What lasting legacy did British colonialism have on the cultures once under the Empire’s control? A rich and varied visual culture emerged in places under British governance, from the Americas to India and Australasia. Writers, artists, and museums have long played a role in documenting the cultural impact of British colonialism, and yet, since the vast Imperial exhibitions of the early 20th century, there has been no comprehensive presentation of the objects made across the British Empire. This publication, which accompanies a major Tate Britain exhibition, fills that gap.
In this landmark study, leading scholars focus on how particular objects tell the history of life under British rule. Paintings by artists such as John Singer Sargent and Sidney Nolan are presented alongside Benin bronze heads and Mughal miniatures in a survey that ranges from 16th-century colonialism to the British Empire’s decline in the postwar era.
https://democracynow.org
– President Donald Trump on Tuesday is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly. Climate change is expected to be high on the agenda at this year’s gathering. As the world leaders meet, another major storm—Hurricane Maria—is gaining strength in the Caribbean and following a similar path as Hurricane Irma. The current forecast shows Maria could hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm as early as Wednesday. The U.S. Virgin Islands, which were devastated by Irma, also appear to be in line to be hit by Maria. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the Trump administration is considering staying in the Paris climate agreement, just months after the president vowed to pull out of it. The White House denied the report. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday signaled Trump may back away from the Paris accord, but National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster gave a different message on Fox News Sunday. We speak with best-selling author Naomi Klein, a senior correspondent for The Intercept. Her most recent book, “No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump’s Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need,” has been longlisted for a National Book Award.
In more climate-related news, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has tapped the former head of U.S. operations for oil giant Shell to lead Houston’s post-Hurricane Harvey recovery effort. Marvin Odum was the chair of Shell for eight years. He retired in 2016. Hurricane Harvey killed at least 82 people, flooded thousands of homes and destroyed billions of dollars of property. It also caused widespread environmental contamination, triggering a half-million-gallon gasoline spill and the release of up to 5 million pounds of pollutants into the air.
Ahead of the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, the Trump administration is putting out conflicting information about whether the United States will pull out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord. On Saturday, the White House doubled down on Trump’s threats to pull out of the accord. But on Sunday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled President Trump may back away from this pledge. This is Rex Tillerson speaking on with John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “So I think the plan is for Director Cohn to consider other ways in which we can work with partners in the Paris climate accord. We want to be productive. We want to be helpful. The U.S. has—actually has a tremendous track record on reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions.”
John Dickerson: “So there’s a chance that if things get worked out, both on the voluntary side from the U.S., the voluntary restrictions for the U.S., that it could change, but then also, with China, there’s a chance the U.S. could stay in the accord, is that right?”
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “I think under the right conditions, the president said he’s open to finding those conditions where we can remain engaged with others on what we all agree is still a challenging issue.”
Fractured Earth: The Pennsylvania towns polluted and poisoned by Shale Gas extraction Inside The Shale Gas Boom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kj35… Shell’s Controversial Patagonian Fracking Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR6nL… Subscribe to Journeyman for more: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c… For downloads and more information visit: http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=68652&b… It’s America’s controversial answer to an energy-secure future. But with questions remaining about damage to the environment and people’s health, fracking is causing a major rift across affected communities. “It’s the answer to our local economy, our national economy, our state economy and it is the new foreign policy”, says Doug McClinko, County Commissioner of Towanda, Pennsylvania.
The area is rich in shale gas and to many like Doug, fracking is the key to a more self-reliant and secure future. In an area where rural livelihoods are under intense strain, the personal incentives for opening the door to fracking is clear: “It puts kids into college”. But as global oil prices plummet, ripping profits from under landowners’ feet, and more and more residents report severe water contamination, questions are coming to the fore and dividing communities. For Ray Kemble, a notable anti-fracking activist whose water began running green after the wells popped up, the benefits are nowhere to be seen. “They’ve destroyed my life”, he says. Wild Dog Ltd – Ref 6453 Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world’s most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world’s top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you’ll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.
Having your own energy sources is an important weapon in the world economy. Since 2013, the United States has made important foes of fossil-rich opponents like Saudi Arabia important in extracting shale gas and shale oil from its own soil. The price for a barrel of crude oil fell from 100 to less than $50. The Texan shale producers who survived this price tag are the new heroes of the United States. Under president Donald Trump, the shale cowboys are striving to help Europe to become independent. On research in Trumpland. Original title: Schaliecowboys Schale stone was considered worthless by the oil and gas industry in the past. They passed through on their way to expensive oil and gas that lay deeper. Until a small Texan gas company found a way in the late 1990’s to win gas from hard-shelled rock. By making deep boreholes in the stone layers of the soil and injecting a large amount of water and chemicals under high pressure, shale gas and shale oil are won.
With this method, later known as fracking, the energy market changed forever. In the meantime, one third of gas and oil production in the United States is a shale.And the bid consumer of energy is not only content to be independent, the country is now even an exporter of energy. OPEC, the organization of (other) oil exporting countries, keeps the oil price on the world market as low as possible, to make American production worthless. But for the moment, the oil countries do not get the shale cowboys on their knees. How does this controversial innovation put the world of energy upside down? Because this new offer of cheap energy really gives us more time to bridge the transition to a sustainable world of solar and wind energy.
A few years ago, all experts and analysts went out of the Peak Oil Theory. Namely, the fossil reserves in the world were running out. The shale revolution turned this theory into old dirt in just a few years. Fracking technology opens a whole new reservoir of fossil fuels. The election of President Trump was greeted in Texas with joy and also seen as a recognition for what the shale revolution is going to be. And the future is even more rosy: recent geological research showed that hundreds of billions of dollars of shale oil are still in the so-called Wolf Camp Shale Field in West Texas. Who are the people behind this shale revolution?
More on http://www.dw.com/lifelinks Meet two young people dealing with effects from climate change today: A Pacific Islander likely forced to move in her lifetime and a Scandinavian whose traditional reindeer grazing grounds are disappearing.
https://democracynow.org – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner has tapped the former head of U.S. operations for oil giant Shell to lead Houston’s post-Hurricane Harvey recovery effort. Marvin Odum was the chair of Shell for eight years. He retired in 2016. Hurricane Harvey killed at least 82 people, flooded thousands of homes and destroyed billions of dollars of property. It also caused widespread environmental contamination, triggering a half-million-gallon gasoline spill and the release of up to 5 million pounds of pollutants into the air. For more, we speak with best-selling author and journalist Naomi Klein.
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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