By JOHN LESLIE Elcon Recycling, an Israeli-based company, has proposed the construction of a toxic waste processing plant in suburban Philadelphia. The plant would boil toxic chemical and pharmaceutical waste to remove the water from it, reducing the materials to a toxic sludge. The resulting muck, which could contain elements such as lead, cadmium, and … Continue reading Pa. waste facility is a threat to waterways
By LISA LUINENBURG On Feb. 15, President Trump declared a National State of Emergency in order to appropriate billions of dollars to build his much-touted wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Even though Congress had granted him $1.375 billion for the border wall in the latest federal budget bill, this wasn’t enough for Trump. He wanted … Continue reading Trump declares fake ‘National Emergency’ to build his border wall
By GARY PORTER The Canadian state brutally violated the Rights of Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, in the interests of the Oil and Gas Barons. Demonstrations immediately occurred in over 30 cities as thousands of Canadians showed they are fed up with Official Racism. The RCMP moved to enforce a B.C. Supreme … Continue reading RCMP ambushes Indigenous defenders of the land
By KAMRAN NAYERI The fanfare about the UN Conference of Parties (COP) 24 in Katowice, located in a coal-mining region in Poland, that the diplomats from some 200 countries have “struck a deal after an all-night bargaining session” that may advance the fight against the unfolding catastrophic climate (The New York Times, Dec. 15, 2018) … Continue reading Challenges posed by the ‘Green New Deal’
By CHRISTINE MARIE In early December, the Global Carbon Project published statistics showing that global emissions of CO2 rose 2% in 2018 to a record high. As Sean Sweeney and John Trent from Trade Unionists for Energy Democracy summarized in a Dec. 31 article, “When ‘Green’ Doesn’t ‘Grow,’ “ the market-focused approach to climate protection … Continue reading Climate activists debate how to reach zero emissions in time
By DANIEL TANURO Dec. 19—The Twenty-Fourth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) has just concluded in Katowice, Poland. Instead of responding to the clear message of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report to take urgent measures to keep warming below 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels, the Conference struggled to set the … Continue reading COP24: During the disaster, the comedy continues
By MARC ROMEIn October, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that the effects of climate change are already happening, making natural events like wildfires more intense. A month later, the Camp Fire, fueled by Diablo winds and drought conditions, incinerated Paradise, Calif., killing 88 people with nearly 800 unaccounted for. More … Continue reading California governor signs legislation to bail out utility that sparked deadly fires
By BARRY SHEPPARD Two big hurricanes hit southeastern United States in September-October. The first was named Florence, which devastated North and South Carolina with torrential rains, up to 40 inches in some locations over a few days, causing massive flooding as rivers overflowed for weeks. The second was Michael, which hit Florida with very high … Continue reading Hurricanes, global warming, and dire projections for the near future
By JOHN LESLIE Hurricane Florence hit the Carolina coast on Sept. 14 with major flooding, leaving hundreds stranded, more than 500,000 without power, and at least 45 dead. Many residents of the region had not anticipated the extent of the flooding from the slow-moving storm, and hundreds required emergency evacuation. Florence had risen to the … Continue reading The environmental consequences of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina
By BRUCE LESNICK Humanity faces a multi-faceted crisis. Endless wars of imperial aggression, both overt and covert—from Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Afghanistan to Yemen, Palestine, and Central and South America. These conflagrations compel those at the bottom of the economic pyramid to fight and die to protect the wealth and privileges of those at the … Continue reading We can beat the climate destroyers
By DON HARMON “Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice” is one of the rallying cries for the march and protest to be held in San Francisco and many other cities on Saturday, Sept. 8. (Sept. 6 in New York City.) In San Francisco, the march will begin at 10 a.m. at the Embarcadero Plaza and continue … Continue reading Rise for climate, jobs, and justice!
By BARRY WEISLEDER I strongly recommend the latest book by Ian Angus, “A Redder Shade of Green.” This anthology, published by Monthly Review Press (New York, 2017, 198 pages), contains well-written articles, very accessible to non-experts, that first appeared between 2009 and 2017. They summarize the latest scientific findings on the state of the environment and provide … Continue reading Books: Where science and socialism intersect
By RUAN MUNASINGHE On May 22, thousands of protesters in the town and district of Thoothukudi (also known by its British name, Tuticorin), in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, expressed their anguish as victims of pollution from the area’s copper smelter. Police and paramilitary fired into the crowd, killing 13 and injuring many more. … Continue reading Thousands resist pollution from copper smelting plant in India
By ANN MONTAGUE — SALEM, Ore. — People in Oregon are usually proud of their natural resources. All school children know that in 1966 Governor Tom McCall took on the real estate barons with public pressure behind him, and all Oregon beaches were legally declared public property with unfettered access for all. So those of … Continue reading Oregon water crisis: A product of climate change
By LUCAS ALAN DIETSCHE — SUPERIOR, Wis. — On April 26, around 10 a.m., on the same day as the anniversary of the explosion at Chernobyl, the Husky Refinery here exploded and caught fire. For nine hours, toxic fumes blew 30 miles to the south. Eleven workers were injured but soon recovered. Most of this … Continue reading Husky refinery fire: No to hydrogen fluoride
By BARRY WEISLEDER and GARY PORTER Q: When should workers oppose nationalization of an industry? A: When it is a bail-out of a nature-destroying, Indigenous rights violating, ruthlessly greedy corporation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision on May 29 to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline is that, and much worse. While the Liberal federal government can’t come … Continue reading No to Ottawa’s purchase of Trans-Mountain pipeline
By GARY PORTER On May 29, Canada’s federal government announced that it would purchase the Trans Mountain Pipeline from the American corporation Kinder Morgan—despite opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous people. “The Trans Mountain expansion project is of vital interest to Canada and Canadians,” Bill Morneau, the finance minister, told reporters after a cabinet meeting to … Continue reading Kinder Morgan: Should Canadian taxpayers invest in a bailout?
By CLIFF CONNER Following World War II, a think tank named the RAND Corporation took the lead in formulating policies guiding military-industrial Big Science. Some of the titles of books and articles about RAND provide a hint of what it represented in the public imagination: “The Think Tank that Controls America,” “America’s University of Imperialism,” … Continue reading The Militarization of American Science
By CHRIS TEI We don’t need to be removed from nature. We need to radically change the way we relate to it. Capitalism’s endless pursuit of profits for the few continues to destroy the ecosystems upon which human beings base our very existence. And while one political wing of the capitalist class ceaselessly denies climate … Continue reading Remove people from nature? Human beings are not a problem!
WEST HARTFORD, Conn.—On Feb. 24, around 170 crowded into the Elmwood Community Center here to hear, as the promotional material described the event, “Experts and activists exploring some of the toughest questions facing the climate movement.” Jacqui Patterson, the director of the national NAACP’s Environmental and Justice Program, told the stories of individual people of … Continue reading Connecticut activists assemble at Climate Justice Teach-in
By CHRISTINE MARIE As Bill McKibben and other climate leaders keep reminding us, the cost of solar and wind energy keeps dropping. They assure us that if government continues to incentivize private investment with guarantees of profits it would make these renewable sources competitive with fossil fuels and lead to a green capitalism. This thinking … Continue reading Union group argues for public ownership of energy systems
By GARY PORTER On Dec. 11, British Columbia’s New Democratic Party Premier John Horgan announced that his government would complete the third massive power dam on the beautiful Peace River in northeastern BC at a cost of $11 billion. Andrew Weaver, leader of the BC Green Party—who signed a “confidence and supply” agreement with the … Continue reading British Columbia NDP Fails Site C test
By BILL ONASCH On Feb. 5, civil rights, trade union, student, church, and environmental activists in communities across North America will come together in a variety of events to call attention to a looming crisis in public transit. The diversity of these groups indicates that they recognize not only the urgent need to save what … Continue reading Labor and climate groups support Transit Equity Day
By CLIFF CONNER — Cliff Conner is currently writing a book entitled “The Tragedy of American Science.” How loathsome is the Trump administration? Let me count the ways. On second thought, let me not—it would take too long. But one important threat it poses to the United States and the world is to the integrity … Continue reading Trump’s war on science
By MICHAEL SCHREIBER At the same time that Donald Trump was gallivanting around Asia, with objectives that included arming Japan with U.S. missiles and cajoling China into the plan to isolate North Korea, other heads of state were in Bonn, Germany, for the 23rd annual “Conference of the Parties” (COP23) UN-sponsored climate talks. The two … Continue reading Bonn talks underway; scientists see grim future for climate
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