RICHARD HEINBERG – We need a realistic plan for energy descent, instead of foolish dreams of eternal consumer abundance by means other than fossil fuels. Currently, politically rooted insistence on continued economic growth is discouraging truth-telling and serious planning for how to live well with less.
Category: November 2022
Nuclear Guinea Pigs: NRC’s Licensing of Experimental Nuclear Plants
KARL GROSSMAN – “Guinea Pig Nation: How the NRC’s new licensing rules could turn communities into test beds for risky, experimental nuclear plants,” is what physicist Dr. Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), titled his presentation last week.
Lula Da Silva’s election is a victory for the world
DEREK ROYDEN – On October 30th, Brazilians voted in a presidential runoff election that was won by Luis ‘Lula’ Ignacio De Silva.
Across Africa, Water Conflict Threatens Security, Health, and the Environment
ROBIN SCHER – Water is a finite resource on our planet. We can only rely on what we have, which translates to about 2.5 percent of drinkable fresh water. Of that amount, only 0.4 percent currently exists in lakes, rivers, and moisture in the atmosphere. The strain of this limited supply grows by the day and as this continues, the detrimental impact will continue to be felt in places least equipped to find alternative solutions—in particular, the African continent.
Small Modular Reactor Update: The Fading Promise of Low-Cost Power
DAVID SCHLISSEL – The promise of cheap power from small modular reactors (SMRs) is disapearing.
The Need for Global Unity: How World Law Can Save Us All
JACOPO DE MARINIS – Many people will say that a world republic is unattainable. What country would agree to limit its absolute sovereignty? And yes, a country whose political leaders are held captive by special interests like military contractors and the fossil fuel industry might not agree to such an arrangement. Yet if the people unite with conviction to claim their right to live in a peaceful world, free from nuclear weapons, and to enjoy an economically and environmentally sustainable future―birthrights a world federal government is uniquely positioned to protect―this seemingly unattainable dream could become our reality.
How the US Should Respond to Israeli Right-Wing Extremism
MEL GURTOV and LARRY KIRSCH – While it is far from clear precisely how US policymakers will express their opposition to Israeli extremism—whether indirectly, through the FTO list as we have suggested, or more directly through diplomatic or legislative means—most important is that the US government deter terrorism sponsored by entities close to the heart of the incoming Israeli government. And those who rightly decry Palestinian terrorism need to take a hard look at what Israelis have just voted in—a coalition that has prominent advocates of violence against innocent Arab citizens. Doing so would give substance to US support of human rights, not only in Israel but in the Middle East generally.
Magic Phrase: “Let’s fix this.”
TOM H. HASTINGS – While there are many helpful phrases in the “street peace” trainings that we do as the Portland Peace Team, my favorite, which we offer when possible to someone in emotional distress over a soluble crisis, is, “Let’s fix this.”
In Barcelona, Kids Bike to School in Large, Choreographed Herds
CINNAMON JANZER – “The boys and girls who use bicibús establish new relationships with [other kids] from their neighborhood and of different ages … creating new opportunities to share space in the same neighborhood where they live,” Vilardell says. “If, in Catalonia, there are already more than a thousand people pedaling to school, [others] can do it too. [They can] fill their schools with bicycles for our health, the health of the children, and that of the earth.”
Time to Reset Military Relations with Saudi Arabia
MEL GURTOV – Ending military ties with the Saudi Arabian Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) regime is long overdue.
‘Powerful Victory’ as Judge Dismisses Charges Against Line 3 Water Protectors
JESSICA CORBETT – Opponents of Line 3 on Tuesday welcomed a Minnesota judge’s dismissal of all charges against five water protectors arrested last year for protesting plans to have the tar sands pipeline cross the Shell River in several places.
Biden’s Foreign Policy Sinking His Party & Ukraine
JEFFREY D. SACHS – The U.S. president’s dismissal of diplomacy undermines his own party, prolongs the destruction of Ukraine and threatens nuclear war.
Why grassroots activists are turning to the wonky world of monetary policy to fight for economic justice
PAMELA HAINES – Determined to challenge the all-encompassing threat of private banks, a small group in Ohio is leading a campaign to put monetary reform on the national agenda
Our Climate is On the Ballot – Protect It
MICHAEL DOVER – It’s no secret that the extremists who now control the Republican Party are vehemently opposed to ending our addiction to fossil fuels, the main culprits in the climate crisis. Even before the rise of Donald Trump, diplomats who forged the Paris Accords cited the U.S. Republican Party as the most serious obstacle in the world to climate progress.
If You Value Your Life, Better Vote D
LAWRENCE S. WITTNER – Although, in recent decades, American conservatives have embraced what they call the “Right to Life,” they have certainly done a poor job of sustaining life in the United States. That’s the conclusion that can be drawn from a just-published scientific study, “U.S. state policy contexts and mortality of working-age adults.”