Tag Archives: Water

Antarctic Tipping Point That Occurred 8,000 Years Ago ‘Could Happen Again’

“We now have direct evidence that this ice sheet suffered rapid ice loss in the past,” said a Cambridge researcher.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 2-9-2024 by Common Dreams

*Marguerite Bay is on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. (Photo: British Antarctic Survey)*

As European Union scientists confirmed that last month continued a worrying trend of historically high temperatures, U.K. researchers released a study Thursday warning how fossil fuel-driven global heating could lead to catastrophic and rapid ice loss in Antarctica not seen for thousands of years.

The study, published by researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the University of Cambridge in Nature Geoscience, relies on an ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet that is over 2,100 feet long.

Continue reading →

‘Dear Children of Gaza,’ Says Viral Letter, ‘I Am Sorry’

Leave a reply

“You may ask the world why there was swift action when trade routes and economic interests were at risk but deafening silence when 10,000 children were killed,” wrote a British lawmaker. “The world might not like your questions, but you deserve your answers.”

By Julia Conley. Published 1=27-2024 by Common Dreams

In a viral video released Friday, British member of Parliament Naz Shah, who represents the Labour Party, issued an apology to the roughly 1 million children of Gaza on behalf of world leaders who—despite Palestinian journalists’ live-streaming of Israel’s assault on the enclave and an international court’s finding that Israel is plausibly committing genocidal acts—refuse to see the impact the bombardment is having on civilians, including its youngest residents.

The video shows Shah writing a letter addressed to the “children of Gaza,” along with images of children being treated in hospitals, buried under rubble, and living in shelters since Israel began bombarding the enclave in retaliation for Hamas’ attack on October 7. Children are also seen gathered on a playground prior to the air and ground assaults that have so far killed more than 13,000 children.

Continue reading →

Air Pollution From Canadian Tar Sands Up to 6,300% Worse Than Industry Reports

Leave a reply

“In quantifying the astonishing and largely unreported levels,” said a Greenpeace campaigner, “these scientists have validated what downwind Indigenous communities have been saying for decades.”

By Jessica Corbett. Published 1-26-2024 by Common Dreams

*Tar sands extraction in northern Alberta. Photo: The Co-op Group/flickr/CC*

Aircraft measurements of pollutants over the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, Canada show levels exceeding industry reports by 1,900% to more than 6,300%, scientists revealed Thursday, underscoring the need for humanity to rapidly phase out fossil fuels.

While the Canadian government requires air quality monitoring around oil sands operations, industry figures focus on certain compounds. For this research, published Thursday in the journal Science, experts from Yale University and Environment and Climate Change Canada, a department of the Canadian government, accounted for a wider range of emissions.

Continue reading →

Iconic 100-Year-Old Fishing Shacks Washed Into Sea as Maine High Tide Breaks All-Time Record

Leave a reply

“Mother nature isn’t messing around.”

By Jon Queally. Published 1-13-2024 by Common Dreams

*Iconic fishing shacks at Willard Beach in South Portland, Maine were washed into the sea Saturday as the high tide broke an all-time record. (Photo: Shyler Lewis)*

From New York City to the coast of Maine, record-breaking high tides in part fueled by the climate crisis brought destruction to the U.S. northeast on Saturday with roads flooded, infrastructure destroyed, and historic buildings washed out to sea—a horrifying preview of what scientists say will become all the more frequent if humanity continues its refusal to end the era of fossil fuels.

In downtown Portland, Maine the areas along the harbor and waterfront piers were inundated with unprecedented flooding. The city’s vibrant Old Port was underwater in many places with extensive damage to buildings, businesses, and infrastructure.

Continue reading →

‘Great Joy’ as Indigenous Q’eqchi’ Win Case Against Guatemalan Nickel Mine

Leave a reply

“This is a transcendent moment, for the Indigenous peoples of Guatemala and for a global public that is demanding an end to investments… that harm the planet and violate human rights,” said one plaintiffs’ attorney.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 12-15-2023 by Common Dreams

*The Fenix mountain-top removal nickel mine in the Mayan Q’eqchi’ territories, eastern Guatemala. Photo: Rights Action*

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled Friday that Guatemala violated Indigenous rights by allowing the construction of a massive nickel mine on land belonging to Q’eqchi’ Mayans—a decision hailed as a major victory in the decadeslong fight against state repression on behalf of the multiple multinational companies that have operated the site.

The IACHR found that Guatemala’s government violated the Q’eqchi’s rights to property and consultation when it permitted the Canadian company Hudbay to develop the long-dormant Fenix mine, also known as El Estor, on a mountaintop in the Izabal Department of eastern Guatemala in the 2000s. The mine—now owned by the Switzerland-based firm Solway—is located near Lake Izabal, a critical source of fish and other sustenance for the Q’eqchi’ and a protected habitat for species including the endangered Yucatan black howler monkey.

Continue reading →

‘Welcome News’: EPA Starts Process of Vinyl Chloride Risk Assessment

Leave a reply

“This is one of the most important chemical review processes ever undertaken by the EPA,” said one of the agency’s former regional administrators.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 12-14-2023 by Common Dreams

*Aerial photo of East Palestine derailment site taken 02-24-23. Twelve rail cars remained on site. Photo:: Governor Mike DeWine*

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it had begun the process of prioritizing vinyl chloride for evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Vinyl chloride, which is primarily used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, was one of five chemicals the agency earmarked for a risk assessment. The move comes eight months after a disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which included five cars carrying 115,000 gallons of the dangerous chemical.

Continue reading →

‘Shocking’ Share of Freshwater Fish Species at Risk of Extinction

Leave a reply

“Ensuring freshwater ecosystems are well managed, remain free-flowing with sufficient water, and good water quality is essential to stop species declines… in a climate-resilient world,” one scientist said.

By Olivia Rosane. Published 12=11-2023 by Common Dreams

*The IUCN has changed the conservation status of Atlantic salmon from “least concern” to “near threatened.” (Photo: USFWS Endangered Species’ photostream/Flickr)*

More than 20% of the world’s freshwater fish species are in danger of extinction, according to the first-ever assessment of the category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The assessment was released Monday as part of an update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species published to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). It found that 3,086 out of 14,898 listed freshwater fish species are at risk of disappearing, and at least 17% of threatened fish species are impacted by the climate crisis.

Continue reading →

‘Huge Win for the Planet’ as Panama Court Shuts Down Massive Mine

Leave a reply

“The people have spoken and expressed that they don’t want more mines, that they want sustainable economic development, and have no intention of destroying the country for profit,” said one campaigner.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 11-29-2023 by Common Dreams

Indigenous and environmental campaigners this week hailed a landmark win for the Rights of Nature movement, the Panamanian Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling that the contract for the Cobré mineral mine—one of the world’s largest—is unconstitutional and must be shut down.

The November 24 ruling against Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals, followed weeks of nationwide protests against the open-pit mine, which began operations in 2019 and where mainly copper, but also gold, silver, and molybdenum, are extracted. Opponents say the mine threatens area water supplies. A gunman shot and killed two people at a protest against the mine earlier this month.

Continue reading →

Gulf Oil Spill Shows ‘Danger of Banks Owning Energy Companies’

Leave a reply

“The Federal Reserve must enforce the Bank Holding Company Act and disallow Wall Street banks from controlling energy infrastructure, as it poses systemic risks,” said a Public Citizen campaigner.

By Jessica Corbett. Published 11-23-2023 by Common Dreams

*An aircrew detected oil in the Gulf of Mexico on November 16, 2023. (Photo: USCG Heartland/X)*

Banking giant JPMorgan Chase has financial ties to a company that owns the pipeline suspected of leaking up to 1.1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico—a situation that watchdogs say demonstrates the danger of such business relationships.

“JPMorgan’s control over a company involved in a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico clearly illustrates the danger of banks owning energy companies,” Tyson Slocum, director of consumer watchdog Public Citizen’s Energy Program, declared Wednesday.

Continue reading →

Climate Group Warns World Must Not Fall for Hydrogen ‘Hype’

Leave a reply

“Rather than betting on unproven and inefficient hydrogen technologies, we need rich countries to put their money towards a just energy transition,” said a Friends of the Earth campaigner.

By Jessica Corbett Published 11-21-2023 by Common Dreams

*Photo: Raymond Spekking (CC BY-SA 4.0)*

Amid preparations for COP28, the United Nations climate summit kicking off next week, a leading green group warned Tuesday that “hydrogen is big polluters’ latest trick, and we can’t afford to fall for it.”

“Hydrogen is being promoted as a ‘clean’ alternative to the fossil fuels used for domestic heating, transport, and heavy industry,” explains the new Friend of the Earth International (FOEI) paper, Don’t Fall for the Hydrogen Hype, put out ahead of the global clilmate talks. “But it’s expensive to produce, inefficient, and far from a low-carbon solution. In fact, the majority of the global hydrogen supply is made from fossil fuels.”

Continue reading →

Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: Water

Iconic 100-Year-Old Fishing Shacks Washed Into Sea as Maine High Tide Breaks All-Time Record

“Mother nature isn’t messing around.”

‘Shocking’ Share of Freshwater Fish Species at Risk of Extinction

“Ensuring freshwater ecosystems are well managed, remain free-flowing with sufficient water, and good water quality is essential to stop species declines… in a climate-resilient world,” one scientist said.

Gulf Oil Spill Shows ‘Danger of Banks Owning Energy Companies’

“The Federal Reserve must enforce the Bank Holding Company Act and disallow Wall Street banks from controlling energy infrastructure, as it poses systemic risks,” said a Public Citizen campaigner.

Climate Group Warns World Must Not Fall for Hydrogen ‘Hype’

“Rather than betting on unproven and inefficient hydrogen technologies, we need rich countries to put their money towards a just energy transition,” said a Friends of the Earth campaigner.