2020-09-21: News Headlines

_____ (2020-09-21). Greenwashing The US military, Julian Assange, RIP Kevin Zeese. popularresistance.org The weather is getting more extreme by the year and conversations about climate change are growing along with it. So when Michael Moore made the movie 'Planet of the Humans', criticizing the corporate co-optation of the green movement, he came under attack from well-connected activists. Lee Camp reports on how Bill McKibben, one of the targets of Moore's movie, has adopted a role of helping some of the worst industries and institutions out there to greenwash their images. In an op-ed from a year ago, McKibben used his platform to rehabilitate the image of the US military.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (2020-09-21). The possibility that Trump will not voluntarily leave. peoplesworld.org Yes. This is a presidential election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Yes. This is an election about health care, education, the economy, climate change, criminal justice, and so many other important issues. More importantly, however, this is an election about whether or not we retain American democracy. This is an election we must not …

Staff (2020-09-21). Amy McGrath raised millions after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Is it all wasted? therealnews.com After the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Democrats around the country began donating to Senate races in an effort to remove McConnell as majority leader.

Center For Biological Diversity (2020-09-21). Administration Sued for Records Detailing U.S. Role on Behalf of Glyphosate-maker Bayer in Pressuring Thailand to Reverse Plan to Ban Pesticide. globalresearch.ca The Center for Biological Diversity sued the administration for public records detailing the U.S. government's efforts on behalf of Bayer, the maker of the herbicide glyphosate, to convince Thailand last year to reverse its planned ban of the cancer-linked chemical….

Thom Hartmann (2020-09-21). Trump's Destruction of America Started With Reagan. counterpunch.org Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies are letting America die. The billionaires who make their money from fossil fuels have bought off Trump and Republicans so that they're denying climate change while a dozen states in the West burn and the Gulf Coast is repeatedly ravaged by hurricanes. Firefighters are using dogs to identify the

Staff (2020-09-21). Europe Drives Destruction of US Forests in the Name of Fighting Climate Change. truthout.org Europe is often considered to be a global leader on climate action. For over a decade, the European Union (EU) has been actively promoting the need for action on climate change, pushing policies that scale back carbon emissions and support the growth of renewable energy. | On the bright side, this has led to the retirement of a large number of coal-burning power plants and increased adoption of solar and wind power. However, a number of countries have embraced biomass electricity, a short-t…

Staff (2020-09-21). Youth Must Focus This Election on Climate Change — and Push Dems to Confront It. truthout.org This story originally appeared in Teen Vogue and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. | Like many others in my generation, I grew up reading young adult dystopian novels. As I immersed myself in fantasy worlds ruled by fascist leaders, grappling with decrepit ecosystems, and in the throes of a growing revolution, I envisioned myself being one of the youth, fighting for their future on the line. | N…

John Buell (2020-09-21). The Many Ugly Faces of Climate Science Denial. commondreams.org "Fox News, the Republican Party, and the right edge of evangelicalism take the lead, often inspiring each other to new levels of extremism." (Photo: Screenshot) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/lauragreta.png

commondreams (2020-09-21). Environment America Unveils New Initiatives During Climate Week. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Lisa Newcomb, staff writer (2020-09-21). Climate Crisis Fears Growing Across Globe, Study Shows, With Concern Highest Among Most Vulnerable. commondreams.org "This is a year of vulnerability and exacerbation of inequality and those most susceptible to disruption feel the greatest level of seriousness." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/getty-family-flood-bangladesh.jpg

commondreams (2020-09-21). Fracking and Petrochemicals Create Fewer Pennsylvania Jobs Than Clean Energy. commondreams.org ______________________________…

commondreams (2020-09-21). Members of Congress to Introduce Resolution Supporting Juliana Climate Case Plaintiffs and Other Youths. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Jacob Wallace (2020-09-21). Want the Youth Vote? Prioritize Climate Change. thenation.com Want the Youth Vote? Prioritize Climate Change…

Mark Hertsgaard (2020-09-21). Can the Climate Youth Tip the 2020 Election Against Trump? thenation.com Can the Climate Youth Tip the 2020 Election Against Trump?

_____ (2020-09-20). Democrat's Climate Change Lies. popularresistance.org In recent weeks a combination of drought and record breaking heat have accelerated wildfire season to historic levels of devastation. More than 4.6 million acres have burned in the states of California, Oregon and Washington. Skies are colored orange and red, the air is unbreathable, lives have been lost and entire towns have been destroyed. | The connection between heat waves, droughts, and human made climate change are clear and the solution is known to every school child. There must be a drastic reduction in the production of fossil fuels.

Bernie Sanders (2020-09-20). Justice Ginsburg's replacement. zcomm.org Every issue we care about is at stake: abortion rights, campaign finance reform, voting rights, workers' rights, health care, LGBTQ rights, climate change, environmental rights, gun safety and more.

Staff (2020-09-20). Upgrading Building Codes Can Curb Drinking Water Contamination Due to Wildfires. truthout.org Less than halfway through the 2020

Frank Fischer (2020-09-20). The Risk of Progressive Reversal. commondreams.org Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion attend a protest against the expansion of Stansted Airport on August 29, 2020 in Bishop's Stortford, United Kingdom. (Photo: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/buildbackbetter_1.jpg

Kumar Venkat (2020-09-20). Climate Science Is Vulnerable to Politics. commondreams.org A structure on Highway 128 goes up in flames after the Kincade Fire raged into the Alexander Valley on Sunday morning, October 27, 2019, east of Geyserville, California. (Photo: Karl Mondon/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/fire_california.jpg

_____ (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 …

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…

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…

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

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.

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

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 ______________________________…

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.

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.

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

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