QUICK NEWS, January 18: WHAT WOULD MARTIN DO?; THE BETTER QUESTION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE; TRUMP SAYS CHINESE TRUMPED UP CLIMATE CHANGE

WHAT WOULD MARTIN DO? Martin Luther King And The Call To Direct Action On Climate Change

Joe Romm and Van Jones, January 18, 2016 (ClimateProgress)

"…[Martin Luther King Jr.] viewed civil rights through a moral lens…The greater the moral crisis, the more his words apply. The greatest moral crisis of our time is the threat posed to billions — and generations yet unborn — from unrestricted carbon pollution…We think there has been far too little direct action, given the staggering scale of the threat. As the International Energy Agency has explained, we must leave the vast majority of fossil fuels in the ground if we are to preserve a livable climate…King explained that any nonviolent campaign has] four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action…Every major scientific body and international group has taken to begging and pleading for [climate] action…

click to enlarge

“It has taken a quarter century of international climate [negotiation] to get the world to finally act together…We understand why the fossil fuel industry works to block Congressional action and funds what has become the most effective disinformation campaign in history. We are bewildered by those who claim to accept climate science, but feel no urgency to act…[N]othing compares to the centuries of racial injustice King was impatient about. But each year brings an ever-worsening array of megadroughts and superstorms juiced by global warming…We know we’re fast approaching climatic tipping points — the loss of Arctic sea ice, the disintegration of the great ice sheets, the release of vast amounts of carbon from the permafrost, Dust-Bowlification of much of the world’s arable land — that are irreversible and catastrophic…It is past time for many more to speak out, and for many more to join direct action…” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet

THE BETTER QUESTION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE NBC could have asked Democratic candidates 1,000 smarter questions on climate change than this.

Rebecca Leber, January 17, 2016 (New Republic)

“The Democratic base cares about climate change, so unlike at the GOP debates, networks have usually given Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley a throwaway question [about climate change but it] couldn’t be clearer on Sunday night that NBC considers it irrelevant. The network] gave only Sanders and O’Malley less than two minutes combined to answer a question, after playing a lengthy cartoon video that explained climate change…There are real policy differences in the Democratic field that are important to tease out. At the very least, there is an interesting question to pose to the candidates about pursuing progress without a cooperative Congress…Sanders answered the question forcefully, though not substantively…O’Malley challenged his fellow candidates to adopt his plan to pursue 100 percent clean energy-powered electricity by 2050. We didn’t get to hear Clinton’s answer, because the network cut to a commercial break.” click here for more

Tweet

TRUMP SAYS CHINESE TRUMPED UP CLIMATE CHANGE Sanders: Trump Thinks 'Climate Change Is A Hoax Invented By The Chinese'

Caitlin Macneal, January 17, 2016 (TPM)

"During the Sunday Democratic presidential debate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) bashed Republican politicians who do not take climate change seriously, calling out Donald Trump for his theory that the concept of global warming was created by the Chinese:…‘It is amazing to me, and I think we'll have agreement on this up here, that we have a major party called the Republican Party that is so owned by the fossil fuel industry, and their campaign contributions, that they don't even have the courage, the decency to listen to the scientists…It is beyond my comprehension how we can elect a president of the United States, somebody like Trump who believes that climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese.’ …Trump floated his theory about climate change on Twitter in 2012.” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet