Daily Archives: June 16, 2020

2020-06-16: News Headlines

Manuel García, Jr. (2020-06-16). Living With Global Warming. counterpunch.org I modeled mathematically the thermal imbalance of our biosphere, which we call global warming, so as to gain my own quantitative understanding of the interplay of the two major effects that give rise to this phenomenon. This is a "toy model," an abstraction of a very complicated planetary phenomenon that teams of scientists using supercomputers

Staff (2020-06-16). Climate Crisis: Trump's Regulatory Attack, DNC On Climate, California Fires, And Brazil COVID Chaos. therealnews.com Under the cover of COVID-19 and protests, Trump hacks away at bedrock environmental law. Plus, a Democratic Party committee lays out its climate platform, wildfires erupt in California, and climate chaos engulfs Brazil and the Amazon Rainforest.

Staff (2020-06-15). We Need a Green New Deal to Confront the Economic Crash and Climate Crisis. truthout.org "Whatever it is, coronavirus has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to 'normality', trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality." — Arundhati Roy, "

commondreams (2020-06-15). After Years of Wasted Spending, Congresswoman Lee Calls to Cut Pentagon Budget, Reprioritize Programs that Keep Us Safe. commondreams.org ______________________________…

Julia Conley, staff writer (2020-06-15). DNC's Climate Council Urges Party to Go Beyond Biden Plan, Calling for Fracking Ban and $16 Trillion Renewable Energy Investment. commondreams.org The Democratic National Committee on Monday attempted to dismiss its own climate council as an "insurgent" group that isn't "taken seriously" after the panel released policy guidance that goes far beyond presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's own climate platform. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-1166022598_1.jpg

Sà∂ren Amelang (2020-06-14). How the Coronavirus could be a Climate Game Changer. zcomm.org "Nobody wants life to stay the way it was during the pandemic. But some new routines we should maintain, because they serve the environment and quality of life."

_____ (2020-06-14). Human Rights Expert Hopes COVID-19, Climate Change And Racial Injustice Are A 'Wake-Up Call'. popularresistance.org The optimistic way is to see Covid-19 as a trial run for what's on the way with climate change in the sense that it really is a crisis that has affected vast numbers of people that has shown up the importance of being prepared and the importance of listening to the warning signals, and the potential for totally disproportionate impact on different groups of the population—whether by gender, class, race and so on. Covid-19 could provide some sort of wake-up call to those of us who are pretending that climate change is going to be manageable and we don't really need to do anything until it actually starts to…

Richard Horton (2020-06-13). [Comment] Offline: COVID-19—what we can expect to come. thelancet.com The verdicts are now coming in. In Mark Honigsbaum's updated edition of The Pandemic Century, he has included a new chapter on COVID-19. As a historian of epidemics, he offers his judgments about how countries have responded to what he calls "China's Chernobyl moment". His critique is sharp. For decades, we have known that the world is intrinsically and increasingly vulnerable to pandemics—and yet, "we failed to heed the warnings about Covid-19 and act when our actions could have prevented the outbreak from spinning out of control".

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-06-12). Research Shows 'Linking Climate Policy to Social and Economic Justice Makes It More Popular'. commondreams.org Amid persistent calls for a green and just recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests against systemic racism and injustice, researchers on Friday detailed recent studies showing "policy packages that address the climate crisis alongside income inequality, racial injustice, and the economic crisis are more popular among voters." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/ue_green_new_deal_0.jpg

news.un (2020-06-12). Amid COVID-19 and climate change, UNHCR appeals for $186 million for Sahel refugee and displacement crisis. news.un.org The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has issued an urgent appeal for $186 million to provide lifesaving protection and assistance in the Sahel amidst fears that the conflict in the vast African region — exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic — will spread.

Peoples Dispatch (2020-06-12). Luxembourg government accused of abusing emergency powers. peoplesdispatch.org On June 10, Thursday, the Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) accused the government in the country of abusing the emergency powers in place to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. The Luxembourg government has threatened a military takeover of an inter-municipal waste recycling plant run by waste management company Sidor in Leudelange after the plant authorities refused to dispose of medical waste they are not authorized to handle. The plant management was concerned about the safety of the workers as they do not have a permit to handle hospital-specific waste. | KPL stated that the threat of an army takeover by the gover…