Arielle Klagsbrun, Brower Youth Awards 2013: Breaking carbon lock-in through collective direct action and democracy

‘Coal in its current form is simply unsustainable’

‘Coal in its current form is simply unsustainable’
Ken Ward, Jr.

"Progress on CCS [carbon capture and sequestration, i.e. 'clean' coal] is effectively stalled"  (from IEA director's speech)

Climate Change: Evidence (aka "It's Global Warming, Stupid!")

Climate Change: Evidence (via NASA)

WASH U GRAD: On tax breaks for fossil fuel polluters: End business-as-usual dealings in St. Louis : Stltoday

End business-as-usual dealings in St. Louis : Stltoday

WASH U GRAD WINS BROWER AWARD FOR STRUGGLE AGAINST PEABODY: RECEPTION AT WASH U, DEC 11

(by way of MORE):

We have some exciting news! This autumn, MORE community organizer Arielle Klagsbrun was awarded the Brower Youth Award, the premier North American award honoring bold young environmental leaders. Arielle was honored for her work challenging Peabody Energy using a combination of direct action and direct democracy in the form of the Take Back St. Louis ballot initiative. Only six people are awarded the Brower Youth Award every year, and this was the first time work in St. Louis was recognized. We're extremely excited to see Midwestern activism highlighted in national circles!
On Wednesday, December 11 we will be honoring Arielle and everyone who has contributed to challenging Peabody in St. Louis with a reception hosted by Washington University's Social Justice Center. Please join us to hear about our plans to diminish the power of Big Coal and transform our local economy.  There will also be the local premier of a short film highlighting the Take Back St. Louis ballot initiative. For all of us, this is a great chance to celebrate our collective work this year and begin to think about what 2014 may hold!

What: A reception and short film premier honoring Brower Youth Award Winner Arielle Klagsbrun and everyone who has contributed to fighting Peabody in St. Louis, hosted by Washington University's Social Justice Center

When: Wednesday, December 11, 5:30pm 
Where: The Women's Formal Lounge, Washington University (click here for a map) 

Dress code: Casual
RSVP: Here!
We hope to see you on December 11th!

Climate Change Initiative: A conversation | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

Climate Change Initiative: A conversation | Newsroom | Washington University in St. Louis

SLOW-MOTION APOCALYPSE -- WHY THE DIVESTMENT MOVEMENT MATTERS

How to Reverse a Slow-Motion Apocalypse 

Why the Divestment Movement Against Big Energy Matters 
By Todd Gitlin

Apocalyptic climate change is upon us.  For shorthand, let’s call it a slow-motion apocalypse to distinguish it from an intergalactic attack out of the blue or a suddenly surging Genesis-style flood.

Slow-motion, however, is not no-motion. In fits and starts, speeding up and slowing down, turning risks into clumps of extreme fact, one catastrophe after another -- even if there can be no 100% certitude about the origin of each one -- the planetary future careens toward the unlivable. That future is, it seems, arriving ahead of schedule, though erratically enough that most people -- in the lucky, prosperous countries at any rate -- can still imagine the planet conducting something close to business as usual.

Read more:

http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175775/

GLOBAL WARMING: FIND YOUR FAVORITE COMPANY ON THIS GREAT GRAPHIC

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/interactive/2013/nov/20/which-fossil-fuel-companies-responsible-climate-change-interactive

ONE STEP AT A TIME: U ILLINOIS STUDENTS VOTE 6 TO 1 TO DIVEST U. FROM COAL

The News-Gazette

Students want to end UI investment in coal

Sat, 11/16/2013 - 7:00am | Julie Wurth

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-11-16/students-want-end-ui-investment-coal.html

John Hickey, State Sierra Club Director, Guest Lecture in Global Energy and the American Dream

John Hickey, state Sierra Club Director, shares insights on how hard it is to clean up Missouri air and water, in large part due to the tight grip that coal and utility industries have on the state legislature and state regulatory bodies.

Here, discussing Ameren's plan to create a coal-ash landfill at Labadie, a flood plain.

Image below from Sierra Club Miss Toxic beauty pageant. July 2013.

Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining by : Yale Environment 360

Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining by : Yale Environment 360

WUSTL STUDENTS @ COP 19 - WARSAW: ON COAL AND THE UNFCC Exec. Secretary

http://wusice.wustl.edu/unfccc-executive-secretarys-decision-to-speak-at-the-coal-summit-open-letter-response/

"It's time to stop this madness" - Philippines plea at UN climate talks

"It's time to stop this madness" - Philippines plea at UN climate talks

Up to this hour, I agonize while waiting for word as to the fate of my very own relatives. What gives me renewed strength and great relief was when my brother succeeded in communicating with us that he has survived the onslaught. In the last two days, he has been gathering bodies of the dead with his own two hands. He is hungry and weary as food supplies find it difficult to arrive in the hardest hit areas.

We call on this COP to pursue work until the most meaningful outcome is in sight. Until concrete pledges have been made to ensure mobilization of resources for the Green Climate Fund. Until the promise of the establishment of a loss and damage mechanism has been fulfilled; until there is assurance on finance for adaptation; until concrete pathways for reaching the committed 100 billion dollars have been made; until we see real ambition on stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. We must put the money where our mouths are.

This process under the UNFCCC has been called many names. It has been called a farce. It has been called an annual carbon-intensive gathering of useless frequent flyers. It has been called many names. But it has also been called the Project to save the planet. It has been called “saving tomorrow today”. We can fix this. We can stop this madness. Right now. Right here, in the middle of this football field.

I call on you to lead us. And let Poland be forever known as the place we truly cared to stop this madness. Can humanity rise to the occasion? I still believe we can.

- See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/2013/11/11/its-time-to-stop-this-madness-philippines-plea-at-un-climate-talks/#sthash.pzF6S5yr.dpuf

SCIENCE AND RESISTANCE: Systems theory suggests direct action key to stopping global warming

Naomi Klein: How science is telling us all to revolt
the data – and they are coming to some incendiary conclusions
Is our relentless quest for economic growth killing the planet? Climate scientists have seen 

The New Statesman

US COAL: Upper Big Branch and the "Miners' Revenge" Haunted House

King's Dominion Controversy - West Virginia's Eyewitness News

On our conversation about the Upper Big Branch explosion, and in regard to the strange, if not cruel twists and turns of American corporate cultural production.. turn miners' tragedy and industrial homicide into a Halloween "freak show".

NIGERIA: HUMOR AND GETTING BY (re: our guest lecturer's argument remade in the NYT)

Life with Boko Haram – Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
NYT October 23, 2013

"The ability to laugh and remain optimistic amid the most dire circumstances remains one of the enduring characteristics of Nigerians."

FOSSIL FUEL RELATED POLITICS IN THE NEWS: CHINA, SAUDI ARABIA, CLEAN AIR CURMUDGEON

Saudi Women Rise Up, Quietly, and Slide Into the Driver’s Seat Ben Hubbard, NYT, October 26, 2013

China: Argument for a higher carbon tax to address emission concerns

"Clearing the Air in China"  CP Nielsen and MS Ho  (NYT October 27, 2013)

US: Coal and Emissions:  Shut down the coal industry, pension all with 50K/year, save us a lot of pollution and external costs.  A good idea from a Nobel Laureate in Physics.  Note: I also argued that carbon capture and sequestration is a pipe dream - he also thinks it doomed to fail.  Not saying I deserve the Nobel Prize.

New Clean Air Rules Would Do Little

Proposed regulations are irrelevant because of cheap natural gas.

Burton Richter - NYT October 23, 2013

US: COAL: UPPER BIG BRANCH MINERS -- 13 NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Former Massey CEO Don Blankenship denies busi - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

13 NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Former Massey CEO Don Blankenship denies busi - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

CHINA: ON THE TOPIC OF WHY WE SHOULD NOT BE EXPORTING MORE COAL THERE

If you think 'clean coal' is going to solve the Chinese problem, think again. 

From the Atlantic
These Pictures Capture Just How Horrifying China's Smog Situation Is Right Now

Uncertainty clouds Ameren solar rebate program : Business

Uncertainty clouds Ameren solar rebate program : Business

COAL: LINKS, SOURCES, VIDEOS

Mountaintop removal images

http://www.ohvec.org/galleries/mountaintop_removal/007/

Coal Miner’s Tribute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVT8dkobtgM

Upper Big Branch Simulation

http://youtu.be/QIeUtcTIXE0

Coal Exports, 2012

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/02/21/1618671/2012-us-coal-exports-reach-record-high/

BRAZIL: PSAs and NATIONALISM - Petrobras-Led Group Wins Brazil Oil Auction with Minimum Bid

RIGZONE - Petrobras-Led Group Wins Brazil Oil Auction with Minimum Bid

US: GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY: U.S. Drones & Civilian Killing/ Amnesty International Video: Will I be next?

View the full report here.

US COAL: MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling' - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

Chance or systematic infractions?  As we turn to discuss institutionalized cultures of noncompliance in the coal industry, recent mining deaths in coal country -- 

MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling'  - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

US COAL: MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling' - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

Chance or systematic infractions?  As we turn to discuss institutionalized cultures of noncompliance in the coal industry, recent mining deaths in coal country -- 

MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling'  - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling' - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

Chance or systematic infractions?  As we turn to discuss institutionalized cultures of noncompliance in the coal industry, recent mining deaths in coal country -- 

MSHA: Three mining deaths 'extremely troubling'  - News - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

US COAL: For consideration, as we read Removing Mountains

For Central Appalachian coal, bad news continues

US: NPR on the 73 embargo and America's resistance to change

'It Takes A Crisis': How '73 Embargo Fueled Change In U.S.

by  (NPR) SCOTT HORSLEY

Reports that new oil 'boom' will lower prices, intimating we will do little to address over-consumption.

READ/LISTEN TO WHOLE STORY HERE

And an interesting comment from one listener:

This piece sounded like corporate propaganda from the American Petroleum Institute. Scott Horsley served up too many blatant talking points for this to maintain the illusion of real journalism. It would be interesting to see how this sausage got made: where did this story idea come from and how did it get green-lighted? We need less insidious domestic propaganda from NPR, and more context. A lot of these commenters sound like they come from the knee-jerk right wing, head-in-the-sand crowd. Wanna chant USA, USA! and show your patriotism? Support nationalization of the US oil industry...

TAR SANDS STRATEGY: "SaveCanada" punks TransCanada - Energy East Tar Sands Pipeline

RIGZONE - Musings: The Reordering Of The Global Oil And Gas Industry

RIGZONE - Musings: The Reordering Of The Global Oil And Gas Industry

NIGERIA: 'ILLEGAL' OIL, BY WHOSE DEFINITIONS?

As poor people try to help themselves, the military and goverment are also complicit in reaping big bucks off of 'illegal' oil; Shell is complicit because it continues to operate as a partner of the military government. Whose oil is 'legal oil'?

NIGERIA: OIL SPILLS (SHELL & MILITARY COMPLICIT?)

FRACKING & NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE: CANADA

Protectors vs destroyers — Canadians unite to stop fracking in New Brunswick

Waging Non-Violence 
• Sam Koplinka-Loehr
 
• October 14, 2013

• For the past two weeks, an unprecedented coalition of Acadians, Anglophones and members of the Elsipogtog First Nation have blockaded a compound in the Canadian town of Rexton, New Brunswick, where trucks and equipment used in the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are stored. The company that owns the facility — SWN Resources Canada — has been working all summer to conduct seismic tests as the first step in the fracking process. While the natural gas derived from the drilling would primarily be sold over the border in the United States, the impacts of extraction — namely polluted water and air — would be felt in these communities for generations to come (READ MORE)

• 
  

RIGZONE - Saudi Arabia to Join US as Shale Gas Producer

RIGZONE - Saudi Arabia to Join US as Shale Gas Producer

TAR SANDS/KEYSTONE SOUTH: JUSTICE, RELIGION, and "THE MACHINE"

On the improbable convergence of grassroots climate struggle and Bible-inspired calls for justice in the middle of Texas

The Nation
October 8, 2013
Wen Stephenson

READ THE ARTICLE: The Grassroots Battle Against Big Oil | The Nation

OMAN: RESOURCE CURSE OR OIL RENAISSANCE?

READ FULL STORY HERE: Times of Oman | News :: Property dreams of young buyers turn into nightmare

Re our question about economic distortions in oil economies, here lamentations about the Omani Dream of owning your own home.

OMAN: HM receives Eid Al Adha greetings

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: Times of Oman | News :: HM receives Eid Al Adha greetings

From 'In the Time of Oil': Sultan Qaboos bin Said

The Majlis Al Shura chairman and its members extended their heartfelt greetings to His Majesty the Sultan on Eid Al Adha.

He prayed to Allah to protect His Majesty to remain always a leader of progress and prosperity march and to make Oman an oasis of security, stability
and peace.

He added: "Thanks to your Majesty's sound vision, every Omani feels proud of the achievements made which will ensure happiness and prosperity for citizens."

The chairman thanked His Majesty for Majlis Al Shura, which stands as a lofty institution and a cultural landmark.

He added that the Council of Oman building now, as per the directives of His Majesty, encompasses the State Council and the Shura, as well as their employees.

The building, after its opening for the third annual session for this term, will host the sessions and the committee meetings.

"At Majlis Al Shura, we are proud of this great edifice which will remain one of the major achievements of the Renaissance in the future too," he added.

"We take the pledge before your Majesty to do our best to ensure national integrity and enhance the relationship between Shura and other organisations to meet the interests of the State." 

TAR SANDS ACROSS MISSOURI: FLANAGAN SOUTH PIPELINE

New Pipeline Across Missouri, Illinois Is A Lot Like Keystone - But Have You Heard Of It?

Sarah Skiöld-Hanlin

STL PUBLICRADIO.ORG

Great story, maps, and interviews.

GLOBAL CARBON BUDGET & THE IPCC REPORT

“It’s another way of saying that we are quickly running out of time,” Dr. Knutti said.

New York Times October 10, 2013

How to Slice a Global Carbon Pie?

A U.N. panel makes its suggestions more palatable by setting out a range of scenarios of when earth may surpass the 3.6 degree rise in temperature seen as a yardstick.

DIVESTMENT/GLOBAL WARMING: How old will your children be in 2047?

President of Harvard, Drew Gilpin Faust, says divestment from fossil fuels would be unwise.  Yet, the symbolic importance of such an act can hardly be understated. What part of catastrophic change do DGF and the Harvard Corporation not understand? 

New York Times, October 10, 2013

By 2047, Coldest Years May Be Warmer Than Hottest in Past

A new paper based on top climate models says that by about 2047, average temperatures across the globe will be higher than any highs recorded previously, with tropics hit earlier.

UNIVERSITY DIVESTMENT: ONE MORE TAKE, Yes, Harvard, the Climate Crisis Is an ‘Extraordinarily Rare Circumstance’ | The Nation

Yes, Harvard, the Climate Crisis Is an ‘Extraordinarily Rare Circumstance’ | The Nation

UNIVERSITY DIVESTMENT FROM FOSSIL FUELS: Tim DeChristopher: There Is No ‘Neutral’ in the Climate Fight | The Nation

Tim DeChristopher: There Is No ‘Neutral’ in the Climate Fight | The Nation

In response to Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard pres., below.

UNIVERSITY DIVESTMENT FROM FOSSIL FUELS? HARVARD PRESIDENT RESPONDS

http://www.harvard.edu/president/fossil-fuels

Dear Members of the Harvard Community,Climate change represents one of the world’s most consequential challenges.  I very much respect the concern and commitment shown by the many members of our community who are working to confront this problem.  I, as well as members of our Corporation Committee on Shareholder Responsibility, have benefited from a number of conversations in recent months with students who advocate divestment from fossil fuel companies.  While I share their belief in the importance of addressing climate change, I do not believe, nor do my colleagues on the Corporation, that university divestment from the fossil fuel industry is warranted or wise. READ MORE....

RE: KEYSTONE XL: RACIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE/PUBLIC HEALTH EFFECTS OF PIPELINES

http://www.ienearth.org/under-siege-by-tar-sands-gulf-coast-draws-the-line/

From Indigenous Environmental Network

Under Siege by Tar Sands, Gulf Coast “Draws The Line”

Sep 2, 2013 by admin

The first time I saw a picture pertaining to tar sands extraction, was on Marty Cobenais’ computer. We were both attending an event in Houston, Texas, and found some time to talk shop.

By this time I knew well of the struggle to stop the Keystone XL – the proposed 2,174 mile long pipeline that would carry toxic bitumen (tar sand oil) from Canada to the Gulf Coast. In fact, just a few months prior I had been one of the 1,252 people arrested in front of the White House in protest of the project which then NASA scientist James Hansen has called “the dirty needle” and “game over” for the planet (Marty had been arrested too, but on different day than I).  READ MORE

RE: KEYSTONE XL DISCUSSION/BU Student Action at TransCanada Offices (March 2013)

GLOBAL: REDD/Carbon Trading: On the question on carbon trading, one set of impacts in Latin America

On REDD, the program to 'Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation' - and its impacts

Because this Land is Ours: The Rights of Mother Earth vs. Carbon Trading

Continued Support for Keystone XL Pipeline?

If Obama makes a decision based on how things are polling, than chances are he'll ok the Keystone pipeline.  
See recent Pew Research Center Energy Poll, take special note of how they ask the questions:

Continued Support for Keystone XL Pipeline

Here is how that question was phrased (note: oil, oil sands, nothing on emissions from those operations):

Here is the full report, and the full questionnaire. The Pew folks have made some questionable alliances in recent years, some with former oil/gas traders. The founder was an oil-man.  Are these alliances impacting their ability to carry out and report neutral public opinion polls?  This one, from question to presentation, seems to have an agenda.

US: TARSANDS/KEYSTONE: At least billionaires have a voice: The Test of Our Times

US GULF: How much oil did BP spill? How much do they owe?

Why say "amount of oil 'lost'"?   Lost?  Who writes these headlines?  NY Times still hoping for advertising revenue from BP?

New York Times, September 29, 2013
In BP Trial, The Amount Of Oil Lost Is at Issue

The fines against BP hang in the balance, and depend on the level of negligence that is determined and how much oil was spilled.

WE ARE THE NEZ PERCE NATION: Nimiipuu Mega Load Protest

The drums

SAUDI ARABIA: More on how men use free time, cheap gas, boredom

So, Apparently It's Cool to Hang Out of Moving, Tilted Cars in Saudi Arabia Now

WE ARE THE NEZ PERCE NATION: More on the struggle against tar sands truckers in Idaho

New York Times

September 26, 2013

Fight Over Energy Finds a New Front in a Corner of Idaho

The Nez Perce Indians were drawn into the national brawl over the future of energy last month when they tried to stop a load of oil-processing equipment from moving through their lands.