Daily Archives: December 13, 2021

2021-12-13: News Headlines

Associated Press (2021-12-13). Was the Kentucky tornado outbreak rooted in climate change? peoplesworld.org The calendar said December but the warm moist air screamed of springtime. Add an eastbound storm front guided by a La Nina weather pattern into that mismatch and it spawned tornadoes that killed dozens over five U.S. states. Tornadoes in December are unusual, but not unheard of. But the ferocity and path length of Friday night's tornadoes likely …

Simon Hanna (2021-12-13). COP26 was a failure… the future is in our hands now. mronline.org What does COP26 mean for the climate movement? simon hannah offers his assessment.

Staff (2021-12-13). "This Isn't a Natural Disaster": Climate Scientist Michael Mann on Deadly Tornadoes in 8 States. democracynow.org At least 100 people are feared dead after 30 deadly tornadoes devastated towns in eight states, from Kentucky to Arkansas, in a supercell thunderstorm that raged more than 200 miles, leaving behind scenes some compared to a war zone. President Biden has declared a major federal disaster and called for an investigation into the role climate change played in the storms. We speak to climate scientist Michael Mann about the role of climate change in the storms and climate denialism among Republican leaders. "Make no mistake, we have been seeing an increase in these massive tornado outbreaks that can be attributed to…

Staff (2021-12-13). "A Bigger Picture": Ugandan Activist Vanessa Nakate on Bringing New Voices to the Climate Fight. democracynow.org We go to Kampala, Uganda, to speak to climate activist Vanessa Nakate on the occasion of her first book being published, "A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis." In an extended interview, she describes the challenges of being a young Ugandan woman from a continent that contributes less than 4% of the world's carbon emissions yet suffers the worst consequences of the climate crisis and is often ignored by the Global North. "There won't be climate justice if specific groups of people are being left behind," says Nakate, founder of the Africa-based Rise Up Movement. "We are fa…

Brittani Banks (2021-12-13). Whales Will Save the World's Climate—Unless the Military Destroys Them First. independentmediainstitute.org The U.S. military is famous for being the single largest consumer of petroleum products in the world and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Its carbon emissions exceed those released by "more than 100 countries combined." Now, with the Biden administration's mandate to slash carbon emissions "at least in half by the end of the …

scorinoco (2021-12-12). Why Poorer Nations Aren't Falling for Green-Washed Imperialism. orinocotribune.com By Prabir Purkayastha — Dec 8, 2021 | Fighting global warming is not just about providing a path to net-zero carbon emissions for all countries. It is also about figuring out how best to meet the energy needs of people across the world while working toward net-zero emissions. If fossil fuels have to be given up, which has now become an urgent need given the current environmental challenges, countries in Africa and a significant part of Asia, including India, need an alternate path for providing electricity to their people. What then is the best alternate course for poorer countries to follow for electricity…

_____ (2021-12-12). A Plea To Make Widespread Environmental Damage An International Crime. popularresistance.org The campaign to make ecocide an international crime took center stage in the Hague on Tuesday as Bangladesh, Samoa and Vanuatu advocated criminalizing environmental destruction during a virtual forum at the annual meeting of the International Criminal Court's 123 member nations. The forum, attended by more than 1,300 individual participants, represented a collective cry for justice from three of the world's most climate vulnerable countries. It came less than a month after they and other developing nations pressed their claims at the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow for greater resiliency and adaptation fu…

_____ (2021-12-12). Mapped: Europe's Fossil Fuel-Backed Hydrogen Lobby. popularresistance.org Hydrogen has shot up the European legislative agenda in recent years, with politicians of all stripes touting its potential to help countries meet their climate goals. | The UK government's Hydrogen Strategy, launched in August, promises to develop a "thriving low carbon hydrogen sector" as a "key plank" of its climate plans, and the fuel was given pride of place at a "Hydrogen Transition Summit" hosted in Glasgow during the recent UN climate talks. | But not all hydrogen is created equal, and environmental experts have raised concerns about the type of hydrogen being advocated — as well as which sectors of…

Juan Cole (2021-12-12). Why Biden is Likely right that the Climate Emergency is partly to blame for massive Tornadoes. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The string of horrific tornadoes generated by unrelenting thunderstorms over hundreds of miles in the southeast and midwest of the US has likely left over a hundred dead, and has wiped out portions of small towns. As with any extreme weather event, it is natural to ask whether it is …

_____ (2021-12-12). Solidarity Action Rebukes Navy Over Toxic Water Pollution. popularresistance.org Activists with CodePink, in solidarity with Hawaii-based water protectors, on Friday projected images on a submarine tower outside the Navy museum in Washington, D.C., calling for a shutdown of a military fuel storage facility associated with contamination of Oahu drinking water. | Messages displayed on the USS Balao Conning Tower included "Shut down Red Hill tanks," "Demilitarize Hawaii," and "Navy is poison."

ecns.cn (2021-12-12). Omicron variant detected in California's wastewater before WHO raises alarms: US media. ecns.cn The test result of a wastewater sample showed that the Omicron COVID-19 variant was present in US state California even before the World Health Organization declared it the newest coronavirus variant of concern, media reported Friday, citing official sources.

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