Remember: fossil fuel companies want people to focus on what uses#energy so we don't talk about the supply side.
They benefit from #environmentalists spending time and energy bickering with one another about whether AI uses too much #electricity, whether to support more #nuclear plants, whether we should mine more #lithium to have grid scale #batteries, and so forth.
That doesn't mean we can't talk about these things, but be #mindful where you spend your energy.
Estella Bergere Leopold (1927–2024), passionate environmentalist who traced changing ecosystems
The trailblazing palaeobotanist investigated how climate change affected Earth in the past — and firmly believed science should be used in its defence now. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00905-z
"In Coffs Harbour Local Court the forestry contractors Michael Luigi Vitali and Rodney James Hearfield were found guilty of assaulting Graham and his companion Andre Johnston that afternoon on the road on the Dorrigo Plateaux three and a half years ago. No conviction was recorded."
Dozens indicted on Georgia racketeering charges related to ‘Stop Cop City’ movement appear in court
by Kate Brumback, Nov 7, 2023
ATLANTA (AP) — “Nearly five dozen people indicted on racketeering charges related to protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility near Atlanta appeared in court on Monday as their supporters rallied outside the courthouse.
“Protests against the proposed training center — dubbed “Cop City' by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr obtained a sweeping indictment in August, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to target the #protesters and characterizing them as 'militant #anarchists.'
“Demonstrators and #CivilRights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (#ACLU), have condemned the indictment and accused #Carr, a Republican, of levying heavy-handed charges to try to silence a movement that has galvanized #environmentalists and #antipolice protesters across the country.
“All 61 people indicted were scheduled to be arraigned Monday, that is to have the charges against them formally read in court. Fifty-seven of them appeared, called in small groups before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams over a three-hour period, and each waived arraignment.
“Four defendants failed to appear. One was believed to be in France and prosecutors didn’t have a good address for him. One was in federal immigration custody. Another who is not American and who had left the country tried to return twice in recent days to attend the hearing but was denied entry to the country, her lawyer said. A fourth simply didn’t show.
“Most of the people who appeared had not yet surrendered at the Fulton County Jail to be booked on their charges. Some had recently reached agreements with prosecutors on a bond amount and conditions and others were still in the process of doing so.
“Adams told them they had until 10 a.m. Tuesday, 24 hours after the start of the arraignment proceedings, to turn themselves in. If they fail to do so, she warned, a warrant for their arrest could be issued and any bond would be rescinded.
“Adams instructed defense attorneys to provide the attorney general’s office with hard drives by Friday so they can receive copies of evidence in the case, known as discovery. Prosecutors are to finish copying and distributing that evidence to defense attorneys by the end of the year.
“A final plea hearing will be set no later than the end of June, Adams said. She explained to the groups of defendants that if they want to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors they must do it by that date.
“A couple of hundred supporters of the ‘#StopCopCity' effort rallied outside the courthouse in downtown Atlanta on Monday morning singing, chanting and waving signs.
“Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and other supporters say the 85-acre, $90 million facility would replace inadequate training facilities, and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers. Opponents have expressed concern that that it could lead to greater police #militarization and that its construction in the #SouthRiverForest will worsen #environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.
“Protests against the project, which have at time resulted in violence and vandalism, escalated after the fatal shooting in January of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, known as #Tortuguita. A prosecutor last month said he would not pursue charges against the state troopers who shot Paez Terán, saying he found that their use of deadly force was ‘objectively reasonable.'
“Most of those indicted in August had already been charged over their alleged involvement in the movement. RICO charges carry a sentence of five to 20 years in prison that can be added on top of the penalty for the underlying acts.
“Among the defendants: more than three dozen people who were previously facing domestic terrorism charges in connection to the protests; three leaders of a #BailFund previously accused of money laundering; and three activists previously charged with felony intimidation after authorities said they distributed #flyers calling a state trooper a
'murderer' for his involvement in Paez Terán’s death.
“Prosecutors have alleged a conspiracy that includes a wide variety of underlying crimes that range from possessing fire accelerant and throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers to being reimbursed for glue and food for activists who spent months camping in the woods near the construction site.”
#environmentalists get your head out from behind the windshield challenge. WTF are people talking about upgrading interchanges to support housing development, this is #CarBrain / creating #InduceDemand and locking-in carbon emissions for decades. No amount of "upgrading interchanges" is acceptable at this point, just none.
"More than 250 years ago, the #Ojibwe people, one of the largest Indigenous populations in North America, received a prophecy to migrate westward until they reached the land where food grows on water.
When the #MilleLacsBand of Ojibwe encountered wild rice in north-central Minnesota, they knew they found their new home. Rice harvesting has been a cornerstone of Ojibwe culture ever since.
"Today, mining exploration company #TalonMetals, also has its sights set on Minnesota. Some of the world’s richest high-grade #nickel and #copper deposits are thousands of feet below the state colloquially known as 'the land of 10,000 lakes.'
"Talon seeks to construct a mine in the rural town of Tamarack, which it says will be integral to building the nation’s domestic supply of materials necessary for a clean energy transition.
"Nickel and copper are key components of rechargeable #lithium ion (#LION) batteries that are widely used for low-emission technologies like electric vehicles (EVs). The company already has an agreement to supply #Tesla with nickel from its proposed mine, potentially bringing hundreds of unionized mining jobs to this rural area.
"The federal government has also recognized nickel and copper as 'essential to national defense,' adding them to the U.S. critical minerals list in 2022 and 2023, respectively. And, this September, the Department of Defense awarded Talon a $20.1 million matching grant to continue searching for deposits throughout the #LakeSuperior region.
"As the U.S. strives to be a leader in clean energy transition, the #TamarackProject encapsulates both the promise and challenges that lie ahead.
"The Dangers of Sulfide Mining
"Kelly Applegate, the commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band, was shocked when he first saw deep earth imaging of nickel-copper deposits beneath his tribal land in the late 1990s.
A study from the U.S. Geological Survey suggested that the Lake Superior region could have deposits as lucrative as high-yield mines in Canada and Russia.
'Oh my gosh, look at these mineral deposits that may one day be sought out,' he recalls thinking to himself.
"Two decades later, Talon Metals, a mining company founded by former Canadian venture #capitalists and based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), applied for a permit with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to create the Tamarack Project just over a mile away from the closest Mille Lacs Band community. "
Most of you will have seen recent news media reports of an Hamas attack on Israel, resulting in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issuing a formal declaration of war:
Civil Disobedience in a Climate and Biodiversity Crisis
"Ultimately, peaceful political protest should be addressed by politicians. The current government has decided, by making disruption of ‘everyday life’ a criminal act, that it is a matter not of politics but for the police and criminal law. This will have serious implications for society, and for freedom of speech, whether or not you believe it is the right approach."
This was just unnecessary & targeted #ecocide#LoggerThugs ripping their rage out, against us #environmentalists 😪 We spent 3 months, building a low impact nature trail so ppl could visit more ancient trees. After we got violently extracted - they laughed & partied - as they ripped apart the low impact nature trails we spent several months to create.
Genuine question - why do the fantasies about "authoritarian efficiency" & "science-driven" #climate policies that I see so often about #China not apply to similarly authoritarian #Vietnam? I rarely seen praise for their #solar installations, despite being on par with their neighbor.
Instead, Vietnam is heavily criticized for silencing #environmentalists, while China, somehow, get a pass for doing the same.