FOSSIL FREE NEWS FROM 350.0RG 19NOV18

IN spite of the drumpf / trump-pence administration and the republican / gop-greed over people actions are being taken to address climate change around the world......

I've got a lot of feelings right now. If you've followed Fossil Free News for a while, you know I live in Paris – but I'm from southern California. My friends and family have been evacuated and personally affected by what's now the deadliest fire in state history – a fire that's fueled by record temperatures, drought, and the fossil fuel industry. Scientists, high-profile energy think tank heads – it seems like these days EVERYONE is agreeing we have to go Fossil Free right now. I've got hope we'll get there. From strategically timed marches all over the world, to the young people in the US pushing for a Green New Deal, to people in the Philippines bringing renewable solutions to natural disasters straight to communities –  there's so much happening in our global movement right now to stop this. And now, you can watch all the highlights! Today we're introducing video versions of Fossil Free News. Share this new video on social media to get more people looped in to the climate movement. -Nicole In Taiwan, a series of 3 marches is underway across the country ahead of elections. Protesters were contesting the placement of a new gas import terminal, and symbolically showing that upcoming votes hinge on where politicians land on the energy transition and air pollution. Keep an eye out for the last one in Taiwan on Saturday, November 18. You can also meet some young leaders of the climate movement in East Asia, who got together for a climate leadership camp in Thailand. It's been a big two weeks for youth climate leadership. Inspired by the actions of 15 year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden, students in tens of cities across Australiahave organized a School Strike 4 Climate to send a message that their present and future is at stake – and since they can't vote, they'll strike instead. And they weren't alone. In the United States, just a week after contested mid-term elections, youth from the Sunrise Movement occupied Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, demanding she take a genuine hard line on climate as the country's most populous state burned. They were joined by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, now the youngest-ever woman in the US Congress. With new climate hawks taking office around the country, real pressure is building for a Green New Deal. November 8 was the fifth anniversary of the worst storm to ever hit the Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan. In a country still reeling from Typhoon Manghkut back in September, brave individuals are putting forward positive solutions. Watch this videoshowing how TekPak solar-powered technology is helping meet the country's energy needs and providing a resilient solution to disaster relief. Days of action for the climate don't seem to be slowing down. In Dhaka, London, Toronto, and other cities, people stood in coordinated solidarity with the Sundarbans, a giant wetland region in Bangladesh that is home to half a million people and directly threatened by a planned coal-burning power station, Rampal. Also last weekend, Montreal saw its biggest climate march, 50,000 people(!), since the historic march on Earth Day in 2012.  And in Barcelona a climate march brought colorful and inspiring imagery to demand the end of fossil fuels. Just days later, Spain's social democratic government set out a new plan to go 100% renewable by 2050, support a just transition for fossil fuel workers, and ban new fossil fuel permits. Ever wondered how to shift your campaign into another gear when you hit a wall with your demands? This great case study from European Changemakers follows the experiences of Guy from Fossil Free Upssala in Sweden. He tells the story of how the group escalated their campaign and used a combination of creative and digital tactics to get major attention at a prestigious annual gala event. You can browse their site for more videos and loads of other useful campaigning tools and resources. It's been a while since we put a podcast in the corner. But I couldn't resist this one from Fossil Free Glasgow. Glasgow University was the first university in Europe to divest and inspired over 60 other UK universities to follow suit.  After their historic win, Glasgow students decided to go after the city's large pension fund. My favorite part was hearing how everyone got involved in the movement – including via Tinder in one person's case! What do you think about Spain's plan to go 100% RE by 2050? Join the conversation that's already started on the comments in this Facebook post. Or, if you're not on Facebook, you can send me a voice memo with your ideas to ffdigest@350.org or tweet @gofossilfree.

View this email online If you have feedback, write us at ffdigest@350.org. Fossil Free is a global campaign led by local groups demanding our local communities and institutions commit to: A fast + just transition to 100% renewable energy for all No new fossil fuel projects anywhere. Not a penny more for dirty energy For more updates, follow us on:  Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram. You're receiving this update because you signed up to receive updates about the Fossil Free campaign from 350.org.

EARTHJUSTICE NEWSLETTER: This is what energy democracy looks like 22APR18

FROM EarthJustice on Earth Day, a day we should all be renewing our commitment to do the best we can to protect our Mother Earth! Click the links to read the full articles, participate in EarthJustice actions and / or to donate to EarthJustice, because the Earth needs a good lawyer!

With a team of more than 100 legal experts on staff and more than 400 active cases, Earthjustice is holding accountable those who threaten to harm our environment and break our bedrock environmental laws.

No reason for dirty natural gas Three California communities in six months have defeated plans for gas-burning power plants, fueling a new trend. Clean energy is not only healthier; now it’s cheaper, too. READ MORE   THIS EARTH DAY, GIVE THE EARTH A GOOD LAWYER With a team of more than 100 legal experts on staff and more than 400 active cases, Earthjustice is holding accountable those who threaten to harm our environment and break our bedrock environmental laws. Help us win in court today! DONATE NOW     Halting a coral reef heistA federal court nixed permits that allowed collectors to snatch approximately a quarter of a million fish out of Hawai‘i’s waters. READ MORE A high-schooler shouldn’t handle the most dangerous pesticides on the marketA recent court ruling puts EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on notice that the courts are going to be scrutinizing any rule that reduces health protections for farmworkers. READ MORE One step closer to saving wild salmonAn Earthjustice victory means that endangered baby salmon will have an easier migration. But anti-wildlife lawmakers are already trying to dash their chances of survival. READ MORE It’s illegal to ignore civil rights complaintsBut after decades of delaying investigations in some of the nation’s most polluted communities, the EPA needed a federal court to explain that to them. READ MORE   “This string of court rulings shows that the Trump administration is repeatedly breaking the law. It’s not just me saying that—federal judges have been saying it repeatedly in recent weeks, and ruling against the Trump administration.” — Earthjustice Vice President of Litigation Drew Caputo, on recent federal court decisions rejecting the Trump administration’s efforts to delay and roll back protections for public health and the environment READ MORE HOW YOU CAN HELP Scott Pruitt is unfit to lead the Environmental Protection Agency Since his first day as head of the Environmental Protection Agency for the Trump administration, Scott Pruitt’s number-one priority has been to dismantle our nation’s bedrock environmental and public health protections. TAKE ACTION Don’t let dirty industry pollute our waters and communities Coal ash, the toxic remains of burning coal in power plants, is full of chemicals that cause cancer, developmental disorders and reproductive problems. Don’t let the EPA take away our protections from this toxic pollution threat. TAKE ACTION

Lee Fang: Dark Money & Lobbyists Serving as Superdelegates Could Decide the 2016 Race 12APR16

DARK MONEY. citizens united has made it legal to buy our politicians to the extent that American political corruption is just as bad as the corruption throughout the Third World, countries the U.S. government has the gall to condemn for their political corruption. LEE FANG of +The Intercept is not intimidated by the 1%, corporate America or politicians. In this interview he explains the threat to our Republic by American corporate super delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and American corporate control of the republican party leadership at their national convention in Cleveland. Like the old Native American belief that everything is connected, Lee Fang exposes hillary clinton's prostituting of American style fracking around the world while she was Sec of State, directed by the fossil fuel industry  and their financing of  her presidential campaign. Mainstream media is guilty of perpetuating corporate control of our political system and maintaining the American war state.
From +Democracy Now! 

Lee Fang: Dark Money & Lobbyists Serving as Superdelegates Could Decide the 2016 Race

Lee Fang: Dark Money & Lobbyists Serving as Superdelegates Could Decide the 2016 Race

APRIL 12, 2016

GUESTS

LEE FANG

investigative journalist at The Intercept covering the intersection of money and politics.

We continue our coverage of Democracy Spring and the influence of dark money in the presidential elections with Lee Fang, investigative journalist at The Intercept focusing on the intersection of money and politics. He has revealed that several of the Democrats’ superdelegates now work as lobbyists for banks, oil companies, foreign governments and payday lenders, among other special interests. In a close race, these superdelegates could determine the party’s nominee.

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TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again." And that’s just where we are. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman. And we’re on the road again as part of a 100-city tour, now in San Francisco, California.

But back in Washington, D.C., 400 people were arrested in a massive sit-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to protest the influence of big money and corporate lobbying in politics. We continue our coverage looking at the influence of dark money by speaking with investigative reporter Lee Fang, a journalist at The Intercept who focuses on the intersection of money and politics. His recent piece we’ll talk about in a moment, but I want to talk about the protests that are taking place and what you’re finding as you sniff the money trail on the presidential campaign trail, Lee.

LEE FANG: Well, Amy, welcome to San Francisco. Thank you so much for having me.

I thought the protests yesterday were very interesting, and they kind of connect to a broader movement, this kind of return to civil disobedience that we’ve seen in recent years, everything from Occupy Wall Street to the Black Lives Matter protests. You know, in the waning years of the Bush administration, we saw a lot of activists shifting their focus to electoral politics, focusing on electing Democrats or left-of-center politicians like Barack Obama. But with some of the failures of Obama—failure to achieve real universal healthcare, a failure to really tackle climate change or growing income inequality—we’re seeing this kind of return to civil disobedience, these tactics from the 1960s, or even going back to the 1930s, that are returning to the mainstream in American politics. And I think that’s very interesting. And it’s very savvy, I should add, for all of these protesters to make corruption, money in politics, their focus, because that’s what kind of threads the needle here. No matter what issue you care about, it’s very difficult to see reform when big money, special interests dominate the policymaking process.

AMY GOODMAN: Lee Fang, you write about a significant number of superdelegates are also lobbyists?

LEE FANG: Yeah, so, there’s also—I focus now on the way the Democratic Party nominates its candidate for the presidency. There are about 4,000 pledged delegates, folks that are committed based on how each primary or caucus state votes, but there are also a little over 700 unpledged delegates, known as superdelegates. Most of these are members of Congress, but some of them, a significant number, are actually party insiders or lobbyists and former politicians who now work in the lobbying industry. So it’s very interesting to see this broader discussion, really in both parties, about the role of money in politics, at the same time you have actual lobbyists, folks who are registered to represent big banks, even in some cases foreign governments, and they have incredible power over the nomination process. And in one potential scenario, we could have these lobbyists selecting the nominee, if Hillary and Bernie have about the same number of pledged delegates going into the convention later this summer.

AMY GOODMAN: You’ve also written about Hillary Clinton’s ties to fracking internationally. What do you mean?

LEE FANG: Well, yeah, this is an interesting subject. And as both candidates, Bernie and Hillary, discuss fracking, I think this is an important element of the story the mainstream media has not covered very closely. Hillary Clinton, in her time at the State Department, there’s been a lot of focus on her role in Libya, in the Arab Spring, but a significant part of her legacy is really promoting American-style fracking across the world. She, in fact, reorganized the State Department to create a whole new bureau, a 60-plus-staff bureau, focused on energy resources, with a special focus on promoting fracking. And she traveled the world, partnering with American companies like Chevron, going to countries such as Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Bulgaria, and convincing these governments to take this American technology, this directional drilling hydraulic fracturing known as fracking, and trying to convince these countries to adopt American-style fracking. So this is a significant part of her legacy. And as we talk about the role of fossil fuel money in politics, of where she stands on these important issues, I think her role and her legacy at the State Department is important to scrutinize.

AMY GOODMAN: Bernie Sanders has proposed a national ban on fracking.

LEE FANG: Yeah, and that’s a very clear-cut issue. Hillary Clinton has a less-than-clear position on this. In recent days, I believe with her recent interview with the New York Daily News, she said that she would defer to some states and municipal governments that might ban fracking, and that, in some cases, she would hope for fracking that is environmentally sound, that is well regulated. But we really haven’t seen a scenario where fracking is closely regulated. We still haven’t—the federal government doesn’t have a handle on how methane is leaked from these fracked gas well sites. Of course, methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas. So, for Hillary Clinton to take a position that she would allow fracking in an environmentally sound way is troubling, because we still don’t have those regulations.

AMY GOODMAN: Lee Fang, you’ve also written about pro-TPP op-eds remarkably similar to drafts by foreign government lobbyists.

LEE FANG: Yeah, so, we’ve had this big debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, this massive trade deal being negotiated now. Of course, part of this debate is in the public realm, right? News programs, newspapers covering the debate, trying to explain it to readers, but we found a number of op-eds in California newspapers that were lifted directly from lobbyists working for the Japanese government, who were retained by the Japanese government to promote the TPP. So as we talk about money in politics, it’s important to realize, you know, campaign contributions, Citizens United are only one small part of the puzzle here. If you’re a special interest or, in this case, a foreign government, you can buy out a think tank to produce reports. You can pay off PR consultants to place these types of op-ed in newspapers. You can control the policy making process in so many different ways that it’s important to realize that, you know, the media is part of the problem here.

NPR POLITICS; Controversy was in the air this week in politics.2APR16

FROM +NPR to bring you up to speed on donald drumpf, ted cruz, the Wisconsin primaries, Bernie Sanders, hillary clinton, fossil fuel industry, super-pacs and Canada...... 

Bryan Thomas/Getty Images This Week In PoliticsControversy was in the air this week in politics – from GOP front-runner Donald Trump’s comments on abortion he walked back hours later to Hillary Clinton exclaiming she is “so sick” of being linked to money from the fossil fuel industry. And then there was how John Kasich ate that pizza. Get your slice ready for Tuesday night, when voters head to the polls in Wisconsin – a key state with a big delegate haul and where Ted Cruz could give Trump a run for his money. Elaine Thompson/AP Despite The Math, Bernie Sanders Has Already WonSanders has a narrow path, but he is going to win in lots of places over the next two months in similarly sweeping fashion. Regardless of what happens, when people look back on this 2016 Democratic primary, Sanders won't be dismissed as a gadfly or fringe candidate.Read more → GET CAUGHT UP Spencer Platt/Getty Images THE CANDIDATES Fact Check: Hillary Clinton And Donations From Fossil Fuel Industries   Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images THE CANDIDATES Trump Says He Can Unify The GOP, But Polls Suggest Otherwise   Charles Rex Arbogast/AP DEMOGRAPHICS Women Have A Problem With Donald Trump — And It's Huge   Stringer/AFP/Getty Images FACT CHECK Do Americans Really Move To Canada Because Of Politics?   #MemeOfTheWeek: #BernieMadeMeWhite Jacquelyn Martin/AP THE INTERNET No, Bernie Sanders Isn't Just Winning With White People