www.independent.co.uk/environment/cop25-madrid-climate-change-greta-thunberg-fossil-fuel-lawsuit-...
Fossil fuel firms 'could be sued' for climate change
Filipino human rights committee finds world’s biggest oil companies have legal and moral responsibilities to act, as Greta Thunberg says children's rights being violatedLET”S GET SERIOUS - THE PARTY IS OVER
'As I listened to climate scientist Peter Walker’s devastating analysis of COP 25 in which he made it utterly clear that we are accelerating headlong towards total cataclysm ; as I thought back to Roger Hallam’s fire and brimstone talks about the collapse of civilisation ; as I thought about Greta’s fury at our leaders’ complete lack of recognition of the scale of our predicament; as I then thought about the daily stories of climate catastrophes across the world ; as I thought of the Amazon on fire and Sydney in an apocalyptic haze ; as I thought about the incalculably horrendous scale of the ecocide that we humans are inflicting on our planet ,I realised that, as a Movement , even Extinction Rebellion is in a state of partial denial .
The party is over . It was fun , it was vitally important but it’s over - the days of pink boats and samba bands and yoga in Trafalgar Square and people meekly blocking roads waiting to be arrested are SO inappropriate to the level of the emergency we face , that not only are they no longer helping our cause , but they are reinforcing public opinion that everything is actually OK. We are actually complicit in helping to create a global Bystander Effect : because our behaviour is so normal , so ‘civilised’, so quaint , the public don’t have to begin to engage with the horror which we Extinction Rebellion members have to face on a daily basis - they find it all too easy to dismiss us as a bunch of well-meaning cranks and our statements as hardly worthy of consideration.
Time is running out- we say it , but mostly we don’t act as if it really is . The house is on fire and we are still playing in the bedroom . What we have to do right now is to totally transform our messaging . This really is a fucking emergency . The time for talking has ended . We have to become the prophets of doom - we don’t want the job , but we have no other choice . This is a fucking emergency. We have to make people uncomfortable , we have to make them shit their pants .We have to wake them up in the night from their nightmares and make them realise that their waking lives will soon be nightmares, and that for many across the world they already are .
I’m not saying we should abandon our values , far from it ( though I think tearing down a few statues wouldn’t go amiss )- they are the sort of values which will have to underpin the new world we have to create - BUT we’ve got to stop pussy-footing around people for fear of upsetting them, we’ve got to stop shielding people from the truth - even children have to be made aware in no uncertain terms where we adults are leading them unless we act right now.
Of course behind closed doors we need to find ways of regenerating , of avoiding becoming demoralised , even of having fun - but in public we need to find ways to act out the horror and destruction which lie ahead - and we have to carry on doing it until people finally get the message - that we’re telling the truth and that unless they wake the fuck up right now , we’re all fucked .
We are Extinction Rebellion . We have to rebel against extinction . Let’s drop the XR shorthand , lest we forget who we are . It was fear, not a search for a better social life , which made me join Extinction Rebellion - I read the IPCC 2108 report . As it happens , I’ve found that the rebellion is full of wonderful people , who have become essential to my wellbeing in the light of what we have to face together . Community is what helps me face my fear . But fear had to come first , not community .
Let’s not hold a party for the end of the world . Let’s not let it happen. Let’s get serious.'
Grant Stewart Extinction Rebellion Elder
This post is about reporting in the media and the continued support of climate denial in the mainstream which is already resulting in a lack of proper action. We can observe how our politicians are trading our water for coal, gas and oil and contemplate what this means for millions of South Africans especially those in rural areas who need local water and are often displaced by mining interests.
South Africa has very low climate literacy compared to the rest of the world (about 18% literacy), this is largely a failure of our media and shows the extent of corporate control of the media.
Even in the face of immense suffering, mass migration, food insecurity, water insecurity, increasing extreme weather events and new diseases South African media still pushes
a endless growth narrative for their neoliberal owners. We should no longer tolerate the editors that allow this.
If there is any risk that temperatures may rise enough to kill vulnerable groups in our country this will have happened with the blessings and complicity of our mainstream media. Even SABC news is reporting inaccurately despite our scientists being very clear about the situation we face.
Regardless of the lack of literacy the reality of climate breakdown is unfolding as we see more and more extreme weather events and more people suffering and displaced.
Is capitalism coming to the rescue or should we consider a more compassionate system that will not polarize the haves and have nots quite as significantly?
What is the impact of the stresses of ecological collapse, emerging Eco-apartheid, social justice deficit and inequality on our national psyche?
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15- to 29-year-olds globally, and South Africa’s rising statistics call for fast intervention. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) reports that 17.6% of teens had considered attempting suicide and over 20% of 18-year-olds
have had one or more suicide attempts.
SADAG Operations Director, Cassey Chambers says: “The youth are not equipped with enough coping skills or support structures to handle the kind of problems that they have to deal with every day.” The South African Depression and Anxiety Group
www.sadag.org/index.php…
www.capetownetc.com/…/sa-has-sixth-highest-suicide…/
When journalists in our mainstream media are misrepresenting both IPBES and UN IPCC reports is very bad journalism and showing articles which were published in 2014 referencing a report released in 2018 just shows the extent of the media manipulation and level of ignorance including the editor. Luckily not all readers are so clueless as to swallow the nonsense but many are and this is bad journalism SAEditorsForum - SANEF
What the IPCC's latest report says about food security (Chapter 5) is that they believe with high certainty that changes in temperature and rainfall as well as increased extreme weather will have severe impacts on global food supplies.
Observed climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events
(high confidence).
www.ipcc.ch/…/uploa…/2019/08/2f.-Chapter-5_FINAL.pdf
Food security will be increasingly affected by projected future climate change (high confidence).
Things like new diseases, new fungal infections, new plagues of insects are all attributed to the small increase in tempature. The methane emissions now coming from the permafrost are pushing the atmosphere into new territory chemically and projections are not great.
On the reality of biodiversity loss and how it impacts us there are some amazing scientists working very hard to bring policy makers accurate data:
www.sanews.gov.za/…/sa-releases-3rd-biodiversity-re…
ipbes.net/assessment-reports
ipbes.net/…/spm_deliverable_3a_pollination_20170222…
On misrepresenting climate scientists in the South African mainstream media - I think this should be shared with those scientists who have been misrepresented so they can have right of reply. For example Tasmin Edwards has produced some great media for XR here is a podcast. But her name was used and the name of her blog in a way which obscures the message she is bringing to the world through her work.
noplanetb.podbean.com/e/s01e06-tamsin-edwards-king…/
Tasmin has a blog which is called "All the models are wrong" which has been the case as we can see the observable data is far worse than our most frightening models. For example we never predicted that we would have lost so much of the Arctic and Ant-arctic ice by now - we 90 years ahead of models... and we also predicted that the methane time bomb would happen in many years to come.
The links between the ecosystems on Land and in the Oceans are really well explored by the latest reports. The summary for policy makers from the Cryposphere report is detailed and leaves little doubt that we face certain fundamental changes already.
"Since the mid-20th century, the shrinking cryosphere in the Arctic and high-mountain areas has led to predominantly negative impacts on food security, water resources, water quality, livelihoods, health and well-being, infrastructure, transportation, tourism and recreation, as well as culture of human societies, particularly for Indigenous peoples (high confidence). Costs and benefits have been unequally distributed across populations and regions. Adaptation efforts have benefited from the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge (high confidence). "
This post is also urging activists to please promote good research and science. We have a big responsibility if we publish media to an open and honest call for action in the face of this existential threat. #UniteBehindTheScience #FridaysForFuture #ExtinctionRebellion
www.dailymaverick.co.za/…/2019-07-04-antarctic-sea…/
phys.org/…/2019-10-global-ocean-methane-emissions-d…
report.ipcc.ch/srocc/pdf/SROCC_SPM_Approved.pdf
Why Greta is Good
There is now a meme going around with a quote from GT saying “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood" in contrast to a child labour victim in the DRC cobalt mines saying "Getting that cobalt for your electric cars fast as I can Greta."
The meme clown deleted information to discredit Greta. If they can't find any facts against her, they simply manufacture it.
What she said in full was, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”
GT stated that the greedy who want to protect their luxury lifestyles at the expense of the planet and the poor, stole her dreams and childhood (a fact), but that in comparison to many other children, she is one of the lucky ones. The lucky one who is also a victim of those who want to protect greed by law, military and police force, stood in solidarity with the poor and indigenous people earlier this week.
www.commondreams.org/news/2019/10/07/en-route-standing-rock-greta-thunberg-holds-struggles-all-in...
4 Environmental Activists Are Killed Every Week So We Can Have Snacks, Meat And Coffee
4 Environmental Activists Are Killed Every Week So We Can Have Snacks, Meat And Coffee
“We don’t want to see any more bloodshed,” said the child of one slain land defender.Worth reading.
What are the main criticisms of the World Bank and the IMF? - Bretton Woods Project
This Inside the Institutions sets-out some of the most common criticisms of the World Bank and IMF under three broad lenses: democratic governance, human rights and the environment.