-left-supporter

10 reasons to join the September 20 Climate Strike
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2019-08-02
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…
greenleft.org.au/content/10-reasons-join-september-20-climate-strike-0

2nd Democratic Debate Pt. 1: Reparations, Race, and the New Green Economy (3/3)
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-08-01
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…
therealnews.com/stories/2nd-democratic-debate-pt-1-reparations-race-and-the-new-green-economy-3-3

A dangerously hot climate, simmering political tensions: 'This is not the summer of our youth,' UN chief warns
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-01
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043591

Thursday's Daily Brief: Climate emergency, call to support breastfeeding, rising political heat and new investigation board for Syria
United Nations | un.org | 2019-08-01
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…
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/08/1043631

Candidates, Your Views on the Middle East? You Have 30 Seconds
Alex Emmons | theintercept.com | 2019-08-01
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…
theintercept.com/2019/08/01/candidates-your-views-on-the-middle-east-you-have-30-seconds/

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
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-31
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1043561

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/

Migration and the climate crisis: the UN's search for solutions
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-31
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1043551

FROM THE FIELD: Turning waste into a business in the slums of Yaoundé, Cameroon
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-31
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1043541

Headlines for July 30, 2019
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-30
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…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/30/headlines

Dear Moderators of the Presidential Debates
Lawrence Wittner | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-07-30
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 …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/07/dear-moderators-of-the-presidential-debates/

Exterminating the Future: World Outcry Grows as Brazil Rapidly Expands Deforestation of Amazon
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-07-30
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…
www.democracynow.org/2019/7/30/bolsonaro_amazon_deforestation_indigenous_leader_murdered

Conflict, climate change among factors that increase 'desperation that enables human trafficking to flourish', says UN chief
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-30
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1043391

Media Downplay Climate Disruption's Ever-Growing Role in Driving Migration
Joshua Cho | fair.org | 2019-07-30
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…
fair.org/home/media-downplay-climate-disruptions-ever-growing-role-in-driving-migration/

Monday's Daily Brief: Nigeria massacre, Libya shelling condemned; recycled plastic used to build classrooms in Cà¥te d'Ivoire
United Nations | un.org | 2019-07-29
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.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/07/1043371