Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The world’s biggest corporations have caused $28 trillion in climate damage, a new study estimates as part of an effort to make it easier for people and governments to hold companies financially accountable, like the tobacco giants have been. A Dartmouth College research team came up with the estimated pollution caused by 111 companies, with more than half of the total dollar figure coming from 10 fossil fuel providers: Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, National Iranian Oil Co., Pemex, Coal India and the British Coal Corporation. For comparison, $28 trillion is a shade less than...

Scott Jennings GOES OFF on CNN panel after they blame the RIGHT-WING for a lack of trust in media and call new media "freaks." JENNINGS: "What the right wing is taking advantage of is finally the American people saying enough is enough. They're tired of feeling like the mass media screens out one viewpoint versus another in political coverage. They're tired of media institutions favoring one party over another. They're tired of narratives over factual stories. If I had any advice for 60 Minutes or anybody else, it would be: just cover the news and try to be fair about...

Yes, the headlines are bleak. Yes, scientists are sounding the alarm. Yes, a growing pile of studies warn that the world is “on the brink of irreversible climate disaster,” as a recent “state of the climate” report put it. It’s easy to feel like the planet is on fire — because, well, sometimes it literally is. But even amid the floods, droughts and devastating forecasts, it’s not all doom: Innovators are reimagining how we power our lives, nature is pulling off surprising comebacks, cities are cleaning their air and nations are opening their wallets. This Earth Day, take a break...

Gone are the days when “Global warming isn’t real” was the primary claim of those most vocally opposed to climate action. ... ...Rather than outright deny the problem, today, the most popular online influencers focus on other false or misleading messages like “Climate solutions don’t work,” “Climate change has some benefits,” and pollution reduction policies are “tools for governments to control people.”... ...Of the 10 most popular online shows, eight have spread false or misleading information about climate change, a Yale Climate Connections analysis found. That analysis builds on recent work by........ Media Matters for America, a journalism watchdog organization....

0:00Introduction 1:10 What Would Happen if the US Went to War With Iran? 9:13 The Real Reason the US Invaded Iraq 15:38 The Military Power of Iran 22:25 The Global Coalition Iran Has Formed Because of the US 26:37 Is This Evil or Stupidity? 31:10 How Trump Exposed Regime Change Wars 41:37 Caldwell’s Experience in the Marine Corps 50:31 The Impact of the Iraq War on Veterans 1:00:59 How Caldwell Helped Pete Hegseth Become Secretary of Defense 1:08:21 The Real Reason Caldwell was Fired 1:11:30 Was Caldwell the Source of the Leaks? 1:22:09 How Caldwell Was Escorted Out 1:23:41 Who...

Security experts say that climate change should not become a strategic "blind spot" and militaries must respond to the evolving threat of weather disaster. Their warning comes amid growing concerns that climate action is being sidelined as Europe beefs up defence and the US retreats from allies and its green commitments. "You can't escape this. Climate doesn't care who's president or what your political goals are at the moment," said Erin Sikorsky, director of the Washington-based Center for Climate & Security. "It is coming, and militaries need to be prepared," she said. In the US, where President Donald Trump's administration...

Hillary Clinton does not have a reputation for honesty. Indeed, ever since she burst onto the political scene, the one guarantee with Hillary was that you couldn’t trust her. Whole articles have been published about the whoppers she’s told over the decades (see, e.g., here and here). One thing, though, that’s always seemed to be true is her claim to have graduated from Yale Law School. After hearing her latest pronouncement, though, I must admit to having my doubts about that statement, too. One of the things that’s pretty clear in the United States Constitution, which has traditionally been part...

As the threat posed by US President Donald Trump tops Canada's federal election agenda, the issue of the country's contribution to global warming has been largely overshadowed. The two main contenders are pushing plans for new energy infrastructure as the country seeks to pivot away from its reliance on the US. Mark Carney's Liberals are promising to make Canada a global superpower in both conventional and green energy. The Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre want to invigorate the oil and gas sector and scrap the industrial carbon tax. It's a big shift from the 2021 election, when the environment topped the...

I would not be surprised to see a denial of this report, probably before I'm done writing about it. NPR is reporting that, according to an anonymous US official, the White House is now looking for a new Secretary of Defense to replace Pete Hegseth. The White House has begun the process of looking for a new secretary of defense, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly... This comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to find himself mired in controversy. NPR has also confirmed with the same official that Hegseth shared details ahead of...

Some of the country’s most beloved national parks – including many across the West – could see substantial jumps in the number of extremely hot days in coming decades, according to a new report. The nonprofit Climate Central analyzed data from the National Park Service and found that by 2050, the 25 most visited parks are likely to have five times as many extremely hot days – compared to recent decades. Climate Central defines extreme heat as a high temperature above the 99th percentile for the roughly three decade period between 1979 and 2012. For example, Utah’s Zion National Park...

Conservative critics have long accused the department of helping to censor the American right... The only office within the US State Department that monitors foreign disinformation is about to be eliminated, two State Department officials have told MIT Technology Review. The Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI) Hub is a small office in the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy that tracks and counters foreign disinformation campaigns.

(Reuters) -A U.S. judge blocked President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday from freezing billions of dollars in grants Congress authorized under climate investment and infrastructure laws of his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy in Providence, Rhode Island, issued an injunction at the behest of environmental groups who argued the Trump administration was unlawfully freezing already-awarded funding for projects to combat climate change, reduce pollution and modernize U.S. infrastructure. The group that led the lawsuit, Democracy Forward, said in a statement that Trump's action was an abuse of executive power. The funding had been authorized...

This is about 30 seconds. A video from Chinese Communist propaganda sources showing AI fake factory workers, supposedly Americans who are all obese. It ends with the caption “Make America Great Again”

A human rights expert has described the year-long sentence given to a climate change activist as "blatantly disproportionate". Dr Patrick Hart caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to fuel pumps during a Just Stop Oil demonstration in August 2022 and said he had done so because he believed the world was in a "truly dark and unprecedented time". Dr Hart, 38, was jailed in January after causing damage to 16 fuel pumps at Thurrock Motorway Services, in Grays, Essex. The Bristol-based GP hit the pumps with a hammer, sprayed them with orange paint and obstructed lorries refuelling the station....

WASHINGTON — Russia could be forced to end the war in Ukraine because it will run out of money to pay its troops, according to experts at the DC-based Institute for the Study of War. The country has burned through roughly half of its $106 billion liquid sovereign-wealth fund, which is used to pay troops’ salaries and new recruits bonuses, experts said. Moscow can likely only afford another 12 to 16 months of fighting at its current pace, with about 30,000 to 45,000 Russian troops killed or injured in Ukraine each month since its 2022 invasion began, ISW’s Russia team...

In a sudden and unexplained change from previous decades, the federal government has stopped covering the travel costs of Canadian experts volunteering for the next major global climate science assessment. The decision to end travel funding means that Canadian scientists are now wondering whether they can still participate in the United Nations climate science process, perhaps by using their own money or diverting grant funds that could be going toward research and students. Sarah Burch, a professor at the University of Waterloo who studies climate adaptation, urban planning and governance, is a lead author on the IPCC's upcoming report on...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration plans to scrap a contract for a federal climate assessment used to direct government action on climate change, two sources familiar with the matter said. The administration will cut the contract with global advisory ICF for work on the National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive report published every five years on how climate change affects the United States. CF provides most of the staff for the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), an agency created by Congress in 1990 to coordinate research and investment on climate change, and which has overseen the last five national climate...

THE HILL – A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore the Associated Press’s access to key White House spaces after it exiled AP reporters over the organization’s refusal to use “Gulf of America” in its popular stylebook. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, an appointee of President Trump, directed the White House to resume allowing the AP into the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when they’re made available to other press pool members. The judge also granted the AP’s request for returned access to events open to all credentialed White House reporters, though...

Each is a wannabe autocrat, each is working to undermine the rule of law and so-called elites in his respective country, each is seeking to crush what he calls a “deep state” of government professionals. Each is steering his nation away from its once universal aspiration to be a “light unto the nations” toward a narrow, brutish might-equals-right ethnonationalism that is ready to mainstream ethnic cleansing. Each treats his political opposition not as legitimate but as enemies within, and each has filled his cabinet with incompetent hacks, deliberately chosen for loyalty to him instead of the laws of their lands....

The climate crisis is not a distant threat; it's happening right now and affecting what matters most to us. Hurricanes intensified by a warming planet and drought-fueled wildfires are destroying our communities. Rising seas and flooding are swallowing our homes. And record-breaking heat waves are reshaping our way of life. The good news is we know how to turn the tide and avoid the worst possible outcomes. However, understanding what needs to be done can be confusing due to a constant stream of climate updates, scientific findings, and critical decisions that are shaping our future. That's why the ABC News...