Russia

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Britons mourned the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and understandably so. The outpouring of affection for their long-serving monarch was more than commendable, it was touching. Yet count me among those mystified that so many Americans also professed to care. With all due respect to Queen Latifah, we decided way […]

Democracy

The Economy Looms Large in the Midterms, but Abortion, Ukraine and the State of Democracy are also Key Voter Issues

The Conversation

By Stella Rouse, University of Maryland and Shibley Telhami, University of Maryland | – The 2022 midterm elections, perhaps more than most in recent American history, present voters with a multitude of pressing issues to consider as they prepare to vote. These issues range from abortion to rising inflation, energy costs to the state of […]

Climate Crisis

The Planet Earth We Grew up With, R.I.P.

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Oddly enough, I’ve read obituaries with fascination from the time I was quite young. And yet, in all these years, I’ve never really reflected on that fact. I don’t know whether it was out of some indirect fascination with death and the end of it all or curiosity about the wholeness […]

Climate Crisis

Renewable energy Exports key Pillar for Ukraine’s reconstruction – Chancellor Scholz

Benjamin Wehrmann

By Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Energy exports to western Europe are one of the pillars a future Ukrainian economy could rest on, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a conference in Berlin on the war-torn country’s financial assistance needs to rebuild its economy. Renewable […]

Israel

Why Israel Defies the United States, Stays on the Good Side of Russia’s Putin in Refusing Aid to Ukraine

Middle East Monitor

By Adnan Abu Amer | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The Ukrainian war continues to have negative effects on Russian-Israeli relations where, recently, there was a warning by former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, to Israel that if it offered military assistance to Ukraine, it would seriously harm relations with Moscow. This warning came […]

Batteries

IEA: Peak Fossil Fuels will come in 2025, as Renewables are Turbo-Charged by Russia-Ukraine War and Energy Crisis

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Fatih Birol, among the world’s foremost energy economists, has a new report at the International Energy Agency, which he directs. In it, he argues that recent developments such as the Ukraine War energy crisis are good news for low-carbon energy such as wind and solar and bad news for fossil […]

Climate Crisis

Ukraine is Perfect for Wind Power, which would Help it and Europe Escape Russian Fossil Gas Blackmail

Dave Bradley

Buffalo, NY (Special to Informed Comment) – Until recently, the reasons for Europeans to switch the sourcing of electricity from coal, methane (“natural”) gas and nuclear reactors were the usual – climate sanity, sea level rise, ocean acidification (via CO2), and fossil fuel resource depletion. In addition, nuclear energy provokes eternal worries about the safety […]

Featured

Zelensky Lambastes Israel for not Helping Ukraine, Warns of Russian Aid to Iran’s Nuclear Program

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky lambasted Israel on Monday, saying that the latter’s refusal to provide Ukraine with anti-missile defenses and its neutrality on the war had permitted Iran and Russia to deepen their ties, with benefits for Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The “Zelensky Official” channel at YouTube made available a […]

Electricity Cost

Germany to Give Electricity Rebates, financed with Windfall Profit Tax on Energy Corporations

Benjamin Wehrmann

( Clean Energy Wire ) – The German government plans to introduce a power price brake that will grant electricity consumers a lower price for a fixed share of their estimated use in 2021, a presentation prepared by the chancellery and seen by Clean Energy Wire showed. The measure will be financed with taxes retroactively […]