One prediction of where rising sea levels will end up at Cottesloe Beach, Perth Western Australia.. Photo: go_greener_oz/flickr/CC
Just over a month away from the next United Nations climate summit, a study out Wednesday warns that heating the planet beyond a key temperature threshold of the Paris agreement—even temporarily—could cause “irreversible impacts.”
The 2015 agreement aims to limit global temperature rise this century to 1.5ºC, relative to preindustrial levels.
I-75 in Tampa on October 8, 2024. Photo: Matos Zuly/X
U.S. President Joe Biden called on Floridians in evacuation zones to leave their homes “now, now, now” on Tuesday, and the mayor of Tampa issued a stark warning that those who “choose to stay” are “going to die” from the expected impact of Hurricane Milton—but desperate residents are grappling with the fact that hotels and airlines may make evacuating impossible for many.
Florida bars companies from price gouging during an emergency like Milton, but as thousands of people began evacuating the state’s western coast on Monday, accusations poured in about sky-high airline ticket prices and hotels in neighboring states that are charging exorbitant rates.
“This most recent poll shows that voters want to vote more than ever despite, or perhaps because, our democracy is threatened with the dark cloud of election denial and violence.”
A man wearing a “Proud Boys” shirt waves a flag at a pro-Trump rally outside the Minnesota Governor’s mansion on November 14th, 2020.. Photo: Chad Davis/flickr/CC
Polling released Monday, less than a month away from the November 5 election, shows that nearly three-quarters of U.S. voters are worried about political violence and believe it is likely because some people will not accept the results.
The latest Civil Rights Monitor Poll, commissioned by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, is based on responses from 1,000 likely voters across the country, who were surveyed September 3-8.
Flooded area resulting from Hurricane Helene. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife/flickr/CC
Local officials, academic researchers, and volunteer responders have raised concerns about chemical and biological contamination brought by the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern U.S. last week, which potentially threaten the safety not only of drinking water but also the quality of soil—leading experts to call for tighter regulations on stored pollutants.
Helene struck Florida as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 and swept through a number of states in the days that followed. Most of the damage came from extreme rainfall that triggered flooding. The storm killed at least 232 people.
Gas flare in La Porte TX. Photo: Roy Luck/flickr/CC
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected two industry-backed petitions to issue injunctions on new Biden administration rules for methane and mercury in a rare, if temporary, victory for the environment at the nation’s top court, which normally rules in favor of industry interests.
The two cases deal with rules issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—one to limit methane gas emitted by oil and gas companies, and the other to limit mercury emissions at coal-fired power plants.
“Like other wealthy countries we must guarantee healthcare to every man, woman, and child as a human right, not a job benefit. Whether you’re on strike or not, everyone is entitled to healthcare,” said Bernie Sanders.
Boeing revoked the company-sponsored healthcare benefits of about 33,000 striking workers starting Tuesday, drawing condemnation from progressives, who said it showed the need for a universal healthcare system in the United States.
The workers, who are mostly in Washington state and are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), went on strike on September 13, and the corporation announced on its website that their healthcare benefits would expire at the end of the day on September 30.
“It’s one thing to have an industry come after you after publishing a critical article. This happens all the time in journalism,” said writer Michael Pollan, one of those featured in the corporate files. “But to have your own government pay for it is outrageous.”
Field worker spraying cowpea with pesticide. Photo: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture/flickr/CC
New reporting published Friday exposes how U.S. taxpayer money was used to fund an elaborate effort by pesticide industry insiders to create detailed dossiers on public critics and environmentalist activists opposed to the widespread pollution created by agrochemical corporations.
The investigation was spearheaded by the nonprofit outlet Lighthouse Reports in collaboration with numerous outlets from around the globe, including The Guardian, Le Monde, The New Lede, ABC News, and the New Humanitarian. It details how outspoken critics of the pesticide paraquat—described as “among the most toxic agricultural chemicals ever produced”—were targeted by an “influence machine that works to suppress opposition to an $78 billion global industry.”
“Unless we’re organized and demanding responsive governments that actually meet the needs of people, it’s corporate power that’s going to set the agenda,” one organizer said.
The Amazon Spheres are three spherical conservatories that form part of the campus of Amazon’s headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Photo Buiobuione/Wikimedia Commons/CC
Big Tech, Big Oil, and private equity firms are among the leading companies that profit from controlling media and technology, accelerating the climate crisis, privatizing public goods and services, and violating human and workers’ rights, the International Trade Union Confederation revealed on Monday.
The ITUC has labeled seven major companies as “corporate underminers of democracy” that lobby against government attempts to hold them accountable and are headed by super-rich individuals who fund right-wing political movements and leaders.
“The Forest Service should listen to the public and finalize policies that truly safeguard our oldest forests,” a coalition of environmental organizations advised.
The Avenue of the Giants is surrounded by Humboldt Redwoods State Park–which has the largest remaining stand of old-growth redwoods in the world–in Humboldt County, California. Photo: Kirt Edblom/flickr/cc
Green groups on Friday pointed to the more than 1 million public comments urging the U.S. Forest Service to protect old-growth forests from logging in urging the Biden administration to increase what critics say are inadequate protections for mature trees in a proposed federal amendment.
“Caremark, ESI, and Optum—as medication gatekeepers—have extracted millions of dollars off the backs of patients who need lifesaving medications,” said one agency leader.
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday initiated a legal process against middlemen that collectively administer about 80% of all prescriptions in the United States, accusing them of artificially inflating the list price of insulin drugs and blocking patients from accessing cheaper products.
The FTC action targets the “Big Three” pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs): CVS Health’s Caremark Rx, Cigna’s Express Scripts (ESI), and UnitedHealth Group’s OptumRx. It also involves their affiliated group purchasing organizations (GPOs): Zinc Health Services, Ascent Health Services, and Emisar Pharma Services.
