agricultural workers and peasants

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

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

Lead Stories:

• Remembering Berta Cáceres, Assassinated Honduras Indigenous & Environmental Leader - Silvio Carrillo and Beverly Bell interviewed by Juan González and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, March 4, 2016
• Assassination of our sister in struggle: Berta Cáceres - By Staff, La Via Campesina, March 3, 2016
• Poisoned City: Flint and the Specter of Domestic Terrorism - By Henry A. Giroux, Truthout, March 3, 2016
• David Suzuki and labour movement join forces - By Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, National Observer, March 2, 2016
• DuPont Rakes in Federal Dollars Despite History of Hazards - By Mary Bottari, PR Watch, February 29, 2016
• New York State Pension Funds Lost $5.3 Billion From Fossil Fuel Holdings Over 3 Years - By Joshua S Hill, Clean Technica, February 29, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• March for a Clean Energy Revolution - July 24, 2016, Philadelphia | #CleanEnergyMarch
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• City of Warrenton Denies Key Land Use Permits for Proposed Oregon LNG Terminal - By Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper, March 4, 2016
• Inside the Fight to Frack a Pennsylvania Township - By Natasha Khan, Truthout, March 4, 2016
• U.S. Marshals Enforce Eminent Domain for Constitution Pipeline - By John Zangas, DC Media Group, March 4, 2016 
• A Hollow Victory for Williams Partners - By Ted Glick, Ted Glick, March 1, 2016
• Oakland: Sen. Hancock introduces four bills to restrict coal exports - By David DeBolt, Contra Costa Times, February 19, 2016

Just Transition:

• From sit-ins to songs to socials, highlights from Leap Day 2016 - By Bianca Mugyenyi, Rabble.Ca, March 4, 2016
• How do we ditch dirty coal power without sending miners to the unemployment line? - By Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2016
• Big Solar Brightens Up South Carolina Economy - By Staff, Clean Energy Footprints, March 2, 2016
• Canadian Labour Congress proposes plan to create 1 million 'climate jobs' - By Staff, CBC News, March 2, 2016
• HS2 or HSUK - the quicker, cheaper, emissions-cutting, low impact high speed rail network? - By Colin Elliff, Andrew Coulson & Stephen Stretton, The Ecologist, March 1, 2016
• Mass demo says Trident has got to go - By Tomáš Tengely-Evans, Socialist Worker (UK), March 1, 2016
• A closer look at the Repower Our Schools report and transitioning CMS to solar - By Ryan Pitkin, Creative Loafing, February 17, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• The Wendy’s Boycott begins: Video, photo report from Day One of the Workers’ Voice Tour! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 5, 2016
• Incapable of responding to the dairy crisis, the European Commission faces international peasant farmer delegation - By Andoni Garcia, et. al., La Via Campesina, March 4, 2016
• 2016 Jose Gomez Farmworker Justice Day - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 4, 2016
• Farmworkers, Consumers Declare National Boycott of Wendy’s! - By Elena Stein, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 3, 2016
• Farmworkers Forced To Go Back To Work After Being Exposed To Pesticide - By Esther Yu-Hsi Lee, Think Progress, March 3, 2016
• Historic West Coast Tour with Familias Unidas por la Justicia - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, March 3, 2016
• CTA Review reflects previous government’s priorities, says NFU - By Jan Slomp, Ian Robson, and Terry Boehm, La Via Campesina, March 2, 2016
• Workers embark on Workers’ Voice Tour with wind in their sails thanks to National Council of Churches’ open letter to Wendy’s, Brolick, and Peltz! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, March 2, 2016
• EU: Roadmap to exit the milk crisis - By Marzia Rezzin, et. al., La Via Campesina, March 1, 2016
• Backpackers 'targeted by dodgy labour hire companies' in 'culture of impunity' - By Robert French, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, March 1, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Explosion rocks refinery in Pasadena, injuring one - By Deborah Wrigley, KTRK TV (ABC 13 Houston), March 5, 2016; [related]: One injured in Texas explosion at Petrobras refinery - By Erwin Seba, Reuters, March 5, 2016
• NJ Transit rail workers holding rally as contract talks continue - By Dan Alexander, New Jersey 101.5 FM, March 5, 2016 
• Scuba diver sucked in to nuclear plant water pipe files suit against Florida Power and Light - By Jared Werksma, WPTV (NBC 5 West Palm Beach), March 4, 2016
• Five reasons Canada must ban asbestos now - By Staff, Canadian Labour Congress, March 3, 2016
• 5 Years Later Fukushima Still Spilling Toxic Nuclear Waste Into Sea, Top Execs Face Criminal Charges - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, March 1, 2016
• Garment factory workers in Bangladesh need support, solidarity, not boycott - By Archana Rampure, Rabble.Ca, March 1, 2016
• Georgian Miners Dig In as Protest Enters Second Week - By Nicholas Waller, Georgia Today, March 1, 2016
• Union to Tesla: Gigafactory Worker Protest Is Just the Beginning - By Kirsten Korosec, Fortune, February 29, 2016; [related]: Hundreds walk off Tesla job in Nevada labor dispute - By Staff, KRNV (Western Nevada NBC 4), February 29, 2016
• Audit faults Federal Railroad Administration for lack of oversight on oil trains - By Susan Phillips, State Impact (NPR Pennsylvania), February 26, 2016
• Crane operator fired for refusing high wind working - By Richard Krabbendam, Heavy Lift News, February 22, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, March 1, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Newsletter: Climate Justice Essential For Economic & Racial Justice - By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance, February 27, 2016
• The Fossil Fuel Thunderdome - By Brett Fleishman, Fossil Free, February 22, 2016
• Fukushima: Deep Trouble - By Robert Hunziker, CounterPunch, February 22, 2016
• Federal Contractors With History of OSHA Violations Battle New Safety Rules - By Mary Bottari, PR Watch, February 16, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

• Appalachia Resist: Regional Action Camp for Social & Environmental Justice - March 18-21
• Break Free 2016 - May 2016
• Convergence In Support of Eco-Prisoners & Against Toxic Prisons - June 11-13, 2016
• Cove Point Spring Break - March 6-14
• Earth Day to May Day! - April 22-May 1, 2016
• Flush the TPP - Spring 2016 | #FlushtheTPP
• 2016 Labor Notes Conference - April 1-4, 2016

The Thin Green Line:

• Heathrow 13: We’re no heroes; what we want most is for you to take action too - By Alistair Tamlit, Red Pepper, February 26, 2016
• Port Rejects Plans to Build Oil Refinery and Propane Export Terminal - By Brett VandenHeuvel, EcoWatch, February 25, 2016
• Proposed Marcellus Gas Pipeline Sparks Protest At Prized Maple Farm - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, February 25, 2016
• Fracking Cases in Pennsylvania Expose the Human Cost of Drilling - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, February 24, 2016
• Longview Terminated Negotiations For Oil & Propane Facilities - By Roy L Hales, The Eco Report, February 23, 2016

Just Transition:

• Solar’s stunning rise is only just beginning - By Fereidoon Sioshansi, REnew Economy, February 29, 2016
• Across Canada and World, Climate Movement Prepares for Leap into 2016 - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, February 28, 2016
• Repetition - By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, February 27, 2016
• Trident rally is Britain's biggest anti-nuclear march in a generation - By Mark Townsend, The Guardian, February 27, 2016
• Unions and Cooperatives: How Workers Can Survive and Thrive - By Brian Van Slyke, Truthout, February 27, 2016
• Water Management Industry Eclipses Oil & Gas as Jobs Leader in SE Louisiana, 2nd Across Coastal Zone - By Elizabeth Van Cleve, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, February 24, 2016
• Critical Self-Reflection as a Path to Anti-Capitalism: The Degrowth-Movement - By Dennis Eversberg and Matthias Schmelzer, DeGrowth, February 23, 2016
• ‘Ende Gelände’: Stop Coal; Protect The Climate - By Staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, February 22, 2016
• 100% Renewable Energy: What We Can Do in 10 Years - By Richard Heinberg, Yes! Magazine, February 22, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Accountability comes calling for Wendy’s Board Chairman Nelson Peltz… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 29, 2016
• Farmers to Gov. Dayton: More Living Cover on Farmland Will Clean Our Water - By Loretta Jaus, Darrel Mosel, and Terry VanDerPol, Land Stewardship Project, February 27, 2016
• NFWM Meets with Sakuma Bros. CEO & Driscoll’s VP - By Staff, Boycott Sakuma Berries, February 27, 2016
• Make Monsanto Pay - By Vandana Shiva, EcoWatch, February 26, 2016
• The surreptitious arrival of the new “Living Modified Organisms” at the FAO - By Staff, La Via Campesina, February 26, 2016
• 1,500 farmworkers and families swamp CIW headquarters for annual Year of the Worker Party; Workers’ Voice Tour art production in full swing! - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 24, 2016
• Coalition of Immokalee Workers Targets Wendy's for Rejecting Fairer Standards for Farmworkers - By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, February 23, 2016
• Drought in Southern Africa threatens millions with famine - By various, Socialist Worker (UK), February 23, 2016
• A Town Demands Protection from Pesticides - By Elizabeth Grossman, National Geographic, February 23, 2016
• Understanding Tribal Agriculture - By Bharat Dogra and Baba Mayaram, Vikalp Sangam, February 23, 2016
• One week out! Workers’ Voice Tour just around the corner… - By Staff, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, February 22, 2016
• Monsanto's Pesticide Is Top Suspect Behind Mysterious Kidney Disease - By Armin Rosencranz, Ashrutha Rai and Gaurav Bhawnani, Truthout, February 20, 2016
• Here’s how California could be missing pesticides’ cancer risk - By Andrew Donohue, Reveal, February 17, 2016
• Science Used to Regulate Monsanto's Roundup Is Outdated, Says New Study - By Elizabeth Grossman, Earth Island Journal, February 17, 2016
• From Farm To Table - By Kari Birdseye, EarthJustice, Winter 2016

By David Miller - Open Democracy, February 15, 2016

It is no secret that global trade is going through a major transformation. The EU-US TTIP agreement under consideration has been compared in scale by negotiators to the European internal market, while Hillary Clinton has called it an “economic NATO”. In addition, the recently-released TPP deal between a dozen Pacific nations, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, covers an area that generates 40% of the world’s GDP.

This crucial phase of the push to create a new global economic system through proposed free trade deals, on top of policy changes being carried out by existing institutions such as the European Union, will have many effects of a currently uncertain nature. One certainty, however, is that their impact on the global working class will be harsh, especially for workers in the global agriculture system. Recent struggles over dairy pricing demonstrate how some of the people who stand to lose the most from these deals have begun to fight back.

This past summer, Europe was rocked by a wave of dramatic cross-border protests, cows occupying store aisles and clashes between thousands of dairy farmers and Brussels riot police. The actions, led by the European Milk Board, the European Farmers’ Union (Copa), and the European Coordination Via Campesina, were a coordinated response to the European Commission’s elimination of milk supply quotas, in place since 1984. The full repeal at the start of April was followed by a 24% drop in prices over five months, leading much of the press to declare that milk was now “cheaper than water”.

Following two years of rapidly decreasing global demand for milk, and already increasing global supply, the quotas’ end placed major strain on dairy farmers that could yet do great damage to their ability to make a living in the industry. The EU, as the largest dairy-producing region in the world, maintained its commitment to trade liberalisation despite the uproar, and has already begun the process of replacing direct market interventions with US-style subsidies. Meanwhile, the reduction in the cost of milk products greatly benefits large food processing companies like Nestlé by improving their access to cheaper ingredients, at the expense of small producers.

As Europe continued reeling from the summer’s developments, a major point of contention in the TPP negotiations was Canada’s interventionist system of dairy ‘supply management’. Thanks to last-minute concessions, supply management appears to be safe for now, although the included import increases will still pose a hardship for small farmers and yet more will have to be spent on subsidies to counter its ill effects. The comparatively gentle terms of the dairy provisions in the final agreement, and the electoral collapse of the country’s social-democratic NDP opposition in October, mean the issue is likely settled for now, although organised opposition to TPP remains.

While North American dairy farmers may be pacified for the time being, the stakes will be just as high in the battle against TTIP. Dairy is one area of trade where tariffs remain relatively high, and US agribusiness is expected to target economic supports for “non-competitive” farmers in the TTIP – particularly the EU Single Farm Payment. The dairy industry, therefore, remains a major field in the global war on small farmers, agricultural and food production workers, and on the food rights of the world’s poor.

By Danny Chivers - New Internationalist, February 9, 2016

‘Why do you keep talking about fossil fuels? Don’t you know that animal agriculture is the biggest cause of global warming? Why don’t you campaign on that? Watch Cowspiracy!’

If you’ve posted anything online about fossil fuels and climate change lately, the chances are you’ve seen a response like this. Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret may have started as a crowdfunded documentary by US filmmakers Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn but following a year of online success a new version of the film – executive produced by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio – has now been launched on Netflix. The film follows Andersen’s investigation into the climate impact of animal agriculture, and his attempts to get a series of large US environmental NGOs to speak to him about it. It’s a compellingly told story, as most of the green groups seem reluctant to answer his questions or to justify their focus on fossil fuels rather than livestock emissions.

The film has built a sizable and vocal following, as evidenced by the critical Cowspiracy-inspired comments that frequently pop up on articles about climate change, bemoaning the lack of coverage of the climate impact of animal agriculture. In Paris for the climate talks in December, there was no escape either. I spotted the headline statistic from the documentary – ‘animal agriculture is responsible for 51 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions’ – emblazoned on at least one placard or banner at most of the protests I attended in Paris. Kip Andersen himself even turned up at the anti-oil protest outside the Louvre, with a film camera and the 51 per cent figure printed on his shirt, presumably to denounce such fossil-fuel-bashing antics as a waste of time compared to stopping the livestock industry.

There’s only one problem with this eye-grabbing stat: it’s a load of manure. Emissions from livestock agriculture – including the methane from animals’ digestive systems, deforestation, land use change and energy use – make up around 15 per cent of global emissions, not 51 per cent. I’ve been vegan for 14 years and have been asked to justify my dietary weirdness at more friend and family meals than I can count, so believe me – I’ve looked into it. If meat and dairy really were the biggest cause of global climate change I’d be trumpeting that statistic myself every chance I got.

But I don’t. Because it’s not true. The 51 per cent number comes from a single non-peer-reviewed report by two researchers – a report littered with statistical errors. This study counts the climate impact of methane from animals as being more than three times more powerful as methane from other sources [1], adds in an inappropriate chunk of extra land use emissions [2], and incorrectly includes all the carbon dioxide that livestock breathe out [3].

Setting aside this deeply flawed paper and looking instead at more reliable studies, we find that livestock’s real climate impacts – methane, land use change, energy use – make up just under 15 per cent of the global total.

The thing is, 15 per cent is still a huge amount, more than all of the world’s cars, ships, trains and planes put together. Environmental campaigners – including large NGOs - certainly should be doing more to tackle it. Which is why the 51 per cent fake statistic is so painfully groan-inducing. It undermines an important argument and makes otherwise well-meaning people look foolish when they use it.

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 9, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Naomi Klein: Climate Change "Not Just About Things Getting Hotter" - By Michael Winship, Truthout, February 4, 2016
• Trying to exploit rural anger - Jessica Campbell interviewed by Wael Elasady, Socialist Worker, February 3, 2016
• Five Stories To Watch in the Arch Coal Bankruptcy: Big executive bonuses; shafting workers and the environment; and more - By Clark Williams-Derry, Sightline Daily, February 2, 2016
• 300 Union Plumbers Spent The Weekend Installing Water Filters For Flint Residents For Free - By Judd Legum, Think Progress, February 1, 2016
• GM, union workers take 56,700 water bottles to Flint - By Megan Little, WANE TV, January 29, 2016
• To Charles Koch, Universities Are Propaganda Machines - By Connor Gibson, Huffington Post, January 27, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

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

The Thin Green Line:

• The struggle for responsible investment continues: UBC committee votes against divestment - By Jen Halsall, Rabble.Ca, February 4, 2016
• Stand with the #Heathrow 13 - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, February 3, 2016
• In Washington, the 'necessity defense' on trial alongside activists - By Cally Carswell, High Country News, February 2, 2016

Just Transition:

• Democratic Energy and Climate Change - By Yavor Tarinski, Resilience, February 4, 2016
• New Bill Would Clean Up Abandoned Coal Mines And Jump Start The Appalachian Economy - By Katie Valentine, Think Progress, February 4, 2016
• Solar Decision Will Burn Low-Income Californians - By Tom Dalzell, Beyond Chron, February 4, 2016
• Hal Rogers files bill to release $1 billion in AML funds for economic development in coal communities - By Ivy Brashear, Renew Appalachia, February 3, 2016
• Unions Part of London Campaign to Bring ‘Energy for People, Not for Profit’ - By Archie Davies, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy, February 3, 2016
• UK Government Bails Out North Sea; Gives “Nothing to Solar” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, February 1, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Bold Nebraska Delivers Petition Urging Legislature to Stand With Family Farmers, Vote NO on Corporate Pig Bill LB 176 - By Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska, February 4, 2016
• Dairy Crisis: Enough evaluations, it’s high time for the Commission to act - By Staff, La Via Campesina, February 3, 2016
• La Via Campesina, Building an International Movement for Food and Seed Sovereignty - By Simone Adler, La Via Campesina, February 3, 2016
• National Farmers Union to be part of climate change solutions in Manitoba - By Staff, La Via Campesina, February 2, 2016
• Monsanto’s Roundup Kills and Damages More than Weeds - By Shepherd Bliss, CounterPunch, February 1, 2016
• Worst Trade Union of the Year Award: a Small Farm Future Special - By Chris Smaje, Small Farm Future, January 30, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Canada must act now to save its steel-making industry - By Paul Weinberg, Rabble.Ca, February 5, 2016
• How the Bundy Gang Won - By George Wuerthner, CounterPunch, February 5, 2016
• Three missing after South African gold mine collapses, trapping 87 - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, February 5, 2016
• CP Rail propane cars collide near Edmonton in 3rd 'remote control' accident - By Dave Seglins, CBC, February 4, 2016
• Hazelwood owner charged over 45-day coal mine fire - By Sophie Vorrath, REnew Economy, February 4, 2016
• Heather White and the Human Costs of Electronics - By Cecilia Jamasmie, CounterPunch, February 4, 2016
• Glazer: Rework BART union contracts before $3 billion bond vote - By Sam Richards, Contra Costa Times, February 3, 2016
• Saeed Baloch, Advocator for Fishermen’s Rights, Arrested in Pakistan - By Real World Radio, La Via Campesina, February 3, 2016
• What’s Happened With The Oregon Occupation Since You Stopped Paying Attention - By Laurel Raymond, Think Progress, February 3, 2016
• Report: Even After 2013 Texas Fertilizer Explosion, Hundreds of Communities Still at Risk - By Elizabeth Grossman, In These Times, February 2, 2016
• Global Sweatshops, Solidarity and the Bangladesh Breakthrough - By Eric Dirnbach, Public Seminar, January 28, 2016
• People Of Color & Poor More Likely To Live Near Chemical Hazard - By Amanda Starbuck, Center for Effective Government,
  January 21, 2016

Greenwashers:

• How safeguards fail poor farmers in the Corridor Ankeniheny-Zahamena REDD project in Madagascar - By Chris Lang, REDD Monitor, February 5, 2016
• REDD is dead. What’s next? - By Chris Lang, REDD Monitor, February 4, 2016
• Behind the fake ban, SNP is fracking bosses’ good friend - By Raymie Kiernan, Socialist Worker (UK), February 2, 2016
• The Inside Story of How a University Professor Quietly Collaborated With Monsanto - By Carey Gillam, AlterNet, January 30, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, February 2, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• US Building Boom Fuels Spike in Construction Worker Injury and Death - By Eleanor J. Bader, Truthout, January 30, 2016
• New report shows mistreatment of garment workers by familiar brands - By Katie Herzog, Grist, January 29, 2016
• A successful climate summit, but no progress for climate justice? - By Staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, January 28, 2016
• System Change Grounded in Food Sovereignty at the 2015 Climate Talks in Paris - By Terran Giacomini, La Via Campesina, January 27, 2016
• The Wreck of Amtrak 188 - By Matthew Shaer, New York Times Magazine, January 26, 2016
• Fossil Fuel Spill Tracker 2015: A Map of Environmental Disasters - By Staff, onEarth, Truthout, January 25, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

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

The Thin Green Line:

• Opponents of Crude-by-Rail Project Score a Key Victory - By Jean Tepperman, East Bay Express, January 28, 2016
• Crude-By- Rail Projects Face Key Votes - By Jean Tepperman, East Bay Express, January 27, 2016
• SLO County Staff Tells County to DENY Phillips 66 Oil Train Terminal - By Ethan Buckner, Forest Ethics, January 27, 2016
• County Admits Tarsands Plan: Proposes Rejecting San Luis Obispo Oil Trains Project - By Greg Karras and Andrés Soto, Communities for a Better Environment, January 26, 2016
• Troutdale Energy Center project abandoned - By Katy Sword, Portland Tribune, January 26, 2016
• WIRT Comments on Tesoro Savage Vancouver Energy Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement - By Helen Yost, Wild Idaho Rising Tide, January 22, 2016
• How to Stop an Oil Train: The Climate Defense That Won Over a Courtroom - By Valerie Schloredt, Yes Magazine, January 21, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Monsanto to Cut 3,600 Jobs as Public Protests Continue to Stymie Profits - By News Desk, Mint Press News, January 29, 2016
• Sakuma Bros. CEO Refuses NFWM Supporters’ Postcards - By Gabriela Raquel Ríos, National Farm Worker Ministry, January 29, 2016
• Farm defenders lock down to halt farmland destruction in the East Bay - By Ground, Occupy the Farm, January 28, 2016
• Migrant farmworkers call on Trudeau for permanent residency - By Alyse Kotyk, Rabble.Ca, January 28, 2016
• WATCH: Profits Over People? Oppose ‘Right–to-Spray’ Bill in Hawaii - By Staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, January 27, 2016
• An invisible war is being waged on the working class: Devanur Mahadeva - By Kumar Buradikatti, The Hindu, January 25, 2016
• Malheur occupation could set conservation efforts back years - By Ben Goldfarb, High Country News, January 25, 2016
• No to evictions in Notre-Dame-des-Landes! - By Michele Roux, Laurent Pinatel, Elina Bouchet, La Via Campesina, January 25, 2016
• Solidarity with the courageous activists opposing airport expansion in France and the UK - By Jamie Henn, 350.org, January 25, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Chinese miners rescued after 36 days trapped underground - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 28, 2016
• Ramu mine workers want executive out and better safety standards - By The National aka The Loggers Times, Papua New Guinea Mine Watch, January 28, 2016
• Coalition of Oystermen, Injured Workers and Waterkeepers Wins Hearing on Formosa Plastics’ Discharge into Lavaca Bay, Texas - By Diane Wilson, Bridge the Gulf, January 27, 2016
• Dispute Over Cattle Grazing Disrupts Patrols Of Federal Land - By Kirk Siegler, NPR, January 27, 2016
• ‘Google Bus’ future still uncertain - By Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner, January 27, 2016
• Ramu mine workers stage sit-in protest since Friday - By Post Courier, Papua New Guinea Mine Watch, January 27, 2016
• Simultaneous Melbourne and Sydney Rallies in Support of Sacked Crew - By Ashleigh Telford, Maritime Union of Australia, January 27, 2016
• Slaughter of Up to 900 Wild Bison at Yellowstone Park Sparks Federal Lawsuit to Protect First Amendment Rights - By Animal Legal Defense Fund, EcoWatch, January 27, 2016
• Detroit Public School’s Restraining Order To Stop Protests Over School Conditions Has Been Rejected - By Casey Quinlan, Think Progress, January 26, 2016
• Shareholder resolution filed against Exxon - By Finnegan Schick, Yale News, January 26, 2016
• Detroit Public School’s Restraining Order To Stop Protests Over School Conditions Has Been Rejected - By Aura Bogado, Grist, January 26, 2016
• PBS’s ‘The Mine Wars’ Shows West Virginia’s Militant, Radical Labor History - By David Moberg, In These Times, January 25, 2016
• Water Isn't the Only Source of Lead Contamination in Flint - By Pat Elder, WarIsACrime.org, January 25, 2016
• GE workers facing Fort Edward job loss push PCB health studies - By Brian Nearing, Times-Union, January 22, 2016
• Kennecott worker sustains ‘traumatic injuries’ in industrial accident - By Bob Mims, Salt Lake Tribune, January 22, 2016
• Today's Slaves Often Work For Enterprises That Destroy The Environment - By Fresh Air, NPR, January 21, 2016
• The Canadian Union of Public Employees and Blue Planet Project join call to end water privatization in Nagpur, India - By Staff, The Blue Planet Project, January 15, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• Grand Canyon park’s 15-year failure on sexual harassment - By Lyndsey Gilpin, High Country News, January 28, 2016

Greenwashers:

• Pro-Tunnels Group Bars Journalist from Media Teleconference - By Dan Bacher, Daily Kos, January 29, 2016

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 26, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Beyond Koch: Meet the Other Right-Wing Oligarchs Featured in Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" - By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, January 21, 2016
• ExxonMobil Spent At Least £5.6m on European Lobbying and Corporate Donations in 2014 - By Kyla Mandel, DeSmog UK, January 20, 2016
• The Kochs & the Nazis: Book Reveals Billionaires’ Father Built Key Oil Refinery for the Third Reich | Dark Money: Jane Mayer on How the Koch Bros. & Billionaire Allies Funded the Rise of the Far Right - Jane Mayer interviewed by Amy Goodman and Juan González, Democracy Now, January 20, 2016
• In the Keystone Suit, It’s Big Oil vs. Democracy - By Janet Redman, Foreign Policy In Focus, January 15, 2016
• The Last Drop: The Politics of Water - By Adam Tomes, CounterFire, January 14, 2016

Ongoing Mobilizations:

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

The Thin Green Line:

• Delta 5 trial: Making the case for climate disobedience - By Patrick Mazza, Cascadia Planet, January 24, 2016
• Record-Breaking Number of Comments Pours in Against Proposed Tesoro-Savage Oil Terminal - Press Release, Stand Up to Oil, January 22, 2016
• Multnomah County Passes Unanimous Historic Resolution Opposing Oil Trains and Tesoro Savage Project - Press Release, Columbia Riverkeeper, January 21, 2016
• The Real Zombie Apocalypse - By Bill McKibben, Tom Dispatch, January 19, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• Press Release: Sakuma Brothers Farm Wins 2015 ‘Scrooge of the Year’ Vote - Press Release, Boycott Sakuma Berries, January 23, 2016
• The Cowliphate and Poisoned Kids: Twin Assaults on The Commons - By Michael Donnelly, CounterPunch, January 22, 2016
• Greek Farmers Blockade Highways Over Pension Cuts - By Jennifer Baker, Revolution News, January 22, 2016
• Gates Foundation is spearheading the neoliberal plunder of African agriculture - By Colin Todhunter, The Ecologist, January 21, 2016
• Illegal Profits from Polluting Florida Go Untouched - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, January 21, 2016
• In Japan, a David vs Goliath Battle to Preserve Bluefin Tuna - By Winifred Bird, Yale Environment 360, January 21, 2016
• Westlands’ new front group hides farmworker reality - By Amanda Ford and Janaki Jagannath, Fresno Bee, January 21, 2016
• Across the West, Citizens Stand Up and Rally Against the Bundy Land Seizure Agenda - By Lucy Livesay, Center for Western Priorities, January 20, 2016
• Death Threats and Detention in Paraguay - By Fionuala Cregan, Intercontinental Cry, January 20, 2016
• Drought Pushes South Africa To Water, Energy, and Food Reckoning - By Keith Schneider, Circle of Blue, January 19, 2016
• Sportsmen, wildlife advocates rally for public lands, ending seizure of wildlife refuge - By Staff, Our Public Lands, January 19, 2016
• Disgraceful 'Honour' for failing to protect people from poisons - By Georgina Downs, The Ecologist, January 18, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Report Underlines Recent Worker Hazards at Old Weapons Plants - By Jim Morris and Jamie Smith Hopkins, Truthout, January 22, 2016
• Detroit Rocked by Teachers' "Sickout" Protesting Dire Conditions Under Emergency Management - Victor Gibson and Russ Bellant interviewed by Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now, January 21, 2016
• Oregon ranchers who sparked standoff threatened to wrap official’s son in barbed wire and drown him - By Arun Gupta, RawStory, January 21, 2016
• 2 hurt when AK Steel plant furnace explodes in Pennsylvania - By Staff, WTRF TV, January 21, 2016
• The Mine Wars: West Virginia’s Coal Miners March on Public Television - By Mark Hand, CounterPunch, January 20, 2016
• U.S. records 2nd and 3rd coal deaths of 2016 - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette, January 20, 2016
• Ebola crisis highlights urgent need for reform - By Natasha Horsfield, New Internationalist, January 19, 2016
• Blood on the Mountain - By Nick Mullins, The Thoughtful Coal Miner, January 18, 2016
• 'Excessive fatigue' at CP an 'immediate threat' to rail safety: Transport Canada - By Dave Seglins, CBC News, January 18, 2016
• Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery hit with $324,000 fine - By Dave Gallagher, Bellingham Herald, January 15, 2016
• Time Has Come: 'Kill a Worker, Go to Jail,' Say Steelworkers - By David P. Ball, United Steelworkers, January 14, 2016

Whistleblowers:

• Whistleblower Anthony Rivera Files Lawsuit Against Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - By Admin, La Jicarita, January 23, 2016

Greenwashers:

• Fukushima Mon Amour: the Hucksters of the Green Atom - By Jeffrey St. Clair, CounterPunch, January 22, 2016
• Cap and Clear-Cut - By Will Parrish, East Bay Express, January 20, 2016
• How the Green Climate Fund approved a wetlands project in Peru without a process of Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples - By Chris Lang, REDD Monitor, January 19, 2016
• Despite Ottawa's posturing, the global climate remains threatened by greed and militarism - By Roger Annis, Rabble.Ca, January 18, 2016
• The Other Keystone: The Alberta Clipper, the Pipeline No One Is Talking About - By Branko Marcetic, In These Times, January 14, 2016

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

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, January 12, 2016

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

Lead Stories:

• Wilderness and Economics - By Thomas Power and George Wuerthner, CounterPunch, January 8, 2016
• 1,500 Groups Urge Congress to Oppose the TPP - By Staff, Citizens Trade Campaign, January 7, 2016
• Demanding the Impossible: Saying "No Compromise" in the Climate Movement, And Meaning It - By Scott Parkin, CounterPunch, January 6, 2016
• COP21: Oil Sands Worker Urges Smooth Transition Off Fossil Fuels - By Staff, National Observer, December 8, 2015

Ongoing Mobilizations:

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

The Thin Green Line:

• Vancouver Businesses Join Overwhelming Opposition to Tesoro-Savage Oil-By-Rail Terminal - By Staff, Columbia River Keeper, January 7, 2016
• Activists in Pacific Northwest Face Off Against Largest Oil-By-Rail Terminal in North America - By Martha Baskin, Truthout, January 6, 2016
• Vast Majority Opposed Tesoro Savage - By Roy L Hales, The Eco Report, January 6, 2016
• Over 1,000 Attend Oil Terminal Hearing in Clark County, WA - By Staff, Columbia River Keeper, January 5, 2016 
• Saturday Morning Talkies with Guest Host Carla West (Features No Coal in Oakland and the West Pittsburg, California campaigns) [audio] - By Carla West, KPFA 94.1 FM, January 2, 2016

Bread and Roses:

• African Women Organize to Reclaim Agriculture Against Corporate Takeover - By Mphatheleini Makaulele, Toward Freedom, January 7, 2016
• Monsanto Cuts 16% of Work Force as Sales in Roundup Herbicide Fall 34% - By Staff, Sustainable Pulse, January 7, 2016
• Philippines islanders unite to resist 'land grab' palm oil companies - By Rod Harbinson, The Ecologist, January 7, 2016
• As If Slavery Weren’t Enough, 6 Other Reasons to Avoid Shrimp - By Tom Philpott, Mother Jones, January 6, 2016
• Landworker’s Alliance and The Land magazine launch Rural Manifesto - By Staff, La Via Campesina, January 6, 2016
• Organic Farmers Score New Victory in 'David and Goliath' GMO Fight - By Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, January 5, 2016
• Alberta's new farm legislation brings the province closer to international standards - By Nora Loreto, Rabble.Ca, January 4, 2016

The Oregon Standoff

• Toward an Anti-Fascist Analysis of the Malheur Rebellion - By Alexander Reid Ross, It's Going Down, January 9, 2016
• This rancher says the Bundys are idiots: but he too is worried about losing access to public land - By Darby Minow Smith, Grist, January 8, 2016
• Five Facts About Westerners’ Opinions on Land Management and the Economics of Public Lands - By Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities, January 7, 2016
• The Point of the Spear: Nostalgia in Oregon’s Militia Movement - By Binoy Kampmark, CounterPunch, January 7, 2016
• The Rationality of the Malheur Gunmen: Fighting for the White Future of This Country - By Arthur Scarritt, CounterPunch, January 7, 2016
• Economic Interests Behind Malheur Occupation - By John Reimann, Oakland Socialist, January 6, 2016
• The Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation: a Skirmish Among Colonizers - By Kollibri terre Sonnenblume, CounterPunch, January 6, 2016
• The Many Hypocrisies of the Oregon Standoff - By Pete Dolack, CounterPunch, January 6, 2016
• Oregon Refuge Standoff Latest Extremist Jihad: Federal Inaction for 19 Months on Bundy Spawns More Militia Confrontations - By Kirsten Stade, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, January 5, 2016
• What the Vanilla ISIS Crisis in Oregon Says About the History of Wage Labor - By Charles Mudede, The Stranger, January 5, 2016

An Injury to One is an Injury to All:

• Gas line explosion in Orange County leaves worker severely burned - By E Cherney, Natural Gas Watch, January 7, 2016
• Gazette editorial: ‘Right to work’ dangerous for WV - Editorial, Charleston Gazette-Mail, January 7, 2016
• Compressor Station Explosion Raises Concerns - By Amy Robinson, Natural Gas Watch, January 6, 2016
• Coal industry seeks stay of new rule aimed at reducing miners’ exposure to dust - By Bill Estep, Lexington Herald-Leader, January 6, 2016
• Former Congressman Steven Horsford and CWP Release Petition Calling for an End to Threats of Violence Against Park Rangers and Public Lands Employees - By Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities, January 6, 2016
• Mining deaths in the U.S. fell to historic low in 2015 - By Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.Com, January 6, 2016; [related] Mining industry deaths at all-time low in 2015 - By Associated Press, FuelFix, January 6, 2016
• SFMTA denies Muni operators’ request for wage negotiations - By Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez, San Francisco Examiner, January 6, 2016
• Heated Rhetoric by Politicians Encourages Violent Extremism on National Public Lands - By Greg Zimmerman, Center for Western Priorities, January 5, 2016