(2018-09-16). Trump Is Giving Protectionism a Bad Name. truthout.org While it might not seem like it now, President Donald Trump is a gift to free market—oriented economists and policymakers. His clumsy approach to protectionism has ignited a trade war that inevitably will harm the US economy. When the pendulum inexorably swings the other way after the Trump fiasco, free-trade ideology will return with a vengeance. This is a potential tragedy for left-leaning policy analysts who have long been concerned about the excesses of neoliberalism and argued for a more measured use of tariffs to foster local economic development. As such, it is critical that we distinguish between Trump's right-wing nationalist embrace of tariffs and the more nuanced use of this tool to support infant industries. | As a development geographer and an Africanist scholar, I have long been critical of unfettered free trade because of its deleterious economic impacts on African countries.
(2018-09-16). Who Owns California 2018: Big Oil and the Western States Petroleum Association. indybay.org Most of the news coverage by mainstream and alternative media of Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit from September 12 to 14 and the big protests by indigenous and front line communities against Jerry Brown's policies of carbon trading and expanding oil drilling in California has neglected one huge issue: Big Oil and the Western State's Petroleum Association's grip on CA politics. | It's hard to report on the subservience of Jerry Brown and other politicians to the fossil fuel industry agenda without discussing how Big Oil & WSPA have captured the regulators, including so-called "marine protection" in Cali…
(2018-09-15). Ending the Secrecy of the Student Debt Crisis. alternet.org 
Activists are building meaningful connections among borrowers to counter the taboo of admitting they can't pay their bills. | Gamblers and reality TV stars can claim bankruptcy protections when in financial trouble, but 44 million student loan borrowers can't. Unemployed, underpaid, destitute, sick, or struggling borrowers simply aren't able to start anew. With a default rate approaching (2018-09-15). National Park Officials Removed Climate Change From Report Due to "Sensitivity" truthout.org 
| Park officials scrubbed all mentions of climate change from a key planning document for a New England national park after they were warned to avoid "sensitive language that may raise eyebrows" with the Trump administration. | The superintendent of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts had signed off a year ago on a 50-page document that outlines the park's importance to American history and its future challenges. But then the National Park Service's regional office sent an email in January suggesting edits: References to climate change and its increasing role in threats to the famous whaling…
(2018-09-15). Trump's Insults Against His 'Hillbilly' Base Are Making Them Turn on Him: NYT Column. alternet.org 
New polls show that Donald Trump's base is beginning to turn against him — and it may be related to his continual insults on their intelligence. | "A raft of new polls show that some of the most hard-core Trumpsters are starting to get a clue," nonfiction author Timothy Egan wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Friday, adding that the revelation is akin to "discovering that climate change is. . .
(2018-09-15). Media Coverage of Hurricane Florence Leaves Out Crucial Information. therealnews.com 
Analyses of the media coverage of hurricane Florence show that most outlets leave out the link to climate change and the real dangers the hurricane presents for creating toxic spills. We speak to Lisa Hyams of Media Matters for America
(2018-09-15). Does the US Military "Own the Weather"? "Weaponizing the Weather" as an Instrument of Modern Warfare? globalresearch.ca Weather-modification, according to the US Air Force document AF 2025 Final Report, "offers the war fighter a wide range of possible options to defeat or coerce an adversary", capabilities, it says, extend to the triggering of floods, hurricanes, droughts and earthquakes
(2018-09-14). The Trump Economy Is on the Path for Another Financial Crisis — And It's Likely to Be Even Worse This Time. alternet.org 
Ten years after Lehman Brothers' collapse, the Wall Street casino is running amok. | At summer's end, the U. S. economy looks to be sizzling. Unemployment is low. Growth is higher than expected. Consumer confidence is soaring and Wall Street just set a record bull run. "We are crushing it," Trump's economic advisor Larry Kudlow recently boasted. The euphoria feels a bit like. . . just before the crash of 2007-8. Does that worry you? It should. Hold onto your 401(k)s, because the Wall Street casino that nearly tanked the global economy ten years ago is up and running amok again. But what about the much-touted safeguards in place today? It's true that in 2010, the Dodd—Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed to ensure that taxpayers would never again be on the hook to bailout of big financial institutions. Alas,. . .
(2018-09-14). What happens when the 'alt-right' starts believing in climate change? peoplesworld.org 
asked its readers a question: "What does it mean for whites if climate change is real?" | In its bombastic response, the magazine bucked two decades of conservative dogma to offer an ethno-nationalist take on planetary warming. Conceding that scientists might be right about climate change, it worried that shifting weather patterns could drive more black and brown people to the Global North, where whites will face a choice: stem the migrant tide or die. | "The population explosion in the global south combined with climate change and liberal attitudes towards migration are the single greatest external threat to Western civilization," AmRen wrote. "[It's] more serious than Islamic terrorism or Hispanic illegal immigration." | White supremacists like Jared Taylor are pushing the far right to prepare for the reality of climate change, but they are using it to argue for stricter immigration controls…
(2018-09-14). A Debate on Geoengineering: Should We Deliberately "Hack" Planet Earth to Combat Climate Change? democracynow.org 
As California Governor Jerry Brown's Global Climate Action Summit is underway in San Francisco, we look at one of the more controversial solutions to climate change: geoengineering. Sometimes called "climate manipulation," geoengineering involves the deliberate altering of the Earth to decrease the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Such proposals are already being explored by government agencies, scientists and businesses around the world. Supporters of geoengineering endorse radical ways to manipulate the planet, from spraying aerosols with sulfur particles into the stratosphere, to scrubbing carbon dioxide fr…
(2018-09-14). From CO2 to Methane, Trump's Hurricane of Destruction. counterpunch.org 
Photo Source Becker1999 | CC BY 2.0 | While the Trump administration swirls around in a vortex of Tweets, lies and Russiagate, one thing is for certain, while we are all distracted and perplexed by the daily mayhem, Trump and his fossil fuel buddies are getting away with environmental plunder. | It's not a surprise, really, given that Trump believes man-made climate change is a bunch of stale chow mein, as he notoriously tweeted: | November 6, 2012 | Unfortunately, Trump has moved beyond his wacky conspiracy theory and sparked a full-on assault on the environmental laws, science and regulatory apparatus which act as our best hope to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In documents uncovered by the New York Times earlier this week, the paper revealed the Trump gang is going to announce a proposal that will make it far…
(2018-09-13). As Hurricane Florence Batters Carolinas, Media Ignores Climate Change Connection. therealnews.com 
Hurricanes are getting more powerful and more destructive because of global warming, which gives storms more energy, but as the mass media reports on the destruction, they leave out this connection. Climate scientist Kevin Trenberth explains the link
(2018-09-13). California Energy To Go 100% Sustainable by 2045. Is It Enough? therealnews.com 
Miya Yoshitani of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network says California Governor Brown must do more than sign SB100 to curb climate change and protect vulnerable communities
(2018-09-13). Protesters Disrupt Governor's Task Force on Climate and Forests. therealnews.com 
The task force was created to use carbon credits to fight climate change and deforestation, but protesters say the program harms Indigenous people and doesn't curb emissions
(2018-09-12). Amika Mota Fought Fires as a Prisoner for 53 Cents/Hour. Now Free, She Can't Work as a Firefighter. democracynow.org 
We continue our conversation about California's incarcerated firefighters with a look at the women fighting the state's climate change-fueled blazes. We speak with Amika Mota, a former prisoner firefighter. She didn't even make $1 per hour while on duty as a firefighter—she made just 53 cents. Amika Mota is now the director of prison re-entry at the Young Women's Freedom Center in San Francisco.
(2018-09-11). The Baltimore Bureau Podcast Show: September 7, 2018. therealnews.com 
Eze and Khalilah sit down with Caryn York, Executive Director of Job Opportunities Task Force, to discuss Baltimore City School closings due to lack of AC, Gov. Hogan's rhetoric vs. track record, abuse of women of color by the criminal justice system, and how environmentalists and labor unions can jointly address climate change
(2018-09-11). Climate Change Supercharges Hurricane Florence as 1.5 Million Evacuate in Carolinas & Virginia. democracynow.org 
More than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coasts of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence continues to gain strength as it barrels toward the East Coast. The enormous Category 4 storm is projected to make landfall on Thursday or Friday, bringing with it heavy rains and high winds that could linger for days after hitting land. People up and down the coast are preparing for extreme flooding and what the National Hurricane Center is calling a "life-threatening storm surge." Experts are warning the damage could be catastrophic.
(2018-09-11). Headlines for September 11, 2018. democracynow.org John Bolton Threatens International Criminal Court Judges with Sanctions, More Than 1 Million Ordered to Evacuate as Florence Barrels Toward East Coast, Trump Admin Plans to Roll Back Regulations Limiting Methane Gas Emissions, Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Law to Move California to Carbon-Free Energy by 2045, In Urgent Plea, U.N. Secretary-General Warns of Risks of "Runaway Climate Change", Bill McKibben: More Than $6 Trillion Divested from Fossil Fuel Companies So Far, WaPo: 1,600 Federal Workers Have Departed EPA in Mass Exodus, U.N. Warns Offensive in Idlib Could Lead to Worst Loss of Life in 21st Century, Afghanist…
(2018-09-10). Headlines for September 10, 2018. democracynow.org Activists Rally at Protests Worldwide to Demand Urgent Action on Climate Change | , Syrian and Russian Militaries Continue Offensive in Idlib, Obama Slams Trump as "Threat to Democracy", Trump Ex-Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos Sentenced to 14 Days in Prison | , Senator Warren: Time to Use 25th Amendment to Remove Trump from Office | , U.S. to Adopt Aggressive Stance Against International Criminal Court, Israeli Soldiers Kill 2 Palestinian Protesters Friday | , NYT: U.S. Officials Met with Rebel Venezuelan Officials to Discuss Coup Against Maduro | , Egyptian Court Sentences 75 Muslim Brotherhood Members to…
(2018-09-10). Rise for Climate: Tens of Thousands March in San Francisco Calling for Fossil-Free World. democracynow.org 
Hundreds of thousands of protesters in more than 90 countries joined a worldwide day of protest demanding urgent action to address climate change Saturday. In San Francisco, up to 30,000 people took part in the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice march. It is believed to be the largest climate march ever on the West Coast. The protest came just days before the start of the Global Climate Action Summit being organized by California Governor Jerry Brown. Democracy Now! was in the streets of San Francisco for the march.
(2018-08-22). Large Earthquake Off Northern Venezuelan Coast. venezuelanalysis.com According to the Venezuelan Foundation of Seismological Research, the quake registered at 6.9 on the Richter Scale and left parts of Trinidad and Tobago without electricity.
(2018-08-20). As Trump Favors Asbestos, People Die. progressive.org Donald Trump has been rolling back protections against exposure to asbestos, which kills an estimated 15,000 people each year in the United States alone.