Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Anna Shiryaevskaya, Stephen Stapczynski and Ann Koh at Bloomberg.org report that natural gas prices have risen 1,000 percent in Europe since the pandemic crash of May, 2020. Other parts of the world with more natural gas of their own also saw price increases over the past year, though not on […]
Archives for August 2021
Is Tunisia’s president largely responsible for the disaster he says he is trying to fix with his Coup?
By Adnan Hmidan | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The constitutionally-limited role of the president of the republic in Tunisia doesn’t encourage involvement or intervention in day to day affairs; that is the role of parliament and the government, headed by the prime minister. This has vexed constitutional law professor Kais Saied, who […]
3 Lessons of Climate-induced Dixie Wildfire as it Destroys Historic Gold Rush Towns
By Bart Johnson and David Hulse | – A wildfire burning in hot, dry mountain forest swept through the Gold Rush town of Greenville, California, on Aug. 4, reducing neighborhoods and the historic downtown to charred rubble. Hours earlier, the sheriff had warned Greenville’s remaining residents to get out immediately as strong, gusty winds drove […]
America’s Child Soldiers: JROTC and the Militarizing of America
By Ann Jones | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Congress surely meant to do the right thing when, in the fall of 2008, it passed the Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA). The law was designed to protect kids worldwide from being forced to fight the wars of Big Men. From then on, any country that coerced […]
Why does he Hate our Freedoms? White Nationalist Extremist Tucker Carlson touts Orban’s Hungarian Fascism as better than America
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Extreme white nationalist Tucker Carlson took his Fox Cable “News” show on the road to extreme white nationalist Hungary this week. It reminded me a little of when Stephen Colbert went to New Zealand and hung out with Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, except that both Colbert and Arden are very […]
Palestinian Students in Gaza Are Back after Israel tried to destroy their future
By Wafa Aludaini | – ( Middle East Monitor) – As Palestinian high school students celebrate their success in the Tawjihi exams and plan for the future, those in Gaza are still trying to rebuild their lives after Israel’s brutal bombing campaign in May. The Tawjihi exams were held just one month after the ceasefire […]
A Really big Deal: The New IPCC Climate Report Focuses on Extreme Events and how Coal, Gasoline are Causing them
By David Karoly | – On Monday, an extremely important report on the physical science of climate change will be released to the world. Produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the report will give world leaders the most up-to-date information about climate change to inform their policies. It is an enormous undertaking, […]
Germany’s solar PV expansion soars by over 20%, but incoming Government will need to do more
By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire) – The construction of new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Germany has grown by 22 percent in the first half of 2021 but would still have to be three to four times higher to be in line with the country’s climate targets, solar industry group BSW […]
Scientists: Slashing Methane Emissions key to avoiding Horrifying Frankenclimate Tipping Point
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Fiona Harvey at The Guardian reports that the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report due out Monday will stress the need to slash methane emissions if we have any hope of keeping extra global heating to 3.6 degrees F. (1.5C). Scientists worry that as we get above that […]