The Emissions Gap Report 2022 was issued last week, and the situation continues to follow the most serious trajectory envisioned in the IPCC reports. I says that countries are not on track to reduce emissions, and will set a record high this year. (The 'emissions gap' is the amount by which emissions exceed the level needed for a stable climate.) UN Secretary General … [Read more...] about GHG Emissions continue to increase — immediate action is essential!
capitalism
Decolonizing Minds, Including My Own, About U.S. Capitalist State Settler Colonialism
Gary Olson “The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the hunting of black skins, signaled the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings … [Read more...] about Decolonizing Minds, Including My Own, About U.S. Capitalist State Settler Colonialism
Interstellar slavery: coming to a planet near you?
Raymond Nat Turner Plundering our planet, the parasitic capitalistClass places itself above/apart from nature andHumanity… And its corporate parrots repeatGalaxy-colonizing crack pipe claptrap ofbillionaire bosses regarding missions of phallicboy toys sucked up from sweat beads of toilers… I spoke with Sun Ra and Ra said: “If they arriveAlive, Hannibal Lecter masks are … [Read more...] about Interstellar slavery: coming to a planet near you?
Double Deformation: Capital v. Nature & Humanity
Michael A. Lebowitz The exploitation of workers is at the core of capitalism. It explains capital’s drive to divide workers in order to grow. Exploitation is the source of the inequality characteristic of capitalism. To fight inequality, we must fight capitalist exploitation. However, inequality is only one aspect of capitalism. In and by itself, exploitation is inadequate … [Read more...] about Double Deformation: Capital v. Nature & Humanity
Against Overproduction
Don Fitz Robert Pollin repeats a message often seen in writings defending alternative energy (AltE): while they briefly shake their heads at capitalist waste, they deny an overproduction problem. In his response to my article on “Be Careful What Energy You Wish For,” his message comes through that there are no limits on what can be done to the Earth’s ecosystems that AltE … [Read more...] about Against Overproduction
Response to Don Fitz
Robert Pollin Don Fitz’s response to my two interviews that Z generously republished makes two major assertions: 1) Reducing overall consumption and working fewer hours provides a viable path on its own to stabilizing the global climate; and 2) Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are not really “clean” even though they supply energy without generating CO2 … [Read more...] about Response to Don Fitz
Be Careful What Energy You Wish For
Don Fitz's response to Robert Pollin Climate change is an existential problem confronting humanity and Robert Pollin offers well thought-out plans in his first and second articles. There is only space here to respond to these themes: (1) We can reach zero CO2 emissions by 2050; (2) An enormous expansion of alternative energy (AltE) can create far more jobs than would be lost … [Read more...] about Be Careful What Energy You Wish For
A Green New Deal Program for California
C.J. Polychroniou: California has been at the forefront of the climate fight for years now, but the truth of the matter is that its efforts have been falling short. Now, you and some colleagues of yours at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have just completed a commissioned climate stabilization project for California … [Read more...] about A Green New Deal Program for California
Labor Unions Rally Behind California’s Zero-Emissions Climate Plan
C.J. Polychroniou: Since the idea of a Green New Deal entered into public consciousness, the debate about climate emergency is becoming increasingly polarized between those advocating “green growth” and those arguing in support of “degrowth.” What exactly does “degrowth” mean, and is this at the end of the day an economic or an ideological debate? Robert Pollin: Let me … [Read more...] about Labor Unions Rally Behind California’s Zero-Emissions Climate Plan
Notes from the Editor
Global capitalism’s race to the bottom (and for the bottom line) is not only generating runaway economic inequalities, social unrest, and political dysfunctionality, but also a race off the ecological cliff in the near future. A study that looked at average temperature and precipitation changes only, excluding the most extreme impacts, found that At least 85% of the world’s … [Read more...] about Notes from the Editor