2021-01-04: News Headlines

Tara Lohan (2021-01-04). Midnight rush: 6 ways Trump trashed the environment during the holidays. nationofchange.org Trump's team continued its unprecedented onslaught on environmental regulations, with nearly a dozen new rollbacks or threats to public health, wildlife, clean air, public lands and the climate.

imperial.ac.uk (2021-01-04). Imperial academic delivers Royal Institution Christmas Lecture. imperial.ac.uk Professor Chris Jackson's lecture took audiences back into deep geological time, charting how carbon dioxide controls the Earth's climate.

Jacques Leslie (2021-01-04). Treat Fossil Fuels Like Nukes. Endorse a New Nonproliferation Treaty. commondreams.org The treaty addresses a nearly universal failing of climate change regulations, which usually attempt to curb energy demand instead of attacking the oil industry directly by limiting fossil fuel supply. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/oilpumps_0_0_0.jpg

The Canary (2021-01-03). Greta Thunberg thanks birthday well-wishers and says she's headed to the pub. thecanary.co Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg has thanked well-wishers for their messages on her 18th birthday and joked she would be spending it in the pub exposing the "dark secrets" behind climate change conspiracy. | Drinking age: | In an interview to mark her birthday, Thunberg said she has stopped buying new clothes and holds no grudges against people who fly or decide to have children. | Posting on Twitter, she joked: | Thank you so much for all the well-wishes on my 18th birthday! | Tonight you will find me down at the local pub exposing all the dark secrets behind the climate- and school strike conspir…

Dr. Vandana Shiva (2021-01-02). The Seeds Of Suicide: How Monsanto Destroys Farming. globalresearch.ca Control over seed is the first link in the food chain because seed is the source of life. When a corporation controls seed, it controls life, especially the life of farmers.

Paul Webster (2021-01-02). [World Report] Canada's municipalities push for health-based climate action. thelancet.com Canada's cities are leading the efforts to stem the harmful effects of the climate emergency on human health. Paul Webster reports from Toronto.

Staff (2021-01-02). Climate Justice Advisory Groups Are in Vogue. But Are State Agencies Listening? truthout.org As hurricanes In an a…

Chloe Brimicombe, Elliott Sainsbury (2021-01-01). Overshadowed by COVID: The Deadly Extreme Weather of 2020. commondreams.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. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/file-20201209-18-1njg452.jpg

Erik Molvar (2021-01-01). The Times Call for a Bold Conservation Agenda, Will Biden Seize the Moment? counterpunch.org For four long years, Donald Trump and his industry cronies have waged war on lands, wildlife, climate, and science itself. They leave behind a legacy of shattered agencies, broken regulations, and demoralized public servants. At the same time, America's awareness of environmental justice disparities — and the moral imperative to alleviate the burdens of pollution

Olivia Lazard (2021-01-01). The power of soil: How our precarious climate shaped the Arab Spring. middleeasteye.net The power of soil: How our precarious climate shaped the Arab Spring | Fri, 01/01/2021 – 18: 40 | The history of the Middle East, and the recent teachings of the 2010-11 uprisings, highlight an important lesson: Ignore ecological integrity at your peril | In 149 BC, Marcus Porcius Cato – a politician, soldier and citizen dedicated to the study of agriculture – saw a major goal realised when Rome

Andrea Germanos, staff writer (2021-01-01). Youth Activists Ring In 2021 With Renewed Demand That World 'Wake Up to the Climate Crisis'. commondreams.org "It must be the year we take real action instead of continuing to repeat meaningless words and empty promises." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/2021-first-fridaysforfuture.jpg

Vijay Prashad (2021-01-01). You don't want to imagine an ocean without coral reefs — but you might have to. peoplesdispatch.org Coral reefs across the world may disappear by the 2040s, according to a new report. While it's tempting to blame 'humanity' for this crisis, the truth is that it is the social formation called capitalism that is central to global warming…

Patrick Bond (2021-01-01). As South African climate justice veterans fall, consciousness begins reviving, from below and across. mronline.org On three days last week—December 23-25—South Africa's east coast province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) lost three of its clearest voices for social justice and environmental sanity: rural women's leader Sizani Ngubane (74), trade unionist Patrick Mkhize (60) and progressive activist Faith ka-Manzi (52).

Liz Kimbrough (2021-01-01). Top Positive Environmental Stories From 2020. commondreams.org This year, species were brought back from the edge of extinction, interest in renewable energy surged, environmental monitoring technology improved, new protected areas were created, and a few Indigenous women leaders got some long-overdue credit and recognition. | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/nemonte.jpg

_____ (2021-01-01). Organizations Diverting Food Waste To Provide Meals For People In Need. popularresistance.org One-third of the world's food is wasted, according to the United Nations (UN). That number jumps to 40 percent in the United States—enough to feed 2 billion people. | Uneaten food has dire consequences for the planet: decomposing waste releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. According to the UN, if food waste was its own country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas in the world, after the United States and China. | And yet, a recent Census Bureau survey finds that 1 in 8 Americans is struggling to secure reliable, nutritious food. | "There's no shortage of food," Regina Anderson, Exec…

Vijay Prashad (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.

Amanda Mills (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."

teleSUR (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…