EcoUnionist #87 - Carbon Bubble Bursting Edition

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 18, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Mother Nature's Invisible Hand Strikes Back Against the Carbon Economy - By JP Sottile, Truthout, January 16, 2016
• Economic downturns fuel Sagebrush Rebellion events - By Paige Blankenbuehler, High Country News, January 15, 2016
• It’s Not Too Late For Unions to Win the Friedrichs Case - By Shamus Cooke, CounterPunch, January 13, 2016
• The Oil Pricequake: Political Turmoil in a Time of Low Energy Prices - By Michael T. Klare, Truthout, January 12, 2016
• Hard Evidence: this is the Age of Dissent; and there’s much more to come - By David J. Bailey, The Conversation, January 11, 2016
• Essential reading on the Paris climate agreement - By John Foran, Climate and Capitalism, January 10, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Break Free 2016 - May 2016 |
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• Railcon15 - Next Conference TBA | #Railcon15

The Thin Green Line:

• Crowds Urge Washington Energy Council to Deny Tesoro Savage Oil Terminal - By Staff, Columbia Riverkeeper, January 13, 2016
• Tacoma Steering into Uncertain Waters: Loopholes for hybrid LNG facility would set an alarming precedent - By Tarika Powell, Sightline Institute, January 13, 2016
• Insane Keystone XL lawsuit illustrates ticking time bomb trade deals - By Sam Cossar-Gilbert, New Internationalist, January 11, 2016; [related] Why TransCanada's $15 Billion Lawsuit Against U.S. Is a Bad Omen for Trans-Pacific Partnership - By Chris Paulus, Occupy.com, January 11, 2016
• The Ugly Underbelly of Corporations’ Pursuit of a Coal Terminal - By Sandy Robson, Coal Stop, January 9, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• A Battle for the Soul of Social Responsibility… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, January 14, 2016
• The Beginning of the War Against Oblivion - By Subcomandante Insurgente Moisés and Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano, CounterPunch, January 14, 2016
• Drought hits Zimbabwe: Scorching heat, little rains and no grazing - ZIMSOFF Press Release, La Via Campesina, January 14, 2016
• TTIP: the downfall of European agriculture? - By Dario Sarmadi, The Ecologist, January 14, 2016
• The War to Claim the New West - By Jeffrey St. Clair and James Ridgeway, CounterPunch, January 14, 2016
• Who does Malheur belong to? - By Brian Ward, Socialist Worker, January 13, 2016
• The Daily Cost Of The Bundy Occupation - By Laurel Raymond and Jenny Rowland, Truthout, January 12, 2016
• Patriots versus the state? - By Eric Ruder, Socialist Worker, January 12, 2016
• France: 20,000 People Protest Notre-Dame-Des-Landes Airport Construction - By anonymous, Squat!net, January 11, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Oilsands plant explosion near Fort McMurray leaves 1 dead, another critical - By Staff, CBC News, January 16, 2016
• A Scourge Returns: Black Lung in Appalachia - By Carrie Arnold, TruthOut, January 16, 2016
• Tree employees protest working conditions in Salisbury - By Vanessa Junkin, DelMarVaNow, January 15, 2016
• Trial date set for Black Elk Energy over 2012 Gulf blast - AP Wire, FuelFix, January 15, 2016
• Crew Members Forcibly Removed from MV Portland in Disgraceful Act by Alcoa - By Ashleigh Telford, Maritime Union of Australia, January 13, 2016
• Earth Minute: Anne Petermann on ArborGen’s $53.M legal fine - By Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project, January 13, 2016
• Exxon deficiencies found in California refinery blast - AP Wire, FuelFix, January 13, 2016
• GE consults on job cuts - By David Weston, Wind Power Monthly, January 13, 2016
• NLRB adds to allegations against Asarco - By David Wichner, Arizona Daily Star, January 12, 2016
• Chemical Employers To Face Tougher Worker Safety Penalties - By Jyllian Kemsley, Chemical & Engineering News, January 11, 2016
• Marathon Petroleum: 3 Injured In Fire At Galveston Bay Refinery - By Staff, Houston Public Media, January 11, 2016
• Inside Bangladeshi Factories: The Real Story - By Robert J. S. Ross, The American Prospect, January 8, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• Groups Sue Over North Carolina’s Ag Gag Law, Saying It Violates The Constitution - By Katie Valentine, Think Progress, January 15, 2016
• PG&E tried to dispose of safety records on San Bruno explosion, federal attorneys say - By Herman K. Trabish, UtilityDive, January 15, 2016
• Criminal Case Against PG&E Pipe Blast Cites Recordkeeping Problems  - By Richard Nemec, Natural Gas Watch, January 14, 2016

The Greenwash Report:

• Obama to “Halt” New Coal Leases - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, January 15, 2016
• President Obama’s ‘Reinvention of Energy Sector’, federal attorneys say - By Staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, January 15, 2016
• Reflections from COP 21: No REDD in California - By Kay, California Environmental Justice Alliance, January 6, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• There Will Be Blood: Oil Train Regulations Fail To Address Known Risks - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, January 17, 2016
• Activists Demand EPA Shut Down Aliso Gas #SavePorterRanch - By John Zangas, Revolution News, January 16, 2016
• Flint Doctor Mona Hanna-Attisha on How She Fought Gov't Denials to Expose Poisoning of City's Kids - Mona Hanna-Attisha interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now, January 15, 2016; [related] Emergency for Democracy: Unelected Manager Who Caused Flint Water Crisis Now Runs Detroit Schools - Curt Guyette and Mona Hanna-Attisha interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now, January 15, 2016
• Porter Ranch Methane Leak Spreads Across LA’s San Fernando Valley - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, January 15, 2016
• Flint refuses to be poisoned - By Dorian Bon, Socialist Worker, January 14, 2016
• Governor Snyder’s New Clothes - By Frank X Murphy, CounterPunch, January 14, 2016
• Residents Of Flint Are Being Billed For Poisoned Water And Threatened With Shutoffs If They Don’t Pay - By Bryce Covert, Think Progress, January 14, 2016
• The unnatural disaster in Porter Ranch - By Ragina Johnson, Socialist Worker, January 14, 2016
• What You Need to Know About the Flint Water Crisis - By Codi Kozacek, EcoWatch, January 13, 2016

Carbon Bubble:

• Falling coal takes its toll – U.S. miner selling B.C. mines - By Business in Vancouver, Mining.Com, January 17, 2016
• Exclusive: Dallas Fed Quietly Suspends Energy Loan Write Downs As Loan Default Contagion Spreads - By Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge, January 16, 2016
• BHP takes largest-ever write-down on US shale operation - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 15, 2016
• Iran, China, economic data & equity crash push crude into roaring $20s - By Matt Smith, FuelFix, January 15, 2016
• Oil prices drop below $30 as Iran gets closer to crude exports - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 15, 2016
• Permian, Eagle Ford combine for 10 shut down rigs - By Rhiannon Meyers, FuelFix, January 15, 2016
• Pure Play Peabody and Other U.S. Coal Kings Getting Pummelled in Stock Market - By Kevin Grandia, DeSmog Blog, January 15, 2016
• This is what a mining, metals market meltdown looks like - By Frik Els, Mining.Com, January 15, 2016
• Arch Coal’s bankruptcy suggests a questionable strategy - By Tom Sanzillo, Mining.Com, January 14, 2016
• China’s stock market turmoil: a sign of what’s to come? - By Jerome Roos, RoarMag, January 14, 2016
• Low gas prices spell trouble for oil-drilling states - By Tim McDonnell, Grist, January 14, 2016
• Noranda to lay off 350; plant may halt operations - By Bridget Brown, Southeast Missourian, January 14, 2016
• Oil companies scrap $380 billion in new projects, Wood Mac says - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 14, 2016
• Rio Tinto freezes all pay for 2016 as commodities rout bites - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 14, 2016
• Sliding toward a slump? - Editorial, Socialist Worker, January 14, 2016
• Are white workers the base of Trump reaction? - By Lance Selfa, Socialist Worker, January 13, 2016
• Coal prices claim Quinsam coal mine on Vancouver Island - By Nelson Bennett, Mining.Com, January 13, 2016
• Iron ore price drops back below $40 - By Frik Els, Mining.Com, January 13, 2016
• Oil drillers face $102 billion cash shortfall in 2016 - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 13, 2016
• Oil Prices Drop Below $30 a Barrel for First Time in 12 Years - By Cole Mellino, EcoWatch, January 13, 2016
• Sucks to be the coal industry right now - By Tim McDonnell, Grist, January 13, 2016
• Tomblin: Time to reinvest in W.Va. coalfields | Sixty days: The state of our state and the coalfields - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, January 13, 2016
• The Urgency of Protecting Montana’s Water in the Time of a Collapsing Coal Industry - By Shiloh Hernandez, Montana Environmental Information Center, January 13, 2016
• US Coal Production Falls To Lowest Levels Since 1986 - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, January 13, 2016
• ArcelorMittal could idle some lines at Indiana Harbor - By Joseph S. Pete, Northwest Indiana Times, January 12, 2016
• Arch Coal Nearly Doubled Its CEO Pay As It Lurched To Bankruptcy, Drawing SEC Attention - By Joe Smyth, Medium, January 12, 2016
• BP to cut 4,000 jobs in 2016 amid oil rout - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 12, 2016
• Coal, steel sectors to suffer as China pollution drive accelerates - By Ed King, Climate Change News, January 12, 2016
• Deal avoids shutdown of Bull Mountain Mine in Roundup - By Matthew Brown, Billings Gazette, January 12, 2016
• Five Key Facts about Collapsing Coal Exports - By Clark Williams-Derry, Sightline Institute, January 12, 2016
• Huge U.S. coal company declares bankruptcy - By Elizabeth Shogren, High Country News, January 12, 2016
• Laid-off Worker on Steel Imports: “We’re Going to Keep Bleeding” - By Elizabeth Brotherton-Bunch, Alliance for American Manufacturing, January 12, 2016
• Natural Gas Stocks: If This is Improvement, I’d Hate to See a Slump - By Ben Levisohn, Barron's, January 12, 2016
• Oil keeps falling. And falling. How low can it go? - AP Wire, FuelFix, January 12, 2016
• Problems of Appalachia are 'coal'lossal - By John A. Nelson, Central Kentucky News, January 12, 2016
• Texas job growth imperiled as crude sinks below $30 - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 12, 2016
• America’s Coal Production Falls to Its Lowest Level Since 1986 - By Katherine Tweed, Green Tech Media, January 11, 2016
• Arch Coal Bankruptcy: The End of an Era - Press Release, Power Past Coal, January 11, 2016
• Arch Coal files for bankruptcy amid decline of US sector - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 11, 2016
• Arch Coal Files for Bankruptcy: Will Taxpayers Be Left Holding the Bag for Millions in Cleanup Costs? - By Amanda Jahshan, EcoWatch, January 11, 2016
• Arch Coal goes bankrupt as US sector declines - By Megan Darby, Climate Change News, January 11, 2016
• Coal Giant Bankruptcy Signals 'Profound Shift' for 21st Century Energy Landscape - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, January 11, 2016
• Copper prices falling like it's 2009 - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 11, 2016
• Hedge funds have never been this bearish on commodities - By Frik Els, Mining.Com, January 11, 2016
• Morgan Stanley: Oil could fall to $20 on dollar strength - Bloomberg, FuelFix, January 11, 2016
• One Of The Largest Coal Companies In The United States Just Filed For Bankruptcy - By Natasha Geiling, Think Progress, January 11, 2016
• Worst oil bust in 45 years brings US crude below $31 a barrel - By Collin Eaton, FuelFix, January 11, 2016
• U.S. Coal Production Dropped to 30-Year Low in 2015 - By Bobby Magill, Climate Central, January 8, 2016

Just Transition:

• More US Solar Jobs Than Oil + Gas Extraction & Pipeline Jobs (Combined) In 2015 - By H Lindon, Sustainovate, January 17, 2016
• Is Nevada PUC's Anti-Solar Ruling Devastating Local Solar Companies? - By Staff, Solar Industry Magazine, January 15, 2016
• Balancing the Carbon Budget in Trudeau’s Canada - By Dru Oja Jay, Medium, January 14, 2016
• Nevada's Right Wing Could Get Burned Trying to Shut Solar Power Down - By Isaiah J. Poole, TruthOut, January 14, 2016
• Oil investment plummets, while clean energy investment rises - By Matt Smith, FuelFix, January 14, 2016
• Solar Foundation's Study Finds U.S. Solar Jobs Have Grown 123% Since 2010 - By Staff, Solar Industry Magazine, January 14, 2016
• With State Poised to Squash Rooftop Solar, Clean Energy Fight Heats Up In Nevada - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, January 13, 2016
• U.S. Solar Created More Jobs Than Oil And Gas Extraction - By Ryan Koronowski, Think Progress, January 12, 2016
• US Solar Industry Provides More Jobs Than Oil and Gas Extraction - By Katherine Tweed, Green Tech Media, January 12, 2016
• Video: Som helt fersk klimakunnskapsminister (A rookie climate change minister) - By Johnathan Neale, Global Climate Jobs, January 12, 2016

Wobbles:

• A Global Working Class in Formation - By Pete Dolack, CounterPunch, January 15, 2016
• A New Era of Global Protest Begins - By Rajesh Makwana, CounterPunch, January 15, 2016
• As Attacks on Unions Continue, Bringing Back the Strike May Be Our Only Hope - By Shaun Richman, In These Times, January 13, 2016

Other News:

• Jane Mayer Reveals History of Koch Family and the Nazis - By Lisa Graves, TruthOut, January 14, 2016; [related] Report: Koch Brothers' Father Helped Nazis Build Oil Refinery - By Adam Johnson, AlterNet, January 11, 2016
• The Emergency Heart of Anarchism - By Gabriel San Roman, CounterPunch, January 11, 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.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are not the official position of the IWW (or even the IWW’s EUC) and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone but the author’s.