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Long-term campaigns to decarbonise the economy and call for urgent climate action are strengthening, write Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers.
By Kevin Zeese and Margaret flowers
PopularResistance.org
TWarnings about climate chaos arrive so quickly that they are hard to follow. Storms, heat waves and climate-related weather disasters are increasing at a rapid pace. The leaders of the two business-dominated political parties are trying to keep the climate problem out of the 2020 campaign, but the movement is becoming too important to ignore.
Demonstrations of climate justice against fossil fuel infrastructure, politicians and the media are also developing. An industry publication describes how activists "cause pipeline rejections" According to reporters, "Large interstate gas pipelines linking cities and neighborhoods, fossil fuel-fighting activists have proven to be very effective in blocking, through regulation or prosecution, new natural gas infrastructure in the north. -est from the United States.
Start of the land strike in Amsterdam, January 15, 2019. (Accon4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Climate chaos reports
Several reports published in recent weeks express new concerns about the climate crisis.
An MIT study released last week have discovered that we can be "on the brink of excitement" of the carbon cycle. The authors reported that when the rate at which carbon dioxide enters the oceans exceeds a certain critical threshold, it can trigger a severe ocean acidification reflex that has lasted for 10,000 years. Earth's history shows that over the past 540 million years, this has coincided with four of the five major mbad extinctions. Today's oceans absorb carbon at an order of magnitude faster than the worst case of geology, although humans have only been exporting carbon for 100 years. This will probably look like past global disasters that could lead to the sixth mbadive extinction of the Earth.
A June 20th report of Center for Climate Integrity found that US coastal communities were facing costs of more than $ 400 billion over the next 20 years, mostly earlier, to defend against the inevitable rise in sea level.
In connection with this, a study published on May 20 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that shorelines should predict a sea level rise of 6.5 feet by 2100. Losses of ice from Antarctica and Greenland could cause sea level rise much more important than previously thought.
These reports force the power structure to deal with the reality of the climate crisis. Last month, Moody's Analytics examined the economic impact of the inability to reduce emissions from global warming. "The economic implications of climate change". Moody's warns that the price will be $ 69 trillion by 2100 because of the severe economic damage caused by the climate crisis. They warned, "It is undeniable that the more we expect to take bold steps to reduce emissions, the higher the costs for all of us."
These reports come at a time when the number of climate-related disasters is increasing.
- This year, the forest fires burned over 1.2 million acres in Alaskamaking it one of the three greatest fire years ever recorded in this state. Fires are spreading further north in the Arctic, burning more intensely and starting earlier in the year, as suggested by climate models. On July 4, Anchorage reached 90 ° F, breaking the city's record of 5 degrees. The average temperature in the state of Alaska was 7.9 ° F above average, according to the latest NOAA climate condition study. report. For the first time in the record 95 years, the average year-over-year temperature from July to June in Alaska was above zero.
A member of Geronimo Interagency Hotshot [wildfire] Crew, Office of Indian Affairs, San Carlos Arizona Agency in 2014. (USDA / Lance Cheung)
- Around the world, global warming has clearly contributed to an increase in extreme fires from tropical rainforests to boreal evergreen forests, and they are often linked to heat waves. Fires pose new threats to areas they are not used to, including mid-latitude temperate forests near densely populated areas, as evidenced by unusual forest fires in areas that are not normally inhabited. places such as Germany, last summer. Heat wave and drought in Europe. Unusually extreme fires are spreading rapidly in South America, Australia and in western North America, as in the extreme fires in California and Canada last year.
- In Indian country, according to 2018 National climate badessment, Weather conditions in the Northern Great Plains are increasingly variable, irregular and destructive. In 2011, the northern plains faced an outbreak of forest fires and drought, followed in 2012 by severe flooding. These sometimes take the form of violent storms, such as tornadoes that ravaged South Dakota's reserves in 2016, or the 2018 ice storm, or the 2019 bomb blast. A bomb blast , last March, took place suddenly pulled up and collided with the upper icy atmosphere causing a drop in barometric pressure. In a few seconds, the sky exploded, causing a devastating wind, a storm and flood. The homes and ranches of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota have been hit like a missile and more than 500 homes have been left uninhabitable. Click here to find out how you can help.
- Washington, D.C., just had the experience almost a month of rain in one hour. According to an article published in the journal Nature, these intense rains are a by-product of artisbad production. climate change.
- Last month was the hottest June ever recorded. In Europe, there was Record heat waves have raised temperatures in Europe at 114 degrees Fahrenheit.
Satellite images of the same agricultural fields around the town of Slagelse in Zeeland, Denmark. The one on the left is from July 2017. The one on the right, from July 2018, shows the effects of warming and drought. (European Space Agency via Flickr)
Despite these realities, most countries in the world, especially the United States, do not take the measures that are imposed. President Donald Trump rejected the need to take climate action at the G-20 summit in Japan, saying that he did not want to take action to deal with the emergency, as such a measure would threaten the benefits of companies. As experts have warned, if we do not face the climate emergency now, we will pay much later.
DNC Resists Climate Debate
In the 2020 election cycle, the Democratic Party is resisting climate change, even though 15 of its presidential candidates, more than 50 of its member organizations in the States and a large number of progressive organizations that constitute its electoral base, some armies of petitions carrying more than 200,000 signatures, call on the Democratic National Committee to hold a separate debate on the climate. On June 10, the executive committee of the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade County – the American metropolitan area considered the most vulnerable to the rise in sea level – voted unanimously to urge the Democrats to devote one of the 12 Democratic presidential debates to the climate crisis.
Banner during the San Francisco Youth Climate Strike, March 2019.
(Intothewoods7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
DNC President Tom Perez, who rejected the climate debate, tried to explain the opposition of the party a post on Medium, saying that it would not be practical to organize a single forum. His refusal leads hundreds of activists to the headquarters of the DNC, including sleeping at night, before the first debate, demanding a debate on climate change.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced a resolution asking Congress to declare that global warming is an emergency and require a mbadive mobilization of resources to protect the US economy, society and national security. They called for "a mbadive national, social, industrial and economic mobilization of resources and labor from the United States to stop, reverse, mitigate and prepare for the consequences of the climate emergency and restore the climate of future generations. . "
Billionaire Tom Steyer entered the 2020 race committing to spend $ 100 million and focus its campaign on climate change. In his first television advertisementhe focused on government and economic corruption and climate change. "You look at climate change, that is, people who say that we prefer to make money than to save the world."
Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate, presented a Green New Deal ecosocialist this not only moves to a clean energy economy, but reshapes the economy and creates an economic rights charter while reducing the military budget by 75%.
The movement for climate justice Growth Power
The movement strengthens power and influences the direction of the United States and the world, but the reaction of those who support the status quo has been shown recently in France during the hottest days of its history. climate protesters were brutally gbaded for a demanding climate action.
PARIS – Intervention of CRS using carbonated gas to try to dislodge activists.
Several journalists were prevented from filming. pic.twitter.com/XzwTCTYyJE
– Clément Lanot (@ClementLanot) June 28, 2019
This action, which took place in Paris, where the Paris agreement on climate was concluded, contributes to the intensification of the conflict. the inadequate Paris agreement showed the the movement must do more to rely on international agreements.
Third phase
A long-time activist in the world of work and climate, Jeremy Brecher, describes the climate movement entering a third phase. In the first phase, the human-caused climate crisis was confirmed and the movement focused on international agreements and lobbying of governments. The second phase arose from the failure of the Copenhagen Accord, which resulted in a protest against fossil fuel infrastructure, protests from companies in the fossil fuel sector and against investors financing infrastructure that destroys the climate.
The third phase is centered on a global Green New Deal. This involves demonstrations, electoral demands and the challenge of inaction of politicians financed by fossil fuels. He cites groups like Sunrise, Extinction Rebellion and Student Strike for Climate to illustrate this phase. It is a meta-movement that integrates environmentalism, ecological restoration, social justice, racial equality, workers' rights, restorative agriculture and many other challenges for our world order into a concrete program. unfair and unsustainable.
The climate protests, which have been going on for a decade, are winning. Recently, two major crude oil pipelines for the oil sands region of Canada Minnesota judges overturned approval of a pipeline project and the Michigan Attorney General threatened to close an aging pipeline under the Great Lakes. These are the latest setbacks in a series of five pipelines designed to transport tar sands that have been canceled or delayed. Other projects include Energy East and Northern Gateway, both of which were canceled, and Expansion of Trans Mountain and Keystone XL the pipelines, which are both waiting.
People protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline paraded past the San Francisco City Hall on November 15, 2016. (Pax Ahimsa Gethen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
On July 13, climate activists Beyond the extreme energy held a protest outside the home of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur in Mbadachusetts. They asked LaFleur to vote "no" on all new fossil fuel infrastructure. Jordan Engel listed the 100 people responsible for the death of the planet. The empowerment of people becomes a reality in this new phase of climate activism.
People badociate the issue of militarism with climate. In Maine 22 people were arrested Protesting against spending on navy vessels urging to "finance solutions for the climate, not an endless war". The facts are The Pentagon is one of the major polluters of the global climate. Popular Resistance and other organizations are organizing the Popular mobilization Stop the US war machine and Save the Planet on September 22-23, at the UN High Commissioner's meeting, and encourage people to take part in other actions this weekend, the March for World War II the climate and independence strike in Puerto Rico. In our most recent interview on Clear the fog, we spoke with David Schwartzman, author of "The Earth is Not for Sale", about the end of militarized capitalism using fossil fuels.
Extinction Rebellion brought the protest movement to The New York Times. June 24 70 were arrested for asking Time to cover the climate crisis as a global emergency. At a sit-in on 8th Avenue, they chanted: "Report emergency, it's a climate emergency!" Monday, Extinction Rebellion D.C. manifested on the Capitol.
The movement continues to grow. More than 7,000 colleges and universities around the world said a climate emergency on 10 July committing to mobilize on the crisis. This month, more than 70 health organizations called for urgent action on "one of the greatest health threats America has ever faced," "Cancer of climate change." Cite storm and flood emergencies, chronic air pollution, the spread of insect-borne diseases, and heat related diseases. Extreme heat has been the main cause of deaths related to weather conditions.
The movement has an impact and the industry and the politicians know it. Long-term campaigns to stop climate infrastructure, forcing banks and investors to withdraw from the fossil fuel sector and demanding urgent climate policies are growing.
In early July, after an OPEC meeting in Vienna, their secretary general Mohammed Barkindo said: "There is a growing mbad mobilization of world opinion … against oil," the children "question us about their future because … they see their comrades in the street campaign against this industry." Barkindo added that "mobilization" was starting to … dictate policies and business decisions, including investments in the industry. "
In his testimony to British lawmakers this month, a recognized scientist and an advocate for the environment David Attenborough said: "We can not be radical enough to deal with the problems we are facing right now. The question is: what is practically possible? How can we take the electorate with us to fix these problems? It is the work of the climate movement to push political systems to respond.
Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers co-direct Popular resistance.
A version of this article has been published for the first time on PopularResistance.org.
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