Daily Archives: February 22, 2020

2020-02-22: News Headlines

RT (2020-02-22). Ignoring climate risks will result in global recession 'the likes of which we've never seen before' — study. rt.com Extreme weather could cause a major economic recession around the globe, but we are still underestimating those risks, new research warns. | "If the market doesn't do a better job of accounting for climate, we could have a recession, the likes of which we've never seen before," said Paul Griffin, an accounting professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, who authored "Energy Finance Must Account for Extreme Weather Risk." | In a paper, published in the Nature Energy journal, he noted that the financial markets fail to link physical climate risk to company market valuations. One of the key messages…

Dan Bacher (2020-02-22). Attorney General Becerrra and Governor Newsom file lawsuit against Trump water plan. indybay.org "As we face the unprecedented threat of a climate emergency, now is the time to strengthen our planet's biodiversity, not destroy it," said Attorney General Becerra. "California won't silently spectate as the Trump Administration adopts scientifically-challenged biological opinions that push species to extinction and harm our natural resources and waterways.

Steve Payne (2020-02-22). Janitors and Guards Feature Climate and Housing in Their Strike Demands. zcomm.org "I'm going to vote to strike today because we all deserve good jobs, but also because we need these companies to take responsibility for what they do to the planet, and to leave a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren."

Center for Biological Diversity (2020-02-22). Congress Introduces Bill to Save Monarch Butterflies in West. indybay.org Western Population Has Declined by 99%, Extinction Looming…

Staff (2020-02-22). Study Suggests Twitter Bots Amplified Climate Denial Messages. truthdig.com Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Common Dreams. A new analysis of 6.5 million tweets from the days before and after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to ditch the Paris agreement in June 2017 suggests that automated Twitter bots are substantially contributing to the spread of online misinformation about the climate crisis. Brown University …

Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover (2020-02-21). Freedom of movement is a fundamental freedom and there is an alternative to borders. thecanary.co This is a guest post from Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover who are activists with Our Future Now and helped organise the Imagine if, through no fault of your own, you were no longer able to make a livelihood because of the destructive effects of climate change. Imagine if you weren't able to live a peaceful life because of conflict ravaging your country. Perhaps you were a farmer who could no longer have goats graze on the land because of the p…

teleSUR (2020-02-21). The 2020 Africa Climate Week to Face Paris Agreement Challenges. telesurenglish.net People from all over the world are expected to participate in the 2020 Africa Climate Week (ACW), which is to be held in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss ways to implement the Paris Agreement. | RELATED: | "We must show the world is capable of working together to tackle our most urgent challenges," the High-Level Champions for Climate Action participant Nigel Topping said. | The ACW seeks that representatives from the public and priv…

WSWS (2020-02-21). Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion climate change fund. wsws.org In response to growing opposition within Amazon, as well as society as a whole, to the growing climate crisis and the role of super-rich billionaires in it, Bezos, the world's richest person, has launched a new philanthropic fund.

teleSUR (2020-02-21). In Mexico's Cradle of Corn, Climate Change Leaves its Mark. telesurenglish.net At least 9,000 years ago, humans began domesticating corn for the first time near Tehuacan, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, laying the foundation for permanent settlements in the Americas. | RELATED: | But in the past few years, more frequent and more prolonged droughts have forced many farmers in the area to give up corn and other cereals in favor of alternatives requiring less water such as pistachio n…

Joshua Frank (2020-02-21). Bloomberg is a Climate Change Con Man. counterpunch.org It's an open secret in green circles that Michael Bloomberg is a climate change con man, and organizations like the Sierra Club that take hundreds of millions in donations from the former New York City mayor to fight coal, are complicit in his fraudulent scheme to coopt the climate change movement.

Ed Rampell (2020-02-21). 'Frida, Stroke of Passion': Kahlo's lives, loves and leftist politics. peoplesworld.org LOS ANGELES—If Howard Zinn penned "People's Histories" and Oliver Stone filmed "Untold Histories," Latinx playwright Odalys Nanin's modus operandi is to write (or rewrite?) allegedly biographical plays about famous women revealing their same-sex affairs. I previously saw Nanin's stage exposés purporting that Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe had their Sapphic episodes. Some may regard this …

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2020-02-21). 60,000-Strong Fridays for Future Protest in Hamburg, Germany Prompts Question: 'Where Are You, USA?'. commondreams.org "What is it going to take for the U.S. to rise up like this?" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/hamburg-60000-fridays-future-greta-thunberg-us.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-02-21). 42 Nobel Laureates Urge Trudeau to Act With 'Moral Clarity' and Stop Climate-Wrecking Teck Frontier Mine. commondreams.org In an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, 42 Nobel laurates implored the federal government to "act with the moral clarity required" to tackle the global climate crisis and stop Teck Resources' proposed Frontier tar sands mine. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/justin_trudeau_0.jpg

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-02-21). Study Suggests Twitter Bots Have 'Substantial Impact' on Spreading Climate Misinformation. commondreams.org A new analysis of 6.5 million tweets from the days before and after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to ditch the Paris agreement in June 2017 suggests that automated Twitter bots are substantially contributing to the spread of online misinformation about the climate crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/twitter_trump.jpg

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-02-21). JP Morgan Economists Warn of 'Catastrophic Outcomes' of Human-Caused Climate Crisis. commondreams.org Climate campaigners on Friday expressed hope that policymakers who are stalling on taking decisive climate action would reconsider their stance in light of new warnings from an unlikely source: two economists at J.P. Morgan Chase. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11836818612.jpg

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.

pip.hinman (2020-02-21). Climate emergency demands system change. greenleft.org.au

The Canary (2020-02-20). Greta Thunberg 'using award money to create sustainability foundation'. thecanary.co Greta Thunberg is using her prize money from an award often described as an alternative Nobel Prize to establish a sustainability foundation, according to the Swedish organisation behind the prize. | The purpose of the non-profit Greta Thunberg Foundation "is to promote ecological and social sustainability, as well as mental health", the Right Livelihood Foundation said. | The teenage climate activist was one of four recipients of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, which was founded in 1980 to "honour and support courageous people solving global problems". | The one million kronor ( £80,000) that came with th…

Media Lens (2020-02-20). "And Then Nothing. Silence" dissidentvoice.org If you were mad enough to judge the state of the world by the daily outpourings of 'mainstream' media, you would have no real understanding of the perilous state of the human race. Or, if you had concerns on seeing the latest news on climate breakdown, you would not be fully informed about the powerful …

pip.hinman (2020-02-20). The climate crisis and the need for peace. greenleft.org.au

Mark Hertsgaard (2020-02-19). Making the Climate Emergency the Story of the 2020 Elections. thenation.com Making the Climate Emergency the Story of the 2020 Elections…

Susan Price (2020-02-18). Africa: A year of record climate disasters. greenleft.org.au

pip.hinman (2020-02-17). National climate emergency summit showcases market wing of climate movement. greenleft.org.au

Brian Tokar (2020-02-02). What Will it Take to Prevent Climate Collapse? zcomm.org Perhaps we can even begin to realize the dream of a liberated and truly interdependent global community of communities. The future of life on earth may depend on our ability to do just that…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-01-26). Could the Climate Crisis Be "The Good News of Damnation"? zcomm.org On August 12, 1945, six days after the U.S. government obliterated the city of Hiroshima with a single atomic bomb, Robert Hutchins, the president of the University of Chicago, delivered a remarkable public address. Speaking on his weekly radio program, the Chicago Roundtable, Hutchins observed that Leon Bloy, a French philosopher, had referred to "the

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, …

2020-02-22: Social Media Postees

Please be social by posting these 'POSTEES' on social media!

Study Suggests Twitter Bots Amplified Climate Denial Messages
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-02-22
Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Common Dreams. A new analysis of 6.5 million tweets from the days before and after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to ditch the Paris agreement in June 2017 suggests that automated Twitter bots are substantially contributing to the spread of online misinformation about the climate crisis. Brown University …
truthdig.com/articles/study-suggests-twitter-bots-amplified-climate-denial-messages/

Janitors and Guards Feature Climate and Housing in Their Strike Demands
Steve Payne | zcomm.org | 2020-02-22
"I'm going to vote to strike today because we all deserve good jobs, but also because we need these companies to take responsibility for what they do to the planet, and to leave a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren."
zcomm.org/znetarticle/janitors-and-guards-feature-climate-and-housing-in-their-strike-demands/

Attorney General Becerrra and Governor Newsom file lawsuit against Trump water plan
Dan Bacher | indybay.org | 2020-02-22
"As we face the unprecedented threat of a climate emergency, now is the time to strengthen our planet's biodiversity, not destroy it," said Attorney General Becerra. "California won't silently spectate as the Trump Administration adopts scientifically-challenged biological opinions that push species to extinction and harm our natural resources and waterways.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/21/18830880.php

Congress Introduces Bill to Save Monarch Butterflies in West
Center for Biological Diversity | indybay.org | 2020-02-22
Western Population Has Declined by 99%, Extinction Looming…
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/02/20/18830857.php

The 2020 Africa Climate Week to Face Paris Agreement Challenges
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
People from all over the world are expected to participate in the 2020 Africa Climate Week (ACW), which is to be held in Kampala, Uganda, to discuss ways to implement the Paris Agreement. | RELATED: | 2010-2019: The Decade Confirming Global Climate Change | "We must show the world is capable of working together to tackle our most urgent challenges," the High-Level Champions for Climate Action participant Nigel Topping said. | The ACW seeks that representatives from the public and priv…
telesurenglish.net/news/africa-debates-most-urgent-challenges-to-face-climate-change-20200221-0001.html

Freedom of movement is a fundamental freedom and there is an alternative to borders
Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover | thecanary.co | 2020-02-21
This is a guest post from Hamzah Akhtar and Kay Glover who are activists with Our Future Now and helped organise the Freedom of Movement 2.0 conference attended by The Canary. | Imagine if, through no fault of your own, you were no longer able to make a livelihood because of the destructive effects of climate change. Imagine if you weren't able to live a peaceful life because of conflict ravaging your country. Perhaps you were a farmer who could no longer have goats graze on the land because of the p…
thecanary.co/opinion/2020/02/21/freedom-of-movement-is-a-fundamental-freedom-and-there-is-an-alternative-to-borders/

Paul Paz y Miño, Saqib Bhatti & Beverly Bell on Environmental Justice & Cross-National Solidarity
CounterSpin | fair.org | 2020-02-21
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.
fair.org/home/paul-paz-y-mino-saqib-bhatti-beverly-bell-on-environmental-justice-cross-national-solidarity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=paul-paz-y-mino-saqib-bhatti-beverly-bell-on-environmental-justice-cross-national-solidarity

Bloomberg is a Climate Change Con Man
Joshua Frank | counterpunch.org | 2020-02-21
It's an open secret in green circles that Michael Bloomberg is a climate change con man, and organizations like the Sierra Club that take hundreds of millions in donations from the former New York City mayor to fight coal, are complicit in his fraudulent scheme to coopt the climate change movement.
counterpunch.org/2020/02/21/bloomberg-is-a-climate-change-con-man/

In Mexico's Cradle of Corn, Climate Change Leaves its Mark
telesurenglish.net | 2020-02-21
At least 9,000 years ago, humans began domesticating corn for the first time near Tehuacan, in the central Mexican state of Puebla, laying the foundation for permanent settlements in the Americas. | RELATED: | Locusts Swarm into South Sudan as Plague Spreads in East Africa | But in the past few years, more frequent and more prolonged droughts have forced many farmers in the area to give up corn and other cereals in favor of alternatives requiring less water such as pistachio n…
telesurenglish.net/news/In-Mexicos-Cradle-of-Corn-Climate-Change-Leaves-its-Mark-20200221-0011.html

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion climate change fund
wsws.org | 2020-02-21
In response to growing opposition within Amazon, as well as society as a whole, to the growing climate crisis and the role of super-rich billionaires in it, Bezos, the world's richest person, has launched a new philanthropic fund.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/02/21/bezo-f21.html

60,000-Strong Fridays for Future Protest in Hamburg, Germany Prompts Question: 'Where Are You, USA?'
Andrea Germanos, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
"What is it going to take for the U.S. to rise up like this?" | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/hamburg-60000-fridays-future-greta-thunberg-us.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/60000-strong-fridays-future-protest-hamburg-germany-prompts-question-where-are-you?cd-origin=rss

JP Morgan Economists Warn of 'Catastrophic Outcomes' of Human-Caused Climate Crisis
Julia Conley, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
Climate campaigners on Friday expressed hope that policymakers who are stalling on taking decisive climate action would reconsider their stance in light of new warnings from an unlikely source: two economists at J.P. Morgan Chase. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-11836818612.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/jp-morgan-economists-warn-catastrophic-outcomes-human-caused-climate-crisis?cd-origin=rss

42 Nobel Laureates Urge Trudeau to Act With 'Moral Clarity' and Stop Climate-Wrecking Teck Frontier Mine
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
In an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, 42 Nobel laurates implored the federal government to "act with the moral clarity required" to tackle the global climate crisis and stop Teck Resources' proposed Frontier tar sands mine. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/justin_trudeau_0.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/42-nobel-laureates-urge-trudeau-act-moral-clarity-and-stop-climate-wrecking-teck?cd-origin=rss

Study Suggests Twitter Bots Have 'Substantial Impact' on Spreading Climate Misinformation
Jessica Corbett, staff writer | commondreams.org | 2020-02-21
A new analysis of 6.5 million tweets from the days before and after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to ditch the Paris agreement in June 2017 suggests that automated Twitter bots are substantially contributing to the spread of online misinformation about the climate crisis. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/twitter_trump.jpg
commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/study-suggests-twitter-bots-have-substantial-impact-spreading-climate-misinformation?cd-origin=rss

Climate emergency demands system change
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-21
Climate Socialist AllianceIssue 1254 Australia just transitionsFebruary 21, 2020The Socialist Alliance has been developing this charter for climate action since it…
greenleft.org.au/content/climate-emergency-demands-system-change

Greta Thunberg 'using award money to create sustainability foundation'
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-02-20
Greta Thunberg is using her prize money from an award often described as an alternative Nobel Prize to establish a sustainability foundation, according to the Swedish organisation behind the prize. | The purpose of the non-profit Greta Thunberg Foundation "is to promote ecological and social sustainability, as well as mental health", the Right Livelihood Foundation said. | The teenage climate activist was one of four recipients of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, which was founded in 1980 to "honour and support courageous people solving global problems". | The one million kronor ( £80,000) that came with th…
thecanary.co/discovery/2020/02/20/greta-thunberg-using-award-money-to-create-sustainability-foundation/

"And Then Nothing. Silence"
Media Lens | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-02-20
If you were mad enough to judge the state of the world by the daily outpourings of 'mainstream' media, you would have no real understanding of the perilous state of the human race. Or, if you had concerns on seeing the latest news on climate breakdown, you would not be fully informed about the powerful …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/02/and-then-nothing-silence/

The climate crisis and the need for peace
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-20
war Climate Nick DeaneIssue 1254 Australia climate refugees weapons militaryFebruary 2…
greenleft.org.au/content/climate-crisis-and-need-peace

Making the Climate Emergency the Story of the 2020 Elections
Mark Hertsgaard | thenation.com | 2020-02-19
Making the Climate Emergency the Story of the 2020 Elections…
thenation.com/article/environment/climate-antarctica-election-2020/

Africa: A year of record climate disasters
Susan Price | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-18
Climate Nnimmo BasseyIssue 1254 Africa Paris agreement Climate DebtFebruary 18, 2020While the world literally burns from climate and political turmoil, it is possible for Africa and other vulnerable regions…
greenleft.org.au/content/africa-year-record-climate-disasters

National climate emergency summit showcases market wing of climate movement
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-02-17
climate emergency Hans A BaerIssue 1254 Australia fossil fuels just transitions MelbourneFebruary 17, 2020The 2020 National Cl…
greenleft.org.au/content/national-climate-emergency-summit-showcases-market-wing-climate-movement

What Will it Take to Prevent Climate Collapse?
Brian Tokar | zcomm.org | 2020-02-02
Perhaps we can even begin to realize the dream of a liberated and truly interdependent global community of communities. The future of life on earth may depend on our ability to do just that…
zcomm.org/zmagazine/what-will-it-take-to-prevent-climate-collapse/

Could the Climate Crisis Be "The Good News of Damnation"?
Lawrence Wittner | zcomm.org | 2020-01-26
On August 12, 1945, six days after the U.S. government obliterated the city of Hiroshima with a single atomic bomb, Robert Hutchins, the president of the University of Chicago, delivered a remarkable public address. Speaking on his weekly radio program, the Chicago Roundtable, Hutchins observed that Leon Bloy, a French philosopher, had referred to…
zcomm.org/zblogs/could-the-climate-crisis-be-the-good-news-of-damnation/