Daily Archives: July 18, 2020

2020-07-18: News Headlines

news.un (2020-07-18). FROM THE FIELD: Frontline resilience in Somalia. news.un.org One hundred thousand households in Somaliland in northwest Somalia have better access to water, protecting them not just from the ravages of climate change but also against the spread of COVID-19, thanks to a project supported by the UN Development Programme.

Robert Hunziker (2020-07-18). The Sky Is Falling: Yes? No? dissidentvoice.org The sky is falling is one of the more disturbing thoughts in society today, as to whether climate change is on a fast track collision course with doomsday amidst a collapsing society. In that regard, according to the details of a scathing review by ScientistsWarning.org ("SW") of Jem Bendell's wildly popular "Deep Adaptation" the answer …

Mark Gruenberg (2020-07-17). Biden: Clean energy 'must provide an opportunity to join a union'. peoplesworld.org

Tim Whitehouse (2020-07-17). COVID-19, the Climate Crisis, and Our Urgent Duty to Rebuild This Country. commondreams.org The United States, writes Whitehouse, "must adopt a recovery plan that addresses the intersecting crises of economy, climate, and justice through policies that speed the transition to clean energy, train unemployed workers for jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy, make communities healthier and more resilient, promote smart growth and electric transit in cities, and restore biodiversity and soil health in rural areas." (Photo: Ronen Tivony / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/screen_shot

_____ (2020-07-17). Human Solidarity And A Global Health Commons. popularresistance.org The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the most fundamental features of the human condition: the solidarity that exists between humans across borders, between humans and all other living beings, as well as between living beings and their environments. This reminder, which obtuse nationalisms and competitive logics are already rushing to hush up, invites us to rethink what a true global political institution should be — what we will here call the "global commons of humanity." | The lessons from the pandemic also apply to other major problems that confront humanity, starting with global warming and the processio…

Alan MacLeod (2020-07-16). Exporting Toxic Chemical Waste to Poor Countries Must End, Says UN. globalresearch.ca Last year, at least 30 rich countries exported locally-banned toxic substances to poorer ones, allowing corporations to write off their costly waste and transferring the costs to some of the poorest people on earth. | *** | The practice of dumping …

Neil Decenteceo (2020-07-16). Small Island Countries Aren't Waiting for Rich Countries to Act on Climate. counterpunch.org On September 18, 2017, the category-5 Hurricane Maria ravaged the shores of Dominica, damaging or destroying 90 percent of its buildings and causing damage equivalent to 200 percent of the small Caribbean island nation's GDP. In the aftermath, 20 percent of Dominica's roughly 70,000 inhabitants had to flee due to lost homes or jobs, and

Ashley Curtin (2020-07-16). Coastal flooding trend to continue as climate crisis escalates. nationofchange.org "America's coastal communities and their economies are suffering from the effects of high tide flooding, and it's only going to increase in the future."

Thomas Nicholas, Galen Hall, & Colleen Schmidt (2020-07-16). The faulty science, doomism, and flawed conclusions of Deep Adaptation. zcomm.org The claim that runaway climate change has made societal collapse inevitable is not only wrong — it undermines the cause of the climate movement…

commondreams (2020-07-16). Trump Administration Unlawfully Rescinded Protections Against Methane Waste, Court Rules. commondreams.org ______________________________…

_____ (2020-07-16). Government Gave Big Oil The Power to Prosecute Its Biggest Critic. popularresistance.org In recent years, the American government has given the fossil fuel industry hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies and opened up wide swaths of public land for drilling. Now, as the climate crisis worsens, a federal judge has given a private corporate law firm with ties to fossil fuel companies the power to criminally prosecute one of the industry's biggest foes—a lawyer who notched one of history's biggest legal victories against a major oil company. | In 2011, Steven Donziger led the legal team that secured a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron for polluting the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. Chevr…

Jessica Corbett, staff writer (2020-07-16). 'Big Win for Our Climate and for Communities' as Federal Panel Rejects Attack on Rooftop Solar in US. commondreams.org However, green groups and renewable advocates also expressed concern that another new FERC decision will hamper clean energy expansion. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/gettyimages-9093903981.jpg

Sara Larsen, Rasmus Vinther Russell, Lotte Klinten Ockert, Stephen Spanos, Helena Strà∏mstad Travis, Lars Holger Ehlers, Anders Mà¶rkedahl (2020-07-15). [Research Paper] Rate and impact of duodenoscope contamination: A systematic review and meta-analysis. thelancet.com This is the first meta-analysis to estimate the contamination rate of patient-ready duodenoscopes used for ERCP. Based on the available literature, our analysis demonstrates that there is a 15.25% contamination rate of reprocessed patient-ready duodenoscopes. Additionally, the analysis indicates that dHLD and EtO reprocessing methods are superior to single HLD but still not efficient in regards to cleaning the duodenoscopes properly. Furthermore, studies conducted following an outbreak did not entail a higher contamination rate compared to non-outbreak-initiated studies.

Elliot Sperber (2020-07-15). Mother Goose in the End Times. counterpunch.org Mother Goose in the End Times It's raining It's storming The locust clouds are swarming The oceans are asphyxiating Why? From global warming Caused by your cannibal Capitán Capital Cutting all the forests down Who, hunting for profits, Sets off pandemics, Spreads deserts, and drought Despite the melting polar ice The pine tree Down the

The Canary (2020-07-15). Huge boost to business and jobs worldwide if nature is prioritised says World Economic Forum. thecanary.co Stimulating growth in ways that puts nature first could provide an £8tn boost and create hundreds of millions of jobs worldwide, experts have said.A "future of nature and business" report from the World Economic Forum (WEF) highlights how governments and businesses can build back better from the economic fallout of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and tackle the nature and climate crisis.Industry moves ranging from recycling clothing to installing energy-saving light bulbs and green roofs into buildings, and even diversifying diets, could help create 395 million jobs around the world by 2030, the WEF sai…

The Canary (2020-07-15). Zero-waste shopping service Loop launched with Tesco to help consumers go green. thecanary.co A zero-waste shopping service is launching in the UK to allow people to buy products from laundry detergent to ketchup in refillable packaging.Loop, which aims to offer a modernised version of the "milkman from yesteryear", is launching in partnership with Tesco, which will encourage its online customers to try out the scheme.Via its www.loopstore.co.uk website, UK consumers will be able to get goods such as drinks, sauces, yoghurt, shampoo, soaps and toothpaste in durable, reusable packaging.Brands including Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Coca-Cola, Danone, Persil, Jackpot Peanut Butter, Brewdog and Nivea already or will…

Andrew McCormick (2020-07-15). Climate Change Is a Political—Not Partisan—Story. thenation.com Climate Change Is a Political—Not Partisan—Story…

Serah Gaia (2020-07-15). Saturday 7/18: Extinction Rebellion Welcome Call. indybay.org Online…

_____ (2020-07-15). Report Warns Of Unprecedented Wave Of Land Privatization. popularresistance.org Amidst a worsening climate crisis, the Oakland Institute's new report, Driving Dispossession: The Global Push to "Unlock the Economic Potential of Land," sounds the alarm on the unprecedented wave of privatization of natural resources that is underway around the world. Through six case studies—Ukraine, Zambia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Brazil—the report details the myriad ways by which governments—willingly or under the pressure of financial institutions and Western donor agencies—are putting more land into so-called "productive use" in the name of development. | "The fact…