Dr. James E. Hansen

Public Figure
Director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions program -The Earth Institute at Columbia University

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Fracking the Eagle Ford Shale – Big Oil and Bad Air on the Texas Prairie

The Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas is the site of one of the biggest energy booms in America, with oil and gas wells sprouting at an unprecedented rate. But local residents fear for their health – not from the water, but from the air they breathe. Our eight-month investigation reveals the dangers that come with releasing a toxic soup of chemicals into the air and just how little the government of Texas knows – or wants to know – about it.
See: http://stories.weather.com/fracking

Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices

Vivian Chavez

Published on Aug 2, 2012

“Cultural Humility: People, Principles and Practices,” is a new 30-minute documentary by San Francisco State Professor Vivian Chávez, that mixes poetry with music, interviews, archival footage, images of community, nature and dance to explain what “Cultural Humility” is and why we need it. To see the full documentary

The film describes a set of principles that guide the thinking, behavior and actions of individuals and institutions influencing interpersonal relationships as well as systems change. These principles are:
• Lifelong learning and critical self-reflection
• Recognize and change power imbalances
• Institutional accountability
More than a concept, Cultural Humility is a communal reflection to analyze the root causes of suffering and create a broader, more inclusive view of the world. Originally developed by Doctors Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia (1998) to address health disparities and institutional inequities in medicine, Cultural Humility is now used in public health, social work, education, and non-profit management. It is a daily practice for people to deal with hierarchical relationships, changing organizational policy and building relationships based on trust. The film tells stories of successes and challenges, and the road in between, when it comes to develop partnerships between community members, practitioners and academics. It encourages us to realize their own power, privilege and prejudices, and be willing to accept that acquired education and credentials alone are insufficient to address social inequality. Potential audiences are health and social service professionals, students, providers, organizers and policy makers in public health, social work, medicine, psychology, nursing and education.

M. Tervalon, J. Murray-Garcia (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: a critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education, Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, Vol. 9, No. 2. (May 1998), pp. 117-125.

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Show This Chart to Anyone Who Thinks the Koch Brothers’ Political Influence is Overstated

By Jessica Huseman January 9, 2014

We all know that Charles and David Koch have their hands in all things Republican, but did you know it went this far?

An amazing graphic by The Washington Post has mapped all of the organizations that are directly and indirectly funded by a political network set up by the conservative brothers, and it’s either terrifying or really impressive (or both), depending on your perspective.

While we know exactly where the money is going, the funders remain almost completely anonymous. The network operates outside the campaign finance system, using a complicated system of tax-exempt groups and limited-liability companies to shield the network’s financiers from disclosure requirements.

So how far is their reach, exactly? Take a look at the graphic:

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Rachel Maddow ~ Elaborates network obscures Koch influence (1/28/14)

DAILY NEWS

Published on Jan 28, 2014

Jan 27, 2014
Rachel Maddow traces part of the vast network of Koch-funded groups and initiatives to show their influence on conservative politics.

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Koch-backed political network, built to shield donors, raised $400 million in 2012 elections – The Washington Post

AP – Bloomberg News – Conservative billionaires Charles, left, and David Koch have built a massive political network that shields the identities of its donors through a maze of organizations, according to an analysis of new tax returns and other documents.

• 2235
• Share to Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Add to PersonalPost
• Share via Email
• Print Article
• More

By Matea Gold, Published: January 5

The political network spearheaded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch has expanded into a far-reaching operation of unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its donors, according to an analysis of new tax returns and other documents.

The filings show that the network of politically active nonprofit groups backed by the Kochs and fellow donors in the 2012 elections financially outpaced other independent groups on the right and, on its own, matched the long-established national coalition of labor unions that serves as one of the biggest sources of support for Democrats.

Graphic

Inside the Koch-backed political donor network

More on this story:

Read the Koch statement to The Post

Matea Gold JAN 5

A spokesman for Koch Industries and Charles and David Koch, on their ties to a wide network of political donors.

Who is in the Koch-backed network? Here are the players.

Matea Gold JAN 5

The makeup of the coalition of conservative groups, as of 2012.

The resources and the breadth of the organization make it singular in American politics: an operation conducted outside the campaign finance system, employing an array of groups aimed at stopping what its financiers view as government overreach. Members of the coalition target different constituencies but together have mounted attacks on the new health-care law, federal spending and environmental regulations.

Key players in the Koch-backed network have already begun engaging in the 2014 midterm elections, hiring new staff members to expand operations and strafing House and Senate Democrats with hard-hitting ads over their support for the Affordable Care Act.

Its funders remain largely unknown; the coalition was carefully constructed with extensive legal barriers to shield its donors.

But they have substantial firepower. Together, the 17 conservative groups that made up the network raised at least $407 million during the 2012 campaign, according to the analysis of tax returns by The Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics.

A labyrinth of tax-exempt groups and limited-liability companies helps mask the sources of the money, much of which went to voter mobilization and television ads attacking President Obama and congressional Democrats, according to tax filings and campaign finance reports.

The coalition’s revenue surpassed that of the Crossroads organizations, a super PAC and non­profit group co-founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove that together brought in $325 million in the last cycle.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Inside the $400-million political network backed by the Kochs

Inside the $400-million political network backed by the Kochs

In an analysis of 2011 and 2012 tax filings, The Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics found that a coalition of nonprofit groups backed by a donor network organized by the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch raised more than $400 million in the last election cycle. Much of the money was distributed to a maze of limited-liability companies affiliated with the nonprofits, which used some of their resources to turn out conservative voters and run ads against President Obama and congressional Democrats.

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Net Neutrality and the Future of Your Internet

A Panel Discussion organized by Somerville Community Access Television at Tisch Library, Tufts University, room 304.

In order to address these very important questions, a free and public Panel Discussion with experts has been organized by Somerville Community Access Television on Tuesday, March 25 from 7:00-9:00pm at Tisch Library, Tufts University, in room 304.

This gist is this, on January 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet …See More

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Media

TPP: Fracking, Nestle, GMOs- What’s Maine got to do with it?

Martha Spiess

Published on Nov 24, 2013

Trade Impact on Maine talk given by Representative Treat explains how specific Maine laws are impacted by trade agreements, including the TPP and TAFTA currently under negotiation. You can help by attending and or providing testimony at the Public Hearing Thursday Dec 12 UMS Hutchinson Center, 80 Belmont Avenue (rt3) Belfast, Maine 4-8.

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Food-Matters

How Dark Money Flows Through the Koch Network

By Al Shaw, Theodoric Meyer and Kim Barker, ProPublica
Feb. 14, 2014

Fundraising by the libertarian billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch supports a tangle of nonprofits, sometimes referred to as the Kochtopus, all aimed at advancing conservative causes. Two groups, the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and TC4 Trust, handed out almost $264 million from mid-2011 to October 2012 to 30 other nonprofits. Almost half of that went to the Center to Protect Patient Rights, which then funneled millions to a constellation of dark money groups, some of which also received money from Freedom Partners and TC4 Trust. Groups that got significant amounts of money from the Center, Freedom Partners and TC4 Trust reported political spending of more than $75 million in 2012. Much of the money flowed through what are known as “disregarded entities” — limited liability companies, or LLCs, that some of the groups have set up. TC4 Trust has folded and the Center to Protect Patient Rights no longer plays a central role in the Koch network, but many of these groups will be active in the 2014 election.

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics
Food-Matters