News: ‘General’ Archive
“…While a moderate pick compared to some of the more climate-focused candidates that ran in 2020, such as Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Senator Elizabeth Warren, Harris framed her environmental platform around the Green New Deal — even pledging to eliminate the filibuster to get it passed — and environmental justice, before leaving the race in December.”
Source: What the Kamala Harris VP Pick Means for Biden’s Energy and Climate Platform | GTM
‘Here’s a news item you may have missed over the holidays. The “doomsday planes” are being upgraded. Four E-4B flying command posts that would be used by U.S. leaders to manage military operations in a nuclear war will receive communications upgrades to enhance their “connectivity” during a conflict that could spell the end of civilization as we know it.’
via A Doomsday Plane Reminder: Nuclear Weapons Haven’t Gone Away.
‘Earth lost half its wildlife in the past four decades, according to the most comprehensive study of animal populations to date, a far larger decline than previously reported.’
via Wildlife Numbers Drop by Half Since 1970, Report Says – WSJ.
July 7, 2014, San Francisco
For the second year in a row, California Governor Jerry Brown opened Intersolar 2014, part of the Semicon West conference in San Francisco, with a rousing keynote address supporting solar power and calling for renewed efforts to combat the urgent problem of climate change for the sake of future generations.
San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee spoke next, along with New York State Senator Kevin S. Parker, Franz Untersteller, environmental minister from Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the CALSEIA.
“There is a real mining of the imagination, even more powerful than the mining of the Sierras for gold. And as we mine our imaginations, we have to invent not just gadgets and clever ways of doing whatever, we have to keep our eye on the big goal, and the big goal is certainly to build a more equitable and just society, but one that is just to all the creatures and to ourselves over time.and that’s why solar is so important, but along with all the other sources of energy, and along with all the ways that we can adjust how we and the generations that come after us can live in a way humanity will continue and we won’t devastate this wonderful gift of creation.” ~ Governor Brown
“We have a long way to go, and while it’s very exciting to be with like minded people, it’s well to just take a pause and realize that the track we’re on now is not sustainable, we have to make a turn, and a shift. Any time you’re talking about an organism, physical or political, those shifts aren’t that easy to make.” ~ Jerry Brown
Report by James George
August 3, 2013
Hundreds of protestors were arrested at the gates of Chevron in Richmond, including Bill McKibben of 350.org
‘WASHINGTON — Facing flak for proposing to eliminate some popular tourist amenities in Yosemite National Park, the National Park Service said it needed five more months to finish a plan to “protect and enhance” the Merced River, which runs for 81 miles inside the park.’
via Protests prompt delay of Yosemite overhaul plan – latimes.com.
‘WASHINGTON — President Obama, declaring that “Americans across the country are already paying the price of inaction” on climate change, on Tuesday announced sweeping measures to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and prepare the nation for a future of damaging weather aggravated by rising temperatures.’
via Obama Outlines Ambitious Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gases – NYTimes.com.
May 9, 2013, San Francisco
Jeremy Scahill spoke at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on a variety of topics covered in his book “Dirty Wars: The World Is A Battlefield”, including drone strikes on American citizens, Awlaki’s Facebook wife, the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s speech against the war, and the ideal role of journalists and the press. He also mentioned a Dirty Wars movie version in the works which was a winner at the Sundance Film Festival. Scahill was ‘interrogated’ by Barry Eisler, novelist and former CIA Operative.
Selected Excerpts
7:35 “And now here we are, twelve years later, and President Obama is using this AUMF to go after people, some of whom were toddlers on 9-11, which was passed to go after the people responsible for the 9-11 attacks…”
7:54 “But there’s something that no one ever talks about, article two of the Constitution, the commander in chief clauses. Cheney and Rumsfeld believe that that made the president a dictator when it comes to national security policy, and the Obama administration has continued to interpret it that way. So what we’ve really seen is a bipartisan power grab by the executive branch that was legitimized by a Constitutional law professor/Nobel peace prize winning president.”
“The whole war machine is just like one catastrophic threat to the environment writ large” ~ Jeremy Scahill
36:57 “We have an obligation to go to the other side of the barrel of the gun and talk to the people that we’re being told are our enemies…. We have an obligation to tell the stories of people in countries around the world who are impacted by our policies. in operations paid for with our money, and that telling their story is part of fighting for the future of our country too.”
“What we’ve really seen is a bipartisan power grab by the executive branch that was legitimized by a Constitutional law professor/Nobel peace prize winning president” ~ Jeremy Scahill
“And I think that’s what good journalism does, it’s twofold, it gives voice to the voiceless and it holds those in power accountable. And at the end of the day what I want this book to be is actionable intelligence for citizens to make- it’s an intelligence term – I want it to be actionable intelligence that people can use to inform their decisions on what the policy should be or shouldn’t be and decide whether they want to get off their butt and try to do something about it.”
“Empathy is a powerful powerful force, and at the end of the day I think that empathy results in people standing up for themselves and standing up for others.” ~ Jeremy Scahill
Dirty Wars, The World is a Battlefield book signing
Report by James George
‘Chinese officials identify water scarcity as one of the nation’s most pressing difficulties. The problems are social, political and economic. This year Beijing for the first time issued water quotas to every province, setting targets for annual consumption by 2015.’
Fun video of Cal Bears mascot Oski visiting David Weir Elementary. Oski dances and prances through the packed auditorium, inspiring the children to start preparing for their college educations early… very very early. Not even remotely on the climate change topic, but hopefully these hundreds of happy screaming kids can be a reminder why the long term perspective is important.
The children join in the Cal Bears chant: “Go Bears!”
Second grade student Darcy De La Cruz-Tamayo receives the
student of the month award and is “college bound”.
