2020-03-24: News Headlines

RT (2020-03-24). Olympic torch will not be held by runners in Japan, flame will be carried in lantern. rt.com Breaking with decades of tradition, authorities in Japan revealed on Monday that the Olympic torch will not be carried by relay runners, but in a lantern with a more conservative display case. | The unveiling will take place at an event on Thursday in Japan's Fukushima prefecture, a government official is reported as saying. | Authorities in Fukushima have opted to forego the usual ceremony — complete with a torch, torchbearers and the general public — in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which has swept across the world and thrown the games into uncertainty. | The Olympic flame arrived in Ja…

The Commonwealth Club (2020-03-24). Online Event: Invisible Threats: COVID-19 and Climate Change (live stream). indybay.org Online live stream event…

Manuel García, Jr. (2020-03-24). The Conquerors of America. counterpunch.org Patrick Weidhaas, a colleague of mine from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and also a colleague from the union group there (Society of Professional Scientists and Engineers) sent me a note saying: You may remember Ben Santer from the Lab, one of the foremost climate scientists. He just published an article in the online Scientific

Lawrence Davidson (2020-03-24). A Pandemic Comes to the U.S. counterpunch.org Part I—Uncomprehending and Unprepared On 10 March 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters in reference to the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), "It will go away, just stay calm." He added, "It's really working out. And a lot of good things are going to happen." (This is also the president's attitude toward global warming.) When soon

news.un (2020-03-23). 'Count every drop, every drop counts': UN weather agency calls for better water data on World Meteorological Day. news.un.org Floods, extreme rainfall, droughts and melting glaciers…many of the major signs of climate change involve water. On this year's World Meteorological Day, the UN weather agency (WMO) is reinforcing the message of World Water Day, by focusing on the links between climate and water, and calling for better water-related data.

(2020-03-23). Lawsuit against EPA for "Re-approving" Monsanto Cancer-causing Pesticide. globalresearch.ca Today, Center for Food Safety (CFS) on behalf of a broad coalition of farmworkers, farmers, and conservationists,

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-03-23). 'Green Stimulus' Demanded to Battle Convergent Crises of Coronavirus, Economic Injustice, and Climate Emergency. commondreams.org "As a nation we face three converging crises: the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession; the climate emergency; and extreme inequality." That's the warning from progressive policy experts, climate leaders, and academics who have joined together to support a new "Green Stimulus" plan. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-956582876-2_0.jpg

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-03-23). Green Group Urges Nationalization of Oil and Gas Industry Amid Coronavirus Outbreak and Economic Upheaval. commondreams.org The climate action group Food & Water Action demanded Monday that the government take the economic and public health crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to take ownership of the struggling, environmentally destructive industry. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/oilpumps_0_0.jpg

news.un (2020-03-22). World Water Day: Often overlooked, water resources are essential part of solution to climate change. news.un.org On World Water Day, the United Nations launched a flagship report which says that reducing both the impacts and drivers of climate change will require major shifts in the way we use and reuse the Earth's limited water resources.

Jonathon R Campbell, Mayara L Bastos (2020-03-21). [Comment] No time to waste: preventing tuberculosis in children. thelancet.com Tuberculosis takes the life of one in five children developing the disease.1 Data from the pre-chemotherapy era suggest very young children are at highest risk for tuberculosis after exposure, and highly susceptible to the most severe forms of the disease.2,3 As a result, tuberculosis control efforts among children in high-burden countries are focused on those below 5 years of age.2 One of the most important efforts is provision of tuberculosis preventive therapy after tuberculosis exposure, yet only one in four children below 5 years of age who might benefit from life-saving preventive therapy will receive it.

Ahmed Abdulkareem (2020-03-20). From Cluster Bombs to Toxic Waste: Saudi Arabia is Creating the Next Fallujah in Yemen. mintpressnews.com From dumping toxic waste into the sea to littering Yemen's farms with tons of unexploded cluster bombs, Saudi Arabia is creating a legacy so toxic in Yemen that experts believe it could take a century to undo.

Fred_F (2020-03-20). Climate crisis demands revolution in firefighting. greenleft.org.au

Staff (2020-03-16). "Something Is Wrong in America": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Michael Eric Dyson Debate Sanders v Biden. democracynow.org Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders faced off in their first one-on-one debate Sunday night in the midst of an unprecedented national crisis, with 3,600 reported COVID-19 cases, 61 deaths so far, 33 states closing schools and mass shutdowns in major cities. The rivals clashed on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare for All, the climate crisis, Joe Biden's record and whether or not the U.S. needs a revolution. We play highlights from the debate and get responses from scholars Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Michael Eric Dyson. Taylor is assistant professor of African-America…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-03-02). Could the climate crisis be "The Good News of Damnation"? zcomm.org There really is no other solution to the onrushing climate catastrophe than for people and nations to forget their tribal animosities and start behaving as part of a world society…

CounterSpin (2020-02-21). Paul Paz y Miño, Saqib Bhatti & Beverly Bell on Environmental Justice & Cross-National Solidarity. fair.org There will only be an increasing number of frontline struggles between extractive, climate-disrupting industry and those willing to stand up to it. Corporate media's inadequate attention, and unwillingness to truly call out the moneyed interests causing present and future harms, make them more often part of the problem than the solution.

Elizabeth Greig, Barth A. Green, Henri R. Ford, Didi Bertrand Farmer, Krista Marie Nottage, Zelde Espinel, James M. Shultz (2020-02-06). [Commentary] Extreme population exposure: Hurricane Dorian medical response in Great Abaco, Bahamas. thelancet.com Hurricane Dorian's ensemble of extreme winds, wave action, and pelting rains laid waste to exquisitely vulnerable human settlements throughout the Abaco islands in northwest Bahamas. Dorian, the strongest hurricane ever to impact the Bahamas, pulled a towering storm surge onshore. Combined with 20 inches of rain, vast expanses of Abaco islands were submerged. The system's forward movement slowed to near standstill, creating one of the longest-duration population exposures to a hurricane in history [1].

Jon Rainwater (2019-11-07). Take Action — Some actual, SANE legislation. peaceaction.org Trump has plans to spend nearly $2 TRILLION over the next 30 years on unneeded and unnecessary nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This makes no sense. This is insane. That's nearly $100 million wasted every day for thirty years on weapons we are supposed to be getting rid of. To put that amount in perspective, …