Thursday, August 31, 2017
Mainstream Media Misrepresents Hurricane Harvey's Climate Change Connection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML5kSJeD8os
Bernie Sanders Begins Push for His 'Medicare for All' Bill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Um0-0VJZYM
Top 10 Companies You Probably Never Realized Had Monopolies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U42HKyc4PP0
America's Monopoly Problem
ELIZABETH WARREN IS AGAINST MONOPOLIES, BUT HOW PROGRESSIVE IS SHE, REALLY?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7KZ0M0gc18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7KZ0M0gc18
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Harvey Triggers 'Unbearable' Pollution as Refineries Spew Cancer-Causing Chemicals
"Air pollution is one of
the unseen dangers of the storm."
As the catastrophic
flooding brought about by Hurricane Harvey continues to devastate Texas,
reports of "unbearable"
smells are beginning to emerge from the state, sparking growing concerns of the
long-term health effects that could result from toxic waste and fumes being
spewed from temporarily closed oil refineries.
"At least 10 refineries
on the Texas coast have shut down," notes the Huffington
Post's Ryan Grenoble. "And whenever a refinery has to be closed or
restarted, especially in emergency situations, its emissions far exceed what's
typically allowed."
Environment Texas, a
citizen-based environmental advocacy project of Environment America, said in a statement
on Monday that Houston oil industry is likely "releasing more than 1
million pounds of harmful pollution into the air, according to its initial
reports to Texas regulators."
"Air pollution is one of
the unseen dangers of the storm," Dr. Elena Craft, senior health scientist
at Environmental Defense Fund, told Environment Texas. "Poor air quality
puts the most vulnerable among us, like children and seniors, at risk for
asthma, heart attacks, strokes, and other health problems.”
Long before Harvey made
landfall, environmental groups and scientists had been warning
of the disastrous effects that could result from a massive storm like
Harvey hitting Texas, the heart of the U.S. petrochemical industry. Now,
judging by first-hand reports from the state, some of these concerns are coming
to fruition.
As The New Republic's Emily
Atkin noted
on Monday, "residents of Houston's industrial fence-line communities are reporting strong gas- and
chemical-like smells coming from the many refineries and chemical plants
nearby." On several occasions, as reports late Monday indicated,
Texans have been ordered to "shelter in place" amid reports of
chemical leaks.
One resident—Bryan Parras, an
activist with the environmental justice group TEJAS—told Atkin that he has been
smelling the fumes "all night," and that some Texans are already
experiencing symptoms: "headaches, sore throat, scratchy throat, and itchy
eyes."
In an interview
on Democracy Now! Monday, Parras added that you could see "the black
smoke" emitted by the refineries as "excess chemicals" were
being burnt off.
"Unfortunately,"
Parras concluded, "that adds thousands of pounds of cancer-causing
chemicals to the air."
Houston, the so-called
"energy capital" of the U.S., has been the source of the more
worrying anecdotes.
Nayeli Olmos, a Houston
resident, told
the local Houston Press that she first began noticing the smell Saturday night,
around 24 hours after Hurricane Harvey made landfall. She initially thought the
stench "would go away on its own, but this morning it was still here, and
it feels like whenever it rains the odor gets stronger."
"Our neighbors were all
talking about it and then I saw people from different neighborhoods talking
about it on social media," Olmos added. "That's when I realized it's
not just us this time. It's all over East Houston."
Public Citizen's Stephanie
Thomas corroborated Olmos's experience, describing the "powerful" smell
as "like burnt rubber with a hint of something metallic thrown in."
These reports have been met
with serious alarm by scientists and environmentalists, who have concluded that
the pollution resulting from Hurrican Harvey will have lasting effects.
"This pollution will hurt
public health in Houston," said
Bakeyah Nelson, executive director of Air Alliance Houston. "When petrochemical
plants prepare for storms, they release thousands of pounds of pollutants into
the air...It is a stark reminder of the dangers of living near industry. We
urge everyone to stay safe."
Flouting International Law, Netanyahu Says West Bank Settlements Will Remain 'Forever'
"Israel finally admits it
will never remove illegal settlements from occupied West Bank."
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu declared
in a speech on
Monday that Israel's
settlements in the occupied West Bank will remain "forever," remarks
many critics characterized as an explicit statement of a longstanding
commitment to maintaining and expanding settlements that have been deemed illegal under
international law.
"There will be no more
uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel," Netanyahu said. "We
will deepen our roots, build, strengthen, and settle."
"Israel finally admits it
will never remove illegal settlements from occupied West Bank," wrote AlterNet
reporter Ben Norton in response to Netanyahu's remarks, which were made during an event
"commemorating the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the West
Bank."
Others argued that, given
Netanyahu's public remarks and actions, any hope that a two-state solution is a
viable option is badly misplaced.
"The 'two-state solution'
is a blatant and obvious farce that has no purpose other than to allow liberals
to justify their support for Israel," concluded The
Intercept's Glenn Greenwald, pointing to Netanyahu's speech.
Many reacted to Netanyahu's
comments similarly on social media:
eventually journalists will
have to start using the word apartheid, or they will be abetting endless
occupation http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
The 2-state solution is dead.
Time to fight for equal rights for everyone between the Jordan river & the
sea http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
What a partner for peace that
Bibi is. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.809444 …
Netanyahu's remarks come as
Israel has in the past two weeks destroyed
or seriously damaged at least three schools for Palestinian children in the
occupied West Bank.
"Just when they were due
to return to the classroom, Palestinian children are discovering that their
schools are being destroyed," said Hanibal Abiy Worku, a director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC),
an independent humanitarian organization. "What threat do these schools
pose to the Israeli authorities? What are they planning to achieve by denying
thousands of children their fundamental right to education?"
Sami Mruwwah, the Palestinian
director of education, vowed to have the schools rebuilt and to "resist
against the occupation."
"What happened against
the school and its students violates human rights and childhood in
particular," Mruwwah concluded. "It is inconceivable for this world
to remain silent in the face of the crimes of occupiers against education in
Palestine.
As Historic Flooding Grips Texas, Groups Demand Nuclear Plant Be Shut Down
"This storm and flood is
absolutely without precedent even before adding the possibility of a nuclear
accident that could further imperil millions of people who are already battling
for their lives."
As record-breaking rainfall
and unprecedented flooding continue to batter the greater Houston area and
along the Gulf coast on Tuesday, energy watchdogs groups are warning of "a
credible threat of a severe accident" at two nuclear reactors still
operating at full capacity in nearby Bay City, Texas.
Three groups—Beyond Nuclear,
South Texas Association for Responsible Energy, and the SEED Coalition—are
calling for the immediate shutdown of the South Texas Project (STP) which sits
behind an embankment they say could be overwhelmed by the raging flood waters
and torrential rains caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Both the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission and the STP operator have previously recognized a
credible threat of a severe accident initiated by a breach of the embankment
wall that surrounds the 7,000-acre reactor cooling water reservoir," said
Paul Gunter, director of the Beyond Nuclear's Reactor Oversight Project, in a statement
by the coalition on Tuesday.
The groups warn that as
Harvey—which on Tuesday was
declared the most intense rain event in U.S. history—continues to
dump water on the area, a breach of the embankment wall surrounding the twin
reactors would create "an external flood potentially impacting the
electrical supply from the switchyard to the reactor safety systems." In
turn, the water has the potential to "cause high-energy electrical fires
and other cascading events initiating a severe accident leading to core
damage." Even worse, they added, "any significant loss of cooling
water inventory in the Main Cooling Reservoir would reduce cooling capacity to
the still operating reactors that could result in a meltdown."
With the nearby Colorado River
already cresting at extremely high levels and flowing at 70 times the normal
rate, Karen Hadden, director of SEED Coalition, warned that the continue
rainfall might create flooding that could reach the reactors. "There is
plenty of reserve capacity on our electric grid," she said, "so we
don't have to run the reactors in order to keep the lights on. With anticipated
flooding of the Colorado River, the nuclear reactors should be shut down now to
ensure safety."
Last week, the STP operators said
that safety for their workers and local residents was their top concern, but
that they would keep the plant operating despite the approaching storm.
Susan Dancer, president of the
South Texas Association for Responsible Energy, said that as residents in Bay
City—herself included—were being forced to leave their homes under manadatory
evacaution orders, it makes no sense to keep the nuclear plant online.
"Our 911 system is down,
no emergency services are available, and yet the nuclear reactors are still
running. Where is the concern for employees and their families? Where is the
concern for public safety? This is an outrageous and irresponsible
decision," declared Dancer. "This storm and flood is absolutely
without precedent even before adding the possibility of a nuclear accident that
could further imperil millions of people who are already battling for their
lives."
As Harvey hovers over the
coastal region, heavy rains are expected to persist for days even as the storm
system creeps toward to Louisiana in the east.
But no matter how remote the
possibility, said Gunter, "it's simply prudent that the operator put this
reactor into its safest condition, cold shutdown."