It's No Treat To Be Tricked By Climate Change Deniers

 It's No Treat To Be Tricked 
By Climate Change Deniers 
(and Other Horror Stories 
Concerning Our Environment)

collected by C.A. Matthews

 

Happy Halloween! This week we present to you some genuinely "scary" memes and stories regarding our precious planet. We hope they don't give you nightmares, but no guarantees.

Our first meme and story demonstrates the attitude that Big Agriculture and the current administration promotes. What's in our food? It's none of our business--particularly if it contains anything harmful in it.

GMOs are killing the world--not helping feed the hungry:
https://www.newsbud.com/2017/10/26/newsbud-exclusive-gmos-kill-not-save-the-hungry-of-the-world/

But on the positive side, perhaps one cancer-causing chemical, glyphosate, will be kept out of our food supply in the future--if we don't allow the zombies of Monsanto to eat the brains of the EU commissioners first.  
EU delays vote on glyphosate (RoundUp):
https://youtu.be/UN-EzWyDtg4
 

What's in our water? Who knows? Who cares! Just think of all those "minerals" folks in Flint, Michigan get for free in their water supply. You'd think they'd be grateful! Think of how many other cities in America have similar problems with toxic levels of lead in their water supply... This is the stuff of a true tale of terror.

The following article tells more about "free substances" we're all getting in our food, air and water via fracking and what it's doing to the most vulnerable in our society, our children: 

Fracking chemicals harm kids' brains:
http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/46494-study-fracking-chemicals-harm-kids-brains

A  new study from the Center for Environmental Health adds to the growing body of evidence that unconventional oil and gas (UOG), which includes fracking, is harmful to human health and especially hazardous to vulnerable populations, including newborns and children.

During the fracking process, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is directed at high pressures into shale beds to release petroleum resources. This slurry involves the use of nearly 700 chemicals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found.

The new research, published Wednesday in Reviews on Environmental Health, examined five particular air and water pollutants that are widely used in or byproducts of UOG development and operations—heavy metals, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrobcarbons, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes), and endocrine disrupting compounds.

"Every stage of the UOG lifecycle, from well construction to extraction, operations, transportation and distribution can lead to air and water contamination," the paper notes.

Dauntingly, the researchers found that early life exposure to these substances has been linked to potentially permanent learning and neuropsychological deficits, neurodevelopmental disorders and neurological birth defects.

"Given the profound sensitivity of the developing brain and central nervous system, it is reasonable to conclude that young children who experience frequent exposure to these pollutants are at particularly high risk for chronic neurological diseases."

Why are we suffering from the horrors of sky-rocketing rates of asthma and other chronic lung conditions? "Eh, whatever!" say the 1%. "The air is fine at our secluded mansions. So what if it's two degrees warmer and your home on the coast is going under or burning up in a wildfire? Learn how to swim or breathe smoke!"

The climate deniers are having their day in the Trump Administration, from Scott Pruitt, the man who is single-handedly dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency, to our very own Secretary of Oil, uh, State, Former Exxon CEO Tillerson, who sees the world as one vast oil field fit for fracking.

The good news is they're not invulnerable. Trump's administrators' lackluster responses to climate change-fueled disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (and the western wildfires) make it clear we can't afford to sit on the sidelines when it comes to climate change response. We have to act now. Suffering hurricane or wildfire losses (or knowing friends and family members who have suffered) is making Americans aware of how climate change deniers like Pruitt and company are doing us all more harm than good. More and more are waking up from this nightmare.

But we can't become complacent. The following is a horror story that possibly tops all others--climate change may trigger 60,000 premature deaths yearly by 2030: https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=205739

If nothing is done to address climate change, tens of thousands more early deaths may occur worldwide from exposure to air pollution in the coming decades, a new study contends.

Increases in air pollution caused by rising temperatures will trigger an additional 60,000 premature deaths each year around the globe by 2030, and as many as 260,000 more premature deaths annually by 2100, according to the results of several different climate models.

Another frightening scenario is how some of our beautiful national parks and monuments are being shrunk by the Trump administration to encourage drilling and mining: https://www.nationofchange.org/2017/10/30/trump-shrink-utah-national-monuments-allow-drilling-mining/

One bright ray of hope is in recovering Puerto Rico where Tesla restored power to San Juan children's hospital by installing free solar panels:
https://thinkprogress.org/tesla-restores-power-to-san-juan-childrens-hospital-c4d1d79f4db1/ 

After Puerto Rico is up and running again on clean, green energy sources, it should bring about more positive attention to solar and wind power in the mainstream media and lessen the need to gut our national parks for their fossil fuel wealth. (We can only hope green energy receives better and fairer coverage, but Big Oil greases a lot of palms...)  We might have to hammer a stake into Energy Secretary Rick Perry's heart first to see any real results.

Videos, articles and podcasts on the topic of climate change and environmental degradation help spread the message, so please share them widely and discuss them with others. If Caroline's photos of the ocean polluted by plastics (in the video below) don't make your acquaintances cringe and shriek in horror and want to take action, then honestly what will? 

We can't just close our eyes and wish these horrific images of what we've done to ourselves and our planet away. We gotta stop being tricked by the climate change deniers and the anti-environmentalists and start working on the solutions. Only then will we be "treated" to a better world for everyone.

 

Here's the link to the ocean full of plastics solution:  https://www.theoceancleanup.com/    Sign the Congress Act On Climate Change Petition: https://go.ourrevolution.com/page/s/act-on-climate?source=ads_fb_171010_climate
More ways to take actions against the climate deniers:  
In his short tenure, Trump’s EPA head Scott Pruitt has earned a reputation for too-close ties with fossil fuel industries he’s supposed to regulate, shady behavior, and an unbelievable hostility to the mission of his own agency.
He’s been dismantling the EPA piece by piece since he got the job. Now, he’s even actively blocking scientists from speaking out about climate change. Yesterday, the EPA barred three agency scientists from giving a climate change talk at a conference in Rhode Island. 

I've been a climate scientist for decades, and this is the textbook definition of scientific censorship. For anyone who respects the mission of the EPA, this has to be the last straw -- Scott Pruitt must go! 

Add your name to 314 Action’s public demand that Pruitt be removed as head of the EPA.

FIRE SCOTT PRUITT

This latest deliberate attempt to censor science is part of a pattern of outright disdain for the work of professional EPA researchers and climate scientists.
Last week, we found out that parts of the EPA website were scrubbed of the words “climate change.” Many of the agency’s scientific advisors have been replaced by industry lobbyists. Pruitt has refused to speak to most reporters, and is even reportedly building a $25,000 soundproof booth in his office (where we can be relatively sure nothing good will happen). 

The way this plays out in actual policy is unsurprising. Pruitt helped push Trump into pulling out of the Paris agreement. He’s trying to repeal President Obama’s landmark Clean Power Plan, which is already creating jobs and preventing carbon pollution. And he’s rolled back regulations that keep dangerous chemicals out of drinking water -- all because they're inconvenient for his friends in the oil and gas industry. 

And remember when Tom Price was forced to resign for sticking taxpayers with the cost of flying in private planes? That’s right -- Scott Pruitt is doing that, too. 

Scott Pruitt is already the worst EPA administrator in the agency’s history, because he’s actively trying to be. He’s far from the only anti-science official in the Trump administration, but we can’t afford to let him to keep running this life-saving agency into the ground. 

We’ve seen what happens when public pressure is strong and focused. Speak out today -- join our call for Scott Pruitt’s removal.
 
There’s more to come in this campaign -- stay tuned!
Dr. Michael Mann

***

Donald Trump’s administration already broke faith with 194 other countries by pulling the United States out of its commitment to the Paris climate agreement. But senior Trump officials continue to obstruct progress for the rest of the world at meetings on the agreement with other international leaders.

Backed by fossil-fuel billionaires, Trump officials keep going to the meetings to represent the interests of big polluters. Since Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement, it's only fair that the U.S. also stop trying to sabotage international meetings about implementation.

Climate Hawks Vote and allies, together, are calling on Trump and Exxon CEO-turned Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stop sabotaging international efforts to act on climate change.

Sign the joint petition now to send a message to the Trump administration, Sec. Rex Tillerson, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.

Sign our petition

As people concerned about our future and the future of the planet, we demand the U.S. government: Stand down: Stay out of all negotiations concerning the Paris Agreement and its implementation. Stop representing the interests of Big Polluters in international climate negotiations. Pay its fair share to address the global climate crisis.

Your fellow climate hawk,

RL Miller

Also from Climate Hawks Vote:

#StopBridenstine: Tell your senators to oppose climate denier Jim Bridenstine’s confirmation for NASA Administrator.

The Senate Commerce Committee just announced that climate denier Jim Bridenstine’s confirmation hearing to become Trump’s NASA Administrator will take place on Wednesday, November 1.

Bridenstine is an enemy of all elements of NASA’s mission “to understand and protect our home planet, to explore the universe, and to inspire the next generation of explorers.” In 2013, Bridenstine lied on the House floor, saying global temperatures “stopped rising 10 years ago.” He went on to demand that President Obama apologize for spending NASA’s budget on climate research. He has even introduced legislation to privatize NASA’s space programs.

Fortunately, there’s growing opposition in the Senate to Trump’s unqualified nominee to head up NASA—Senator Patty Murray of Washington just announced her opposition.

Bridenstine will be appearing before the Senate on November 1. It’s imperative that we urge every single Senate Democrat and Republican to strongly oppose Jim Bridenstine’s confirmation before the vote happens. 

We’ve joined Daily Kos, Demand Progress, and Common Defense in calling on Senators to resist this dangerous anti-science ideologue. Sign the petition below, then write a letter to your Senators on the next page:

Take action »

I will be personally delivering your signatures to the U.S. Senate before the hearing. Add your name now.

Your fellow climate hawk,

Brad Johnson

The Summer of Love 2.0

Our Earth...It's worth saving, isn't it?

Activism

By Sean Nestor

When I first started getting involved with activism, I felt at a disadvantage. I never went to school for this stuff; I didn't know how to organize people, or how to analyze public policy, or how everything in our legal system worked. I wanted to show up, hold a sign, and support the professionals.

But there was a problem - there weren't any professionals to support. Most were stuck in cubicles doing busy work, while others were looking for citizens like me to stand up and take the lead. It turns out that the pros can only sharp-shoot certain aspects of social change, and that active citizens are an essential (but nearly extinct) ingredient in that process.

So I started on the path of becoming a better citizen. I learned as I went, figuring things out as I needed to through my own trial and error and conversations with the experienced. I never would have guessed how much this process would change me for the better. Things that would have given me crippling anxiety to contemplate years ago now seem second nature.

The zen of democracy is that it ties our personal improvement to the improvement of our society. When we challenge ourselves and accept our role as self-advocates--when we better ourselves in the pursuit of bettering others--we transform not only our own lives, but the lives of those around us. This process cannot be engineered in a classroom, a legislative chamber, or a board room; it must arise organically from the felt needs and moral compass of every day citizens.

BIO:
Sean Nestor is an educator and activist from Toledo, Ohio. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Single Payer Action Network and Co-Chair of the Lucas County Green Party.

 From January to July, 2017 has been a year of citizens speaking out and taking action to protect each other and the environment.

All Hands on Deck event at Maumee Bay State Park, Lake Erie

2017: The Summer of Love 2.0
by C.A. Matthews

For those who weren't alive in 1967, the above title might not ring a bell for you. But for those of us who have some memories of the 60s, the Summer of Love was the year of the hippies and a year that marked a seismic shift of consciousness in America. As a child, I couldn't quite grasp what all the young adults wearing love beads, long hair, peace signs and tie-dye were going on about in that summer and in the proceeding ones, but their protest signs and songs indicated their intentions. 

It was a time to speak out against the war in Vietnam; a time to speak out against nuclear proliferation and war; a time to speak out in favor of women's rights; a time to speak out for civil rights for all Americans, in particular African-Americans and Native Americans; a time to cry out about the destruction of the environment; a time to tell the establishment, "Hell no! The status quo has got to go!" And it needed to go now.

I could draw many parallels between this summer of activism and that summer of activism fifty years ago. I see one of the biggest parallels as being the willingness of ordinary people to crawl out of their comfort zones and take their righteous anger to the  streets. But it's not enough to "resist" a bad president, as some are doing with anti-Trump demonstrations. We have to take action for something and not simply act out against some person, like a child throwing a temper tantrum over having to eat broccoli. The hippies' signs and banners may have declared they were against the war in Southeast Asia, but essentially they were speaking out for world peace and for an end to poverty, hunger, and human rights abuses. 

Perhaps the reason the Summer of Love and the hippies live on in our memories is that those who became involved in the movement were for positive change for all mankind. They weren't on a self-serving "vengeance kick" to get rid of a buffoon of a president they didn't personally like. The hippies' motives and actions were noble and for the good of society, and not simply a cover for a disgraced political faction who fielded the wrong candidate and rigged primaries to do so.

This summer so far we've participated in several actions to draw attention to

health care (or rather, the lack of it) in America and the fragility of our environment (our Great Lakes and our dying pollinators). We feel the need to protect our world against corporate greed that is destroying nature and humankind alike. The reason we chose to participate in these actions is that they are in dire need of immediate attention. The status quo of the oligarchs' desire for ever-increasing corporate profits has got to go--and go now. 

Time is of the essence. It's not a personal thing--although, if our health care is taken away, it will possibly shorten our lives--but it's a necessary thing to take action if we want our world to exist in the future. Our personal struggles pale in comparison to the struggles of the whole of humanity.

It's time we follow the hippies' lead and don our peace signs and love beads and show our compassion for our fellow human beings and our planet. Only by acting out of love and compassion can we ever hope to achieve a new status quo, one where everyone is assured of a life free from discrimination and homelessness, hunger and suffering. We'll need more than a shift--we'll need a revolution in consciousness to get there. 

Let the revolution begin today with us.

 

Enjoy some memories from the Summer of Love with this video.
www.youtube.com/embed/obsAUJHMOZs

***

Here's one way to take action this summer. A very clever way from 314 Action.

Trump and his allies have been purging his administration of scientific voices from day one, and the latest news out of Washington makes it clear they aren't slowing down. The science division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy apparently has zero remaining staffers.

We know all too well that without scientific input in government, things can get pretty dicey -- so we thought we’d help them out a bit by sending a clear message: If you’re not going to seek out science, we’ll bring science to your front door instead.

We want to deliver copies of “Environmental Science for Dummies” to some of the most anti-science voices in Trump's administration, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. Can you help?

Enter your info and we’ll ship this book in your name to either the EPA or the Department of Energy -- along with a note reminding them that you (and the American people) stand with science >>

Since January, the scientific community has been under constant attack. Trump has announced that he’s pulling the U.S. out of the Paris agreement. Scott Pruitt has fired key scientists at the EPA, and plans to replace them with fossil fuel executives. Rick Perry continues to deny human impact on climate change.

It’s critical that we keep exposing these climate change deniers and anti-science voices. We need to show them that they’re not going to get away with this. These aren’t the Dark Ages -- the American people believe in science.

It’s on us to teach the Trump administration a science lesson: Help us send “Environmental Science for Dummies” textbooks to two of the most anti-science voices in Washington, D.C. >>

Thanks for helping us send a message.
Harmony
Harmony Knutson
Director of Advocacy
314 Action

 ***

More ways to take action on health care from the Movement for the 99%.

#OccupyTrumpcare
National Week of Action: July 8 -15
Mass Action Needed to Ensure Defeat of Trumpcare!

Trumpcare isn’t dead, and we need to do everything we can to stop it. The Republicans in Congress are going to come back from the July 4th recess determined to try to get this reactionary legislation passed.

Trumpcare is a savage attack on working people and the poor. If passed, it will deny tens of millions access to healthcare and represent one of the greatest transfers of wealth from the working class to the 1% in U.S. history through massive tax cuts for the super-rich and corporations.

We need a full mobilization of the opposition to Trumpcare through rallies, protests, and occupations of Republican Senators’ offices. The Republicans are struggling to overcome internal divisions, but we need to keep the pressure up to ensure defeat of Trumpcare.

Our Revolution, the Democratic Socialists of America and others are calling for non-violent sit-ins across the country on Thursday, July 6th against Trumpcare. These are exactly the type of determined actions we need to build a movement from below to defeat Trump’s agenda.

Movement for the 99% and our partners in Socialist Alternative also feel we need to keep that movement going when Congress returns to session. That’s why we’re helping to initiate a week of action from July 8th to July 15th to #OccupyTrumpcare. Please join us at the protests, occupations and speak-outs that we’ll be initiating. 

Please chip in $15, $27, or $100 to build mass actions against Trumpcare this coming week! We need to print thousands of picket signs and to make sure we have a legal fund for any arrests.

There is mass opposition across the country, we need all opponents of Trumpcare to unite behind a strategy of mobilizing the full breadth of that opposition, similar to the mass rallies around Trump’s inauguration when millions marched in the streets. With a well-organized mobilization and an escalating series of mass actions we can help ensure the Republican bill fails. A victory on this issue could help give confidence to the fight for Medicare for all. We could build upon our momentum to organize to ensure guaranteed, quality healthcare for everyone at the state level and nationally. To achieve these goals, we have to rely on our own strength, not the corporate-controlled leadership of the Democratic Party.

The first step in winning our demands, defeating the Republican agenda and bringing down Trump is to defeat this reactionary legislation once and for all.

We need all hands on deck to #OccupyTrumpcare!  We are organizing rallies and occupations across the country. We will send out more information in the coming days of where and when you can join an action!

Onward!
Bryan
Organizer

***

A Summer of Love, a Summer of Resistance with Greenpeace...

Trump received a message that he couldn't ignore. We will RESIST and DEFEND our planet and communities!


The Summer of Resistance is heating up. Now we need YOU to join in!

All summer long, Greenpeace will be turning up the heat on Trump and his fossil fuel cronies through creative resistance and non-violent direct action. Now it’s time for YOU to join in to create change where you live. Sign up today for our Summer of Resistance!

There’s never been a more important time to resist the Trump administration’s pro-polluter agenda and DEFEND our planet and communities. In rapid-fire succession, Trump has already unleashed multiple attacks on our water, air, climate, and health. This is an administration that sees American lives and the health of the planet as disposable, and it is using all its power to execute that vision. And often, poor, immigrant and communities of color — like the one I grew up in here in Chicago — will be the ones who feel the harshest effects.

There’s never been a more important time for action. That’s why I’ve joined Greenpeace’s Summer of Resistance, where people from all over the country — people just like you and me — can gain the tools they need to stand up against injustice in their own communities. Will you join me and thousands of others to make your summer a Summer of Resistance? When you sign up, we’ll show you how to join free local trainings and creative, non-violent resistance actions — or show you how to host your own creative resistance event!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never marched, joined a peaceful protest, or done any sort of direct action before. Greenpeace’s Summer of Resistance is for anyone who wants to make a difference. Whatever issue you’re most passionate about — climate change, clean air and water, social justice — this is the moment to take the next step and give your all. Join the Summer of Resistance now!

For our climate, health and communities,
Dario Parra
RESIST team, Greenpeace USA

And action to take to save Net Neutrality.
 
Battle For The Net Video Bumper from FFTF on Vimeo.