2020-08-11: News Headlines

Staff (2020-08-11). Climate, crude, and COVID devastate Ecuador's Amazon. therealnews.com Unprecedented flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic, and catastrophic oil spills are wreaking havoc in Ecuador's Amazon and its Indigenous communities, one of the groups hardest hit by the climate-related emergencies fueled by unbridled drilling for oil and mining for minerals. | In April, as COVID-19 began to overwhelm the healthcare system, both of Ecuador's transnational oil pipelines ruptured, dumping thousands of barrels of oil into the Coca river and its tributaries that provide fresh water and livelihoods to native communities. Regarded as Ecuador's worst spill in a decade, the collapsed pipelines are still not…

RT (2020-08-11). Americans give up citizenship in record-smashing numbers as expats find 'pandemic & political climate too much to bear' — report. rt.com Americans are ditching their US citizenship in droves thanks to an unbearable political atmosphere and the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, new research shows, indicating that both residents and expats are cutting ties in record numbers. | More than 5,800 Americans renounced their citizenship in the first half of 2020, according to a

People Over Petro (2020-08-11). Tuesday 8/18: Tackling the A-Z Impacts of Plastic: Impact on Climate (Part 1 of 2). indybay.org Online…

People Over Petro (2020-08-11). Thursday 8/20: Tackling the A-Z Impacts of Plastic: Impact on Climate (Part 2 of 2). indybay.org Online…

Center for Biological Diversity (2020-08-11). Feds: High Extinction Risk for All Seven Leatherback Sea Turtle Populations. indybay.org Atlantic Population Faces 50% Drop by 2050, Pacific Declining 5% Annually…

Eds. (2020-08-10). Fanon and the 'rationality of revolt'. mronline.org Fanon's idea that the measure of time not be that of the moment but that of the rest of the world takes on urgent significance as climate extinction meets global pandemic.

Staff (2020-08-10). Climate official pushing controversial sun-blocking plan resigns. therealnews.com Welcome back to TRNN's Climate Crisis News Roundup. | In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps the world. | This week, with the presidential election just over three months away, President Donald Trump is down in the polls, but was up for a speech at a fracking rig in a COVID-19 hotspot, one with no masks in sight. As he spoke, a company with operations nearby and ambitions to boost an obscure drilling technique joined a legion of other companies who have declared bankruptcy. | If you have a story…

_____ (2020-08-10). After 300 Years, It's Time To End Capitalism, Not Reform It. popularresistance.org The United States is facing multiple crises with no signs of improvement on the horizon – a deep recession, high unemployment, millions of people soon to be displaced from their homes, a failed healthcare system in the midst of a pandemic, the climate crisis and more. We speak with Professor Richard Wolff, an economist and the author of "Democracy at Work", about the history of capitalism and how it is inherently unstable. Prof. Wolff posits that the United States is now in a situation where capitalism is unlikely to survive. He describes why that is and the lessons we must learn from the fatal mistakes made when…

Staff (2020-08-10). Climate Activists Push Biden to Cut Ties With Industry-Friendly Energy Advisers. truthout.org With President Trump's poll numbers sinking, he is increasingly turning to the fossil fuel industry for support. Rallying oil patch workers and executives during a stop

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-08-10). 'We Are Expecting the Worst': Alarm Over Eco Crisis Grows Amid Fears Ship Leaking Oil Near Mauritius Could Break in Two. commondreams.org Climate campaigers charge that "this oil leak is not a twist of fate, but the choice of our twisted addiction to fossil fuels." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1227940355.png

Prabir Purkayastha (2020-08-09). Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the threat of nuclear extinction. peoplesdispatch.org It is difficult to believe that the US view of the justness of its possession of nuclear power, while threatening others, is not underpinned by the belief of many in white supremacy…

Jim Green (2020-08-08). Book review: Michael Shellenberger's reheated critique of climate 'alarmism'. indybay.org California-based Michael Shellenberger first courted controversy in 2004 with his 'death of environmentalism' critique of the environment movement and has continued to attract controversy by promoting nuclear power, demonising renewable energy ("renewables are worse for the environment than fossil fuels") and demonising the environment movement that he claims to be part of.

Mark Hertsgaard (2020-08-08). Will Climate Break Through in Big Media's Elections Coverage? commondreams.org Young people and their allies across the world took part in the largest global climate protests in history on September 20, 2019, demanding globale leaders act immediately and urgently to stop the climate crisis. (Photo: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/climate_media_action.jpg

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-08-07). Bolstering Case for Transformational Green Recovery, New Study Finds Lockdown Emissions Had 'Negligible' Effect on Climate Crisis. commondreams.org "We still need far more serious measures to make a difference—we need structural change." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/time-running-out.jpg

Staff (2020-08-07). California greenlights 'Orwellian' solar-powered fracking scheme. therealnews.com California-based multinational oil company Chevron landed two rounds of drilling permits from Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer—evidence, climate advocates say, that Newsom is not committed to tackling the climate crisis. | The permits bolster Chevron's position in the Lost Hills Oil Field, the sixth most prolific field in industry-heavy Kern County, and will shift drilling in the field largely towards using power from solar panels. One critic called the way the permits use climate crisis rhetoric "Orwellian," incorporating solar power into drilling operations to expand the use of fracking and oil production. T…

The Canary (2020-08-07). Record-breaking summers due to climate chaos 'a danger to human health'. thecanary.co Having record-breaking summers will become a certainty due to the climate crisis, experts have warned, as the UK begins to swelter in what could be the hottest day of the year so far.Just a week after Britain recorded the third warmest day on record on 31 July, with 37.8C (100.04F) recorded in Heathrow, Friday could see temperatures rise to — and possibly surpass — 37C (98.6F) in London and the South East.Michael Byrne, lecturer in earth and environmental sciences at the University of St Andrews, warned that two near-record temperatures so closely spaced is "unusual". | Exceptional heat in the southeast…

Matt Sedlar (2020-08-07). On Climate Policy, Biden's Advisers Reveal More Than His Proposals Do. cepr.net The Intercept See article on original site Last month, Joe Biden's presidential campaign released a sweeping climate proposal calling for 100 percent clean energy and net-zero emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party is working to finalize its 2020 platform. As of now, the platform is more aggressive than the 2016 document, but somehow does …

imperial.ac.uk (2020-08-07). COVID-19 recovery choices will shape the future climate as well as economy. imperial.ac.uk While a pollution-free period hasn't averted climate change, the recovery offers a chance for health and nature, a study reveals…

teleSUR (2020-08-07). Canada: Last Intact Ice Shelf Collapses Due to Global Warming. telesurenglish.net The last intact ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic collapsed and lost a large part of his area due to extremely high temperatures, according to the Canadian Ice Service (CIS), as reported on Friday. | RELATED: | "Above normal air temperatures, offshore winds and open water in front of the ice shelf are all part of the recipe for ice shelf break up," the CIS tweeted. | According to Luke Copland, a Glaciologist at the University of…