FERC's review process shows bias in favor of the pipeline industry

Posted to this video are several speakers who live along the NEXUS pipeline.
Published on Dec 26, 2016
FERC's review process shows bias in favor of the pipeline industry. That was the message from a group of citizens who testified at the People's Hearing on FERC Abuses on December 2. The panelists also say property owners have no defense against projects that ruin their land and do not properly compensate them for their losses.
On Youtube: People's Hearing FERC Abuses - Bias and Abuse in the Process

BREAKING: 688 institutions representing $5 trillion have committed to divest from fossil fuels

2016 has been a tough year. Devastating climate impacts and the reality of a dangerous, anti-climate federal government means holding onto hope is more important than ever -- so let's take a moment to recognize our movement’s successes and learn from our victories.

A new report released today with our friends at Divest-Invest shows that the divestment movement doubled in size since 2015. 688 institutions across 76 countries who represent more than $5 trillion worth of assets have committed to divest!

Share this exciting news with your friends and show that the divestment movement continues to march forward.

And there’s more good news: New York’s American Museum of Natural History, one of the world's most respected science museums, just slashed fossil fuel investments from its $650 million endowment.

This is big! Today's news shows just how powerful divestment continues to be in the resistance against a rogue fossil fuel industry, and in shining a light on its devastating impacts. In times like these, it's important to take a moment to reflect on what the divestment movement has been doing right.

• We are organizing for the long haul: It’s more important than ever to organize our communities and grow our movement from the grassroots up. The fossil fuel divestment movement has always believed that it will take more than just governments to address climate change, and that remains as true as ever.

• We are powerful: The fossil fuel industry is fighting for its life against a growing climate movement. 688 institutions in 76 countries have committed to divest from fossil fuels and resistance to fossil fuel projects is taking root all over the world. This is what happens when we organize and fight, and we must continue to fight.

• We are everywhere: Divestment has reached every pocket of our society, in countries all over the world. Faith groups, cultural institutions, pension funds, universities and more have committed to divest from fossil fuels. Climate leadership is coming from surprising places.

• We are keeping the pressure on: In the face of a dangerous and anti-climate federal government and intensifying climate impacts, it's more crucial than ever to push our institutions -- especially locally -- to step into their leadership and fight with our communities for climate justice.

The announcement today shows just how far the divestment movement has come.Share this exciting news to show that our movement is strong and we will not back down.

Our work is not over, and there are many more challenges ahead. But the fossil fuel industry is weaker than it’s ever been and we remain strong on the side of climate justice.

Onward,

Katie for 350.org

P.S. Want to do more? Share the news about New York's American Museum of Natural History here.

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350.org is building a global climate movement. Become a sustaining donor to keep this movement strong and growing.

BP Oil Spill Trashed More Shoreline Than Scientists Thought

New evidence extends the size of the disaster that occurred six years ago this week.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160420-bp-oil-spill-shoreline-affected-deepwater-horizon-anniversary/

Reflecting on the Paris Climate Agreement, one year later

One year ago, world leaders from 195 countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement, a plan to reduce CO2 emissions and slow the impact of global climate change. Ford Foundation program officers reflect on the progress made this year, the roles of business and indigenous land rights in combating climate change, and how countries are moving from planning to implementation.

http://www.fordfoundation.org/ideas/equals-change-blog/posts/reflecting-on-the-paris-climate-agreement-one-year-later/

21 Times That Clean Energy Was Through the Roof in 2016

Whether your trusted source is Google, Jessica Biel, the U.S. Department of Energy, ski towns, TIME, or Florida -- there’s no denying it, 2016 was a great year for clean and renewable energy!

Check out our quick list of 21 times that clean energy was through the roof in 2016!

http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/2016/12/21-times-clean-energy-was-through-roof-2016

The answer to the enemies of net metering: Battery Powered Homes

The answer to the enemies of net metering. But then they would declare it constitutional to charge self sufficient residents a fee for not using an utility...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxABosWfuus

Tesla's Power Wall might even offer a better deal: https://youtu.be/FHswxauDGVg

Michigan Passes Legislation to Boost Renewables Mandate, Retain Net Metering - for now

First I read https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/michigan-passes-bills-to-boost-renewables-mandate-retain-net-metering and got really excited, then I read a more detailed article by David Eggert, Associated Press, online at: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Energy-legislation-appears-to-be-in-reach-on-10797759.php which was also mirrored by the Daily Telegram the past Friday (12/16/2016), In this article, the details of a proposed change in net-metering of residential and business renewable energy producers were provided as such:
"— not apply — for now — a "grid" charge to new customers participating in a net metering program, instead requiring a study to determine an appropriate fee. These are residents and businesses with their own wind turbines, solar panels or other types of renewable sources that reduce their electric bills."
This is good news for now - but an appropriate fee may come at any time and with much less public notice. I fear they (DTE, Consumers and their lobbyists) will try to slip this in as sneaky as the registration penalty for environmentally conscious drivers of electric and hybrid cars that just came in the mail. I will have to pay $60 more a year because my Prius uses less fuel and therefore I would not be paying my fair share on the improvements of Michigan streets and roads. A crooked logic that got the environmental movements divided and was introduced in a very sneaky - and delayed way to reduce resistance to almost nonexistent levels.

Justin Trudeau Approves Oil Pipeline Expansion in Canada

And after the carbon tax decision I expected that Canada would show more leadership...

OTTAWA — In a decision that will almost surely prompt showdowns with environmentalists, indigenous groups and some political allies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada approved on Tuesday the expansion of a pipeline linking the oil sands in Alberta to a tanker port in British Columbia.

Full Story: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/world/canada/canada-trudeau-kinder-morgan-pipeline.html?post_id=10209155423986639_10212109270870965#_=_

Trump promised to bring back coal. Now some worry he will take away miners’ black lung benefits

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DAVID GOLDMAN/APA coal miner in a West Virginia mine.

By ERIC BOODMAN @ericboodman

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

A

gain and again, President-elect Donald Trump presented himself as the coal miners’ candidate. During the campaign, he promised to bring coal back into the economy, and jobs back into struggling Appalachian towns.

But now some in coal country are worried that instead of helping, Trump’s first actions will deprive miners — and their widows and children — of the compensation they can receive if they are disabled by respiratory problems linked to breathing coal mine dust.

That’s because buried in the Affordable Care Act are three sentences that made it much easier to access these benefits. If Trump repeals Obamacare — as he vowed to do before the election — and does not keep that section on the books, the miners will be back to where they were in 2009, when it was exceedingly difficult to be awarded compensation for “black lung” disease.

Full Story: https://www.statnews.com/2016/11/28/trump-black-lung/

Trump Digs Coal - let him dig it up personally!

Environ Health Perspect; DOI:10.1289/ehp.124-A13

A Scourge Returns: Black Lung in Appalachia

In the early 1970s, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, or black lung, affected around one-third of long-term underground miners. After new dust regulations took effect, rates of black lung plunged. Today, however, they are once again rising dramatically, and the new generation of black lung patients have disease that progresses far more rapidly than in the past.
© Tyler Stableford/Getty

Background image: Arthur Rothstein/Library of Congress

Carrie Arnold is a freelance science writer living in Virginia. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Discover, New Scientist, Smithsonian, and more.

About This Article open

 PDF Version

Once a month, a group of men in t-shirts, jeans, and baseball caps gather around a long table at the New River Health Clinic. The clinic, a small, one-story yellow clapboard building, is located in the tiny town of Scarbro, nestled in the bituminous hills of southern West Virginia. The members of the Fayette County Black Lung Association greet each other by name while they pour bitter black coffee into small Styrofoam cups.

Full Story: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/124-a13/

Trump: This is NOT what "Draining the Swamp" looks like

Interesting Collection by Corporate Accountability International

Trump's cabinet is a swamp full of corporate lobbyists.

Donald Trump railed against corporate power all through the election season. He promised to “drain the swamp” of special interests in Washington. But you need look no further than his cabinet appointments to see that he has no intention of draining the swamp.

In fact, his actions promise to flood the swamp, entrench corporate power, and deepen conflicts of interest between the White House and corporations.

Help block the expansion of corporate power. Donate now and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

Here are just a few of the swamp creatures that Trump has nominated:

REX TILLERSON: OIL BARON
Photo Credit: William Munoz, Flickr, creative commons.	Currently the CEO of Exxon Mobil, Tillerson is Trump's nominee for Secretary of State. With business dealings around the globe, he will run the State Department like an extension of Exxon's business development department. Donate now and double your impact!

SCOTT PRUITT: CLIMATE DENIER
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr, creative commons.	Pruitt, a close ally of the fossil fuel industry, is Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. As Oklahoma’s attorney general, Pruitt has been the force behind the legal battles against President Obama’s climate change policies. Donate now and double your impact!

MIKE PENCE: BIG TOBACCO'S BEST FRIEND
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr, creative commons.	Trump's VP has received more than a hundred thousand dollars from the tobacco industry and actively opposed tobacco control measures throughout his time as a member of Congress. Donate now and double your impact!

ANDREW PUZDER: FAST FOOD MOGUL
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, Flickr, creative commons.	Trump's nominee to head the Department of Labor is currently the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns Carl's Jr. and Hardees -- both of which have been accused of stealing wages from their workers. He is against raising the minimum wage, expanding overtime pay, and more. Donate now and double your impact!

STEVEN MNUCHIN: BIG BANK BULLY
Photo Credit: greatagain.gov.	Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary profited from the housing meltdown of 2008. A former Goldman Sachs partner, Mnuchin ran a bank that made its money by foreclosing on the homes of tens of thousands of people. Donate now and double your impact!

Together with you, Corporate Accountability International is building a people-powered movement to block the expansion of corporate power under the Trump administration. We cannot let up for a moment on our campaigns to protect our climate, our public water systems, our food system, and people’s health from corporate abuse. Give today to strengthen this movement. Your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

Vigilance and Monitoring of Trumps Actions are Needed to Build a Case Against Him at the International Criminal Tribunal for Committing Crimes against Humanity and the Earth Community

If Trump is continuing to put climate change deniers on his cabinet, if he is dismantling the few climate mitigations that the Obama administration enacted, if he is withdrawing the US from the Paris treaty and by doing so discourages China and India to continue on the path of the Paris agreement, then the international community should file a law suit at the international tribunal of the UN and charge him and his cabinet for crimes against humanity and the Earth community! We do not have time for oblivion and denial! We are at a tipping point to lose good neighborly relations to other countries, a humane society and a healthy planet. We have to stand up against this insanity and take serious actions to reverse climate change!

New York Times: Donald Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Ally of Fossil Fuel Industry, to Lead E.P.A. - The New York Times

Meeting Al Gore was just a show. This is the real Trump! Do NOT get your hopes up that this man will not do what he promised to do once he becomes real in the White House - in his actions, we see more and more that we will get what we saw during his campaign...

Donald Trump Picks Scott Pruitt, Ally of Fossil Fuel Industry, to Lead E.P.A.
The New York Times

Mr. Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, has been a key architect of the legal battle against President Obama’s climate change policies. Read the full story HERE

Global warming is not a joke - and this kind of political reorientation is really dangerous for life on Earth! I predict that if humanity will survive this upcoming presidency, people will look back to this time and ask why nobody saw the writings on the wall. These times demand action from every decent and intelligent person. We cannot allow a psychotic delusional person to destroy overnight what serious diplomacy has reached during many years of international negotiations. The policy of direct non-violent action demands that we will not escalate the struggle so stay tuned - we are part of a world-wide movement and we will stop this insanity!