Petroleum

By Juan Cole Sawt al-Iraq [Voice of Iraq] reports that during the past two days, Saudi, UAE and American fighter jets attacks small oil refineries originally built for Syria by Turkey, which had been run by ISIL in Deir Ezzor. the day before yesterday the allies struck 12 refineries that ISIL had been in control […]

Climate Change

Largest Climate Rally ever in New York City, other World Capitals

contributors

By Deirdre Fulton, Commondreams.org Global mobilization is exceeding expectations on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets demanding action on climate change on the eve of the UN Climate Summit. In addition to the massive action in New York City, People’s Climate demonstrations took place in cities and towns across continents, […]

Climate Change

NYC Climate Demo: Top 5 Massive Rallies that had no Effect

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Don’t get me wrong. I am all for demonstrating and admire everyone who came out in New York City on Sunday (some 400,000 according to Time magazine) to demand that world leaders deal urgently with climate change. But I just do have to point out that holding large rallies doesn’t always result […]

Climate Change

How The Koch Brothers Corrupted Florida State University (+163 Other Colleges) (Young Turks)

contributors

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks “In 2007, when the Charles Koch Foundation considered giving millions of dollars to Florida State University’s economics department, the offer came with strings attached. First, the curriculum it funded must align with the libertarian, deregulatory economic philosophy of Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist and Republican political bankroller. Second, the […]

Climate Change

Climate Marchers join Alarmed Scientists against “Drill-Baby-Drill” Corporations & Politicians

contributors

AJ+ interviews Naomi Klein “As people gather in New York City for what organizers are billing as the largest climate-change protest in history, AJ+ asks Naomi Klein about her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate. She tells us why the planet is doomed if we don’t change course. And why it’s up […]

Energy

Running out of Time to overrule the 1% on urgent Climate Action

contributors

By Rebecca Solnit via Tomdispatch.com There have undoubtedly been stable periods in human history, but you and your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents never lived through one, and neither will any children or grandchildren you may have or come to have. Everything has been changing continuously, profoundly — from the role of women to the nature […]

Climate Change

The Plutocracy Strikes Back: The Pathologies of Rule by a Handful of Billionaires

contributors

By Steve Fraser via Tomdispatch.com George Baer was a railroad and coal mining magnate at the turn of the twentieth century. Amid a violent and protracted strike that shut down much of the country’s anthracite coal industry, Baer defied President Teddy Roosevelt’s appeal to arbitrate the issues at stake, saying, “The rights and interests of […]

Climate Change

America is a Gas Hog and we’re not going on a Diet even if Global Warming Kills Us

contributors

By Michael T. Klare Considering all the talk about global warming, peak oil, carbon divestment, and renewable energy, you’d think that oil consumption in the United States would be on a downward path. By now, we should certainly be witnessing real progress toward a post-petroleum economy. As it happens, the opposite is occurring. U.S. oil […]

Climate Change

Leonardo DiCaprio Ice Bucket Challenge: Calls out Canadian PM Harper, Shell CEO on Tar Sands

contributors

Via The Tree Actor Leonardo DiCaprio accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge this week and used the opportunity to not just raise awareness for ALS, but to also highlight the dangers of developing the Canadian tar sands in northern Alberta. Standing with Chief Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Chief Courtoreille of the Mikisew […]