Climate Politics/Capitol Light (35)
Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Michael Bennet of Colorado have introduced a resolution calling for a national conservation goal of protecting at least 30% of the country’s lands and waters by 2030.
Energy featured
Renewables Could Match Coal Power within 5 Years, IEA Reveals
Renewable sources of electricity are set for rapid growth over the next five years, which could see them match the output of the world’s coal-fired power stations for the first time ever.
Scheer Folly: Promised Coast-to-Coast Energy Corridor Makes No Sense
Real conservatives know that energy corridors don’t make jobs or support freedom.
When China built a pipeline to access natural gas in western Burma, there were reports of forced labour, relocated villages and corruption.
Those kinds of things are inherent in energy corridors, which enrich the powerful at the expense of the weak.
Dig Beneath the World’s Far-Right Governments — You’ll Find Fossil Fuels
From Brazil to India to the United States, extractive industries have aligned themselves with authoritarian governments waging war on minority populations.
Climate Politics/Capitol Light (34)
In the midst of it all, Senate Democrats forced a vote on their resolution to deny the administration its Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE). The resolution called for striking down ACE and reinstating Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP).
Will the Fracking Revolution Peak Before Ever Making Money?
When DeSmog first began reporting on the failed finances of the fracking industry, publications like the Wall Street Journal were writing about the optimistic financial future for shale companies. A year and a half later, that optimism has died. But all of these dynamics played out before the industry ran up against “core operational issues.”
Climate Change: An Appeal to the UN Committee on the Rights of Children
On the day Greta Thunberg gave her emotion-filled speech at the United Nation’s (UN) Climate Summit, another historic event involving the Swedish activist and 15 other youthful climate hawks—representing 12 countries–took place. The filing of the first-ever legal complaint about climate change to the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child. The communication is titled Sacchi et al. vs. Argentina, et al.
The Attacks on Abqaiq and Peak Oil in Ghawar
The world cannot live without Saudi oil. While media focus is on oil prices and how quickly full production can be brought back Saudi Arabia’s underlying peak oil problem has not been discovered yet. Together with the permanent threat of further attacks there is a double vulnerability now.
The Hope of the Green New Deal
That begs the question: why aren’t developed nations, such as European nations, rapidly replacing their fossil fuel uses with renewable energy and why do they still have high per capita CO2 emission rates, typically much higher than developing nations?
Climate Politics/Capitol Light (29)
The new federal fiscal year is a week away. It appears that a continuing resolution (CR) will once again be the answer to Congress’ continued inability to pass spending bills. The CR already passed by the House and now being considered by the Senate will extend government funding through November 21st.
Climate Politics/Capitol Light (28)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres drew praise Wednesday for taking what supporters called a “powerful stand” to address the climate crisis. Guterres will reportedly exclude major economies, including the United States, from talking at the upcoming U.N. Climate Action Summit because of their failure to produce appropriately ambitious climate plans and their ongoing support for coal.
The UC is Going Fossil Free for Exactly the Reasons we Think it Should
Today UC administrators confirmed that the University of California will be going fossil free at their quarterly UC Regents’ meeting. After a 6-year campaign, led by UC students and faculty, the UC will be divesting their $13.4 billion endowment and $70 billion pension funds from fossil fuel companies.
