“The Madhouse Effect” – the Earth101 lecture

Land Grabbing In Africa: 21st Century Colonialism

Land grabbing and Transparency in Africa

Noam Chomsky – Why They Hate the West

Trump Wins, Renewable Energy Investments Lose and Dirty Energy Stocks Surge

Political upheaval has major influence over the stock markets, and with climate-change-denying Donald Trump’s “disaster” of an election win, renewable energy investment is looking bleak at the moment as dirty energy surges.
Lorraine Chow

The world’s top coal trader Glencore Plc rose more than 5 percent today while the world’s biggest wind-turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems A/S fell about 13 percent, according to Bloomberg. Solar companies First Solar, SunPower and SolarCity were down a respective 6 percent, 17 percent and 6 percent this morning. Shares in European renewable energy equipment makers and utilities with significant investments in the U.S. have fallen as much as 10 percent, Reuters reported.

As Bloomberg warned in its report, “the swing foretells a story of fossil fuels making a comeback, while the fight against climate change—and investment in wind and solar power—languishes.”

Our president-elect—who literally said “the wind kills all your birds” and solar is “not working so good”—has made no bones about his support of dirty energy, from his ties to the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline to his pledge to bring back the dirtiest fuel on the planet, coal.

The U.S. wind power industry is “bracing itself for an uncertain future following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency,” staff from Wind Power Monthly wrote in a column today. The publication quoted Trump’s plans to “unleash America’s $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves.”

…(read more).

Here’s How Trump Plans to Dismantle Environmental Laws

Nov. 10, 2016 11:00AM EST
Climate Nexus

Here’s How Trump Plans to Dismantle Environmental Laws

In an afternoon meeting, Donald Trump and his transition team reportedly worked to quickly identify top candidates for key energy positions in his administration.

Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm, who yesterday advised Trump to “just scrap” Obama’s energy industry regulations, is considered a leading contender for Secretary of Energy.

According to Politico:

Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire who has been a friend of Trump’s for years, has been the leading influence on Trump’s energy policy during the campaign. If Hamm passes, venture capitalist Robert Grady is also seen as a top candidate, though he could also be in line for Interior.

Forrest Lucas, the 74-year-old co-founder of oil products firm Lucas Oil, is favored as a top choice to lead the Department of the Interior.

However, according to Politico:

Trump’s presidential transition team is also eyeing venture capitalist Robert Grady, a George H.W. Bush White House official with ties to Chris Christie. And Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., is said to be interested in the job.

Meanwhile, a person who spoke to the Trump campaign told POLITICO that the aides have also discussed tapping Sarah Palin for Interior Secretary. Trump has said he’d like to put Palin in his cabinet, and Palin has made no secret of her interest.

Other possible candidates include former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer; Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin; Wyoming Rep. Cynthia Lummis; and Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm.

Sarah Palin / Harold Hamm

Although Trump has previously said he would abolish the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reports say he will instead ask climate skeptic Myron Ebell to lead the agency. In September, Trump said he will “refocus the EPA on its core mission of ensuring clean air, and clean, safe drinking water for all Americans.”

…(read more).

5 Ways Climate-Denier-in-Chief Spells Doom for the Environment

By Reynard Loki

If the world’s governments don’t prevent the planet’s surface temperature from increasing more than 2 C, then life on Earth will become a difficult proposition for many humans, animals and plants. Glaciers will melt, sea levels will rise, crops will fail, water availability will decrease and diseases will proliferate. Some areas will experience more wildfires and extreme heat; in others, more hurricanes and extreme storms. Coastal cities and possibly entire nations will be swallowed by the sea. There will be widespread social and economic instability, leading to regional conflicts.

Considering that the U.S. is the world’s second biggest emitter behind China, accounting for 16 percent of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions, the climate decisions President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress make will be critical for future generations. But he has shown no sign that he’s remotely interested in tackling what climate scientist James Hansen calls “humanity’s greatest challenge.”

Contrary to the view of the international scientific community, Trump has called climate change a “con job” and a “myth.” In 2012 he tweeted that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He cited cold winter weather as evidence that global warming isn’t real, tweeting during a 2014 winter blizzard, “The entire country is freezing—we desperately need a heavy dose of global warming and fast! Ice caps size reaches all time high.”

…(read more).