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Tag: Climate Change

Life On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)
The camera looks down a rocky precipice onto watery rapids far below. Sydney, Australia. February 27, 2002. (Flickr / AWiggert, CC NC ND license)
April 29, 2017
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Life On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)

Posted in Creative Commons, and Gonzo Notes

Here I am, writing to you from the edge. From many edges, really.

By the time you read this, I’ll have turned 39 years old. I’m on the edge of 40, on the edge, I guess, of middle age.

I recently found out that I have glaucoma in my right eye, meaning that I’ll spend the rest of my life on the verge of losing my vision, as long as the eyedrops keep working.

Right now, it also feels like the country and the world are on the precipice, too. The Oval Office is occupied by a giant crybaby seemingly intent on baiting foreign powers into nuclear war via Twitter.

Read moreLife On The Precipice (Gonzo Notes)
April 13, 2017
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6 Reasons Why Justin Trudeau Is No Prince Charming

Posted in Act Out!, Creative Commons, and Journalism

Oh Canada!

And oh Justin Trudeau, because not a day goes by without someone from the United States praising the Prime Minister, his traditional good looks, his support for refugees, his firm handshake when he encountered Donald Trump or hey, did we mention he’s good looking?

And yes, I know it’s tempting to think that the body double for Prince Eric in the Little Mermaid is just the nicest of guys — and admittedly, it’s easy to understand why people who compare Trudeau to our fatuous oversized orange shit stain find something appealing about a world leader who can regularly form sentences that are both grammatically correct and free from openly fascist symbolism. But don’t get it twisted, Justin Trudeau is no angel: in fact, he’s the darling of the Canadian fossil fuel industry — you know, the people responsible for the Keystone XL Pipeline and its numerous planned sequels — and an enthusiastic supporter of the military industrial complex too.

For making neoliberalism look sexy again, I’m declaring Justin Trudeau this week’s Low Life Scum.

Read more6 Reasons Why Justin Trudeau Is No Prince Charming
Climate Change Is Choking The Oceans & Trump’s EPA Will Make It So Much Worse
A dolphin swms in shallow waters by the shore of a beach. (Morguefile)
February 22, 2017
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Climate Change Is Choking The Oceans & Trump’s EPA Will Make It So Much Worse

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

Oxygen. You and I need it, and so do the fish in our planet’s oceans.

Unfortunately for the fish, there’s a little less oxygen in the oceans every year, according to a new study.

Climate scientists have long suspected that a warming planet would lead to the loss of oxygen in the ocean, because cold water can hold more dissolved gas than warm water. In an analysis published last week in Nature, three researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany found that the ocean has lost about 2 percent of its total oxygen since 1960. However, some parts of the ocean are suffering more than others.

Read moreClimate Change Is Choking The Oceans & Trump’s EPA Will Make It So Much Worse
How To Survive Hurricane Donald (Gonzo Notes 05)
Volunteers wearing Occupy Sandy safety vests work out of a pickup truck bed. July 18, 2013. (Flickr / Not An Alternative, CC NC license)
February 10, 2017
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How To Survive Hurricane Donald (Gonzo Notes 05)

Posted in Austin, Creative Commons, Gonzo Notes, Journalism, and Occupy Wall Street

Resilient communities are more resistant.

Strong communities survive and strong communities resist.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, radical activists and community organizers created Common Ground Relief to step in where the government and traditional NGOs like the Red Cross failed. They organized both the immediate needs of the community, like food and rebuilding, while also enabling long term political organizing. Today, the Common Ground Health Clinic still remains in New Orleans, offering “solidarity not charity.”

Occupy Sandy was a more recent, well known response to disaster. With their skills honed by Occupy Wall Street, activists created an ambitious network of neighborhood relief centers offering supplies of all kinds and connecting people with builders and other volunteers after Hurricane Sandy.

Read moreHow To Survive Hurricane Donald (Gonzo Notes 05)
Standing Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline
A sign at a San Francisco rally for Standing Rock water protectors reads, "No Trans-Pecos Pipeline." November 15, 2016. (Flickr / Peg Hunter, CC NC)
January 10, 2017
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Standing Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline

Posted in Journalism, and Lee Camp

After the recent, short-term victory in the battle against the Dakota Access Pipeline, a pair of new encampments led by Native Americans opposed to the Trans-Pecos Pipeline in West Texas show that the tactics of the #NoDAPL water protectors have spread nationwide.

The Army Corps of Engineers denied a critical permit to the Dakota Access Pipeline on December 4, delaying completion of construction until Donald Trump takes office, and giving opponents more time to target the pipeline’s financial sponsors. On Saturday, one Native American water protector and one local resident of Alpine, Texas, a community threatened by the Trans-Pecos Pipeline, locked themselves to construction equipment owned by Energy Transfer Partners, the Dallas-based company behind both pipelines.

Read moreStanding Rock Isn’t The Only Pipeline Fight: West Texas Activists Resist Trans-Pecos Pipeline
Texas Climate Change Denier Rick Perry’s Legacy Of Fossil Fuels & Wind Power
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry speaks at a Citizens United conference in Greenville, South Carolina. (Wikimedia Commons / Michael Vadon, CC SA)
December 15, 2016
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Texas Climate Change Denier Rick Perry’s Legacy Of Fossil Fuels & Wind Power

Posted in Journalism, and MintPress News

On Tuesday, Donald Trump announced Rick Perry, the avowed climate change denier and former governor of Texas, is headed to the White House as the president-elect’s pick to head the Department of Energy.

While Perry actually helped turn Texas into a leader in wind power generation, the name of the department he’s been tapped to head eluded the governor in a now infamous incident at a 2011 Republican presidential debate during the first of his two unsuccessful bids for president.

He was attempting to name three federal departments he would dismantle if elected, including the Departments of Education and Commerce, but stumbled when he seemed to confuse the Department of Energy with the Environmental Protection Agency:

Read moreTexas Climate Change Denier Rick Perry’s Legacy Of Fossil Fuels & Wind Power