From this week’s news on: the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on climate crisis and environmental problems. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s news on the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published): 

• “Planned Fossil Fuel Production Vastly Exceeds the World’s Climate Goals, ‘Throwing Humanity’s Future Into Question’”   https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08112023/un-production-fossil-fuels-outstrip-climate-goals/   

• “How 8,000 Food Forests Grew Africa's Great Green Wall”   https://youtu.be/1LCTVO_Y5Rs?si=QDdfGmdmBSC5opHH   
  

 

• “Earth Matters: Fighting for Banaba Part 1”   Earth Matters   https://www.3cr.org.au/earthmatters   “Professor Katerina Teaiwa and Itinterunga Rae Banteiti join Priya to discuss the colonial history of phosphate mining on Banaba and the fight by Banabans for reparations and an end to extraction. This conversation, recorded in September 2023, occurs in the context of a recent push by Australian mining company Centrex, which has sought to conduct phosphate prospecting activities on the island under the greenwashing premise of “rehabilitation.” This week, you will hear the first of Priya's two-part conversation with Katerina and Rae - stay tuned next week to catch the rest. Katerina is an interdisciplinary scholar, artist and award winning teacher of Banaban, I-Kiribati and African American heritage born and raised in Fiji. She is Professor of Pacific Studies in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Rae is of Banaban and Kiribati origins and was raised and educated in Fiji. Rae’s environment and social justice work are linked to Kiribati people’s histories and the extent of environmental degradation caused by extensive mining.”   Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/earth-matters/id262049140?i=1000634493755   or at   https://www.3cr.org.au/earthmatters/episode/fighting-banaba-part-1   

• “Alan Kohler: Australia’s deceptive and dangerous climate-change con game”   https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2023/11/13/climate-con-australia-kohler   “China is accounting for nearly half of the world’s investment in renewable energy. It is the largest producer and installer of solar panels, wind turbines and hydropower, as well as the largest producer and consumer of lithium, cobalt and nickel for batteries and the largest builder and exporter of electric vehicles.   It is truly the world’s renewable energy superpower”    

• “The Government's Favour for the Fossil Fuel Industry”   https://youtu.be/ZQxOuauPgMo?si=3zML5tLWPCGS36o8   
  

• “Australia’s offer of climate migration to Tuvalu residents is groundbreaking – and could be a lifeline across the Pacific”   https://theconversation.com/australias-offer-of-climate-migration-to-tuvalu-residents-is-groundbreaking-and-could-be-a-lifeline-across-the-pacific-217514   

• “Major US climate disasters occur every three weeks, report finds”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03554-w   

• “We need a global treaty to solve plastic pollution – acid rain and ozone depletion show us why”   https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-global-treaty-to-solve-plastic-pollution-acid-rain-and-ozone-depletion-show-us-why-207622   (the “why” is that global treaties can work)    

• “Djaara Aboriginal enterprise launch strategy to heal "sick" water on country”   https://nit.com.au/15-11-2023/8616/djaara-aboriginal-enterprise-launch-strategy-to-heal-sick-water-on-country    

 

• “how top labs have jeopardised public health with repeated biosafety failures”   https://80000hours.org/podcast/episodes/alison-young-biosafety-lab-leaks/   

• some resources for journalists when reporting on science:   https://journalistsresource.org/home/pubpeer-research-misconduct-tips-journalists/   and   https://journalistsresource.org/home/statistical-significance-research-5-things/  
  

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk.