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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to study and exchange information relating to clean power generation, hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.

RES has submitted a planning application for its 21-wind turbine Bloch Wind Farm to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit for determination, to be located on land adjacent to the existing Solwaybank Wind Farm, Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, with an installed capacity of up to 126 MW.

The IDTechEx report “Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles 2022-2042” presents an independent 20-year outlook for fuel cell passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, and city buses, forecasting unit sales, fuel cell demand, and market value.

The midterms have been pivotal in forecasting the political leanings of the next Congress, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby is poised to make a difference no matter who is in office. One way to make sure that you’re fully prepared for climate action going into the new year is to attend CCL’s free, virtual December conference! […]

The post Sen. Tina Smith, Rep. Paul Tonko to speak at Citizens’ Climate Lobby virtual conference appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

November is Native American Heritage month. But like the climate talks that just wrapped up in Egypt, the US Government’s approach to honoring Native people has been more “blah, blah, blah.” By RL Miller Climate Hawks Vote Exhibit A: Hundreds of Indigenous sacred sites across the country have been destroyed by the climate crisis and harmful […]

The post Action – Tell Congress to respect and protect Native American sacred places NOW! appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

Bellona was active in Russia for more than 30 years. Now those activities have ceased, and Bellona has established a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Bellona’s experts, relocated from Russia, will continue their work.  

“We have been keen to retain our expertise and will use it to assist Ukraine, while at the same time we must prepare for the increased security risk at Russian nuclear installations and waste storage facilities,” says Bellona founder Frederic Hauge.  

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leads to significant environmental challenges. 

Bellona previously had an office in Kyiv and Bellona’s experts know the Soviet nuclear technology used in Ukraine very well. It is this expertise that Bellona is now concentrating in its new office in Lithuania. 

“We know that for many years there will be a need for international assistance and cooperation to clean up Ukraine, both in terms of cleaning up and securing nuclear installations, nuclear waste and other large releases of environmental toxins as a result of the war,” says Hauge.  

The war and the many attacks on the Ukrainian nuclear power plants and waste storage facilities with spent fuel pose an acute threat.  

“Bellona considers these to be war crimes and is deeply concerned about the consequences,” says Hauge. “Chernobyl must be secured further, all planned international measures have been halted. Zaporizhzhia is exposed to an enormous pressure and risk, and this applies to several other power plants that are under fire.” 

There are tens of thousands of used fuel elements that must be handled and large expenses are expected in order to secure areas at former uranium processing facilities, according to Bellona. In addition, there is the clean-up at Chernobyl, which has now been put on hold due to the war.  

Bellona will not give up 

“Bellona has played a central role in cleaning up similar conditions in Russia,” says Hauge. “The establishment of a new Bellona office in Vilnius must therefore be seen in a long-term perspective, where Bellona will use its experience gained from securing nuclear waste in Russia for 30 years to be able to assist Ukraine in securing their enormous amounts of nuclear waste and to solve other environmental problems by finding technical solutions and securing international funding.” 

In the long term, Bellona will also work for new sustainable energy production and industrial development in the country and will help find financing for this.  

Enough is enough 

“Bellona finds it tragic to end our work in Russia,” says Hauge. “The war makes it impossible to continue. Bellona played an important role in the glasnost period in creating transparency around environmental conditions in Russia. We have fought many important environmental battles with accusations of espionage against our employee Alexander Nikitin, who was acquitted in the Supreme Court in 2000 and later played a central role in Bellona’s extensive work at our offices in Murmansk and St. Petersburg.”  

After almost three decades in Russia, the environmental fight must continue from the outside. Bellona will be working on revealing Russian environmental issues, but the format of work has to change. 

“Bellona cannot carry out its work without the understanding of central government actors in Russia, where we have constantly been exposed to attacks and attempts to brand us as foreign agents,” says Hauge. “It is also impossible for us to cooperate with the current regime, which invades a neighboring country and with a nuclear industry that engages in nuclear terrorism and threats. The war therefore means that all Bellona’s activity inside Russia has ceased.” 

“As a result, Bellona is very concerned about increased risks at the nuclear installations and waste storage facilities in Russia,” says Hauge. “Bellona will seek to maintain and update our documentation on environmental conditions in Russia. The current situation increases the nuclear risk from Russia and there is reason for this to worsen in the future.” 

Bellona is marking the start of its work from Lithuania by publishing the environmental magazine Environment & Rights, which describes what we now know about the environmental problems in Ukraine as a result of the war. 

Facts about Bellona’s work in Russia  

• Bellona was founded after the Chernobyl accident in 1986.

• Bellona traveled to Russia for the first time in 1989 in collaboration with the action group Stop the death clouds in Kirkenes to stop the large sulfur emissions from nickel production at the border.

• In 1991, Bellona sailed into the Soviet nuclear test site on Novaya Zemlya and was arrested. This made Bellona’s name known in Russia and was the start of efforts to expose and document to the world the vast amounts of hazardous nuclear waste in Russia. Bellona’s reports later formed the basis for a number of internationally funded projects to secure nuclear waste in Russia.
  

• 1992: Bellona visited Murmansk on board the Bellona vessel Genius. On the trip, it was documented that a number of nuclear submarines lay rusting in port and that ships with large quantities of nuclear and radioactive waste were docked at the harbor in the middle of Murmansk.
  

• In 1992, Bellona revealed that large quantities of liquid radioactive waste had been dumped in the Barents Sea, and that 12 radioactive barrels and 17 submarines with their reactors had been sunk in the Kara Sea.
  

• In 1992, Bellona discovered that a large number of poorly secured strontium powered radio thermal electric generators (RTGs) were used to power Russian lighthouses along the entire Russian coast. As a result of international cooperation and funding following the reveal, 1,000 such radiation sources were removed and secured across Russia.
  

• In 1992, Bellona traveled to Chelyabinsk to investigate the conditions at the plutonium production facility and other nuclear installations in the area. Bellona published a report that read like a horror story about the conditions, which created an international furor at the environmental conference in Rio that same year. Bellona later went on to make extensive revelations about the other two plutonium facilities in Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk.
  

• In 1994, Bellona rented two nuclear icebreakers and brought the EU’s environmental commissioner to Murmansk together with the Nordic foreign ministers to have a conference to establish EU funding for nuclear cleanup in Northwest Russia. The irradiated nuclear service ship Lepse was the first major waste issue that was agreed to be dealt with at this meeting. The ship contained many broken nuclear fuel elements and was finally completely dismantled and secured in 2020. Bellona was given central responsibility in this work.
  

• In 1994, Bellona established its first foreign office in Murmansk.

• In 1995, Bellona’s office in Murmansk was searched by the FSB security police.

• In 1996, Bellona employee Aleksandr Nikitin, a former captain in the Soviet Northern Fleet, was arrested by Russia’s FSB and accused of high treason and espionage. The background was a Bellona report on radioactive contamination within the Northern Fleet on the Kola Peninsula and Arkhangelsk in Russia. The case was a major test for the Russian legal system. Authorities attempted to keep the charges against Nikitin secret, to refuse him the choice of his own lawyer, and to pass laws that would convict him retroactively. Bellona devoted enormous resources to Nikitin’s defense, and published the report he had contributed to. Nikitin was eventually acquitted by the Russian Supreme Court in 2000, and he remains the only person to have ever won such a case against the Russian security services.
  

• In 1998 Bellona established a new office in St. Petersburg – an environmental rights center. Here, a legal team worked to provide free legal aid to Russian citizens concerning environmental matters and to conduct legal proceedings on major environmental matters on behalf of the environmental movement in Russia.

• Since the 90s, Bellona’s work contributed to: the dismantlement and securing of more than 100 nuclear submarines in the Russian Arctic (about 200 in total throughout Russia); the dismantlement and safe storage of world’s most radioactive ship Lepse; the safe storage of radioactive waste at naval bases along the coast of the Kola Peninsula, including at Andreyeva Bay, Gremikha and in Sayda Bay. In Andreeva Bay alone, there were 22,000 spent nuclear fuel assemblies, several of them damaged and very difficult to handle safely. Altogether, as a result of Bellona’s revelations, international support for radiation cleanup projects in Russia totaled some $2.5 billion.

• Bellona has been involved with the establishment of the dry storage at Sayda Bay in the Murmansk region, where 117 reactor compartments from the Russian Northern Fleet are now stored. Bellona was instrumental in bringing about collaboration in developing TUK-18 containers, which make it possible to transport broken fuel cells, allowing for the cleanup of otherwise very dangerous waste.
  

• After the Nikitin case, Bellona worked ardently to create a dialogue with Russian nuclear authorities and avoid suspicion, despite the full acquittal of Alexander Nikitin by the Supreme Court in plenary session.

• From 2011 until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Bellona played an important role in Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom’s Public Council. Bellona used its position to share information with the rest of the Russian public, and to urge Rosatom toward greater transparency and better processes for public participation in its decision-making. At the same time, Bellona closely followed the clean-up work in the border areas between Norway and north-west Russia, as well as overall questions of how Russia handles challenges with waste and pollution in other parts of the country.

• From 2014 to 2021, Bellona conducted a unique project to deploy charging infrastructure in the Russian Arctic, with the goal of popularizing electric vehicles in the region. As a result of Bellona’s work, it is now possible to travel from Norway to Russia’s Arctic capital Murmansk in an EV. Bellona also made a technical plan for chargers needed to travel between the Barents and Baltic seas.

• Since Bellona started its work in Russia, the organization has involved more than 15,000 students in environmental legal work, provided free legal aid to thousands of ordinary Russians and organizations, held more than 800 environmental classes for more than 16,000 Russian schoolchildren and published more than 10,000 articles and over 100 reports on environmental challenges and solutions. More than 30 of these reports have dealt with nuclear safety. Bellona has also published 84 issues of its environmental magazine “Environment and Rights.”

 

 

 

The post Bellona closes its offices in Russia appeared first on Bellona.org.

Sketch and poster of Anwar Ditta by Mukhtar Dar

Anwar Ditta was a British-Pakistani woman who fought – and won – a case against the Home Office after it refused entry to her three children, leaving them stuck without her in Pakistan. Her treatment at the hands of the state drove her to campaign not just for her own family but to build a coalition that fought for all those who faced similar experiences of systematic oppression and violence.

Mukhtar Dar

My dear sister, comrade and friend Anwar was a tireless anti-racist campaigner, a fearless working-class woman who out of her personal experience of racism ended up devoting her life and strength to the finest cause in the world – the liberation of black people from the scourge of racism and oppression. I first met Anwar back in 1982. I was stunned by the power of her voice, her Lancashire accent, her simple raw account of a mother’s pain. To this day I cannot recount a speech that moved me so much. Anwar had a certain dignity and strength, which was a testament to her character and her belief in standing up for what was right and what was just. In many ways, she epitomised what all our mothers and sisters have had to endure and sacrifice; she was a rock for our communities and the backbone of unconditional love.  Anwar Ditta has left an indelible mark – if there ever was an empty plinth waiting for a deserving statue, then it should be for this unsung working-class heroine. I, alongside so many others, mourn her loss. We will forever be bound by our shared history, our commitment to a better world and the continued fight for social justice that she advanced so significantly. Thank you, Anwar, we will always remember all that you have achieved.

Tariq Mehmood

I can’t remember now how many times I heard you speak, one hundred or two? One thing I am sure of: I don’t ever recall seeing a dry eye in the room. While many cried hearing your story for the first time, I often did from the continued injustice of it all. I never told you but I also cried over the pain of a child who longed to live with his mother but didn’t know how anymore. There were those who mocked you in disbelief. To them I retorted, ‘Who but a mother of these children would suffer the indignities that Anwar Ditta had been made to endure by the Home Office?’ These were, after all, the humiliating days of the racist and sexist virginity tests; of divided families; midnight immigration raids; forced deportations by both Labour and Tory Governments. But, as you continued to fight, many others hoped. There were several things I didn’t imagine would ever happen, including that I would be arrested on terrorism charges, and that you would come to the defence of the Bradford 12 and contribute to our acquittal. But I never doubted you would win, nor that in that victory you would inspire others. On Sunday 11 July 2021, I heard you speak for the last time in Bradford, and thinking back to that, I once again have a tear in my eye – but this time a bittersweet one, remembering how, even in ill health, you never gave up.

Anandi Ramamurthy

I met Anwar Ditta when I was setting up the Tandana (Glowworm) Archive to record the histories of the Asian Youth Movements. Both Bradford and Manchester AYMs were instrumental in the success of Anwar’s campaign. Even in 2005 she spoke with passion about her experience of fighting injustice and recognised the importance of this history and people’s resistance. With tears in her eyes, she asserted, ‘I will never forget, people believed me; the government never believed me but people believed me.’ She had kept everything relating to her campaign – leaflets, booklets, photographs, even bus tickets – despite living in a small terraced house. It was because the state had not believed her and it had taken her years to prove her children were hers. She never wanted to be short of evidence again. I scanned many leaflets and photographs for the Tandana Archive. More recently, Anwar donated her entire collection to the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Archive. The archive of her struggle provides an incredible record of the power of solidarity and grassroots resistance. It should be part of any anti-racist and anti-imperialist history of Britain and should be taught in schools. ‘It’s ridiculous making black people suffer: what kind of law is this?’ she argued in 1980, recognising that her case represented the wider issue of state racism. Anwar did not forget others in struggle. Following her victory, she stood up for Jaswinder Kaur, Nasira Begum, the Bradford 12, the anti-apartheid movement and the international women’s movement.

Hamera Khalid (Anwar’s daughter)

Mum believed that everyone deserved to have their voice heard and that everyone had a right to stand up for what they believed in. She felt that no one should be treated differently because of their background, race or beliefs. Mum loved fairness. She truly believed we are all equal and that the only thing that separates us is our deeds. She strongly believed in justice being done. Mum knew she had power in her voice and if she could make even the slightest difference for someone, she would go out of her way to do it. She feared no one, and the more people didn’t believe her, the more she resisted. She was a true fighter. I want people to remember mum’s enormous heart, that was filled with love and respect for all. She was the kindest and most honest person. I don’t say that just because she was my mum; everyone felt that way about her. She had so much positive impact on people’s lives, she comforted so many and always put everyone else first. I am truly honoured to have had her as my mum. She has left such a big hole in so many people’s hearts.

This tribute first appeared in Issue 235, Spring 2022, following the passing of Anwar Ditta in November 2021

Many major sports gatherings have been rocked by extreme weather events in recent years. A typhoon forced the postponement of several matches during the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. The air became unbreathable during the 2020 Australian Tennis Open because of bush fires. The Olympic Marathon was relocated further north to escape the oppressive […]

The post FIFA World Cup: With climate change, will there still be a World Cup in 2100? appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

Report from Wobblies within the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) about the recent strike by education workers across so-called Ontario.

In early November, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Education Workers were in bargaining and the conservative Ontario premier Doug Ford and education minister Stephen Lecce passed anti-worker, anti-strike draconian legislation known as Bill-28. Workers spurred on by CUPE president Fred Hanh went on a wildcat strike. There was talk of this building into a rolling strike wave and even growing into a general strike. When the Tory cowards saw the teeth and claws of an angry working class ready to take to the streets, they backed down and said they would rescind Bill-28. The business union leaders took this promise as a minor concession and told the workers to return to work so legal bargaining can continue. Bill-28 was rescinded a week later, which shows that direct action does indeed get the goods. As legal bargaining between CUPE and their bosses is still in process, it is a complicated situation that as a Wobbly outside of CUPE I feel almost under-qualified to write about.

Unfortunately while the wildcat strike was underway CUPE leadership capitulated when Lecce said they would rescind Bill-28 which brings them back to the bargaining table. The workers had the upper hand to win all demands and even turn this into a rolling strike wave, hypothetically leading to a general strike. On the other hand, not wanting to ignore the elephant in the room, business unions provide some protection under capitalism. However, the only way to abolish exploitation is to abolish the wage system. Could a general strike lead to the abolition of the wage system?

Workers need to have the tools to liberate themselves which is what we as an industrial union provide through our Organizer Training 101. If we, the working class, stop doing what bureaucrats tell us to do and start doing what we collectively decide to do, there isn’t anything that can stop the one big union. Workers were ready and more than willing to wildcat strike, and they got a lot of support from the rest of the working class. Imagine what could have been accomplished if labour leaders didn’t return to legalistic bargaining but instead used direct action to get the goods.

Members of the Toronto GMB attended pickets and demonstrations in Toronto and Whitby. If there are more than 10 people at a picket/demonstration in Durham Region it’s considered a big turn out. There were hundreds of people in Oshawa and Whitby on the lines with the workers. There were thousands of workers on the lines in solidarity at Queens Park in Toronto. The business unions missed a real opportunity to turn this into a revolutionary movement, which is what business unions do – work under capitalism, not work to abolish it. Business union leaders and officers might make good photo ops by loudly going off at Queens Park but they rarely have the courage or tools to stand their ground and fight for workers rights. All too often we see business union leaders make a great song and dance for the media only to capitulate to the Canadian legal system. The law is always on the side of the capitalists and never the working class.

The business unions were attempting to plan a general strike in solidarity with education workers against Bill-28. Sources who contacted the Toronto branch to get us involved in the strike said an organization called “Rank and File” leaked the plans on Twitter before the movement/strike was ready. Shortly after the leak the conservatives said they would rescind Bill-28, which is where the movement started to lose its teeth. As we Wobblies learn in the OT101, going public too soon can hurt a campaign and this is sadly a perfect example of that lesson.

“The only safe and logical choice is industrial democracy – industry run by those who do the work using democratic procedures on a daily basis for the equal benefit of all.” – One Big Union.

There are now rumors that the Tory scum aren’t attending meetings with CUPE to negotiate and come to an agreement. Apparently one was booked and no one showed up. This is not the most efficient nor effective way to carry out the class struggle. It is a giant waste of time that knee-capped genuine working class anger, but currently it is a confusing mess because business unions are not structured to take direct action. They are structured for legalistic gymnastics and political lobbying. This is why we need democratic, rank-and-file industrial control combined with solidarity unionism that uses direct action to get the goods.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not purport to represent that of the IWW or Industrial Worker as a whole.

Contact the IWW today if you want to start organizing at your job.

Long-running anarchist radio and podcast show the Final Straw speaks with antifascist theorist and writer Matthew Lyons about Christian nationalism.

Listen and Download HERE

This is a conversation with Matthew Lyons, antifascist researcher, contributor to Three Way Fight Blog and author of, among other books, Insurgent Supremacists: The U.S. Far Right’s Challenge to State and Empire and contributor to the recent AK Press compilation, No Pasarán: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis (edited by Shane Burley). For the hour, Matthew talks about Christian Nationalist and theonomic tendencies and movements like New Apostolic Reformation, Dominionism, reactionary Catholicism and Christian Reconstructionism to learn more about how they interrelate or conflict with other far right tendencies in the so-called USA and the ongoing assault on bodily autonomy, abortion access and cis-hetero-patriarchy. More of Matthews work can be found at MatthewNLyons.Net.

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26 November 2022, Punta del Este, Uruguay – A United Nations Environment Programme-organized Multi-Stakeholder Forum on plastics concluded today, offering recommendations to the first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting on the Global Plastics Treaty. However, civil society groups, Indigenous Peoples, and other stakeholders have pointed with concern to the problematic presence of those companies responsible for plastic pollution and hidden industry influence at the forum.

As a result, Break Free From Plastic members are reacting to the Multi-Stakeholder Forum:

Soledad Mella, Communications Secretary at Asociación Nacional de Recicladores de Chile, and President at ANARCH (Chile), said: 

“On behalf of the more than 20,000 waste pickers we represent, the equitable participation of civil society is critical to developing a treaty that addresses the human impact of plastic pollution. People on the frontline, such as waste pickers, are essential to identifying real solutions to this crisis, and it is critical that their participation is not symbolic. We need a participatory and accessible process where those most affected can access translation and interpretation, equitable participation in person, fewer communication gaps and have the opportunity to help shape the multi-stakeholder participation agenda so that this process is truly binding and not what we are seeing today.”

Kabir Arora, Asian Outreach Coordinator at International Alliance of Wastepickers (India), said: 

“Equitable civil society engagement, including representation of waste pickers and other workers in the plastic value chain, is key in developing a treaty that addresses the human impact of plastic pollution. Those at the frontlines of plastic production, recycling and disposal are essential in identifying real solutions to this crisis, and it is critical that their participation is not tokenized. We need a meaningful and accessible process where those most impacted can access translation and interpretation, have equitable access to in-person participation, and have the opportunity to help shape the agenda for future multistakeholder forums.”

Frankie Orona, Executive Director at Society of Native Nations (USA), said: 

“Indigenous people, original people of the lands, and communities of color must have an equitable voice and a seat in today’s discussions on how to deal with the negative impacts of “Plastics” in the Petrochemical industry. Inequality has existed in the UN for too long, and change needs to happen now if we truly want to ensure a healthy, suitable transition for the next generation. We are tired of having our communities deemed a sacrifice zone and having people make decisions for communities they never visit or know how to understand the hardship and suffering in indigenous and communities of color. The petrochemical plastic industry is killing our people, land, air and water. Our voices need to be heard before it’s too late for all of us.” 

Christina Dixon, Ocean Campaign Leader at Environmental Investigation Agency (UK), said:

“Allowing the very companies that are driving the harms caused by plastic pollution to have an equal seat at the table sets a concerning precedent for the negotiations to come. We cannot allow plastic producers to take control of this process while vulnerable communities struggle with equitable access and having their voices heard in these spaces. We’ve seen yet again challenges with access for this meeting while those companies bankrolling the plastics crisis are able to show up in force. We need to learn from other environmental processes where industry have been able to distract and derail the agenda while continuing business as usual. For the Global Plastics Treaty to be effective, we need meaningful engagement of impacted communities, rather than costly side-shows designed to restrict participation away from substance.” 

Neil Tangri, Science and Policy Director at Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (USA), said: 

“Greta Thunberg recently criticized the overwhelming presence of the fossil fuel industry at the climate talks: ‘If you are trying to solve malaria, you don’t give mosquitoes a seat at the table.’ The same can be said for the plastics treaty negotiations, now underway in Uruguay. The week’s first event, the Multi-Stakeholder Forum, is aimed at finding common ground between environmental justice groups, waste pickers, public health professionals, environmentalists, and the very companies that are the source of the problem: the petrochemical industry. That is a recipe for failure. Instead, the treaty process should follow the precedent of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which excluded the tobacco industry from its negotiations. The plastics/petrochemical industry is not part of the solution, it is the problem.”

Jane Patton, Campaign Manager for Plastics & Petrochemicals at Center for International Environmental Law (USA and Switzerland), said:

“The reaction we are seeing from expert civil society representatives is a reflection of our broader concerns about industry influence over governments negotiating a new legally binding treaty to address the plastics pollution crisis. The perpetrators of pollution from plastics should not be allowed to manipulate these negotiations in their favor, so these processes must be specifically protected from fossil fuels and chemicals companies and their NGO front groups.”

Christopher Chin, Executive Director at The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE) (US) said:

“Proverbs exist in nearly every culture to address the absurdity of unmitigated conflict of interest. With the very industry creating plastic and plastic pollution weighing in so strongly regarding the discussion of possible solutions, the self-serving interest is painfully obvious. In order to consider, develop, explore, and begin deploying truly effective and encompassing solutions, the proverbial fox must be removed from the henhouse, and we must have industry and industry-sponsored entities excluded from the process.”

Media contacts:

• Cate Bonacini, Communications Manager, Center for International Environmental Law, cbonacini@ciel.org, +1-202-742-5847
• Caro Gonzalez, Break Free From Plastic Global Comms Lead, Caro@breakfreefromplastic.org +1-646-991-1013

About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.

 

For over a century, the NAACP, one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations, has worked to combat racial discrimination and segregation. Through litigation, get-out-the-vote efforts and policy work, the organization has fought for fair housing, voting rights, education and criminal justice reform, among other initiatives. By Jessica Kutz The 19th News In more recent […]

The post NAACP climate director explains why now is the time to fight environmental racism appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

from Enough is Enough 14

Since 20 October, the anarchist Alfredo Cospito has been on hunger strike against his detention in total isolation and torture and against imprisonment without parole. Other detained comrades (Anna Beniamino, Ivan Alocco, Juan Sorroche and Toby Shone) as a sign of solidarity and to give strength to Alfredo’s struggle, have also started a hunger strike.

Alfredo has been in prison uninterruptedly for ten years, spent in High Security sections until his transfer to 41 bis. The 41 bis is a prison regime of annihilation, as it is designed to cause physical and mental damage through the technique of sensory deprivation; it is a political and social death sentence, aimed at cutting off all contact with the outside world.
Our comrade was transferred to these torture chambers because, despite his imprisonment, he never stopped contributing to the international anarchist debate with articles, editorial projects and proposals.

The re-examination of the 41 bis measure against Alfredo is set for 1 December. This hearing will be very important because it will have to pronounce on the legitimacy of the previous Justice Minister Marta Cartabia’s decision to apply the 41 bis prison regime against our comrade.

Alfredo was convicted, along with Anna Beniamino and other anarchists, in the mega trial Scripta Manent, a trial aimed at criminalising anarchist ideas and hostile practices against all forms of authority and domination. Specifically, Alfredo and Anna were accused of being responsible for the double explosive attack against the Scuola Allievi Carabinieri in Fossano, on 2 June 2006, claimed by Rivolta Anonima and Tremenda / Federazione Anarchica Informale. For this attack, on 6 July, the Court of Cassation reformulated the sentence to ‘political massacre’. Life imprisonment is the only penalty the Italian penal code provides for political massacre. After reclassifying the crime, the Cassation sent the case back to the Court of Appeal to redetermine the convictions. The hearing that will decide the extent of these sentences is set for 5 December in Turin.

The Italian state, which has always protected the fascist strategy of mass murder, now wants to convict two anarchists of massacre for an explosive attack that caused neither victims nor injuries.

This affair breaks into the increasingly dark repressive climate with which we all have to deal: that is why the struggle of Alfredo, Juan, Ivan, Anna and Toby is close to the heart of those who do not want to resign themselves to a world that is more and more an open-air jail.

We call for 30 November (the day before the re-examination of the 41 bis measure against Alfredo), a day of action in solidarity with Alfredo and the other comrades on hunger strike.

Let us make them feel our solidarity that breaks the isolation beyond all borders and all cages. Let us break the deafening silence in which they want to bury our comrade alive. Let us give voice to our comrades’ struggle with our actions.

Let us make the symbols of oppression and exploitation the targets of our actions. Targets are everywhere. Every action is necessary: whether it is spreading the ideas of anarchist hunger strikes or sabotaging and disrupting the normal functioning of the state and capital. Target the Italian, German or any other state and the symbols of domination to abolish the prison system!

Researchers documented 13 never-before-seen viruses that have been lying dormant, frozen in thick ice, over tens of thousands of years.

With the recent midterm elections resulting in a divided Congress next year, Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s bipartisan approach will be critical in moving climate solutions forward. CCL’s volunteers will gather for a virtual conference early in December to prepare for the advocacy work that lies ahead.   By Steve Valk Citizens’ Climate Lobby Who: Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers […]

The post Next weekend, join Citizens’ Climate Lobby for their virtual climate conference online and in DC! appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

Climate leader Greta Thunberg was among 636 young adults and children who submitted a class-action lawsuit against the Swedish government at a district court in Stockholm on Friday, arguing that the country’s right-wing leaders are failing to obey the Swedish constitution as they continue allowing planet-heating fossil fuel extraction. By Julia Conley Common Dreams About 2,000 […]

The post Greta Thunberg joins 630+ youth activists in climate lawsuit against Sweden appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

After the holiday weekend, you’ll wake up on Monday and there will be only 8 days left until Election Day in the Georgia US Senate runoff. Monday will also mark the beginning of in-person early voting for most Georgians (a few counties have already begun), and so I’m writing you this morning with a simple […]

The post What are you doing this holiday weekend? Can you devote a little time to electing a climate-friendly Senate? appeared first on Red, Green, and Blue.

The Left is finally waking to the power of ballot initiatives as tools to advance egalitarian and redistributive policy.

President Biden should work for the immediate release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah and many more Egyptian political prisoners before granting Sisi a plum White House meeting.

Apologies if I repeat myself (I've written much of this before), but, hell, I'm getting old—as is Joe.