climate change

By Fred Magdoff - Monthly Review, September 2016

Two weeks ago I returned from my fiftieth class reunion at Oberlin College in Ohio. The brief discussions I had there with environmental faculty and students left me feeling a bit dazed. So many good and intelligent people, so concerned, and doing what they think and hope will help heal the environment—this college has one of the best environmental education programs in the country. However, I was left disappointed and profoundly discouraged by the lack of discussion—or even interest in having a real continuing discussion and debate—regarding the root causes of our environmental disasters. Not just climate change, but also pollution of the air, water, soil, and living organisms, the loss of biodiversity both aboveground and in the soil, the extinction of species, and the overuse and misuse of both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources.

It is as though there is a flat tire with perhaps a thousand holes and people are working on the best way to patch this hole or that one. No one there seems to consider that the problem might be the tire itself—that the design and materials utilized are not appropriate to the way it is being used. And, if that is the case, then no amount of patching can solve the flat tire problem. It is of the utmost importance to be able to distinguish between symptoms (that most people call “problems” or “crises”) and underlying causes.

I ran into this confusion between symptoms and underlying causes time and time again in agricultural science and farming practices. Soils may be prone to erosion, store little water, grow crops that are susceptible to diseases and insect attack, become compacted, or have low fertility. Farmers (and extension specialists), usually think of and deal with these as individual problems—using pesticide applications, lots of commercial fertilizers, irrigating more frequently, using heavier equipment, and so on. In fact, I spent a significant portion of my career as a soil scientist helping to deal with the negative side effects of one of these responses—excess fertilizer use, especially nitrogen and phosphorus.

(As an aside, as I was preparing this talk, an unbelievable thirty-five tons of nitrogen in the nitrate form, worth approximately $35,000, flowed down the Raccoon River past Des Moines, Iowa, on the way to the Mississippi and the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. This flushing of nitrate out of the soil by prolonged spring rains, partially the result of nitrate left over after last year’s drought [2012], was mainly a consequence of an ecologically damaging, but profitable, emphasis on growing corn and soybeans without an ecologically sound crop rotation.)

However, what I learned over time was that in reality these are symptoms of an unhealthy soil and a simplified approach to soil and crop management. The same is true of never-ending unemployment, inequality and poverty, the systemic necessity of perpetual growth, and pollution of air, water, soil, and organisms. As harmful as each of these is, they are all only symptoms—of an economic system that is essentially unmanaged. Of course large corporations and politicians that represent them try to manage national and international laws, regulations, and markets in such ways that it becomes easier for them to make more money. But with individual corporations and other private capital making decisions which consider only their own interests, the system as a whole alternates between periods of growth (that nowadays are pretty lackluster) and periods of recession. Addressing individual symptoms alone is not sufficient for the tasks we need to undertake—either to create healthy soils or to create an ecologically based and humane society.

One of the neglected issues regarding thinking and acting about the environment—perhaps the most critical of all—is, to borrow a phrase from the first President Bush, the vision thing. The environmental movement is lacking any kind of meaningful vision as to what a truly ecologically sound and socially just society would look like and how it might operate. I am not talking about a blueprint with all sorts of details, but rather an agreement on essential characteristics of such a system. Without a vision—including some conception of the essential parts of such a system, the chances of actually getting to such a society are essentially zero. Or, as James Baldwin put it in a commonly cited but still very appropriate passage, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” It is my contention that we are not facing the root cause of our problems, and until we do, there is no hope of solving the social and ecological problems confronting the world.

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

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

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

The Man Behind the Curtain:

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

Greenwashers:

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

Disaster Capitalism:

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

Other News:

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

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

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

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

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

The Man Behind the Curtain:

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

Green is the New Red:

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

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

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• US Court Rules in Favor of Chevron in Ecuador Pollution Case - By Reuters, Telesur, August 8, 2016; [related]: Amazon Watch Response to Decision to Uphold Flawed Chevron Retaliatory Lawsuit - By Paul Paz y Miño, Amazon Watch, August 8, 2016 | Chevron won’t have to pay for its own version of Chernobyl - By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 8, 2016
• Brazil’s sewage woes reflect the growing global water quality crisis - By Joan Rose, The Conversation, August 7, 2016
• Why Say No to the TPP? Corporations Already Have Too Much Power - By Sarah van Gelder, Yes! Magazine, August 3, 2016
• Alaskans Witness Collapsing Mountains, Shattered Lives - By Dahr Jamail, Truthout, August 1, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• New Koch-Funded Group ‘Fueling US Forward’ Aims to Promote the "Positives" of Fossil Fuels - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, August 14, 2016
• Republican Politicians Love Oil & Coal Money, Destroy Human Health & Life - By Zachary Shahan, Clean Technica, August 12, 2016
• The Slow Poisoning of Health and the Environment - By Colin Todhunter, CounterPunch, August 12, 2016
• Enron and the power boys played Ralph Klein's government as suckers - By David Climenhaga, Rabble.Ca, August 10, 2016
• The Galileo gambit and other stories: the three main tactics of climate denial - By Stephan Lewandowsky, The Conversation, August 10, 2016
• Colorado Readies for 'All Out War' as Anti-Fracking Measures Advance to Ballot - By Lauren McCauley, Common Dreams, August 9, 2016
• Exclusive: Documents Show FERC-hired Contractor Did Not Disclose Work on Related Spectra Pipeline in Atlantic Bridge Project - By Itai Vardi, DeSmog Blog, August 9, 2016
• Exxon’s climate fight with ‘green’ states heats up in court - By Bloomberg, FuelFix, August 9, 2016
• Thousands of Pages of Confidential Think Tank Documents Detail Corporate Ties, New York Times Reports - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, August 9, 2016; [related]: NYT Reveals Think Tank It’s Cited for Years to Be Corrupt Arms Booster - By Adam Johnson, FAIR, August 12, 2016 | How Think Tanks Amplify Corporate America’s Influence - By Eric Lipton and Brooke Williams, New York Times, August 7, 2016

Green is the New Red:

• FOIA Request Probes Extent of Government Spying on Climate Protesters - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, August 11, 2016; [related]: Public Records Sought Over Federal Surveillance of Climate Protesters - By Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, August 11, 2016 | Right-Wing Group Continues to Diligently Stalk Environmental Leaders - By Climate Denier Roundup, EcoWatch, August 9, 2016 | Embarrassing Photos of Me, Thanks to My Right-Wing Stalkers - By Bill McKibben, New York Times, August 5, 2016
• A Deadly Shade of Green: The Dangerous Situation Facing Environmental Defenders in Latin America - By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, August 10, 2016
• State AGs and Groups Defy Lamar Smith's Subpoena Over Exxon Climate Probes - By David Hasemyer, Inside Climate News, July 27, 2016; [related]: Exxon Sues a Second Attorney General To Fight Off Climate Fraud Probe - By David Hasemyer, Inside Climate News, June 16, 2016

Greenwashers:

• California Regulators Sued Over Plan To Turn Aquifer Into Permanent Oil Waste Dump - By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, August 10, 2016
• Exxon’s Latest Campaign to Stymie Climate Action - By Elliott Negin, EcoWatch, August 10, 2016
• Fact-Checking The Biomass Lobby’s New Website - By Mike Gaworecki, DeSmog Blog, August 10, 2016
• What's Fishy About the Feds' Salmon Promises? - By Judith Lavoie, DeSmog.Ca, August 10, 2016
• BP Greenwashes the Olympics … Again - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 8, 2016
• New Subsidy Loophole Will Boost Profits for Unsustainable Corn Biofuel Industry - By Almuth Ernsting, Independent Science News, August 8, 2016
• Wake Up: These Unneeded Instruments Can Wreck Mass Destruction - By Ralph Nader, CounterPunch, August 8, 2016
• Why the UK government’s fracking payout claim is just not true - By Damian Kahya, Greenpeace, August 8, 2016; [related]: Opposition Grows to UK Government’s Fracking “Bribe” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 8, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• Louisiana Floods: A “classic signal of climate change” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 15, 2016
• Flint’s lead-poisoned water cost the city nearly 100 times as much as it was supposed to save - By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 9, 2016

Other News:

• “Why don’t people demand action on climate change?” - By Andy Rowell, Oil Change International, August 11, 2016
• Insane Trump Energy Policy Would Put Entire World At Risk - By Steve Hanley, Gas2, August 10, 2016
• Hundreds of oil and gas-related spills affected water sources in 2015 - By Jesse Prentice-Dunn, Center for Western Priorities, August 8, 2016

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

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, August 10, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Cities Need More Public Transit, Not More Uber and Self-Driving Cars - By Kevin Cashman, Truthout, August 2, 2016
• On Trade, Our Choices Aren’t Only Xenophobic Nationalism Or Neoliberal Globalization - By Leon Fink, In These Times, August 2, 2016
• Post-Paris Climate Talks: implementation at any price - By Simon Fischer, New Internationalist, August 2, 2016
• "You Can't Handle the Truth!" - By Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute, August 1, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• In California Clean Air Fight, Environmental Justice Takes a Leading Role - By David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News, August 5, 2016
• Will Happer Drills For Support With Lamar Smith, Ted Cruz And Texas Public Policy Foundation - By John Mashey, DeSmog Blog, August 5, 2016
• The right now wants a “Clexit,” because Brexit went so well - By Katie Herzog, Grist, August 4, 2016 [related]: After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit - By Graham Readfearn, DeSmog Blog, August 3, 2016
• Koch Bros’ Summer Reading List for Donors Promotes Freedom, Fossil Fuels, and Matt Ridley - By Kyla Mandel, DeSmog UK, August 3, 2016
• The Kochs, Big Oil Are Taking Their War With The EPA To The Ballot Box - By Josh Israel and Samantha Page, Think Progress, August 3, 2016
• Behold, the death of memes at the hand of the fracking lobby - By Cody Permenter, Grist, August 2, 2016
• Climate Denier Jim Inhofe Goes Full Conspiracy Theorist In Unhinged Rant About Global Warming - By Farron Cousins, DeSmog Blog, August 2, 2016
• Fastest-Growing Source Of Electricity ‘Not Working So Good,’ Trump Claims - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, August 2, 2016

Green is the New Red:

• How America Rising Ties the GOP Establishment to the Stalkers Harassing Bill McKibben and Tom Steyer - By Ben Jervey, DeSmog Blog, August 6, 2016

Greenwashers:

• Bavaria Suing Volkswagen Over Diesel Emissions Cheating Scandal - By James Ayre, Clean Technica, August 3, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• Louisiana Parish Hit by Third Oil Spill in Ten Days As Pressure Grows To Hold Oil and Gas Industry Accountable for Coastal Damage - By Julie Dermansky, DeSmog Blog, August 3, 2016
• "When You Dial 911 and Wall Street Answers": How Private Equity Profits off Our Daily Lives - Danielle Ivory interviewed by Juan Gonzáles and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 3, 2016
• Utility Won’t Clean Up Toxic Coal Ash Pits Because It’s Too Expensive - By Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, Think Progress, August 1, 2016

Other News:

• Leaked Government Report Reveals Failed Coal Mine Rehabilitation Costing Taxpayers $3.2 Billion - By staff, Lock the Gate Alliance, August 5, 2016
• We Were Promised The Greenest Olympics Ever. We Got An Ecological Disaster - By Natasha Geiling, Think Progress, August 2, 2016; [related]: Dave Zirin: Protests by Athletes and Displaced Rio Residents Accompany Opening of 2016 Olympic Games - By Dave Zirin interviewed by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, August 5, 2016 | Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony Reminds World That Climate Change Is Very Real - By Esther Yu Hsi Lee, Think Progress, August 2, 2016 | Athletes Forced To Live With Disgusting Conditions And Poor Security In Rio Olympic Village - By Lindsay Gibbs, Think Progress, August 1, 2016
• End the Stink in Endicott! - By Joan McKiernan, The People's Press, July 24, 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.

By various - Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Bold Louisiana, August 2016

As this report was going to press, a massive storm caused unprecedented flooding in Louisiana, destroying tens of thousands of homes and killing at least 11 people. Thousands of others were forced to evacuate. This is exactly the kind of extreme weather projected to become more severe on the Gulf Coast as the climate crisis intensifies.

And that’s what this report is about: the necessity of a rapid and just transition to clean energy to reduce this terrifying threat to the Gulf Coast. We must begin by stopping new fossil fuel leasing in the Gulf of Mexico to prevent offshore drilling and fracking that could ultimately contribute nearly 33 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent to global warming.

“Climate change is never going to announce itself by name. But this is what we should expect it to look like,” was the first line of a New York Times story about the flood. Indeed climate scientists and meteorologists are linking the Louisiana deluge to a series of extreme floods caused by climate change in the United States over the past two years.

The link between burning fossil fuels and heavy rains is clear and direct. Burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases, which warms our atmosphere. “As the atmosphere warms, so does the ocean,” climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe explained in a recent Facebook post about the Louisiana flooding. “Evaporation speeds up, making more water available for a storm to pick up and dump as it sweeps through.”

The National Weather Service in New Orleans measured record levels of moisture in the air during this storm. More than two feet of rain fell on Baton Rouge and southern Louisiana in under 48 hours, sending most of the region’s rivers over their banks on Aug. 17 and flooding thousands of homes. That deluge was the result of a low-pressure storm system that stalled off the coast and kept sucking more moisture from the unusually warm Gulf waters, which will only grow warmer over time.

It’s high time the communities of the Gulf Coast cease to be treated as sacrifice zones. They deserve environmental justice and a clean energy future. Turning away from fossil fuel extraction in the Gulf will allow them to weather future storms, help end our dangerous collective reliance on fossil fuels, and dramatically reduce hazards for future generations.

Read the report (PDF).

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

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• They Killed Keystone. Now What? - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, July 29, 2016
• An Inside Look At How Rio Fell So Far, So Fast - By Lindsay Gibbs, Think Progress, July 28, 2016
• The Color of Pollution: How Environmental Contamination Targets People of Color - By Larry Buhl, DeSmog Blog, July 28, 2016
• TTIP: The most dangerous weapon in the hands of the fossil fuel industry - By Andreas Sieber and Pavlos Georgiadis, The Ecologist, July 27, 2016
• ALEC 2016 Agenda Boosts Charters, Coal, and Other Corporate Funders - By Jessica Mason, PRWatch, July 26, 2016
• Moving Gulf Fossil Fuel Lease Sales Online Won't Halt Public's Growing Opposition to Offshore Drilling - By Blake Kopcho, et. al., Center for Biological Diversity, et. al, July 25, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• ALEC in Indianapolis: ExxonMobil and the #WebOfDenial - By Connor Gibson, Greenpeace, July 30, 2016
• At Oil Industry Funded DNC Event, Surprising Turn: Protests, Ex-Governor Admits "Mistake" Over Fracking - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, July 29, 2016
• Fracking Colorado: This Is What (Buying a) Democracy Looks Like - By Jesse Coleman, Greenpeace, July 29, 2016
• Oil and gas industry events 'polluting' Democratic convention, say activists - By Oliver Milman, The Guardian, July 28, 2016
• Revealed: AARP Is Funding ALEC - By Nick Surgey and Calvin Sloan, Exposed, July 28, 2016
• At Federal Energy Conference, Forecasts Predict Bright Future for Fossil Fuels - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, July 27, 2016
• Sinking Tarballs, Whale Collisions: Potential Impacts of Energy East on the U.S. Coast Detailed in New Report - By James Wilt, DeSmog Canada, July 27, 2016
• Donald Trump's Top Energy Aide Could Profit From GOP-Promised Keystone XL Permit - By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, July 26, 2016
• Jim Inhofe’s Granddaughter Asked Him Why He Didn’t Understand Global Warming - By Ryan Koronowski, Think Progress, July 26, 2016
• Oil Lobby Paid Washington Post and Atlantic to Host Climate-Change Deniers at RNC - By Alex Emmons, The Intercept, July 22, 2016
• Mike Pence Is a Loyal Friend to Polluters - By Sarah Anderson and Janet Redman, Alternet, July 18, 2016

Green is the New Red:

• 3 reasons we’re opposing a Congressional move to protect Exxon - By May Boeve and Annie Leonard, 350.org and Greenpeace, July 27, 2016; [related]: Exxon allies cry foul over law firm in climate probe - By Timothy Cama, The Hill, July 23, 2016
• Fossil Fuel Industry Continues Wrath on Renowned Climate Scientist Michael Mann - By Sierra Rayne, EcoWatch, July 26, 2016

Greenwashers:

• BP deal renewed. We vow to overturn it - By staff, BP or Not BP, July 28, 2016
• Delta Tunnels: Restoring An Estuary by Diverting Its Water? - By Dan Bacher, Daily Kos, July 27, 2016; [related]: Crowd chants “Ban fracking now” to Governor Brown at DNC - By EmilyJ, 350.org, July 28, 2016 | The Hired Gun: Jerry Brown Snags Bruce Babbitt as New Point Man For Delta Tunnels - By Dan Bacher, CounterPunch, July 27, 2016
• Promoting Cutting Trees to Store Carbon? It’s 1984 All Over Again - By staff, Global Justice Ecology Project, July 26, 2016

Disaster Capitalism:

• Michigan AG Bill Schuette: State employees ignored warning flags in Flint - By John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, July 29, 2016
• Back to tragedy: more news of the BHP Billiton/Vale tailings dam collapse in Brazil - By Richard, London Mining Network, July 28, 2016

Other News:

• The Struggle Deep in the Forests of the Philippines - By Zeph Repollo, 350.org, July 29, 2016
• Over 130 Organizations Challenge EPA to Consider Prisoners in Environmental Justice Plan - By Panagioti Tsolkas, Prison Ecology Project, July 28, 2016
• Ecuador Refuses to Pay Chevron Nearly $100 Million in Damages - By staff, Telesur, July 9, 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.

By Rachel Morello-Frosch, Manuel Pastor, James Sadd, Lara Cushing, Madeline Wander, and Allen Zhu - NextGen Climate and Demos, August 2016

This report quantifies the cost of climate change to millennials and their children, compared to a world without climate change. The climate change costs are compared to other significant economic burdens millennials will face over the course of their lifetime, including student debt, child care, stagnant wages, and the lack of good jobs. The key findings of this analysis include:

• Without action on climate change, a 21-year-old in the class of 2015 earning a median income will lose $126,000 in lifetime income, and $187,000 in wealth.
• Without action on climate change, a 21-year-old earning a median income will lose $100,000 in lifetime income, and $142,000 in wealth.
• For the children of millennials, the losses from climate change will be drastically greater.
• Without action on climate change, the millennial generation as a whole will lose nearly $8.8 trillion in lifetime income.
• The economic losses caused by climate change are substantially greater than the damages of other economic challenges.
• Student debt costs the median-earning college-educated individual approximately $113,000 in lost wealth over a lifetime, due to reduced savings for retirement and home ownership.
• Losses from the Great Recession cost the median-earning college-educated household $112,000.

We must act quickly to address climate change because the impacts are occurring now faster and stronger than predicted:

• July 2016 was the 15th straight month of record-breaking heat.
• The 21st century has seen 15 of the 16 hottest years on record.
• For the eighth consecutive year, extreme weather has cost U.S. taxpayers over $10 billion.
• Sea levels are rising and in Miami, Norfolk, and other coastal cities, tidal flooding is becoming the norm – even on days without storms.
• Drier and longer droughts are threatening our public health and crops.

We must transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy in order to avoid the devastating economic impacts of climate change detailed in this report.

Read the report (PDF).

Compiled by x344543 - IWW Environmental Unionism Caucus, July 27, 2016

A supplement to Eco Unionist News:

Lead Stories:

• Did Industry Ties Lead Democratic Party Platform Committee to Nix Fracking Ban? - By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, July 23, 2016
• Planned Gas Pipeline Construction on East Coast Puts Climate at Risk: Report - By Sharon Kelly, DeSmog Blog, July 22, 2016; [related]: Report: Gas pipeline proposals could threaten US carbon pledge - By Robert Walton, Utility Dive, July 25, 2016 | As Major Parties Embrace Fracking, Report Shows Natural Gas 'Bridge to Climate Disaster' - By Deirdre Fulton, Common Dreams, July 22, 2016 | 19 Proposed Fracking Pipelines Would Push Us Past Point of No Return, Report Finds - By Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch, July 22, 2016
• Koch Brothers' Fingerprints Can Be Found All Over GOP Convention - By Mary Bottari, PRWatch, July 21, 2016
• The End of the Extraction Economy - By Cliff Moser, Strong Towns, July 18, 2016

The Man Behind the Curtain:

• Heartland Institute Tries To Reshape Its 'Unabomber Billboard' Image With Hyper Patriotism - By Farron Cousins, DeSmog Blog, July 24, 2016
• EIA AEO is DOA - By Steve Kretzmann, Oil Change International, July 21, 2016
• Rail Industry Requests Massive Loophole in Oil-by-Rail Safety To Extend Bomb Trains Well Beyond 2025 - By Justin Mikulka, DeSmog Blog, July 21, 2016
• Escalating Battle Over Exxon Investigation Subpoenas Could End Up in Court - By David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News, July 20, 2016
• Murdoch media gets it hopelessly wrong on wind energy. Again. - By Giles Parkinson, REnew Economy, July 20, 2016
• Sen. Capito’s $15,000 worth of regulations - By Ken Ward Jr, Charleston Gazette-Mail, July 20, 2016
• Smoke and Fumes: Six Decades of Oil-Tobacco Nexus of Deception and Attacks on Science - By Brendan DeMelle, DeSmog Blog, July 20, 2016; [related]: Big Oil, Not Big Tobacco, Wrote the Public Skepticism Playbook: Report - By Nadia Prupis, Common Dreams, July 20, 2016 | Way back when, Big Oil taught tobacco companies a few tricks - By Katie Herzog, Grist, July 20, 2016
• The Koch and Exxon Funded Think Tanks Supporting, and Being Courted by, Britain’s Brexit Campaigners - By Kyla Mandel, DeSmog Blog, July 19, 2016
• The slippery slope just turned into a slippery cliff - By Mike Spille, The Cost of the Pipeline, July 19, 2016
• Three U.S. states sue Volkswagen, say executives covered up diesel cheating - By David Shepardson, Reuters, July 19, 2016 [related]: The 4 most scandalous charges against Volkswagen - By Heather Smith, Grist, July 22, 2016  | Volkswagen Emissions Scandal Just Got Worse - By Samantha Page, Think Progress, July 19, 2016 | VW execs covered up diesel cheating, state lawsuits allege - By David Shepardson, Automotive News, July 19, 2016
• While Reviewing Spectra Energy Gas Pipeline Project, FERC Contractor Did Not Disclose Its Hiring by Spectra for Five Other Projects - By Itai Vardi, DeSmog Blog, July 19, 2016
• Australia Appoints “Mr Coal” As New Climate Change Minister - By Graham Readfearn, DeSmog Blog, July 18, 2016
• Exxon Increases Funding to Energy Think-Tank Run By Former Top Obama Energy Aide - By Steve Horn, DeSmog Blog, July 18, 2016
• Golden Rice and Scientific Consensus - By Carmelo Ruiz, Food First, July 15, 2016
• Monsanto Tries to Build a Society of GMO and Pesticide Devotees, One Child at a Time - By Lorraine Chow,  AlterNet, July 4, 2016

Green is the New Red:

• 'The Dam Builders Could Not Stop My Mother' So They Killed Her - By Salvador Edgardo Zuniga Cáceres, EcoWatch, July 19, 2016
• Federal Agents Went Undercover To Spy on Anti-Fracking Movement, Emails Reveal - By Lee Fang and Steve Horn, The Intercept, July 19, 2016
• Free Kara Wild! - By Free Kara Wild!, Earth First! Journal, July 19, 2016