(2020-12-31). The Year of COVID, Elections and Police Brutality Also Saw LGBTQ Activism. truthout.org For the past five years, Truthout has looked back at the queer and trans news you might've missed because corporate news outlets decided not to cover it. This year, almost all of us were tangled up with the biggest news stories — queer and trans people felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; the feuds between the rich and powerful in Washington; the anti-racist uprisings; and the global warming-fueled hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires. | This year has reaffirmed what many of us have kn…
(2020-12-31). You don't want to imagine an ocean without coral reefs—but you might have to. nationofchange.org Scientists call the coral reefs the "rainforests of the sea," because coral reefs—like rainforests—are highly diverse ecosystems; their destruction would lead to the extinction of a large number of species.
(2020-12-31). Greta Thunberg dismisses 'empty words' in new climate crisis appeal — video. zcomm.org There is hope … we are the hope — we, the people'.
(2020-12-31). Overshadowed by COVID: the deadly extreme weather of 2020. zcomm.org 2020 was alarming, unforgettable and traumatic — and not only because of COVID-19. Lethal natural hazards are increasing in frequency under our changing climate, and 2020 is a testament to that…
(2020-12-31). Eco-advocacy group urges Biden to reverse Trump environmental rollbacks. nationofchange.org "By undoing the Trump administration's rollbacks of environmental protections, the Biden administration will be able to protect our natural landscapes and give Americans cleaner air, cleaner water and a more livable climate."
(2020-12-31). President Duque Authorizes First Fracking Project in Colombia. telesurenglish.net The Association Against Fracking in Colombia rejected a US$ 76 million contract signed between the National Hydrocarbons Agency (NHA) and the Colombian oil company Ecopetrol to start fracking practices in the country. | RELATED: | Once the environmental licenses are obtained, Ecopetrol will launch the Kale project which will use the hydraulic fracking technique in Puerto Wilches, in the Santander department. | Drilling wil…
(2020-12-30). 'We Demand Tomorrow': Marxist Documentary On The Climate Crisis. popularresistance.org Kudos to Patreon for this brilliant production, well worth seeing, with its deep analysis of capitalism though I have some reservations to be noted below. I particularly applaud the presentation of Cuba's socialist solutions in this current pandemic, in contrast to capitalist Britain, with Cuba being on the cutting edge of global ecosocialism. "We Demand Tomorrow" should trigger a lot of debate, and be a useful resource for wide-ranging discussion. I agree with the video's support for a two-stage path out of capitalism. I have long argued that socialism in our epoch must confront the climate/ecological crisis wit…
(2020-12-30). Invitation to New Thinking. indybay.org One virus changed everything. Covid-19 has managed to do what all the discussions about climate change and justice in recent years have failed to do. Phenomena that threaten humanity are no longer a theory. The pandemic has made the risk of our extensive lifestyle tangible. For this global crisis is not an exogenous shock. Rather, crass, profit-oriented globalization has fueled its spread.
(2020-12-30). Fingers Point to US-Backed Gov't in Colombia's Ninetieth Massacre of the Year. mintpressnews.com 
"The Trump administration waged a full scale campaign to undermine Colombia's peace accords. We must not waste our time hoping the Biden administration might reverse course, we must demand it." — James Jordan, Alliance for Global Justice…
(2020-12-30). Faced With Concurrent Crises, UNICEF Warns Millions of Children Threatened by 'Looming Famine'. commondreams.org "For countries reeling from the consequences of conflicts, disasters, and climate change, Covid-19 has turned a nutrition crisis into an imminent catastrophe." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/un0270028-21.jpg …
(2020-12-30). Lethal Levels of Radiation Found in Damaged Fukushima Reactor Will Have 'Huge Impact' on Shutdown, Regulators Warn. commondreams.org The radiation levels reported around shield plugs at two reactors are high enough to kill a worker exposed for even an hour. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/fukushima_7.jpg …
(2020-12-30). Bright Spots on Climate to End a Dark Year. commondreams.org In a year in which virtually every trendline was in the wrong direction, this change in direction was a welcomed gift. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/wind-turbines-snow-winter-sun.jpg …
(2020-12-30). Climate Activists Mount Utility Strike. popularresistance.org Santa is not the only one giving out coal this year. Climate activists like Johnny Sanchez and Sonja Birthisel in Portland, Maine, recently sent their utility company an envelope of coal instead of payment towards their electric bill. This symbolic act of defiance, organized by the No Coal No Gas coalition, is part of a broad New England consumer strike against utility payments to protest the continued burning of coal. | The Strike Down Coal campaign launched on Sept. 1 and aims to continue until ISO New England — the system operator responsible for running New England's energy grid and power system —…
(2020-12-29). How the fracking revolution is killing the U.S. oil and gas industry. mronline.org 
After over a decade of the much-hyped U.S. fracking miracle, the U.S. oil and gas industry is having to deal with years of losses and falling asset values which has dealt the industry a serious financial blow. This is despite the fracking revolution delivering record oil and gas production for the past decade, peaking in 2019.
(2020-12-29). Religion Meets Climate Change. dissidentvoice.org 
Global warming is the biggest challenge of all time. It impacts every living species. However, the inherent dangers are very difficult to comprehend. As such, people brush it off as one more issue in life that will somehow be handled, fixed, no worries, human ingenuity will prevail. But, what if it's not that simple? Stuart …
(2020-12-29). Recidivist Criminal and Constitutional Outlaw Trump Rushes to Pardon Criminal Lawbreakers. counterpunch.org 
Serial lawbreaker Donald J. Trump is embarking on the most sordid presidential pardon spree in American history. He has already pardoned convicted crooks, thieves, and violent outlaws. Trump's pardon lawyers are frantically assembling more MAGA besotted individuals and groups to be pardoned wholesale. The number may climb into the hundreds. The queue is long. Trump
(2020-12-29). Engels' struggle for a dialectical concept of nature. mronline.org 
To prevent climate catastrophe, revolutionary decisions are needed based on a widespread understanding of the "dialectics of nature", which Friedrich Engels, on his joint mission with Karl Marx, sought to explain.
(2020-12-29). I Am Greta isn't about climate change. It's about the elusiveness of sanity in an insane world. zcomm.org We are in an ideological bubble—and one that will burst as surely as the financial kind. Thunberg is that still, small voice of sanity outside the bubble…
(2020-12-29). Biden Chooses Tom "Mr. Monsanto" Vilsack As Agriculture Secretary. popularresistance.org After weeks of rumors, President-elect Joe Biden confirmed last week that he has picked Tom Vilsack as his secretary of agriculture. Vilsack previously held the position under the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017. This decision has disappointed many progressive Democrats who were hoping Biden's cabinet picks would include a more diverse coalition and signal a push to the left. Vilsack, on the contrary, is quite literally more of the same: a wealthy white man and establishment Democrat with countless corporate interests and an atrocious record on climate change and civil rights. | We should not be surprised…
(2020-12-28). The Mythology of Fire Suppression. counterpunch.org 
The recent piece published in the December 22 Guardian titled: Heat, wind, and a cruel twist of Nature: inside Oregon's nightmarish wildfire season was, on the whole, a very good overview of events. The article's general thrust was how climate/weather conspired to create the perfect conditions for large-scale wildfire in Oregon's Cascade Range. Despite making
(2020-12-28). Biden Already Facing Pressure to Tackle Backlog of 'Unfunded' Toxic Waste Sites Threatened by Climate Crisis. commondreams.org More broadly, campaigners are calling on the incoming president to deliver on the environmental justice promises he made as a candidate.
(2020-12-28). 'A Tangible Way to Fight for the World I Want to Live In': Water Protector Arrested After Blockading Line 3 Pipe Yard. commondreams.org "Profits for a few are being privileged over the well-being of all communities near and far, present and future." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/line_3_2.jpg …
