A climate change solution that’s right under our feet | Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

TED   Sep 26, 2019

There’s two times more carbon in the earth’s soil than in all of its vegetation and the atmosphere — combined. Biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe dives into the science of soil and shares how we could use its awesome carbon-trapping power to offset climate change. “[Soil] represents the difference between life and lifelessness in the earth system, and it can also help us combat climate change — if we can only stop treating it like dirt,” she says.

Food-matters,

See related:

• Killing the Soil that Feeds Us: Food, Profit & the Fatal Impact of Petro-Dependent Agriculture
• The world needs topsoil to grow 95% of its food – but it’s rapidly disappearing | US news | The Guardian
• We’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, because all human life depends on it | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian
• State of the environment – GOV.UK – Soil
• PHC Film: Soil is a living organism
  
• The mistake of petro-intensive agriculture – The United Nations –  UNA “Global Engagement Summit” – 22 February 2019
• Why Do We Need To Care About The Top Soil Crisis? How Will I Be Affected By This?
• Restorative Development: Sustainable Agriculture and the Climate Crisis
• Agriculture, Topsoil and the Ecology of Colonialism
• The Tragedy is that “We treat soil like dirt” — Topsoil, Climate Change and the Collapse of Civilizations
• Got a Carbon Problem? Fix it ! Part 1 – Some Prophetic & Enduring Testimony
• Got a Carbon Problem? Fix it ! Part 2 – Global Crisis & Localized Responses
• Got a Carbon Problem? Fix it ! Part 3 – Growing Soil to Save the Human Prospect

as well as:

• Soil Not Oil Coalition
• Living Soil – a Film
• Symphony of the Soil – Trailer
• Symphony of Soil – (in Thai)
• David R. Montgomery on Symbioses in the Soil
• Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life: David R. Montgomery
• The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health
• Dr. David Montgomery – The Hidden Half of Nature: Microbial Roots of Life & Health
• Soil: Our Climate Ally Underfoot
• Wonder of Creation: Soil: The Foundation of Life
• The Soil Solution to Climate Change
• Soils & climate
• Soil Solutions to Climate Problems – Narrated by Michael Pollan
• We’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, because all human life depends on it | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian
• Soil in the Environment: Crucible of Terrestrial Life

• VOX – Voices from Oxford: Tim Weiskel – Advice to Young People: Environmental Sustainability

With examples of the purposeful transformation of key crops for the convenience and profit of agribusiness firms:

• The Simple Explanation Of Genetically Modifying Seeds Everyone Needs To Hear by Andrew Kimbrell

And a range of work by:

• David Montgomery
• Andrew Kimbrell
• Vandana Shiva
  and
• Richard Maning

 

 

Edward Snowden on exposing NSA surveillance: “I had produced a system that spied on everyone”

Democracy Now!

Sep 26, 2019

In his new memoir “Permanent Record,” whistleblower Edward describes what he learned from within the American intelligence apparatus that convinced him to blow the whistle on unchecked government surveillance. While working as a contractor for the CIA and NSA, Snowden laid the groundwork for many of the cybersecurity protocols under which the agencies currently operate. Eventually, Snowden came to believe the NSA’s surveillance practices were betraying public trust in the government and violating the constitution. “When you think about what the NSA doe … you’re at least supposed to think that they spy on bad guys,” he says. He later came to the realization that “the systems that I built, the systems that my generation had built, I had produced a system that instead spied on everyone.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Unveils Legislative Plan for “A Just Society”

Sep 26, 2019

On Capitol Hill, freshman Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a sweeping policy package Wednesday aimed at tackling poverty and inequality. The plan, titled “A Just Society,” would offer full social services to formerly incarcerated people and undocumented immigrants, cap annual rent increases, push government contractors to improve benefits, and update the way the government tracks poverty by taking into account geographic location and healthcare and child care access. This is Representative Ocasio-Cortez introducing the legislative plan.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “America today is at its wealthiest point than in its entire history. And, in fact, many would argue that today the United States represents one of the richest societies in global history — except, among all these record profits, 40 million Americans are living in poverty, and 18.5 million Americans are living in extreme poverty, which is measured as less than $2 a day. That’s why I’m so excited to introduce a suite of legislation, including five bills and one resolution, that begins to chip away at our issues of economic injustice. And we’re calling it ‘A Just Society.’”

7 Arrested as San Francisco Climate Protesters Block Wells Fargo Entrance + Doctors Glue Themselves to London Building Amid New Extinction Rebellion Protests

Image Credit: Twitter: @anirvan
Sep 26, 2019

In San Francisco, California, police arrested seven protesters who locked themselves together to blockade an entrance to a Wells Fargo building Wednesday. The protesters joined more than 100 climate activists who shut down part of the city’s financial district, blocking traffic to demand banks and government institutions divest from fossil fuels.

Topics:

• California
• Climate Crisis
• Global Warming

Image Credit: Extinction Rebellion London
Sep 26, 2019

In London, England, four medical doctors superglued themselves to a government building in the latest Extinction Rebellion protest against climate change. The group plans to shut down parts of Central London for two weeks in October to demand urgent action on the climate.

2 Million Wild Animals Perish as Fires Rage in Bolivia + Climate Crisis Drives Mont Blanc Glacier Toward Collapse

Sep 26, 2019
336&end=404

In Bolivia, environmental groups warned Wednesday that more than 2 million wild animals, including jaguars and pumas, have died as fires continue to ravage the country’s grasslands and forests. The fires began in May but intensified in August, completely devastating Bolivia’s tropical savanna and destroying at least 10 million acres of forest and grassland. More than 200,000 fires have burnt in the Amazon Basin this year, destroying at least 29 million acres of rainforest — mostly in Brazil.

Topics:

• Bolivia
• Wildfires

Sep 26, 2019

Italian authorities have evacuated communities and closed roads around Mont Blanc, warning the mountain’s glacier is at risk of collapse, with 9 million cubic feet of ice set to break away. This is Stefano Miserocchi, mayor of the town of Courmayeur, which was partially evacuated.

Mayor Stefano Miserocchi: “This risk of collapse is definitely due to global warming. The average temperatures in the mountains keep getting higher, and there is less rain in the winter, therefore all the glaciers are in crisis.”

This comes after the Northern Hemisphere experienced its warmest summer on record, and all five of the hottest summers on record have occurred in the last five years.

Permanent Record: Why NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden Risked His Life to Expose Surveillance State

Democracy Now!

Sep 26, 2019

Six years ago, Edward Snowden leaked a trove of secret documents about how the United States had built a massive surveillance apparatus to spy on Americans and people across the globe. Snowden was then charged in the U.S. for violating the Espionage Act and other laws. As he attempted to flee to Latin America, Snowden became stranded in Russia after the U.S. revoked his passport. He has lived in Moscow ever since. Snowden just published his memoir, “Permanent Record,” in which he writes about what led him to risk his life to expose the U.S. government’s system of mass surveillance. From Moscow, he speaks to Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and Juan González about his life before and after becoming an NSA whistleblower.

Edward Snowden Responds to Trump Impeachment Inquiry & Justice Dept. Lawsuit Against Him

Democracy Now!

Sep 26, 2019

As a whistleblower complaint filed against President Trump rocks Washington and threatens Trump’s presidency, one of the world’s most famous whistleblowers, Edward Snowden, joins us from Moscow, Russia. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Snowden alleging that his newly released memoir, “Permanent Record,” violates the nondisclosure agreements he signed with the federal government when he was a National Security Agency employee. The Justice Department also argued that they are entitled to all of Snowden’s book profits. Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and Juan González speak with Snowden about the lawsuit.

Trump lashes out at Democrats over impeachment

Associated Press

Sep 26, 2019

US President Donald Trump is lashing out at House Democrats amid an impeachment investigation and a whistleblower complaint over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. (Sept. 26)

Gulf Guardian Award 2019: Celebrate the Gulf Marine Education Festival

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Sep 26, 2019

NOTE: If you need captions, please click the CC button on the player to turn them on. The annual Celebrate the Gulf Marine Education Festival in Pass Christian, Mississippi, aims to educate residents and visitors about the importance of the Gulf of Mexico. It collaborates with more than 37 environmental groups, which are encouraged to use it to publicize activities related to the wise use, preservation, or conservation of our valuable aquatic and marine resources. The booths offer hands-on exhibits, live animal shows, free rides on the historic Biloxi Schooner to experience the Gulf first-hand, a Student Science Showcase with young scientists presenting projects, a juried environmental art contest, and a children’s art contest.

Roger Waters: Militarism is Exacerbating the Climate Crisis

The Real News Network

Sep 24, 2019

Pink Floyd co-founder and activist Roger Waters speaks to the Real News at the People’s Mobilization Against the U.S. War Machine in New York City.