2021-02-08: News Headlines

Rin Bernhardt (2021-02-08). Sinkholes and wasted water: oil industry destructiveness in New Mexico. liberationnews.org In July of 2008, a large plot of land in southeastern New Mexico caved in, resulting in a sinkhole 120 feet deep and 400 feet wide.

Staff (2021-02-08). Democratic Party Leaders Are Rushing Through Impeachment in Lieu of a Real Trial. truthout.org Here we go again, in more ways than one. Prepare to have your time wasted again, but this time, it appears to be the Democrats who are prepared to hit the chicken switch. | The first impeachment of Donald Trump was an empty, rushed and preordained affair. House Democrats had just captured the majority, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew a large swath of her caucus would erupt into discordant rebellion if the strident calls to impeach a rogue, renegade president were not heeded… and so…

Jessica Corbett (2021-02-08). Court rules Dakota Access Pipeline illegal, Dems demand Biden shut it down. peoplesworld.org Five Democratic lawmakers on Friday encouraged President Joe Biden to order an immediate shutdown of the Dakota Access pipeline after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week delivered a victory to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe by ruling that DAPL is operating illegally. The three-judge panel upheld a lower court's ruling that the …

Brett Wilkins, staff writer (2021-02-08). Experts Say Burst India Glacier Shows 'Catastrophic' and Deadly Cost of Inaction on Climate Crisis. commondreams.org "These events will occur more frequently and will become overall more destructive if measures are not taken to mitigate these risks," said one researcher. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/india_1.jpg

_____ (2021-02-08). New Environmentalism Must Demand Systemic Change. popularresistance.org Fifty years ago, my young daughter and I were on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the first Earth Day. A group of us were then launching the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Since then, the NRDC and other U.S. environmental groups have racked up more victories and accomplishments than one can count. | But here's the deeply troubling rub: As our environmental organizations have grown stronger, more sophisticated and more global in reach, the environment has continued to slide downhill. And not just slightly downhill. | Climate change is coming at us very hard. Worldwide, we are losing biodiversi…

Stop the Money Pipline (2021-02-08). Tuesday 2/16: Stop the Money Pipeline! #DefundLine3 Campaign Launch Rally Against Climate Destruction. indybay.org Online/virtual protest…

oneworld.press (2021-02-08). The Climate Dictatorship & The Ecoauthoritarian World. oneworld.press The climate dictatorship or Great Reset is trying to hook the Western world to an imaginary world where everything is 'green', meaning no coal, no fossil fuels, and no nuclear power for energy, food control, which will leave the Western world with no industry, no jobs, and most of all, loss of property and income.

oneworld.press (2021-02-08). The Climate Dictatorship & The Ecoauthoritarian World. oneworld.press The climate dictatorship or Great Reset is trying to hook the Western world to an imaginary world where everything is 'green', meaning no coal, no fossil fuels, and no nuclear power for energy, food control, which will leave the Western world with no industry, no jobs, and most of all, loss of property and income.

Graham Peebles (2021-02-08). Overpopulation, food waste and climate change. nationofchange.org The house, our house is literally burning, and, despite millions of people screaming for change, the behavior, and ways of living that ignited the fire continue unabated.

Waging Nonviolence (2021-02-07). How Defeating the Planet-Killing Keystone XL Oil Pipeline built a Bolder, Savvier Climate Movement. juancole.com By Nick Engelfried | ( Waging Nonviolence) — When President Biden rescinded a crucial permit for the Keystone XL pipeline last week, it marked the culmination of one of the longest, highest-profile campaigns in the North American climate movement. The opposition to Keystone XL included large environmental organizations, grassroots climate activist networks, Nebraska farmers, Texas …

The Energy & Environmental Legal Institute (2021-02-06). The Rockefeller Way: The Family's Covert 'Climate Change' Plan. globalresearch.ca First published in December 2016, this article is of relevance to an understanding of the ongoing debate on Climate Change as well the Green New Deal, largely controlled by the financial establishment. The Rockefellers also play a key role in …

_____ (2021-02-06). Citizen Scientists Are Filling Research Gaps. popularresistance.org The rapid spread of COVID-19 in 2020 disrupted field research and environmental monitoring efforts worldwide. Travel restrictions and social distancing forced scientists to cancel studies or pause their work for months. These limits measurably reduced the accuracy of weather forecasts and created data gaps on issues ranging from bird migration to civil rights in U.S. public schools. | Our work relies on this kind of information to track seasonal events in nature and understand how climate change is affecting them. We also recruit and train citizens for community science — projects that involve amateur or vo…

Staff (2021-02-06). Biden's Executive Orders on Climate Change Aren't Upsetting Some Industry Giants. truthout.org President

Caitlin Johnstone (2021-02-06). The Empire Must Die: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix. thealtworld.com Q: What is a liberal? | A: A liberal is a violent white supremacist extremist who supports and participates in the mass slaughter of brown-skinned human beings overseas while tweeting that white supremacist extremists are bad. | ‚ùñ | Q: What is capitalism? | A: Capitalism is a wonderful economic and political system which has given us powerful technology, a wide assortment of breakfast cereals, and near term human extinction. | ‚ùñ | Q: What is China? | A: China is a large Asiatic nation which westerners use as an emotional punching bag for their capitalism-induced rage, p…

Johanna von Braun (2021-02-06). Biden's Efforts on Climate Is a Start—But What About Including Biodiversity? commondreams.org With approximately one million plant and animal species threatened by extinction, the loss of our natural habitats is as much of a global crisis as climate change. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/temmincks_red_colobis_mayhew.jpg

Jessica Corbett (2021-02-06). Scientists Warn of 'Ghastly Future' Unless Policymakers Act Now. zcomm.org 17 scientists called for a World War II-type mobilization to prevent a future of mass extinction, declining health, climate-disruption upheavals and resource conflicts…

_____ (2021-02-06). Standing Rock Lakota Youth Call For Biden To Shut Down Dakota Access Pipeline. popularresistance.org Standing Rock – Today, Lakota youth from the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River tribal nations announced a plan to run over 93 miles back to the Oceti Sakowin Camp site to call on President Biden to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The youth are asking for everyone who stood with Standing Rock four years ago to participate by uploading their own #NoDAPL | The oil pipeline poses a grave threat to the safety and sanctity of the tribes' water, hunting and fishing rights, and cultural and religious practices. Federal courts have sided with the tribes on the years-long litigation and have revoked DAPL's fede…

Isabella Kaminski (2021-02-06). Campaigners claim 'historic win' as France found guilty of climate inaction. nationofchange.org Today the Paris administrative court concluded France has failed to do enough to meet its own commitments on the climate crisis and is legally responsible for the ensuing ecological damage.

Oakland, CA (2021-02-06). Wednesday 2/10: Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink Virtual Conference (Day 2). indybay.org Online/virtual conference…

Oakland, CA (2021-02-06). Tuesday 2/9: Extinction: Solutions for Species on the Brink Virtual Conference (Day 1). indybay.org Online/virtual conference…

Ashley Curtin (2021-02-06). Fracked waste spews from unused gas well in Ohio entering waterways and harming fish. nationofchange.org "We have been exposing Ohio as a radioactive dumping ground that accepts oil and gas waste from all over the region for more than ten years."

Lee Camp (2021-02-05). It's Now or Never — We Stare Into the Abyss. counterpunch.org This column is hopeful. I promise. The northern white rhinoceros is now functionally extinct. Sudan — the last male of his kind — passed away recently. There are two females remaining but obviously they can produce no more of their species without a male — and mating with nearby giraffes is not something in which they seem

Ralph Nader (2021-02-05). The Struggle Inside Senator Mitch McConnell's Brain. counterpunch.org Since 2015, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell has ruled the Senate with an iron hand, describing himself as "the Guardian of Gridlock." He was Senator "NO," except for confirming over 200 mostly corporatist federal judges. Now comes a new challenge for Mitch McConnell as he leads 49 other Republican Senators, twenty of whom are up

The Conversation (2021-02-05). Greta Thunberg effect: people familiar with young climate activist may be more likely to act. juancole.com By Anandita Sabherwal and Sander van der Linden | — She was declared Time magazine's person of the year in the same month that Donald Trump told her to "work on her anger management issues". Greta Thunberg has attracted international attention since her lone demonstration outside the Swedish Parliament in August 2018. Her "school strike …

Alan Macleod (2021-02-05). Head of Strategic Command: US Must Prepare for "Very Real Possibility" of Nuclear War With China. mintpressnews.com In an era when international cooperation in the face of pandemics and climate change is essential, the world appears to be racing towards a new Cold War, and unfortunately, few except the military top brass are talking about it.

RT (2021-02-05). Biden Vows to Confront Russia, Enemy of Democracy, and China, Enemy of 'Global Governance'. anti-empire.com In his first major foreign policy address, President Joe Biden vowed to confront the enemies of 'democracy' globally, while seeking to reclaim America's 'moral credibility' and leadership in LGBT and climate change issues. | Speaking at the State Department headquarters in the nation's capital on Thursday, Biden outlined his foreign policy vision in a 20-minute address, laying out a sprawling list of priorities for his administration, among them countering supposed US "adversaries." | "American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival th…

Matthew Daly (2021-02-05). Biden EPA nominee vows 'sense of urgency' on climate change. peoplesworld.org WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency pledged Wednesday to "move with a sense of urgency on climate change" and other priorities, while working with lawmakers from both parties to protect the environment. Michael Regan told a Senate committee that under Biden the EPA "will stand up for environmental …

Ian Angus (2021-02-05). Intensive fishing and the birth of capitalism. mronline.org Beginning a series on the role of fishing in the birth and spread of capitalism, and the role of capitalism in today's mass extinction of ocean life.

_____ (2021-02-05). Palestine Action Co-Founder Arrested For Blackmail. popularresistance.org Palestine Action co-founder Richard Goddard was arrested for blackmail on 3 February, just days after the group launched a joint action with Extinction Rebellion that shut down the premises of Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems. | The arrest, which was filmed, took place at around 3pm and Goddard was taken to Fresh Wharf Custody Base, London. Both he and co-founder Huda Ammori reportedly had their passports seized during the raid. Palestine Action has accused the police of 'harassment.

_____ (2021-02-05). Joe Biden's Two-Front Battle Against Covid and Climate Change May Trigger Severe Food Shortages for U.S. Consumers. strategic-culture.org In the United States, the local farmers, it seems, are being squeezed out of business, or paid not to grow food, while Big Agriculture is more concerned with exporting its supplies than keeping domestic food stocks safe and affordable. | In an effort to fight two wars at the same time — against a pandemic as well as purported climate change — the Biden administration risks putting the United States on a crash course with food shortages and soaring prices as early as this year. | Sealed up inside of his White House fortress, surrounded by a ring of steel and thousands of National Guardsmen, U.S. Presid…

The Canary (2021-02-05). Study suggests climate change may have played a role in the coronavirus pandemic. thecanary.co Climate change may have played a direct role in the emergence of Sars-CoV-2 — the virus responsible for the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, a study has suggested. | "Urgent wake-up call": | Global greenhouse gas emissions over the last century have made southern China a "hotspot" for many bat species that host coronaviruses, according to scientists from the University of Cambridge. The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, should be "an urgent wake-up call to reduce global emissions". | Dr Robert Beyer, a researcher in the University of Cambridg…

RT (2021-02-05). 'America is back!' Biden talks 'tough' on Russia and China, vows to reclaim 'moral leadership & defend democracy'. rt.com In his first major foreign policy address, President Joe Biden vowed to confront the enemies of 'democracy' globally, while seeking to reclaim America's 'moral credibility' and leadership in LGBT and climate change issues. | Speaking at the State Department headquarters in the nation's capital on Thursday, Biden outlined his foreign policy vision in a 20-minute address, laying out a sprawling list of priorities for his administration, among them countering supposed US "adversaries." | "American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival…

RT (2021-02-05). 'I will fight back': Jilted model who has 'devil' football ace's name tattooed on her chest lashes out after 'writing off his car'. rt.com World Cup winner Jerome Boateng has accused German beauty Kasia Lenhardt of blackmail in a fierce public row, adding that she "destroyed" his relationships in claims that the model has hit back at by branding him the "devil". | Fuming pin-up Lenhardt berated Boateng for his "constant" cheating and "lies", responding furiously after the Bayern Munich defender announced that he was "disappointed in himself" and had to "take responsibility" for damaging his family. | Boateng has been in a 15-month relationship with Lenhardt, who wrote his Mini car off when she crashed into a street lamp and was found to have alco…

Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (2021-02-05). Basav Sen on Biden Climate Policy, Hannah Sassaman on Prometheus v. FCC. fair.org (image: Institute for Policy Studies) | This week on CounterSpin: We know Biden will be better than Trump on climate policy, because a poke in the eye with a stick would be better. That media are

Kathy Fairfax (2021-02-05). Climate targets require plans, which is why Morrison doesn't want them. greenleft.org.au Pressure from the Biden administration's pledges on swift climate change action seems to have pushed Scott Morrison to mention he indeed has a plan to reduce emissions, writes Pip Hinman.

sputniknews (2021-02-05). UN Chief Reappoints Michael Bloomberg as Climate Envoy. sputniknews.com Michael Bloomberg is an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013. He was also a candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president of the US.

Nick Engelfried (2021-02-05). Grassroots Organizing Defeated Keystone XL and Built a Savvier Climate Movement. zcomm.org From frontline battles to large national mobilizations, tar sands resistance developed new tactics and organizing strategies…

_____ (2021-02-05). Report Warns Climate Change Threatens Affordable Housing. popularresistance.org A recent study in Environmental Research Letters examined how coastal flood risks tied to climate change threaten affordable housing. The authors also touched on the social justice aspects of housing scarcity and climate change, as well as the importance of not displacing people when flood-preparation housing improvements are carried out. | "Affordable housing residents have far fewer safe options and much more to lose than their neighbors as sea level rise increases coastal flooding risks in their communities," Benjamin Strauss, study co-author and Climate Central CEO and chief scientist, told Invisible People.

imperial.ac.uk (2021-02-05). Imperial shapes its role in the UN Climate Change Conference COP26. imperial.ac.uk The whole Imperial community is invited to get involved in a year of action on climate change and biodiversity loss.

Matt Sedlar (2021-02-05). To Fight Climate Change in the Middle of this Economic Crisis, We Need a New Deal that is Green. cepr.net MarketWatch See article on original site Against the universal, natural tendency to put off future needs for the sake of current ones, I want to dwell on the disposition of U.S. public investment. I insist on using investment in the economist's sense: spending that provides benefits in the future. Liberal advocates tend to describe absolutely …

Carey Gillam (2021-02-05). Bayer Makes New $2 Billion Plan to Head Off Future Roundup Cancer Claims. globalresearch.ca All Global Research articles can be read in 27 languages by activating the "Translate Website" drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version). | *** | Monsanto owner Bayer AG said Wednesday it was attempting again to …

Dan Bacher (2021-02-05). California's Bulldozer 'Restoration': From the Ballona Wetlands to the Delta. indybay.org "Our Governor's cabinet members just announced a series of initiatives that support 'Nature Based Solutions' to counter climate change. So, how does Governor Newsom justify a project to bulldoze and excavate more than 2.5 million cubic yards of soil, paving the way for a new fossil fuel infrastructure for the aging gas storage field under this ecological reserve?" asked attorney Bryan Pease.

Marlee Kokotovic (2021-02-05). New bill to push Biden to declare national climate emergency. nationofchange.org "Scientists and experts are clear, this is a climate emergency and we need to take action."

EARTHDAY (2021-02-05). Thursday 2/11: Regenerative Agriculture: Reversing Over Farming to Grow Climate & Food Supply Resiliency. indybay.org Online event…