2020-09-20: News Headlines

_____ (2020-09-19). New Fossil Fuel Projects Meet Indigenous Resistance. popularresistance.org New Mexico – The spicy pungency of sagebrush filled the air in Greater Chaco, New Mexico, in late July this summer as I watched towering, rain-laden clouds gather across the endless horizon — a reminder that the midsummer monsoon season would soon turn the dirt roads that snake across the Navajo Nation reservation into quagmires. | Locals are accustomed to these storms, but this region is now also being pummeled by two other tempests — the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit the Navajo Nation hard, especially due to many residents' difficulty in accessing clean water, and also the tumult of fracking, whi…

_____ (2020-09-19). For the Planet, There Is No "Lesser Evil" popularresistance.org By now, most people in the United States recognize that the climate crisis poses the greatest threat to humanity and nature. Faced with a president who continually dismisses the dangers of global warming and has taken numerous measures to expand fossil fuel production, many progressives and even some on the Left have declared the need to vote for Biden as the "lesser evil" in November. Noam Chomsky went so far as to label the Republicans "the most dangerous organization in human history" because of Trump's aggressive pro-fossil fuel agenda.

Norman Solomon (2020-09-19). Trump's Climate Denial Gains Strength If We're in Denial About His Neo-Fascism. indybay.org The left could be crushed…

Olivia Rosane (2020-09-19). New Zealand plans to become first country to require climate risk reporting. nationofchange.org New Zealand could be the first country in the world to require its major financial institutions to report on the risks posed by the climate crisis. This means that about 200 of the country's biggest companies and banks would have to report on the impact that extreme weather events or climate polices will have on …

David Adler (2020-09-19). Internationalism or extinction. zcomm.org The Progressive International is convening its inaugural Summit this weekend to reclaim our shared future…

George Monbiot (2020-09-19). Extinction Rebellion is showing Britain what real democracy could look like. zcomm.org The protest movement's call for meaningful participation highlights the failings of dysfunctional Westminster politics…

Democracy Now! (2020-09-19). "These Are Climate Fires": Oregon Firefighter Ecologist Says Devastating Blazes Are a Wake-Up Call. indybay.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 (2020-09-19). 2020 Election Could Decide Whether US Pursues Nuclear Escalation or Arms Control. truthout.org In these final weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign, U.S. voters' attention is being consumed by a maelstrom of crises — a merciless pandemic, a battered economy, a society ruptured by racist police violence and deadly structural inequalities, climate chaos and a fragile democracy. | Who has time to worry about nuclear war? | But just as warnings of a climate crisis and pandemics have been borne out, experts have long sounded the alarm about nuclear weapons, whether their use is…

Joseph Daniel (2020-09-19). Will BP Finally Succeed at Moving Beyond Petroleum? To Survive, It Must. commondreams.org "In the OECD they should be doing advanced liquid fuels, green hydrogen, waste-to-value, renewable natural gas, and geothermal energy. Be bold or slowly decay." (Photo: Pixabay/CC0) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/solar_panel_0.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-09-19). Massive 'Climate Clock' Urging Governments to #ActInTime Unveiled on Metronome in New York City. commondreams.org "The clock is a way to speak science to power," says a project co-founder. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/climate_clock.jpg

Staff (2020-09-18). As Fires Rage Across the West, Trump Bails Out Big Oil & Picks Climate Denier for Top Role at NOAA. democracynow.org As climate-fueled wildfires continue to ravage the West, the Trump administration has tapped a well-known climate change denier for a top position at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. University of Delaware professor David Legates has written papers calling for more fossil fuel emissions and has had his work supported by the Robert Mercer-funded Heartland Institute and Koch Industries, as well as major gas companies. He was recently hired as NOAA's deputy assistant secretary of commerce for observation and prediction. We speak with David Goodrich, a former top climate scientist at the National…

Megan K. Seibert, William E. Rees (2020-09-18). Enough is Enough: It's Time for a Real Green New Deal. counterpunch.org With fires raging across the western United States — leaving in their wake human and wildlife death, upended lives, and what looks like apocalyptic Martian wastelands — renewed calls for a Green New Deal (GND) are intensifying. But with these renewed calls comes a renewed responsibility to speak honestly about our climate crisis and what

Mark Fiore (2020-09-18). Denialism: Not Just For Climate Change Anymore! progressive.org Not only is Trump anti-science, he is clearly anti-empathy.

A. Majumdar (2020-09-18). PDF of September 17 issue. workers.org Download the 12-page PDF. Philly encampment: 'Housing now!' ALSO: COVID: Is it genocide yet? 'Disability Visibility'; TPS workers' Journey for Justice; New poll tax on voting; Climate crisis fires; Editorial 9/11—pretext for war. Labor Defends Black Lives Work stoppage call; Athlete strikes inspire; 'Workers move the world'; Kenosha activist for . . . |

Roger Harris (2020-09-18). Changing the Washington Guard: What a Democratic Sweep in November Portends. counterpunch.org At the risk of counting chickens before they hatch, what would the return of Team Blue portend? As is patently obvious, the US is in trouble. Climate driven heat waves and fires grip the nation. An already faltering economy with deep contradictions could only tank given the shock of the pandemic that has necessitated varying

_____ (2020-09-18). Changing The Washington Guard. popularresistance.org At the risk of counting chickens before they hatch, what would the return of Team Blue portend? | As is patently obvious, the US is in trouble. Climate driven heat waves and fires grip the nation. An already faltering economy with deep contradictions could only tank given the shock of the pandemic that has necessitated varying degrees of sequestering. In fact, the downturn had already started before COVID-19 hit. An already largely privatized healthcare system run for profit and a social ethic that rejects "socialized" public health measures could only have proven inadequate.

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-09-18). As Advocates Demand Media 'Cover the Crisis,' Poll Shows Voters Want Comprehensive Reporting on Climate Crisis. commondreams.org "To give voters the information they need to make political decisions in an increasingly chaotic world, the media must cover the climate crisis with the accuracy and urgency it deserves." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/sunrise-cnn-tw.png

commondreams (2020-09-18). PRB Banks Responsible for Over US$1.25 Trillion in Climate-Destructive Financing Since Paris Agreement. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-09-18). 'Climate Floods. Climate Droughts. Climate Fires': Interactive Map Illustrates How Planetary Crisis Threatens Every Corner of US. commondreams.org Taking a cue from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, an outspoken climate action advocate who this week referred to the wildfires which have burned through hundreds of thousands of acres in his state as "climate fires," two New York Times journalists on Friday offered a visual of how the climate crisis is expected to affect every part of the United States. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1273051424_1.jpg

Mike Walter (2020-09-17). The Heat: United Nations turns 75. america.cgtn.com The United Nations turns 75 at a time of significant global challenges – from COVID-19 to the economic crisis and climate change.

Editor (2020-09-17). Denying Trump's Neo-Fascism Endangers Our Ailing Planet. scheerpost.com Wolfram Burner / CC BY-NC 2.0] By Norman Solomon Spiking temperatures, melting glaciers, rising seas, catastrophic hurricanes and unprecedented wildfires are clear signs of a climate emergency caused by humans. Denying the awful reality makes the situation worse. The same can be said of denial about the current momentum toward fascism under Donald Trump. Trump's right-wing base and leading… |

Norman Solomon (2020-09-17). Trump's Climate Denial Gains Strength If We're in Denial About His Neo-Fascism. commondreams.org "Trump's right-wing base and leading Republicans are in lockstep with both types of denial. They embrace the most absurd claims about climate … And they refuse to recognize or deplore his autocratic moves," writes Solomon. (Photo: Oil Change International/Twitter) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_climate_hotel_0_1.jpeg

Julia Conley (2020-09-17). 'Ecological Disaster on Massive Scale': Hundreds of Thousands of Dead Migratory Birds in Southwest Linked to Wildfires, Climate Crisis. globalresearch.ca A combination of factors—all related to the climate crisis—is believed to be behind one of the largest mass bird die-off events in recent memory in the Southwest, according to biologists. | Scientists say thousands of dead migratory birds have been found …

_____ (2020-09-17). Climate Change Will Force A New American Migration. popularresistance.org August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations. A surge in air conditioning broke the state's electrical grid, leaving a population already ravaged by the coronavirus to work remotely by the dim light of their cellphones. By midmonth, the state had recorded possibly the hottest temperature ever measured on earth — 130 degrees in Death Valley — and an otherworldly storm of lightning had cracked open the sky. From Santa Cruz to Lake Tahoe, thousands of bolts of electricity exploded down onto withered grasslands and forests, some of them already hollowed out by climate-driven infestations o…

Mel Gurtov (2020-09-17). Falling Behind: COVID, Climate Change, and Chaos. zcomm.org When is the last time you read of a company that has actually substantially reduced its carbon emissions, or a bank that has removed its investments in, say, an oil or coal producer? They're thinking about it, while Rome burns.

Jeff Biggers (2020-09-17). We Need a New Climate Narrative: Not a Dystopian Movie, but a Vision of Hope, Change and Empowerment. commondreams.org " We need a new climate narrative that sets out a road map for a renaissance of thinking and action, not a new series of dystopian chronicles that paints our climate emergency as a roadside attraction," writes Biggers. (Photo: Rainforest Action Network/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/climatemarch_2_0.jpg

commondreams (2020-09-17). EPA Airplane Pollution Rule Blasted for Failing to Help Climate. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-09-17). Bolstering Calls for Climate Action, 'Mutant Sloth' Hurricane Sally Leaves Major Mess for Gulf Coast. commondreams.org "The planet, it's screaming to us," said one expert. "When are we going to start listening?" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/mutant-sloth-sally.jpg

commondreams (2020-09-16). Fighting for Our Present, Not Just Our Future: Global Youth Climate Strikes Are Back. commondreams.org ______________________________…

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