2020-09-16: News Headlines

Eds. (2020-09-16). Greta Thunberg champions the plight of climate refugees. mronline.org "Climate crisis could displace 1.2 billion people by 2050," says Greta Thunberg…

_____ (2020-09-16). World Misses 2020 Biodiversity Goals. popularresistance.org A draft version of the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook, seen by Climate Home News, reported that none of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets set in Japan in 2010 have been fully met. | It identified failure to account for the role of women as a significant barrier to progress, along with funding shortfalls and harmful subsidies. | Prepared by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the report provides a summary of the state of nature and biodiversity worldwide. | The final report is due to be released next Tuesday after being reviewed by negotiators, with reflections on the way forward and…

Peter Gleick (2020-09-16). These explosive fires are our climate change wakeup call. zcomm.org Scientists have been warning of the growing threat of climate change, and now those projections are a reality…

Mike Davis (2020-09-16). California's Desert Fauna Will Never Recover. thenation.com California's Desert Fauna Will Never Recover…

Staff (2020-09-15). Colonization Made California a Tinderbox: Why Indigenous Land Stewardship Would Help Combat Climate Fires. democracynow.org We examine California's history of forest management and how a century of fire suppression has made the current climate fires even more destructive. For thousands of years, Native American tribes in California would regularly burn the landscape to steward the land, but colonization led to the suppression of these tactics and decades of misguided policy. A return to these Indigenous practices could help better steward the land and foster greater climate resiliency, says Don Hankins, a pyrogeographer and Plains Miwok fire expert who teaches geography and planning at California State University, Chico. "If we all wo…

Staff (2020-09-15). Headlines for September 15, 2020. democracynow.org Trump Doubles Down on Climate Crisis Denial as West Coast Burns, World's Largest Vaccine Maker Says It Could Take 5 Years for Universal COVID-19 Vaccination, Trump Calls COVID-19 "The Plague" in April Interview with Woodward as He Called for U.S. to Reopen, Nevada City Fines Venue That Hosted Trump Rally Which Violated State's Coronavirus Restrictions, Appeals Court Gives Trump Greenlight to End Immigration Protections for 400,000 TPS Holders, Whistleblowing Nurse Says Georgia Immigration Jail Performing Forced Hysterectomies, Palestinians Form Unified Front as Israel, UAE and Bahrain Sign Deal Normalizing Relati…

Staff (2020-09-15). Indigenous Stewardship of the Land Would Help to Prevent Raging Climate Fires. truthout.org We examine California's history of forest management and how a century of fire suppression has made the current climate fires even more destructive. For thousands of years, Native American tribes in California would regularly burn the landscape to steward the land, but colonization led to the suppression of these tactics and decades of misguided policy. A return to these Indigenous practices could help better steward the land and foster greater climate resiliency, says Don Hankins, a pyrogeogra…

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-09-15). Global Coalition Issues Liability 'Roadmap' to Make Big Corporate Polluters Pay for Planetary Harm. commondreams.org "This is about making Big Polluters pay for the havoc they've wreaked by fueling the climate crisis and about forcing them to end their abuses. This is about making Big Polluters pay for causing decades of suffering and destruction in communities on the global frontlines of the climate crisis, with no end in sight." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/liability-roadmap.png

Sandipan Talukdar (2020-09-15). Climate study of past 66 million years reveals earth's current temperature rise is unprecedented. peoplesdispatch.org The study published in the Science journal concludes that this human-made climate change is far beyond the natural changes that are triggered by the earth's changing orbit…

Staff (2020-09-15). The Devolution of America. therealnews.com Stir Crazy! Episode 88: Today we are joined by TRNN climate reporter Aman Azhar, TRNN managing editor Lisa Snowden-McCray, and climate and housing organizer Rachel Eve Stein. Hosted by Kim Brown.

Manuel García, Jr. (2020-09-15). Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions are Fate. counterpunch.org I developed a model of Global Warming based on the anthropogenic perturbation of the Carbon Cycle. The essence of this model is a rate equation for the evolution of the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration in the atmosphere. The interesting results from this model are projected trends for the CO2 concentration and the average global temperature

Mike Hastie (2020-09-15). God, Guns, Bats, and Patriotism. counterpunch.org I live in Portland, Oregon, where presently the state is suffering from the worst wildfires in its history. Eventually, these wildfires will be called what they really are: "Climate Fires." 500,000 Oregonians are on alert to evacuate. Whole towns have been completely destroyed. The city of Portland was so polluted from dark brown smoke yesterday that I

Jonathan Lemire, Aamer Madhani, Will Weissert, Ellen Knickmeyer (2020-09-15). Trump denies reality again, doesn't 'think science knows' if climate change real. peoplesworld.org SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate change is playing a central role in historic West Coast infernos and renewed his unfounded claim that failure to rake forest floors and clear dead timber is mostly to blame. The …

The Canary (2020-09-15). Deadly wildfires divide Trump and governors of West Coast states. thecanary.co Donald Trump pointed to how states manage forests and said: 'It will start getting cooler, just you watch.' | By | Deadly wildfires on the west coast of the US are dividing president Donald Trump and the states' Democratic leaders over how to prevent blazes from becoming more frequent and destructive. The governors of California, Oregon, and Washington have all said global warming is priming forests for wildfires as they become hotter and drier. | Debate: During a visit on Monday to California, Trump pointed to how states manage forests…

news.un (2020-09-15). Climate change: Record northern heat, fuels concerns over US wildfire destruction. news.un.org The northern hemisphere experienced its warmest August ever, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday, amid searing conditions that have contributed to devastating wildfires on the west coast of the United States.

No Nukes Action (2020-09-15). On Tenth Year Of Fukushima, The Olympics & The Resignation Of Abe. indybay.org No Nukes Action hosts a panel with anti-nuclear activists, unionists and a journalist in Japan about the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the Olympics and the resignation of Abe. It also presents a new videos from Fukushima tens years after the meltdowns.

_____ (2020-09-15). New Documentary By David Attenborough, 'Extinction: The Facts'. popularresistance.org We have learned so much about nature from David Attenborough's documentaries over the past seven decades. In a new BBC film he lays bare just how perilous the state of that nature really is, why this matters for everyone who shares this planet, and what needs to change. | This film is radical. Surprisingly radical. I have written in the past about my growing frustration with Attenborough documentaries continuing, decade after decade, to depict nature as untouched by any mark of humans. I felt this might be contributing to unhelpful complacency about how much "wild" was really left.

Kenny Stancil, staff writer (2020-09-15). 'Where Will Everyone Go?' New Report Documents How Climate Migration Could Reshape US. commondreams.org "The cost of resisting the new climate reality is mounting," a new report shows, suggesting the U.S. is "on the cusp of a great transformation" involving the relocation of millions of displaced people. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/climate_migration.jpg

commondreams (2020-09-15). New Zealand Becomes First Country in the World To Require Financial Sector To Report on Climate Risks. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-09-15). As West Burns, McConnell Says Filibuster Will Be "Firewall" On Progressive Legislation, Including Climate Action. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Staff (2020-09-14). Headlines for September 14, 2020. democracynow.org Historic Climate-Fueled Wildfires Kill 35 People, Burn 5 Million+ Acres Across West Coast, Trump Holds Packed Rally as U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Near 200,000 , ICE Flew Migrant Prisoners to Virginia, Fueling Outbreak, to Skirt Rules on Flying ICE Staff, WHO Says World Saw Biggest Daily Rise in Global Cases, Court Blocks Floridians with Unpaid Felony Conviction Fines from Voting, Trump Defends Police Killing of Portland Anti-Fascist Activist, Palestinians Decry Israeli Normalization Deals with UAE and Bahrain, Intra-Afghan Peace Talks Kick Off in Doha, Salvadoran Ex-Colonel Convicted for 1989 Murder of Jesuit Priest…

Staff (2020-09-14). "These Are Climate Fires": Oregon Firefighter Ecologist Says Devastating Blazes Are a Wake-Up Call. democracynow.org President Trump has said little about the wildfires raging in California, Oregon and Washington for three weeks, other than to suggest poor forest management was primarily to blame. But the states' governors are pushing back and directly linking the fires to the climate crisis. "These are climate fires," says Timothy Ingalsbee, an Oregon-based wildland fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter who now directs Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. "Though some scientists hesitate to attribute a single event to climate change, these are exactly the conditions predicted by climatologists."

Staff (2020-09-14). Pandemic, Wildfires & Heat Wave: Undocumented Farmworkers Face "Triple Threat" as West Coast Burns. democracynow.org As devastating fires burn across the West Coast, some of the most vulnerable people are farmworkers — many of whom are undocumented. Despite the risks of the pandemic and the climate-fueled fires, many feel they have to keep working even if that means working inside evacuation zones. The state of California has repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders putting workers at great risk. Estella Cisneros, legal director of the agriculture worker program for California Rural Legal Assistance, says farmworkers who speak out against unsafe working conditions risk losing their jobs.

Juan Cole (2020-09-14). Climate Emergency Overdrive. zcomm.org Our Age of Compound Disasters as 10% of Oregon is Evacuated, California Burns and Louisiana Sinks…

RT (2020-09-14). The only way to stop California wildfires? Elect Joe Biden, claims former competitor Tom Steyer. rt.com Democrat activist and former presidential hopeful Tom Steyer says the wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington are due to climate change, and the "only solution" to them is Joe Biden. | The number-one thing people can do to stop the wildfires raging, according to Steyer, is to "elect a different president who is going to recognize the problem, deal with it forcefully at home, deal with it forcefully overseas." And the "only solution" to the fires, Steyer told CNN's 'New Day,' is "honest to God, Joe Biden." | .

news.un (2020-09-14). UN peacekeeping chief outlines reforms needed to keep operations fit-for-purpose. news.un.org Over the next 10 years, the world could well be transformed by potentially lethal new technologies, climate disruptions and disruption caused by expanding cities, the UN peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Monday, outlining the adaptations required to keep the Organization's flagship enterprise fit-for-purpose as it confronts daunting new security threats.

_____ (2020-09-14). With Global Heating, Expect Inferno Seasons In The American West. popularresistance.org More than 3.1 million acres have burned in California this year — some 3% of the state — with many wildfires still at zero containment and months of fire season left to go. This far exceeds the previous record set in 2018, when 1.7 million acres burned, including the town of Paradise. | These raging fires, some exacerbated by the blistering heat last weekend, are the direct result of climate change. The planet is currently 1.0 ∞C to 1.2 ∞C (about 2 ∞F) hotter than it ought to be. This excess heat is entirely due to humans, mainly from burning fossil fuels and destroying forests.

_____ (2020-09-14). Long-Awaited Win For Water Protectors. popularresistance.org On Thursday, September 10, 2020, in a long-awaited ruling, United States District Court Judge Daniel Traynor (District of North Dakota) allowed a lawsuit challenging law enforcement's 2016 use of fire hoses and munitions against water protectors opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to move forward with discovery. The case had been stalled for more than two years after Morton County and other defendants filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case. | Plaintiff Vanessa Dundon is a member of the Navajo/ Diné Nation who was shot in the eye with a teargas canister while attempting to aid another person.

WSWS (2020-09-14). The California wildfires, climate change and capitalism. wsws.org The wildfires ripping through California and Oregon have exposed yet again the dangers posed by climate change and the inability of capitalist governments to deal with it.

Adrian Bardon (2020-09-14). Faith and politics mix to drive evangelical Christians' climate change denial. zcomm.org Fundamentalist religious traditions are defined by their fixed doctrines. Political conservatives by definition favor the preservation of the traditional social and economic order…

Staff (2020-09-14). Undocumented Farmworkers Face Triple Threat as West Coast Burns. truthout.org As devastating fires burn across the West Coast, some of the most vulnerable people are farmworkers — many of whom are undocumented. Despite the risks of the pandemic and the climate-fueled fires, many feel they have to keep working even if that means working inside evacuation zones. The state of California has repeatedly allowed growers to continue harvesting despite evacuation orders putting workers at great risk. Estella Cisneros, legal director of the agriculture worker program for California Rural…

Dana Drugmand (2020-09-14). Australian teens bring class action climate lawsuit to stop coal mine expansion. nationofchange.org "I believe that the government has a duty to young people to protect our futures from the impacts of climate change, including stopping the impact of the Vickery Extension Project."

commondreams (2020-09-14). Connecticut Sues Exxon in Fast-Growing Wave of Climate Lawsuits. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Jon Queally, staff writer (2020-09-14). "It'll Start Getting Cooler, You Just Watch": Trump Spits Climate Denialism Right in California's Face. commondreams.org "I thought I'd find it funny watching this, but instead it's just chilling: as the West Coast faces a climate catastrophe, the president laughs at them and denies the problem exists." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/trump_fires-california.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-09-14). Taking Aim at ExxonMobil, Connecticut Joins 'Fast-Growing Wave of Climate Lawsuits' Targeting Fossil Fuel Giants. commondreams.org "This avalanche of climate litigation is Exxon's worst nightmare. The public increasingly understands Big Oil's role in causing and lying about the climate crisis." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/minnesota-sues-koch-exxon-api_0.jpg

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-09-14). 'This Is a Travesty': Climate Denier Who Has Argued in Favor of Fossil Fuel Emissions Named to Leadership Role at NOAA. commondreams.org Climate scientists were aghast Monday at the news that David Legates, who has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus that human activity is causing the climate crisis, was named over the weekend to a leadership role at the federal government's climate research agency. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-521220056_1.jpg

Prof. Juan Cole (2020-09-13). Climate Emergency Overdrive: Our Age of Compound Disasters as 10% of Oregon Is Evacuated, California Burns and Louisiana Sinks. globalresearch.ca It is astonishing to me that we still have 287 million gasoline vehicles on our roads and that 20 percent of our electricity comes from burning dirty coal. We just go on blithely pumping over 5 billion metric tons of …

_____ (2020-09-13). Multinational Companies Account For Nearly A Fifth Of Global CO2 Emissions. popularresistance.org Rome – The global supply chains of multinational companies such as BP, Coca-Cola and Walmart are responsible for nearly a fifth of climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study. | But the businesses outsource many of these emissions to poorer parts of the world by investing in production in developing countries, said researchers from University College London and China's Tianjin University. | Dabo Guan, the study's co-author, called the work the "first quantitative evidence" on the investment flows and carbon footprints of multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Basav Sen (2020-09-13). This Is a Climate Emergency. We Need More Than Half-Measures from Democrats. zcomm.org How to get the Democrats' climate policy from "better than the Republicans" to "sufficient to save the planet."

yenisafak (2020-09-13). Greek PM welcomes return of Turkish vessel to base, calls it 'positive first step'. yenisafak.com Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday the return of Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis back to its southern province of Atntalya was a positive first step to ease tensions with Turkey over offshore natural resources."The return of Oruc Reis is a positive first step, I hope there will be continuity. We want to talk with Turkey but in a climate without provocations," Mitsotakis told reporters in Thessaloniki.He said dialogue is the only way to tackle the sole problem between the two countries – the delimitation of maritime zones."The first step (by Turkey) will be the prologue of an improving situati…

Peter Frumhoff (2020-09-13). Is BP Finally Committing to Ambitious Climate Action—or About to Fool Us Twice? Five Things to Look For in Its Climate Strategy. commondreams.org "The climate cannot afford further corporate PR, deception, and delay," writes Frumhoff. (Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/bp_0.jpg