Youth Activists Tell Washington "We're Coming for You" on Climate Change

Thursday, September 19, 2019 [| Seven days left -- we need your help! |]( [Youth Activists Tell Washington "We're Coming for You" on Climate Change]( Jaskiran Dhillon, Truthout As the world teeters on the edge of climate disaster, young immigrants, Indigenous youth and communities of color are taking the lead in pushing for climate action at the local level. In preparing for the upcoming global youth climate strike on September 20, organizers of Pennsylvania's Youth Climate Strike are centering the voices of communities at the front lines of climate justice. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Iraqi Kids Test Positive for Depleted Uranium Remnants Near Former U.S. Air Base]( Mike Ludwig, Truthout Independent researchers found high levels of radioactive heavy metals associated with toxic depleted uranium pollution in the hair and teeth of children born near a former U.S. air base in southern Iraq. The findings appear to bolster claims made by Iraqi doctors who observed high rates of congenital disabilities, such as heart disease and malformed limbs, in babies born after the first year of the bloody 2003 U.S.-led invasion. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Fracking Has No Place in a Livable Future]( Wenonah Hauter, Truthout The existential threat of the climate crisis should be reason enough to ban fracking everywhere, but instead, the fracking industry is increasing investment in new infrastructure and encouraging the development of fossil-fuel-dependent industries like plastics. Fortunately, the movement to ban fracking is growing exponentially, spurred by the disastrous climate and energy policies of the Trump administration. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We have seven days left to raise the $43,000 needed to fuel Truthout's work. Help us sustain the dream of independent media, free from corporate influence: Make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation today! [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Brexit Has Divided the Left in the U.K. and Overshadowed Social Justice]( Ashley Smith, Truthout Since Brexit became the center of British politics, the U.K.'s left has been unable to coalesce around the issues that traditionally helped unite it, such as jobs, benefits and housing, because of the split between remainers and leavers, says David Renton, a British barrister, historian and socialist activist. Trump and other authoritarians have supported the Brexit push because they see it as a way to move politics further to the right throughout the world. [Read the Interview →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [We Cannot Afford to Gamble on Geoengineering to Achieve Net Zero]( Alex Lenferna, Truthout Relying on geoengineering technologies to suck carbon out of the atmosphere might sound like a smart plan to buy us time to transition to renewable energy. However, many of those technologies are largely speculative, highly expensive and resource intensive. To achieve net zero as quickly and equitably as possible, we can use the promising advances in clean energy we already have available. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Trump's Promise to Foreign Leader Sparked Whistleblower Complaint]( Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to disclose to Congress the whistleblower complaint by a U.S. official that was allegedly caused by an alarming "promise" President Trump made to a foreign leader in recent weeks. Maguire's refusal to turn the complaint over to Congress sparks concerns that the acting intelligence chief and the Department of Justice are subverting the law to protect the president. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Democrats Should Be Talking About How Republicans Have Rigged the Maps]( David Daley and Adam Eichen, Salon While voter purges, gerrymandering and other voter disenfranchisement ploys have taken their toll on democracy, the last three Democratic debates have focused on everything but electoral reform. Democrats can resign themselves to minority rule, or they can work toward full enfranchisement and equal representation. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [In the Face of Ageist Attacks, Greta Thunberg Is Still Leading by Example]( Audrey Bryan, RTÉ Greta Thunberg has become a proactive force in pressing world leaders to commit to keeping carbon in the ground and highlighting the political and economic factors driving emissions. But the radical steps Thunberg has taken show that individual behavioral responses to the climate emergency are also vital. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ending the Afghan War Won't End the Killing]( Stephanie Savell, TomDispatch A major legacy of the U.S. war in Afghanistan will be the landmines, unexploded bombs and other weaponry that have been left behind in the earth. After so many years of destruction, the U.S. has an obligation to the Afghan people to clear explosive hazards in the country -- a large portion of which are of U.S. origin. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Amnesty Head: Climate Crisis Is a "Death Penalty" for Humanity]( Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now! More than a million students are expected to walk out of class in a Global Climate Strike on Friday, with more than 800 climate strikes scheduled in the United States alone. Amnesty International's Secretary General Kumi Naidoo urges school districts across the globe not to punish students striking against climate injustice this week. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- [Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin: If We Want a Future, Green New Deal Is Key]( C.J. Polychroniou, Truthout While the planetary future looks grim, there is a realistic global climate stabilization project that is economically and technically feasible -- if we can find the political will to implement it, say Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin, co-authors of a forthcoming book on climate change and the Green New Deal. This month's climate strikes are a way to bring some urgency to the matter and raise public awareness. [Read the Interview →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Water Protectors Are Prepared for Battle. Join Us.]( Winona LaDuke, Truthout As the dying fossil fuel industry tries to foist the largest tar sands pipeline project on the Anishinaabe people, Water Protectors, immortalized in the battle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, stand prepared to battle once again over water and the rights of Indigenous peoples and nations. Like Standing Rock, this, too, is a battle in the environmental movement to protect our collective future. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We need 77 more people to make a sustaining, monthly donation to Truthout. Can we count on you to be one? It takes just 30 seconds to set up and any amount helps! 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