Tag: Politics

From doublespeak to alternative facts: How Trump made a mess of the language

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from doublespeak to alternative facts how trump made a mess of the language - From doublespeak to alternative facts: How Trump made a mess of the language
from doublespeak to alternative facts how trump made a mess of the language - From doublespeak to alternative facts: How Trump made a mess of the language

The 45th president of the United States lied about everything, even the weather.

It started his first week in office. Beneath a dishwater-gray sky in January 2017, President Donald Trump delivered the first lines of his inaugural address outside the Capitol building. Attendees huddled under ponchos and umbrellas as it began to rain, and the drops continued to fall until near the end of the speech.

The way Trump told the story, the sky opened up and the sun shone down on him, bathing him in its light. “The truth is,” he said the next day, that the rain “stopped immediately.…

Trump’s unintended legacy: A fiery climate resistance

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trumps unintended legacy a fiery climate resistance - Trump’s unintended legacy: A fiery climate resistance
trumps unintended legacy a fiery climate resistance - Trump’s unintended legacy: A fiery climate resistance

When President Donald Trump moved into the White House in early 2017, those worried about the quickening pace of climate change had every right to be terrified. After all, on the campaign trail, Trump had hollered about pulling out of the Paris climate agreement and reviving the coal industry, as well as banning Muslims from entering the United States and “locking up” Hillary Clinton.

It wasn’t just bluster. Trump tried to do all of that, and much more. The former reality TV star and real estate mogul, with his thumb hovering over the “Tweet” button, presided over a frenetic presidential term marked by impeachments, walls, and travel bans — four years that were as poisonous for the country as they were for the climate.…

More than 50 countries commit to protecting 30% of Earth’s land and oceans

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more than 50 countries commit to protecting 30 of earths land and oceans - More than 50 countries commit to protecting 30% of Earth’s land and oceans
more than 50 countries commit to protecting 30 of earths land and oceans - More than 50 countries commit to protecting 30% of Earth’s land and oceans

This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

A coalition of more than 50 countries has committed to protect almost a third of the planet by 2030 to halt the destruction of the natural world and slow extinctions of wildlife.

The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People, which includes the U.K. and countries from six continents, made the pledge to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and oceans before the One Planet summit in Paris on Monday, hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

Scientists have said human activities are driving the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth, and agricultural production, mining, and pollution are threatening the healthy functioning of life-sustaining ecosystems crucial to human civilization.…

Will states use the Capitol riot to crack down on pipeline protests?

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will states use the capitol riot to crack down on pipeline protests - Will states use the Capitol riot to crack down on pipeline protests?
will states use the capitol riot to crack down on pipeline protests - Will states use the Capitol riot to crack down on pipeline protests?

Earlier this week, with national attention focused on accountability for the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the capitol building in Washington, D.C., Ohio quietly became the 13th state since 2017 to legislate harsher penalties for trespassing on or otherwise interfering with energy and industrial infrastructure — a move that activists and civil liberties groups say is a transparent attempt to criminalize nonviolent protest.

“The whole idea behind this is to chill protests at oil and gas industry sites,” said Reverend Joan Van Becelaere, the executive director of the Unitarian Universalist Justice of Ohio, a liberal, faith-based nonprofit focused on immigration, environmental, and economic justice.…

An attack on the Capitol shattered the myth of public lands

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an attack on the capitol shattered the myth of public lands - An attack on the Capitol shattered the myth of public lands
an attack on the capitol shattered the myth of public lands - An attack on the Capitol shattered the myth of public lands

A week has passed since the invasion of the Capitol by pro-Trump radicals, but a violation of that scale isn’t very quickly forgotten. As an American, one cannot help but feel a tacit sense of ownership of that building and the monuments that surround it. To see them so disrespected, especially by a seditious horde seeking to overthrow the government, is a sort of personal affront, even for those with a scant ounce of patriotism left. I, for one, thought I had lost most of my reverence for the integrity of the United States, but to see the mundane physical accessories of the legislative process — the podiums and the seats and the flags — shattered and broken throughout the “people’s house” was more viscerally upsetting than I had expected.…

How Merrick Garland could figure into Biden’s climate plans as attorney general

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how merrick garland could figure into bidens climate plans as attorney general - How Merrick Garland could figure into Biden’s climate plans as attorney general
how merrick garland could figure into bidens climate plans as attorney general - How Merrick Garland could figure into Biden’s climate plans as attorney general

President-elect Joe Biden announced his pick of Merrick Garland for attorney general on Thursday, a karmically apt promotion for the longtime U.S. Court of Appeals judge almost five years after his nomination to the Supreme Court by President Obama was derailed by Senate Republicans.

Garland’s designated position as head of the Department of Justice may not sound like it has much environmental sway, but the department houses the Environment and Natural Resources Division, or ENRD, whose lawyers prosecute cases that enforce bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. The division also defends government actions related to climate change and the environment, like granting federal permits for pipelines.…

Democrats flip the Senate — illuminating a path forward on climate

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democrats flip the senate illuminating a path forward on climate - Democrats flip the Senate — illuminating a path forward on climate
democrats flip the senate illuminating a path forward on climate - Democrats flip the Senate — illuminating a path forward on climate

The 2020 general election is finally over, more than two months after it began. The votes from two runoffs in Georgia, triggered in November after no candidate in either race managed to clinch 50 percent of the vote, are done being tallied.

What initially looked like a disappointing down-ballot election for Democrats — the party lost about a dozen House seats and saw faint prospects for wresting the Senate from GOP control — has been turned upside down by the Georgia runoff results. Democrats now have a trifecta: control of the House, Senate, and White House.

Just after 2 a.m. Eastern time, the Associated Press declared the Reverend Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, as the winner in the special election to finish Republican Johnny Isakson’s term.…

What the Georgia Senate candidates think about climate change

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what the georgia senate candidates think about climate change - What the Georgia Senate candidates think about climate change
what the georgia senate candidates think about climate change - What the Georgia Senate candidates think about climate change

It may be a new year, but the 2020 election isn’t over yet. All eyes are on Georgia, where four candidates are duking it out over a pair of crucial U.S. Senate seats. The two runoff races will finish what was started on November 3, when no candidate in either of the state’s Senate races managed to win a majority of the vote. If Democrats win both those races, the Senate will be split 50-50, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris acting as tiebreaker, which would give President-elect Joe Biden the latitude to accomplish at least some of his legislative agenda. If Republicans prevail in one or both of them, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will retain control of the upper chamber, dashing Democrats’ dreams of passing policy on everything from health care to climate change.…

‘I’ll be fierce for all of us’: Deb Haaland on climate, Native rights, and Biden

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ill be fierce for all of us deb haaland on climate native rights and biden - ‘I’ll be fierce for all of us’: Deb Haaland on climate, Native rights, and Biden
ill be fierce for all of us deb haaland on climate native rights and biden - ‘I’ll be fierce for all of us’: Deb Haaland on climate, Native rights, and Biden

This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Debra Haaland is making American history.

The 60-year-old Congress member from New Mexico will next month become the first Native American cabinet secretary in U.S. history, when she takes responsibility for the country’s land and natural resources as head of the Department of the Interior under Joe Biden.

Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo, one of 574 sovereign tribal nations located across 35 states. According to the 2010 census, 5.2 million people or about 2 percent of the U.S. population identifies as American Indian or Alaskan Native — descendants of those who survived U.S.…

Brexit deal threatens UK labour and climate standards, thinktank warns

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IPPR says commitments on workers’ rights are weak, but agreement is better than a no-deal outcome

UK workers’ rights and climate and other environmental protections are at serious risk of being eroded under the Brexit trade deal, a leading thinktank has warned.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said that under the agreement struck on Christmas Eve, to be debated by MPs this week, commitments on workers’ rights and environmental standards to maintain fair competition between UK and EU businesses were considerably weaker than expected and would make it hard to prevent standards diverging over time.

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