Old Fucking Punk @lwriemen@librem.one

Any Good Climate Plan Must Address Poverty and Racism

When the Green New Deal resolution was introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), many were confused by its scope: Why would a climate plan also promise housing and healthcare?

But the resolution’s emphasis on economic justice showed AOC and Markey were paying attention. Environmental justice advocates have long connected pollution with poverty and racism, and as Michelle Chen reported for In These Times in August 2009, these connections hold true for climate change. In “Falling Through the Climate Gap,” Chen writes:

Climate change will exacerbate regional health disparities tied to industrial air pollution. In many areas, people of color suffer greater impacts from dirty air, because they are more likely than whites to live in communities heavily exposed to pollution sources like coal-fired power plants [and] oil refineries. …

Many urban neighborhoods … are prone to the “heat island” effect: Surfaces absorb heat and raise area temperatures. Further, the prevalence of heat-trapping surfaces in a neighborhood correlates strongly with poverty and the proportion of people of color.

As seen in the uneven destruction wrought by [Hurricane] Katrina, a community’s resilience is often determined by social privilege. Marginal populations tend to lack insurance and be neglected by emergency response and healthcare systems. …

The poor and people of color are disproportionately threatened by potential floods. Their vulnerability is heightened not only because of where they live, but also factors like limited English ability and lack of access to emergency transportation. …

Extreme weather … could drastically increase energy prices, making it harder for working-class families to cover the cost of electricity. Climate volatility could also lead to job losses in the farming and tourism sectors. 

Because of these disparities, environmental justice advocates insist that “investments in social services, housing and infrastructure” are critical to the climate fight, Chen reports.

The relatively moderate climate bill Congress was considering in 2009 (co-authored by Markey) never passed. The next big federal climate push only took off in December 2018—the Green New Deal. As Christine MacDonald reported for InTheseTimes.com in September, several leading presidential contenders have put out detailed plans for how they’d use the Green New Deal to support marginalized communities.

Climate policy has often been determined by the wealthy and powerful—those who are causing the crisis—and its record is one of failure. It’s high time those who will be most affected set the priorities. 

The Purge: Trump Years

Climate Inktober

Some excerpts from Sarah Glidden’s daily ruminations on climate change.

Two million-year-old ice provides snapshot of Earth's greenhouse gas history

Two million-year old ice from Antarctica recently uncovered by a team of researchers provides a clearer picture into the connections between greenhouse gases and climate in ancient times and will help scientists understand future climate change.

@fatboy /e/ OS is useless, just use LineageOS (MicroG builds if you need that)
https://ewwlo.xyz/evil.html (this is outdated, but some statements hold true)

Cultural Conquistadors

The traditional Mexican celebration is starting to merge with a U.S.-style Halloween. Is it syncretism all over again?

This Work Will Kill You

Horror movies for Freelancers.

Going Down?

There’s so much evidence against him now - Trump is done for!

Data isn't gold, it's uranium. Companies stockpile and refine it because of the great power it creates. But the industry is largely unregulated and creates hazardous by-products. When it spills it's almost impossible to clean up and when it explodes it leaves a wasteland behind.

I always thought it would be interesting to see the lawsuits and other aftermath in cop movies when the hero and villain destroy half the town in the car chase and final standoff:
"Police Owe Nothing To Man Whose Home They Blew Up, Appeals Court Says" https://n.pr/2JuLI8f

good Political punk legends Anti Flag just days after announcing their upcoming record and tour to bless the studio with some never before heard acoustic versions of their new tunes. Front-men Justin Sane and Chris #2 waxed poetic about their musical influences, social activism, and 85 Bud Lights. It was one of the most genuine […]

The post appeared first on Dying Scene.

When Unions Save Lives

CENTRAL CITY, KY.—It was a typical workday for Michael “Flip” Wilson when a splintered steel bit punctured his forehead an inch above his eye. He was operating the claw-like continuous miner, a machine that cuts coal from an underground seam. Back above ground, Wilson’s superintendent tweezed out the metal, slapped on a BandAid and sent him back under, Wilson says. It happened again two days later.

That was about five years ago, when Wilson was 60. Wilson left his final coal job at Parkway Mine in 2015. He insists he loved his 44-year career throughout Western Kentucky, though it was checkered with similar injuries: a broken finger, electrocution from a bad cable, and multiple incidents of being buried under rockfall.

“I’ve seen a guy with a broken back,” Wilson says. “I’ve carried out a guy with a leg or an arm cut off. I’ve seen guys burn up. I’ve seen 10 get killed down there at one time in an explosion.”

Kentucky has seen five coal mine fatalities this year, and while injuries from mine accidents are on the decline nationally—from more than 5,000 reported in 2005 to about 1,500 in 2018—the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) credits the decline in part to the overall decline in coal jobs, as well as tougher enforcement.

MSHA, created in 1977, inspects underground mines quarterly. When it finds a safety hazard, MSHA can fine the mine operators. However, $100 million of $1 billion levied in penalties between 2000 and 2017 remains unpaid. MSHA has no power to compel payment unless it files a lawsuit, and operators with unpaid fines can open new mine operations without consequences.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General reported in August that MSHA’s collections program hasn’t led to safer mining operations, and no correlation exists between the amount or frequency of penalties and the safety of a mine. “Many companies see fines as the cost of doing business,” says Tony Oppegard, an attorney who specializes in mine safety cases.

There is, however, one way to prevent accidents: unions. According to a new Stanford University study of underground safety from 1993 to 2010, “Unionization is associated with a 13-30% drop in traumatic injuries and a 28- 83% drop in fatalities.”

“At a unionized mine, you have safety committeemen who are appointed by the union to look out for the safety of their fellow workers,” Oppegard says.

Almost 20% of mines were unionized in 1993, but by 2010, the proportion was below 10%. No unionized coal mines are left in Kentucky.

Wilson did not have the benefit of union protection, so he was at the mercy of the companies. “They can make it safer, but … they just want the coal,” Wilson says.

Oppegard thinks MSHA should be using more powerful enforcement tools at its disposal. For example, the agency can recommend the Secretary of Labor file an injunction to shut down dangerous mines. MSHA used this power for the first time in 2010 against a Massey Energy Company mine that had almost 2,000 citations in two years. (Massey is the same corporation responsible for the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster that left 29 dead in West Virginia.)

In response, Massey simply closed the mine. Oppegard hopes legal action can reduce future safety and health violations. He has represented Wilson in safety complaints against Armstrong Coal Company, operator of Parkway Mine, where Wilson worked. Wilson claims the company violated MSHA regulations by running tests of coal dust levels for 4 to 5 hours instead of the required 8 to 10, cheating the results. Now, the federal government has filed a criminal complaint against former managers of Armstrong Coal (which went under in 2017) over the alleged test tampering. Lawyers for the defendants did not respond to a request for comment.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that 1 in 5 longtime coal miners in central Appalachia has black lung, a potentially fatal cluster of lung diseases, from inhaling unsafe amounts of coal dust. Since 1969, black lung has caused the death of at least 76,000 former coal miners.

Wilson has had black lung for at least 5 years. He is testifying in the federal case. But a successful suit won’t cure his condition.

“Hell, I can’t do anything,” Wilson says of his condition. “I’ve got three great-grandkids and I can’t play with them the way I want to. I run out of oxygen. And there ain’t no cure for it.”

Abrupt shifts in Arctic climate projected

Researchers project that as the permafrost continues to degrade, the climate in various regions of the Arctic could potentially change abruptly in the relatively near future. Their research also suggests that as the permafrost degrades, the severity of wildfires will double from one year to the next and remain at the new and higher rate for regions in the Northwestern Territories and the Yukon.

Southern California earthquakes increased stress on major fault line

A new study has found that last summer's Ridgecrest earthquakes in Southern California earthquakes increased stress on the Garlock Fault, which has been dormant for at least a century.

Harmful emissions from traffic, trucks, SUVs

Almost one third of Canadians live near a major road -- and this means they go about their everyday lives exposed to a complex mixture of vehicle air pollutants. A new study reveals that emissions from nearby traffic can greatly increase concentrations of key air pollutants, with highly polluting trucks making a major contribution.

Prenatal air pollution exposure linked to infants' decreased heart rate response to stress

A mother's exposure to particulate air pollution during pregnancy is associated with reduced cardiac response to stress in six-month-old infants, according to new research. This study is among the first to find that particulate air pollution exposure in utero can affect heart rate variability, which is a known risk factor for health issues.

Whatever Works

Wow, paying “taxes” for “owning everything”? Ridiculous!