Per Espen Stoknes Ph.D., BI Norwegian School of Management/What We Think About When We Try Not to Think About Global Warming joins Thom. Climate Change is THE biggest crisis facing humanity. So why are so many people so willing to turn a blind eye to reality of global warming?
For more information on the stories we’ve covered visit our websites at thomhartmann.com – freespeech.org – and RT.com. You can also watch tonight’s show on Hulu – at Hulu.com/THE BIG PICTURE and over at The Big Picture YouTube page. And – be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter!
Neil Sroka, Democracy for America joins Thom Hartmann. President Obama hopes that Congress will give him “fast-track” trade authority this week. But one senator wants Americans to remember the record of broken promises in free trade agreements…wow.
WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today released a report highlighting more than two decades of failed enforcement by the United States of labor and environmental standards included in past free trade agreements (FTAs), including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and agreements with Peru, Colombia, and Panama. The report follows recent statements by President Obama that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be “the most progressive trade bill in history” and that it will have “higher labor standards, higher environmental standards,” and “new tools to hold countries accountable.” Similar statements were made by previous Presidents of both parties about every major U.S. trade agreement, from NAFTA forward.
In a blow to consumer advocates, the World Trade Organization has struck down U.S. labels on meat products indicating where an animal was raised and slaughtered, saying they put Canadian and Mexican products at a disadvantage. The case was brought by Canada and Mexico alleging violations of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. The ruling validates the concerns of critics of another free trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, who say it would undermine food safety rules to benefit corporations. In a statement, Food and Water Watch said the ruling “proves that trade agreements can and do trump U.S. laws.
This is a chilling reminder that our very democracy is at stake in these trade deals,” they said. Last week the Senate advanced a bill to give Obama fast-track authority to present the secretive TPP to Congress for an up-or-down vote with no amendments. But Obama faces opposition from fellow Democrats, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who issued a report Monday highlighting how the United States has broken its promises to enforce labor standards in past trade pacts, allowing child labor and violence against union organizers to continue abroad. Meanwhile, another spat has shown how free trade pacts may undermine U.S. financial regulations. Canada’s finance minister has alleged the Volcker Rule restricting U.S. banks trading foreign debt violates NAFTA, and has demanded an exemption for Canada.
http://democracynow.org – Three peace activists who infiltrated a nuclear weapons site have been freed from prison after their convictions were overturned. In 2012, the self-described Transform Now Plowshares broke into the Y-12 nuclear facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Known as the “Fort Knox of Uranium,” the complex holds enough uranium to make 10,000 nuclear bombs. The activists cut holes in the fence to paint peace slogans and threw blood on the wall, revealing major security flaws at the facility, which processes uranium for hydrogen bombs.
The break-in sparked a series of congressional hearings, with The New York Times describing it as “the biggest security breach in the history of the nation’s atomic complex.”
The three were convicted of damaging a national defense site. After two years behind bars, a federal appeals court recently vacated their convictions, saying the prosecution failed to prove the three intended to “injure the national defense.” All three were released this weekend until their resentencing on a remaining charge of damaging government property. They have likely already served more time than they are set to receive under their new sentencing. We are joined by two of the activists — Sister Megan Rice, an 85-year-old Catholic nun, and Michael Walli — as well as their attorney, Bill Quigley.
A coalition working towards increasing awareness and mobilizing the Jewish community to take personal and collective action to confront climate change.
The Jewish Climate Action Network is a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to a Jewish communal response to the global crisis of climate change.
We envision faith-based communities of all kinds bringing a strong moral and religious voice to issues of climate change, and contributing to meaningful political and social change.
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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