What’s in that wildfire smoke, and why is it so bad for your lungs?

Published on August 21st, 2020 | by

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If I dare to give the coronavirus credit for anything, I would say it has made people more conscious of the air they breathe. A friend texted me this week after going for a jog in the foothills near Boise, Idaho, writing: “My lungs are burning … explain what’s happening!!!” Luke Montrose, Boise State University The […]

EPA weakens Methane Rule as pollution soars

Published on August 21st, 2020 | by

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This year, levels of methane, a powerful heat-trapping gas, hit an all-time high, driven in large part by pollution leaking from gas pipelines and drilling sites. Plugging these leaks is cheap, has enormous upsides for the climate, and is widely supported by major players in the industry, which is why it’s striking that the EPA has decided to weaken […]

Renewables aren’t causing California’s blackouts (But climate deniers are happy to lie about it)

Published on August 21st, 2020 | by

11 hours ago by

One of the strangest new approaches climate change deniers have successfully pushed into the mainstream is that bad things happening now will happen more if we take climate action. For example, taking her cues from the WSJ’s editorial board and other deniers, Valerie Richardson of the Washington Times wrote about how people are (wrongly) blaming renewables for the blackouts. […]

Lightning sparks hundreds of fires in California as flames overwhelm resources

Published on August 21st, 2020 | by

12 hours ago by

Authorities in California announced Wednesday evacuations for thousands of people as multiple wildfires left firefighters facing “depleted” resources and area residents dealt with rolling blackouts, high heat, poor air quality, and possible loss of homes—all as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rage. 2020 in a single remarkable photo – by @noahberger3884 in California pic.twitter.com/EpT3SZWLNV — Rupert Myers (@RupertMyers) August […]

Pesiticides safety is an ongoing issue (And the US is NOT doing well)

Published on August 21st, 2020 | by

13 hours ago by

The US has some of the most lax restrictions in terms of pesticide safety regulations; in fact, several of the pesticides used in the US are banned in the EU…. By Emily Folk (Excerpted from a longer piece at Earth.org.) More pests is only one symptom of a changing climate that’s making many crops around […]

The risk of preterm birth rises near gas flaring, reflecting deep-rooted environmental injustices in rural America

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

21 hours ago by

Through the southern reaches of Texas, communities are scattered across a flat landscape of dry brush lands, ranches and agricultural fields. This large rural region near the U.S.-Mexico border is known for its persistent poverty. Over 25% of the families here live in poverty, and many lack access to basic services like water, sewer and […]

The 3 CA Senate Dems who voted against drilling setbacks bill took big bucks from big oil

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

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Three California Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans against an amended version of AB 345, a bill that would require the establishment of an environmental justice program at the California Natural Resources Agency, received $142,206 in donations from oil and gas corporations. By Dan Bacher Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg, Senator Anna Caballero and Senator Ben Hueso joined Republican Senators Andrea Borgeas and Brian Jones to defeat the […]

“Deregulate…Deregulate…Deregulate…” Trump’s bass-ackward government

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

1 day ago by

Gosh, President Donald Trump has really been busy lately: busy assailing Sen. Kamala Harris as “nasty;” busy choosing a new pandemic adviser, whose only qualification is that he praises Trump on Fox News; and busy dissing and dismantling our post offices. But, instead of all this Trumpian political stuff, shouldn’t a president be, you know, running […]

I arranged a climate change protest at my high school. The reactionary racist attacks changed me

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

1 day ago by

In December 2019, I met with school administrators at my high school in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, area. Inspired by 17-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, with whom I shared age and a passion for youth-orchestrated climate strikes, I wanted to amplify young voices in my community and decided to organize a school walkout. I aspired to create a […]

Greta Thunberg and fellow activists decry political inaction on climate crisis after two years of school strikes

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

1 day ago by

A day before meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, four Fridays for Future leaders published an op-ed in The Guardian on Wednesday calling out world leaders for failing to tackle the planetary crisis despite the past two years of youth-led global protests demanding urgent action to achieve climate and environmental justice. By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams Greta Thunberg of Sweden, Luisa […]

Climate Apartheid: Police protect power and property, not people

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

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We’ve talked before about why defunding the police is good climate policy, and how deniers are all too keen to sic law enforcement on peaceful protests of just two dozen or so people. And of course there was the time that someone called the Park Police, who arrived “fully riot-geared out” to protect former Navy SEAL and then-DOI chief Ryan […]

It wasn’t Biden: DNC cut #EndFossilFuelSubsidies from the Democratic Platform

Published on August 20th, 2020 | by

1 day ago by

I’m gonna do a thread on the @DNC removal of fossil fuel subsidy language, and why it’s, ah, sorta suspect. Sit down. And if you read my tweets yest., you know that it’s politically popular, both Biden and Harris campaigned on it, and removal of #EndFossilFuelSubsidies language is just mystifying. But let’s look carefully at the […]

Climate groups furious as DNC drops plank on ending fossil fuel subsidies from Democratic platform

Published on August 19th, 2020 | by

1 day ago by

Environmentalists reacted with outrage late Tuesday to news that the Democratic National Committee this week quietly removed from the final party platform an amendment calling for an end to federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, a longstanding demand of climate activists that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported during the primary. By Jake […]

Columbia University has a new idea about carbon pricing. Here’s the quick summary.

Published on August 19th, 2020 | by

2 days ago by

How much to charge for each ton of emissions is perhaps the most crucial element of a carbon pricing policy. However, there is little consensus among economists about the appropriate level for carbon prices. By Noah Kaufman, Alexander R. Barron, Wojciech Krawczyk, Peter Marsters, and Haewon McJeon Center on Global Energy Policy Setting CO2 prices […]