Eco Unionist News

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, September 7, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• The $8 Trillion Fight Over How to Rid America of Fossil Fuel - By Eric Roston, Bloomberg, August 30, 2016
• Mass protests by China’s coal, iron and steel workers on the decline - By staff, China Labour Bulletin, August 18, 2016

Carbon Market Watch:

• Oil ends slide on Putin freeze comments - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, September 2, 2016; [related]: OPEC output rises to record before talks with Russia on freeze - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, September 2, 2016 | Oil holds near lowest levels in three weeks - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, September 1, 2016 | Oil has worst day in almost a month; back below $45 - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 31, 2016 | Oil trades near $47 as gasoline inventories appear to have dipped - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 30, 2016 | Doubts linger over potential OPEC deal - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 29, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• QUT becomes first Queensland University to its dump fossil fuel investments - By 350.org, REnew Economy, September 5, 2016
• California nixes funding for coal export terminals - By Paige Blankenbuehler, High Country News, September 2, 2016
• India shelves coal mining target on weak demand - By Megan Darby, Climate Change News, September 2, 2016
• Petrobras sheds 11,704 workers in plan to save $1.2 billion - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, September 2, 2016
• Baker Hughes cuts employee pay 5 percent through furloughs - By Jordan Blum, FuelFix, September 1, 2016
• Canada’s Enbridge drops Sandpiper crude oil pipeline - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, September 1, 2016
• Caterpillar to close Belgium plant, lay off 2000 workers - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, September 1, 2016
• Over 3000 UK churches on way to ditching fossil fuels - By Ed King, Climate Change News, September 1, 2016
• Mass adoption of electric vehicles is “much sooner than most people realize” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 31, 2016
• Canada’s mining industry faces workers shortage of up to 127,000 - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 30, 2016
• U.S. universities using less coal for heat, power - By David Hunn, FuelFix, August 30, 2016
• Solar power growing rapidly as prices tumble and tax credits are extended - By John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 27, 2016
• The Gilded Rage: A Conversation With a Trump Supporter That Will Surprise You - By Alexander Zaitchik, Alternet, August 22, 2016
• Old King Coal - By Dan Weissmann, WBEX 91.5 FM, June 22, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Back to school? Schools that have installed solar panels threatened with an unfair tax bill - By staff, The Ecologist, September 5, 2016
• A Battle Over Bringing Local Renewables To Rural Electric Co-ops - By Cally Carswell, Inside Energy, September 2, 2016
• Facing stricter climate goals, California passes 4 bills to boost energy storage - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, September 2, 2016
• The graph that shows the death of traditional energy utilities - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, September 2, 2016
• In 11th hour deal, California public utility reaches net metering compromise - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, September 2, 2016
• The Climate Change Authority’s gamble on political pragmatism - By Frank Jotzo, The Conversation, September 1, 2016
• Nevada regulator blocks SolarCity from grandfathering proceedings - By Krysti Shallenberger, Utility Dive, September 1, 2016; [related]: SolarCity Barred From Intervening in Nevada Grandfathering Dockets - By Julia Pyper, GreenTechMedia, August 31, 2016
• 2 GW Of Colorado Wind Can Replace 6000 GWh Of Coal - By Aisha Abdelhamid, Clean Technica, September 1, 2016
• Florida votes to strike property taxes on solar panels - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, August 31, 2016
• Wind Power Curtailment in China Expected to Increase in Second Half of 2016 -  By Liu Yuanyuan, Renewable Energy World, August 31, 2016
• Australia’s natural-gas cartel is bleeding Australia - By Bruce Robertson, REnew Economy, August 30, 2016
• New England’s Big Energy Switch - By Alisa Barba, Inside Energy, August 30, 2016
• New Hampshire Sticks With Solar Net Metering, Which Voters Support - By Peter Allen, Clean Technica, August 30, 2016
• No new solar! How network lobby imagines Australia’s clean energy transition - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 30, 2016
• Solar groups pour money into Arizona utility regulatory election - By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive, August 30, 2016
• AEP Ohio wants to double fixed charges, joining net metering debate - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, August 29, 2016
• Distributed Generation Under Fire (Q2 2016) - By Karlee Weinmann, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, August 29, 2016
• A Funny Thing Happening in the Race for Renewables - By Steve Hargreaves and Courtney St. John, Nexus Media, August 22, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 31, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• This. Means. WAR. – By Chris Dragon, Clean Technica, August 25, 2016
• Day After Obama Tours Louisiana Flood Damage, Gov't Holds Massive Gulf Oil & Gas Lease Auction – Antonia Juhasz interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 24, 2016; [related]: Historic Louisiana Flooding, Katrina Anniversary Serve as Stark Reminders of Need for Increased Resilience – By staff, Restore the Mississipi River Delta, August 25, 2016 | Bill Nye takes CNN to task on what really happened in Louisiana – By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 25, 2016 | Flood-Ravaged Gulf Coast Residents Ask President Obama To Cancel Federal Offshore Drilling Lease Auction – By Julie Dermansky, DeSmog Blog, August 24, 2016 | Four Arrested In Protest, But Feds Continue With Plan To Sell The Gulf To Oil Interests – By Samantha Page, Think Progress, August 24, 2016 | “President Obama: More Drilling = More Floods” – By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 24, 2016 | Four Arrested at Louisiana BOEM Office Delivering Petitions Demanding President Obama Cancel Offshore Drilling Lease Sale – By Anne Rolfes, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Dani Heffernan, 350.org, and Steve Jones, Center for Biological Diversity, August 23, 2016 | Gulf Residents Occupy BOEM office in Louisiana To Demand That President Obama Cancel Upcoming Fossil Fuel Lease Sale – By Jamie Henn, Common Dreams, August 23, 2016 | Louisiana Climate-Deniers Who Refused Sandy Victims Now Want Federal Flood Relief – By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, August 23, 2016 | Race and Class Gap Widening: Katrina Pain Index 2016 by the Numbers – By Bill Quigley, CounterPunch, August 23, 2016 | Louisiana’s flood couldn’t have been stopped, but it didn’t have to be so devastating – By Heather Smith, Grist, August 22, 2016
• Inaction on Climate Change Could Cost Millennials $8.8 Trillion in Lifetime Income – Heather McGhee interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 24, 2016
• Noam Chomsky Stars in New Documentary About the Major Risks Humanity Faces From Pesticides – By Alexandra Rosenmann, Alternet, August 22, 2016
• Beyond Social Movement Unionism – By Sam Gindin, Jacobin, August 2016
• Occupations, assemblies and direct action – a critique of ‘body politics’ – By Joseph A Todd, Red Pepper, August 22, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Nyéléni Europe Movemet for Food Sovereignty - Cluj Napoca, Romania, October 26-30, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Mining Company Behind Oakland Coal Terminal Withdraws IPO Plans, Bogged Down in Lawsuit – By Darwin BondGraham, East Bay Express, August 23, 2016

Just Transition:

• Canadians are demanding a bold new future for our public postal system – By staff, Rabble.Ca, August 26, 2016
• New B.C. Climate Leadership Plan leaves carbon tax untouched – By Elizabeth Perry, Work and Climate Change Report, August 26, 2016
• Geothermal Picks Up Steam With Alberta Proposal to Retrofit Abandoned Oil Wells – By James Wilt, DeSmog Canada, August 25, 2016
• Queensland solar projects that could create 2,600 jobs at risk in federal cuts – By Michael Slezak, The Guardian, August 24, 2016
• Ukraine Crisis Can Be Solved With Its Own Energiewende – By Karel Beckman, Energy Post, August 22, 2016
• Bigger, better, cheaper: wind power is flourishing in the US – By David Roberts, Vox, August 19, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• 420 SAKUMA FARMWORKERS VOTE FOR FUJ UNION WITH THEIR VOICES & FEET – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 28, 2016; [related]: Unrest Continues at Sakuma Berry Farm – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 24, 2016 | With Berries in Demand, Local Co-ops Won't Budge to Support Driscoll's Boycott – By Victoria Bouloubasis, Indyweek, August 12, 2016
• Dicamba may threaten Missouri peach farm – By Bryce Gray, Missouri Farmer Today, August 26, 2016
• Over 15 years’ struggle for the recognition of peasants in the international human rights system – By Sandra Moreno Cadena, La Via Campesina, August 26, 2016
• Key Democrats Could Deny Farm Workers Overtime Pay as Battle Goes Down to the Wire – By David Bacon, Capital and Main, August 25, 2016; [related]: Emotions flare over legislation to expand overtime pay for California farmworkers – By Jazmine Ulloa, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2016 | Is California really progressive? The vote on farmworker overtime is a test of our values – By Marcos Breton, Sacramento Bee, August 24, 2016
• Summer campers join Wendy’s Boycott, gather 100+ signatures to send to fast food hold-out! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 25, 2016
• Dark days ahead for British agriculture? Or green shoots of a brighter future? – By Keith Tyrell, The Ecologist, August 25, 2016
• The Struggle for Democratic Representation in Quebec Gets a Boost at the 2016 World Social Forum – By Debbie Grunbaum, La Via Campesina, August 24, 2016
• Why Do Farmers Care About Climate Change: Extreme Precipitation – By Tom Driscoll, Ohio Farmers Union, August 24, 2016
• How the GE Food Venture Has Been Chronically Dependent on Deception – By Steven M. Druker, J.D, Independent Science News, August 21, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 31, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Whether Clinton or Trump wins the election, US coal’s future is dark - By Joe Goodwill, Mining.Com, August 26, 2016
• U.S. Electricity Generation From Renewables Has Broken Records Every Month in 2016 - By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, August 25, 2016
• Cross currents hit Indian Government’s grand coal expansion plans - By Bob Burton, EndCoal, August 24, 2016
• Coal Lobbying Groups Losing Members as Industry Tumbles - By Zahra Hirji, InsideClimate News, August 23, 2016; [related]: King Coal is dethroned in the US – and that’s good news for the environment - By Lucas Davis, The Conversation, August 21, 2016
• Is the Oil Industry Dying? - By Richard Heinberg, Pacific Standard, August 10, 2016

Carbon Market Watch:

• Oil above $48 on OPEC freeze hopes - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 26, 2016; [related]: Oil inventories rebound, crude prices fall - By Jordan Blum, FuelFix, August 24, 2016 | Oil rebounds on speculation Iran might join output freeze - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 23, 2016 | Oil continues to slide on supply worries, OPEC doubts - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 23, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• Friday roundup - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 26, 2016
• Key Energy joins ranks of oil-related companies filing bankruptcy - By David Hunn, FuelFix, August 25, 2016
• Really, Hoppy? ‘Blood money’? - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 25, 2016
• Gov. Matt Mead tells state agencies to brace for more cuts - By Ben Neary, Associated Press, August 24, 2016
• Putting politics ahead of helping the coalfields - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 24, 2016
• Glencore posts worst half-yearly profit since listing in London - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 23, 2016
• Keep it in the ground! Just how much exactly? - By Yossi Cadan, Fossil Free, August 23, 2016
• Official rejects overdue Peabody tax payment that shorted Routt County more than $91,000 - By Kevin Simpson, Denver Post, August 19, 2016
• Gov: Legislative session for budget likely next month - By Matthew Reichbach, The New Mexico Political Report, August 18, 2016; [related]: New Mexico governor to call special legislative session - By staff, Associated Press, August 18, 2016
• How a US energy company tried to sell its failing ‘clean coal’ project to the world - By Zachary Davies Boren, Greenpeace Energydesk, August 11, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• ACCC says it’s OK for big utilities to exploit market power - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 25, 2016; [related]: Five years to zero emissions – Australia’s climate reality check - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 24, 2016 | Gas bubble looms as energy ministers baulk at zero emissions target - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 22, 2016
• Colorado Settlement to Pay Solar Owners Higher Rates for Peak Power - By Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, August 24, 2016
• Fixed charge battle looms in Texas as regulators tackle rate design reform - By Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, August 23, 2016
• Solar Cost Hits World's New Low, Half the Price of Coal - By Climate Nexus, EcoWatch, August 22, 2016; [related]: BNEF: Chile auction set to deliver world's lowest cost solar farm - By staff, Business Green, August 22, 2016 | Solar Sold in Chile at Lowest Ever, Half Price of Coal - By Vanessa Dezem, Bloomberg, August 19, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 31, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Fracking and health: What we know from Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom - By Sara G. Rasmussen, Brian S. Schwartz, and Joan A. Casey, The Conversation, August 25, 2016; [related]: New Fracking Study Pulls Rug Out From Under “Safe” Fracking - By Tina Casey, Clean Technica, August 26, 2016 | Health Dangers of Fracking Revealed in Johns Hopkins Study - By Wenonah Hauter, EcoWatch, August 25, 2016
• Scientists Confirm the Impacts of Climate Change Began Right After We Started Burning Fossil Fuels - By Kyla Mandel, DeSmog UK, August 24, 2016
• Arctic Death Rattle - By Robert Hunziker, CounterPunch, August 22, 2016
• Life Itself Is Being Patented, Privatized and Re-engineered - By Mark Karlin, Truthout, August 21, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• Coordinator of UK Ocean Acidification Research Attacks The Spectator for 'Willfully Misleading' James Delingpole Column - By Graham Readfearn, DeSmog Blog, August 26, 2016
• Donald Trump’s Energy Whisperers - By  Joe Wertz, Inside Energy, August 26, 2016
• The American Petroleum Institute’s Desperate PR is Failing - By David Turnbull, Oil Change International, August 24, 2016
• Hard to Handle: Trolling Denial vs Legitimate Skepticism - By Climate Denier Roundup, DeSmog Blog, August 24, 2016
• Revealed: Ex-FERC Commissioner’s Multiple Rulings Favored Energy Companies His Wife Lobbied For - By Itai Vardi, DeSmog Blog, August 22, 2016
• California University Sued for Failing to Release Public Records on GMOs and Pesticides - By staff, Sustainable Pulse, August 18, 2016

Greenwashers:

• Celebrating hard-fought coalfield victories is good, but learning long-term lessons would be better - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 26, 2016
• John Hewson pushes “trillion dollar” opportunity in “refined” coal - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 26, 2016
• The troubling evolution of corporate greenwashing - By Bruce Watson, The Guardian, August 20, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• Nestle buys more groundwater as drought rages on in Southern Ontario - By Mark Calzavara, Rabble.Ca, August 23, 2016; [related]: Nestlé continues to extract water from Ontario town despite drought: activists - By staff, The Canadian Press, August 21, 2016

Other News:

• Humboldt County's Marijuana Boom Is Destroying Redwoods and Killing Rare Wildlife - By Todd Woody, EcoWatch, August 28, 2016
• The Troubling Disparities Plaguing America’s National Parks - By Jenny Rowland, Think Progress, August 22, 2016
• Kathleen Wynne tried to use First Nations to silence opposition to Hydro One sell-off. She failed - By Fred Hahn, Rabble.Ca, August 19, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 31, 2016

Statement from Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman, Dave Archambault II, August 15, 2016:

The United States via the Army Corps of Engineers is in the mist of moving ahead with an oil pipeline that officials are claiming is not potentially harmful to the Standing Rock Sioux Nation. I am here to advise anyone that will listen, that the Dakota Access Pipeline Project is harmful. It will not be just harmful to my people but its intent and construction will harm the water in the Missouri River, which is one of the cleanest and safest river tributary left in the United States.

We have been told by the officials that there will be breaches in the pipe line, but they claim that the situations are generally never very bad. This is unacceptable.

Our Mother Earth is sacred. All things evolve and work together. To poison the water, is to poison the substance of life. Everything that moves must have water. How can we talk about and knowingly poison water?

I’ve been told and taught that it is our responsibility to stand for our relatives, the ones that crawl, the ones that fly, the ones that burrow, the ones that swim, the ones that flower. Relatives that cannot speak for themselves. Who will speak for them? We have to speak for those who are not here – our ancestors, for those children who are not yet born. Our ancestors left sacred sites for us. We have to speak for them. Children not yet born will not live without water. We have to speak for them.

Several of our Lakota and Dakota relatives have had visions and dreams. They have been visited in a spiritual sense and have been told that there is a black poisonous snake trying to come among us. Our relatives have said this.

Our instructions say snakes are good – they serve a great purpose in the web of life. Our elders and the elders before them have given us wonderful teachings and a beautiful way to live and co-exist with all that is, however, the black poisonous snake we are being warned about does not come from the Creator. It is man-made and the creature is made of nothing but Greed. There is nothing good that has ever come from Greed. Greed is pure poison. It blinds and twists thinking. It is what my people have endured and continue to endure.

Right now the Rosebud reservation, the Cheyenne River reservation, the Pine Ridge reservation and my Standing Rock reservation represent five of the 10 poorest places or counties in the United States, according to the 2010 Census. Our state of being is not our fault. We did not cause this. United States lawmakers and their policies caused this. Why?? Greed – and now again, even what little we have left is under attack.

Is it too much to respectfully and peaceably request that we not live in fear of being bitten by this creature of eminent harm? Isn’t living in fear and terror unacceptable in the United States?

The United States should use all its will and power to be a real great world leader. It should swear off oil production because we all know it is harmful to it is to our planet. The United States should use all its wisdom and technology to develop alternative sources of power. It should be a great wise leader to preserve and enhance this earth, not knowingly destroy the webs of life.

What I ask is that my fellow American citizens stand with my people to stand with us. I ask you to please call or write your Senators and Representative to stop this blindness and this greed.

And, if nothing else, please, offer a prayer for my people and all the people who are standing with us in prayer. Just offer some thoughts of protection for us. We ask that you offer a prayer for sensibility and common sense on behalf of all the two-legged that walk as this is not just a Lakota/Dakota issue, this is a human issue.

This land that is being disturbed was once ours. Our people, our Indian Nations lived and governed our peoples all over this territory. This land across the Cannonball River that is now threatened was forcibly taken from us and there was nothing that we could do about it then and now.

Nonetheless, we still believe that we are the keepers of this beautiful land. Although it was taken from us, we know, we must stand and speak on this land’s behalf. We want everyone and the federal government to respect this land and take care of it. That is why our people are standing up and standing with the land and water. We have to be here. It is instructions that the Creator has given us. We have to be here. We have to stand to protect ourselves and those cannot speak for themselves.

When the President of the United States came to Cannonball, I did not ask him for anything. I tried to let his wife, Michelle and him, see for themselves a little of our reality. They saw our people in our happiest times, singing and dancing, but they also heard the tough reality of life for so many of our youth.

I believe both were impacted but knowing what I know now, I wish I would have asked President Obama to help us in this struggle.

I will pass away someday, which is all part of the Creator’s plan, but I have a son and daughter. I have no doubt that they will give me grandchildren. What will we leave for our grandchildren? Poisoned water? The substance of Life! In my language, we describe water as the source of Life. We say Mni Wiconi!

My Tribe asks how can we live with ourselves if we don’t respect the rights and needs of our future generations?

Today I realize that everything happens for a reason. Although I didn’t ask the President for a dime, I see our people are peacefully speaking out in a good way now. This is hugely important to my Tribe and all of our Tribal Nations. This peaceful demonstration is a cry to stop the desecration of land and water.

I pray that the powers that be, hear our prayer because all this behavior we are exhibiting is a prayer on our part.

Thank you for listening and enjoy your families, your children and grandchildren.

To Join in the Struggle

• Red Warrior Camp Facebook Page
• Support the Sacred Stone Camp
• Urgent Appeal for International Observers – By Joseph White Eyes, Michelle Cook, and Carolyn Raffensperger, Indigenous Environmental Network, August 23, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 24, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Beyond Coal: Imagining Appalachia’s Future – By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, August 17, 2016
• A World at War: We’re under attack from climate change—and our only hope is to mobilize like we did in WWII – By Bill McKibben, New Republic, August 15, 2016; [related]: Clean, Green, Class War: Bill McKibben’s Shortsighted ‘War on Climate Change’ – By Elliot Sperber, Counterpunch, August 22, 2016
• [Trigger Warning] Whipped, kicked, beaten: Illinois workers describe abuse of hogs – By David Jackson and Gary Marx, Chicago Tribune, August 4, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Judge Upholds Oregon Denial of Coal Export Permit – By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press, August 15, 2016

Just Transition:

• California Climate Policies a $48 Billion Boon for State’s Economy, Analysis Finds – By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, August 19, 2016
• The Fight for a Six Hour Workday – By Alex Richardson-Price, Counterpunch, August 19, 2016
• Alberta's solar-power sector can't keep up with demand for training courses – By Emma Graney, Edmonton Sun, August 15, 2016
• The End Is Nigh — Advocacy, Climate Change and Renewables Growth – By Joel B. Stronberg, Renewable Energy World, August 15, 2016
• Iron & Earth East to build renewable energy demonstration greenhouse in St. John’s – By Lyndsey Easton, Iron & Earth, August 15, 2016
• Work program trains unemployed oil and gas workers in solar technology – By Danika Worthington, Denver Post, August 14, 2016; [related]: Declining energy sector jobs switching to solar power – By staff, Associated Press, August 14, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Rooted in the soil: the birth of agro-resistance in Palestine – By Jonathan Cook, The Ecologist, August 19, 2016
• The People of Vermont vs Monsanto and the Feds – By Paul Cienfuegos, Counterpunch, August 19, 2016
• Peasants are making a comeback – By Wayne Roberts, Rabble.Ca, August 17, 2016
• This Region Is Twice Flint’s Size—And Its Water Is Also Poisoned – By Tom Philpott, Monther Jones, August 17, 2016
• Change.org launches Wendy’s Boycott petition! – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 15, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Citywide Ferry Operator Hornblower Has 'Pathetic' Labor Record, Union Says – By James Fanelli, DNA Info, August 17, 2016
• Railroads show little progress on key safety technology – By Joan Lowy, Phys.Org, August 17, 2016
• Tyson Foods Fined $263,000 Over Unsafe Working Conditions In Poultry Plant – By Bryce Covert, Think Progress, August 17, 2016
• Don Blankenship’s defense, appeal based on ‘intricate fantasies’ – By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 16, 2016; Federal prosecutors defend Blankenship conviction – By Ken Ward Jr., Charleston Gazette-Mail, August 15, 2016
• How Massachusetts Nurses Are Reducing Workplace Violence – By Cady Spencer, and Erin Johnson, Labor Notes, August 16, 2016
• South Africa’s Marikana Massacre: Prompting the Longest Strike in the Country’s Mining History – By Luke Sinwell and Siphiwe Mbatha, Counterpunch, August 16, 2016; [related]: Amnesty International releases report on Lonmin’s broken promises for 4th anniversary of Marikana massacre – By Richard, London Mining Network, August 16, 2016
• Muni operator says she was beaten, but fended off attacker – By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, San Francisco Examiner, August 15, 2016

Whistle Blowers:

• Mitsubishi Execs Were Warned By Employee About Fuel-Economy Fraud Back In 2005 – By James Ayre, Clean Technica, August 16, 2016; [related]: Employee warned Mitsubishi execs about mileage cheating in 2005 – By Brandon Turkus, AutoBlog, August 5, 2016
• Park Service Pours Bucket of Mush on Effigy Mounds Scandal – By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, August 15, 2016
• Top U.S. Scientist Resigns & Announces GOP Water Poison Cover-Up Scandal – By Georgia Bristow, Bipartisan Report, August 15, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 24, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• As Sirens Go Off, Richmond Residents Fear the Worst - By Isabella Zizi, Richmond Pulse, August 17, 2016
• Prepare for TPP’s Big Brother: The Trade In Services Agreement - By Paola Casale, Economy in Crisis, August 17, 2016
• Can a 'green growth' strategy solve climate change? - Samuel Alexander interviewed by Ian Sinclair, Open Democracy, August 16, 2016
• An Indiana City Is Poised To Become The Next Flint - By Alex Zielinski, Think Progress, August 15, 2016
• Political revolution can stop Trans-Pacific Partnership - By Larry Cohen, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, August 15, 2016
• We have almost certainly blown the 1.5-degree global warming target - By Andrew King and Benjamin J. Henley, The Conversation, August 15, 2016
• Free People from ‘Dictatorship’ of the 0.01% - By Vandana Shiva, Common Dreams, August 10, 2016
• As Coal Mining Declines, Community Mental Health Problems Linger - By Roberta Attanasio, The Conversation, August 1, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• Ohio Residents Clash With State and County Government in Fight to Ban Fracking via the Ballot - By Simon Davis- Cohen, DeSmog Blog, August 20, 2016
• British Columbia’s cynical new climate plan proposes new fossil fuel subsidies and banks on climate catastrophe - By Alex Doukas, Oil Change International, August 19, 2016;  [related]: Christy Clark Hopes You’re Not Reading This - By Emma Gilchrist, DeSmog Canada, August 18, 2016
• Changing the Language of Renewable Energy, the Electric Monopoly’s Newest Ploy - By Nick Stumo- Langer, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, August 18, 2016
• Koch Brothers Waging War Against Local Effort to Expose Dark Money - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, August 17, 2016
• Scott’s Undeclared Polluters’ Holiday Stains Florida - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, August 17, 2016
• The Steel Magnate Helping Trump Assail Pollution Regulations - By Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, August 17, 2016
• Clinton Transition Team Headed by Anti-Climate 'Powerbroker' - By Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, August 16, 2016; [related]: Clinton’s Transition Team: A Corporate Presidency Foretold - By Norman Solomon, Common Dreams, August 22, 2016 | Why Did Clinton Just Tap a Pro-TPP, Pro-KXL, Pro-Fracking Politician to Head Her Transition Team? - David Sirota interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 17, 2016 | Clinton’s Salazar Pick Undermines Her Climate Promises, Putting Fracking Industry Before People - By Molly Dorozenski, EcoWatch, August 16, 2016
• Feeling Cornered, Coal Industry Borrows From Tobacco Playbook, Activists Say - By John Schwartz, New York Times, August 16, 2016
• Instead of Supporting Trump, Here's What the Koch Brothers Are Doing With Their $750 Million - By Climate Denier Roundup, EcoWatch, August 16, 2016; [related]: DeSmog Reporter Interviewed on Thom Hartmann About New Koch-Funded Initiative, Fueling U.S Forward - By Graham Readfearn, DeSmog Blog, August 18, 2016 |  As Renewables Soar, Oil Industry Launches New PR Offensive - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 16, 2016 | Koch bros want you to think fossil fuels are great for the whole family - By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 16, 2016
• Environmentalists split over Jay Faison and his push for “conservative clean energy” - By Ben Adler, Grist, August 15, 2016
• WEA lawsuit appears to blame BLM for low oil prices - By Chris Saeger, Western Values Project, August 12, 2016
• Why Bill Gates Is Hugely Misinformed About Renewables & Loves Impractical Nuclear - By Zachary Shahan, Clean Technica, August 11, 2016
• Ending Tax Dodging by Utilities Can Prompt Clean Energy Transition - By Janet Redman, The Real News Network, July 21, 2016

Green is the New Red:

• The spirit of Berta Cáceres: The power and playful defiance of Indigenous women at the World Social Forum - By Rachel Warden, Rabble.Ca, August 17, 2016
• Did federal agents spy on offshore oil lease protesters in New Orleans? - By Sue Sturgis, Facing South, August 11, 2016
• In Latin America, environmentalists are an endangered species - By Lindsay Fendt, Mongabay, August 11, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 24, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Is Big Oil Finally Getting the Message? - By Peter Smith, Sierra Club Canada, August 17, 2016
• Trumpism: Made in the United States by Republican Hate and Democratic Hypocrisy - By Paul Street, Truthdig, August 16, 2016
• China may be entering “post-coal growth.” But don’t get too excited - By David Roberts, Vox, August 15, 2016
• Who owns the wind? We do, Wyoming says, and it's taxing those who use it - By William Yardley, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2016

Carbon Market Watch:

• Oil rally continues; Brent rises to $50 - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 18, 2016; [related]: WTI settles up at $46.79 - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 17, 2016 | Oil trades near $46 as Nigerian oil chief sees OPEC cuts unlikely - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 16, 2016

Other Carbon Bubble News:

• King Coal Is Losing Its Lobbying Edge - By Kate Sheppard, Huffington Post, August 17, 2016; [related]: Coal Lobbying Loses Steam As Climate Awareness Rises - By Sandy Dechert, Clean Technica, August 22, 2016 | Coal lobbyists are the loneliest lobbyists - By Melissa Cronin, Grist, August 16, 2016
• Bankrupt coal companies get break on clean-up costs - By Scott Tong, Marketplace, August 18, 2016
• New fuel efficiency standards whittle away at oil demand - By staff, FuelFix, August 17, 2016
• Another reason to divest from oil companies: They rip off shareholders - By Ben Adler, Grist, August 16, 2016
• U.S. coal regulator boosts campaign to fix 'outdated' cleanup rules - By Tracy Rucinski, Reuters, August 16, 2016; [related]: Feds Propose Stricter Regs For Coal Mine Cleanup - By Stephanie Joyce, Wyoming Public Radio, August 16, 2016
• Why North Dakota Coal Is The Last Man Standing - By Amy Sisk, Inside Energy, August 15, 2016

Utility Death Spiral News:

• Starting Over [24] - Jim Kennerly interviewed by Chris Nelder, The Energy Transition Show, August 24, 2016
• Why Democratized Rooftop & Community Solar Is So Important - By Zachary Shahan, Clean Technica, August 21, 2016
• Analysis Finds Wind Could Replace 6,000 Gigawatt-Hours of Coal in Colorado - By Ron Lehr, GreenTech Media, August 19, 2016
• El Paso Electric drops solar demand charge proposal - By Danielle Ola, PV Tech, August 19, 2016
• Arrium’s requiem and the events of July 7th - By Mike Sandiford, The Conversation, August 18, 2016; [related]: COAG energy council meeting a missed opportunity to grow renewables: Vic holding firm on gas pressure - By Leigh Ewbank, Yes2Renewables, August 19, 2016 | Community members push back against fossil fuel scare campaign: Call for COAG to stand up for renewables - By Leigh Ewbank, Yes2Renewables, August 19, 2016 | Dirty power games: Coalition steps on the gas - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 19, 2016 | Fiddling the books on renewables while the planet burns - By Christine Milne, REnew Economy, August 18, 2016 | How gas profited from S.A. market dominance, and blamed renewables - By Andrew Stock, REnew Economy, August 18, 2016 | Message to COAG: Stand up to fossil fuel bullies with 100% renewables plan - By Leigh Ewbank, Yes2Renewables, August 18, 2016 | Fossil fuel industry holding Australian economy to ransom - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, August 17, 2016 | Time to ditch the “dumb” grid and embrace a smart energy future - By Tom Quinn, REnew Economy, August 17, 2016
• Sun burn: Solar tax credits scorch state budgets - By Peter Maloney, Utility Dive, August 17, 2016
• An electric-power giant is poised to fail - By Steve Hanley, High Country News, August 16, 2016
• Arizona regulator, attorney battle over alleged ties with solar industry - By Krysti Shallenberger, Utility Dive, August 16, 2016
• Big Wins For Solar Power In Arizona & New Mexico - By Steve Hanley, Solar Love, August 13, 2016

For more green news, please visit our news feeds section on ecology.iww.org; Twitter #IWWEUC; Hashtags: #greenunionism #greensyndicalism #IWW. Please send suggested news items to include in this series to euc [at] iww.org.

Compiled by x344543 and x378016 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 24, 2016

From Democracy Now: "In North Dakota, more than a thousand indigenous activists from different tribes have converged at the Sacred Stone Spirit Camp, where protesters are blocking construction of the proposed $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. Protesters say the pipeline would threaten to contaminate the Missouri River, which provides water not only for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, but for millions of people downstream.

Native Activist Winona LaDuke: Pipeline Company Enbridge Has No Right to Destroy Our Future – Winona LaDuke interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, August 23, 2016

Excerpt from the interview:

AMY GOODMAN: Last month, Winona, the Laborers’ International Union of North America endorsed the Dakota Access pipeline. Terry O’Sullivan, general president of LIUNA, said in a statement, quote, "The men and women of LIUNA applaud the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its fair and thorough review of the Dakota Access Pipeline. ... For the highly skilled and trained men and women of LIUNA, projects like the Dakota Access are more than just pipelines. They are crucial lifelines to family-supporting jobs," they said. Laborers Local 563 business agent Cory Bryson said, quote, "We’ve been inundated with calls from all over the country from people wanting to work on this pipeline project. Mainline pipeline projects like Dakota Access provide excellent working opportunities for our members and tremendous wages." Your response, Winona LaDuke?

WINONA LADUKE: My response is that the United States has a D in infrastructure. That’s why bridges collapse. That’s why Flint, Michigan, has a problem. That’s why everything is eroding in this country. And what we need is those skilled laborers to be put to work, pipelines for people. I’m saying take those pipes that are sitting there in northern Minnesota, and send them to Flint, Michigan. They need billions of dollars’ worth of pipe infrastructure out there. We don’t need any pipes in northern Minnesota. I say that most of our Indian reservations don’t have adequate infrastructure. We’d like a little help with our water and sewer systems there. I am all for organized labor, but what I want is I want pipelines, I want infrastructure, for people, not for fossil fuels, not for oil companies. So I am all for that. There are plenty of people that could be put to work. And it’s five times as many jobs doing infrastructure for communities, doing for people, than one shot throw a pipe down and hope it works out for you. So I’m asking American labor to stand with us and to say we want pipelines, we want infrastructure, that goes for people, that goes for communities, and not for oil companies that are going to destroy our environment and cause more climate change destruction to our planet.

LaDuke is correct, as the folks at Labor Network for Sustainability pointed three years ago in reference to the Keystone XL Pipeline (see The Keystone Pipeline Debate: An Alternative Job Creation Strategy - by Kristen Sheeran, et. al., Labor Network for Sustainability, 2013). There's absolutely no reason for the Building Trades to needlessly hitch their wagons to this extractivist capitalist boondoggle.

Iww member and camper and organizer against the pipeline had this to say:

"we need the support of people now more than ever and there are numerous ways you can support. The health of the land is a human rights issue and a labor issue. The labor movement must stand firmly against the attempts of the capitalist class to pull the people into false solutions that only mean unsustainable jobs and practices that will do nothing to alleviate the hardships of working people during this current economic downturn. We should be pushing alternatives for ways to improve our communities and heal the land, not destroy the very land base we depend on for survival. There are no jobs on a dead planet."

To Join in the Struggle

• Red Warrior Camp Facebook Page
• Urgent Appeal for International Observers – By Joseph White Eyes, Michelle Cook, and Carolyn Raffensperger, Indigenous Environmental Network, August 23, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 17, 2016

The following news items feature issues, discussions, campaigns, or information potentially relevant to green unionists:

Lead Stories:

• Thousands gather in Montreal for World Social Forum – By Pierre Beaudet, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016; [related]: CKUT-FM Interviews GJEP on Corporatist Solutions to Climate Crisis – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 12, 2016 | Ears on the earth: Taking the next leap – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 12, 2016 | (Sojourner Truth Radio) Earth Watch: Njoki Njoroge Njehu from the World Social Forum – By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 12, 2016 | World Social Forum creates community, activism, and controversy – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 12, 2016 | Here's a quick list of everything happening at the World Social Forum – By staff, Rabble.Ca, August 11, 2016 | Leap Manifesto stars at World Social Forum – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 11, 2016 | World Social Forum 2016: Day 1 Highlights – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 11, 2016 | Ears on the earth: Releasing the corporate stranglehold – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016 | The 2016 World Social Forum begins in Montreal – By Emily Blake, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016 | Candidate for UN secretary general among those denied visa to Montreal's World Social Forum – By Melissa Fundira, CBC News, August 9, 2016 | Ears on the earth: The World Social Forum begins – By Victoria Fenner, Rabble.Ca, August 9, 2016 | World Social Forum in Montreal: "Another World Is Once Again Being Constructed Without Africa" – By Danica Jorden, ZNet, August 9, 2016 | Will World Social Forum become leader the Left needs? – By Nick Fillmore, A Different Point of View..., August 8, 2016
• What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar? – By Joshua M. Pearce, Harvard Business Review, August 8, 2016 [related]: US solar industry hailed as ‘light at end of tunnel’ for jobless coal miners – By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, August 12, 2016 | One Year of a Coal CEO's Salary Could Transition U.S. Coal Miners to Work in Solar Industry – By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, August 11, 2016 | What to do with coal workers? Retrain them for solar, says study – By Heather Smith, Grist, August 10, 2016 | Relatively Minor Retraining Investment Could Transition All Coal Workers To Solar Jobs – By Derek Markham, Clean Technica, August 10, 2016 | What to do with coal workers? Retrain them for solar, says study – By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, August 10, 2016 | One Year of Coal CEO Pay Could Retrain Every US Miner to Work in the Solar Industry – By Katherine Tweed, GreenTechMedia, August 9, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Flush the TPP - Ongoing through 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
  
• Climate Camp and Degrowth Summer - Rheinland, August 19-29, 2016
• Power Shift Southeast - Orlando, FL: September 9-11, 2016
• Wendy’s Boycott Summit - Immokalee, FL: September 22-25, 2016
• Lucas Plan 40th Anniversary - November 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Judge: No Constitutional Problem in Oregon’s Denial of Columbia River Coal Export Terminal – By staff, Columbia Riverkeeper, August 12, 2016
• Whatcom County puts new unrefined fossil fuel exports on hold – By Samantha Wohlfeil, The Bellingham Herald, August 10, 2016; [related]: Here’s the latest community to crack down on fossil fuel shipments – By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 11, 2016 | Cherry Point Coal, Oil and Gas Exports Would Create Massive New Carbon Pollution – By Alex Ramel, Stand, August 10, 2016 | Emergency Moratorium Stops All Unrefined Oil, Coal, and LNG Export Infrastructure Projects in Whatcom County, WA – By Eddie Scher, Stand, August 10, 2016 | Whatcom County Imposed 60 Day Moratorium On Unrefined Oil Projects – By Roy L Hales, The ECOReport, August 10, 2016

Just Transition:

• Basic Income vs. Job Guarantee – By Josh Davis, Grassroots Economic Organizing, August 11, 2016
• Dual Power as the Route to Democratic Socialism, Sanders or No Sanders – By Andrew Stewart, CounterPunch, August 11, 2016
• A vision of democratic ecosocialism – By Hans Baer, Climate and Capitalism, August 10, 2016
• Crude oil to carrots: Geothermal makeover eyed for Alberta’s old wells – By Reuters, Toronto Globe and Mail, August 9, 2016
• Renewables offer “unrivalled opportunity” to grow rural jobs, economies – By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, August 9, 2016
• U.S. must bury coal to save miner jobs: Interior secretary – By Valerie Volcovici, Reuters, August 9, 2016
• When Systems Crumble: Looking Beyond Global Capitalism – By Richard D. Wolff, Truthout, August 9, 2016
• Why I spoke at the Clean Energy Incentive Program Rally in Chicago – By Dick Breckenridge, BlueGreen Alliance, August 9, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Millions spent, no one served: who is to blame for the failure of GMO Golden Rice? – By Angelika Hilbeck and Hans Herren, The Ecologist, August 15, 2016
• Monsanto in retreat: movement from the grassroots – By Silvia Ribeiro, Alainet, August 11, 2016
• Sakuma Workers Walk Out of Fields Again to Fight for a Fair Wage – By staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, August 11, 2016
• In South Texas, Fair Wages Elude Farmworkers, 50 Years After Historic Strike – By John Burnett, NPR, August 11, 2016
• Statement from the Popular University of Social Movements Workshop held at Harare – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 11, 2016
• Tribunal Monsanto in The Hague: 14th-16th of October 2016 – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 10, 2016
• Take Action: Demand justice for Baek Nam-gi – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 10, 2016
• Farmers Dealing with Fall-Out from Monsanto’s New GE Crops – By staff, Beyond Pesticides, August 9, 2016
• Karnataka, India: Workshop on agroecology at Amritabhoomi – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 9, 2016
• Urgent Appeal and Call for Action from Korea – By staff, La Via Campesina, August 9, 2016
• “Dear Wendy’s: I’m Boycotting You, but I’m Not the One You Should Be Worried About…” – By staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, August 8, 2016
• Contractual, ‘pakyawan’ workers in Mindanao plantations urge DOLE to act on labor rights violations – By Marya Salamat, Bulatat, July 29, 2016