EARTH DAY 2021

Activists smash London bank HQ windows in Earth Day protest at coal investment

An activist from Extinction Rebellion smashes a window at HSBC headquarters during a protest in Canary Wharf, London. Reuters


Guy Faulconbridge

April 22 2021 

Climate activists shattered at least 19 windows at HSBC's headquarters in London's Canary Wharf as part of a protest against the financing of what the group says is devastating climate change that threatens the planet.

The female activists from the Extinction Rebellion group used hammers to break the windows and pasted stickers on the windows before sitting down to wait for the police to arrive, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

"Despite HSBC's pledge to shrink its carbon footprint to net zero by 2050, their current climate plan still allows the bank to finance coal power, and provides no basis to turn away clients or cancel contracts based on links to the fossil fuel industry," Extinction Rebellion said.

A spokesman for HSBC declined immediate comment.

Extinction Rebellion wants to trigger a wider revolt against the political, economic and social structures of the modern world to avert the worst scenarios of devastation outlined by scientists studying climate change.

"It's time to stand up and be counted," said Gully Bujak, 28, from Extinction Rebellion. "Doing this today may land us in prison but we're on the right side of history."

The activists referenced the struggle of the Suffragettes who used direct action to fight for votes for women in the early 20th Century.

The group broke windows at the London headquarters of Barclays two weeks ago.

 EARTH DAY 2021

'2020 was Europe's hottest year on record'

2021-04-2021

Europe experienced its hottest year on record last year, while the Arctic suffered a summer of extreme wildfires partly due to low snow cover as climate change impacts intensified, the European Union's observation service said on Thursday.

As world leaders prepared to brandish their plans to fight climate change at a US-led summit on Thursday, EU scientists issued a stark reminder that the impacts of a warmer world are already here.

Europe's average annual temperature in 2020 was the highest on record and at least 0.4 degrees Celsius above the next five warmest years – all of which took place in the last decade, the Copernicus Earth observation service said.

"Temperatures are increasing in all seasons in Europe," said Freja Vamborg, senior scientist at Copernicus.

It was the hottest winter on record, at 3.4 degrees Celsius above the average European winter temperature seen during 1981-2020. Weather is more variable in winter, so extreme temperatures tend to play out most starkly in that season.

It was also Europe's warmest autumn, while summer heatwaves were not as intense or prolonged as in recent years, despite pockets of record-breaking heat in places including Scandinavia and France.

Meanwhile, the Arctic saw a "spectacular year", Vamborg said, pointing to a summer of record-breaking wildfires in Arctic Siberia, which were exacerbated by high temperatures and lower-than-average snow cover.

The average temperature in Arctic Siberia last year broke records by a large margin at 4.3 degrees Celsius above the 1981-2020 average.

Globally, Copernicus Earth said 2020 was one of the world's three hottest years on record, confirming findings released this week by the World Meteorological Organization.

The EU on Wednesday set a target to slash emissions faster this decade, and the United States is expected to do the same on Thursday, hiking the pressure on countries including China and India.

Currently, countries' combined pledges fall far short of the rapid emissions cuts scientists say are needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and stave off the most severe impacts of climate change. (Reuters)

EARTH DAY 2021

 PODCAST

Divided States podcast: Toxic air and dirty water - Erin Brockovich on solving America's climate crisis


Thursday 22 April 2021  UK

In a corner of southwest Detroit, there's a community that's spent years grappling with the air it's breathing in.

The 48217 district has become known as Michigan's "most polluted zip code". There are more than two dozen pollutant-producing facilities owned by multiple companies scattered in and around the area, and residents say it's severely harming their health.
The story of the 48217 district bears the hallmarks of many poor communities of colour in the US. Joe Biden has touted an extremely ambitious plan to help tackle climate change and environmental pollution. His challenge, though, will be balancing his big green ideas with big job generation.

US Correspondent speaks to renowned environmental activist Erin Brockovich about the situation in Detroit, and how the climate crisis at large should be tackled.:: 

Divided States podcast: Toxic air and dirty water - Erin Brockovich on solving America's climate crisis | US News | Sky News

Listen to Divided States on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

 EARTH DAY 2021
Watch: Climate activist Greta Thunberg's decision to wag school was a 'strike of genius',

 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo says

By Chanel Zagon|4/22/2021

In this new series, the hosts of Australia's longest-running news and current affairs program, 60 Minutes, take us behind the scenes of the guests, stories and interviews that have forever changed them, some decades later.

There are always two sides to every story, including the "extraordinary" reason why a teenage girl in Sweden wagged school every Friday to protest against climate change.

The call to arms by then 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, from Stockholm, sparked a global movement in 2018, triggering mass school strikes to domino around the world - for one simple reason: climate change.

Critics were quick to slam the teenager for ditching school, but ultimately the controversial act of defiance divided the community.

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg accuses world leaders of 'behaving like children'

60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo with Greta Thunberg. (60 Minutes)

60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo travelled to Stockholm to hear the reasoning behind Greta's activism in 2019, describing it as a "strike of genius".

"If she did it on a weekend, it would just be like any other protest," Abo said.

"Doing it on a Friday, as a young student, meant that she wasn't at school and she should be at school.

"All these questions were being raised ... you could almost call it a strike of genius.

"Those strikes were a way of gaining that attention."

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg meets with Angela Merkel

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg arrives for the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. (Getty)

Despite some believing the teen's stance was too extreme, Abo said her strong action stemmed from intense passion and commitment to solving climate change.

"She is a pretty polarising and controversial figure, right - there are people who love her and there are people who think that she is too young to be espousing these kinds of beliefs," she said.

"To actually meet her, and get to know her, and understand where she is coming from was an experience not many people get.

"Hearing her talk about why she does what she does and the passion behind it, was something pretty special.

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Prize

Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg arrives for a meeting at the Europa building in Brussels. (AFP via Getty Images)

"Her commitment to calling out global warming, to calling out our leaders for not doing enough, was quite extraordinary and very brave - not many 16-year-olds would do something like this.

"She is a remarkable young girl."

Thunberg could not stand by and do nothing; and desperate times really did call for drastic actions, Abo said.

"It weighed on her so heavily, she felt as a human being on earth she had to do something," she said.

"You can't argue against what she has created and you can't argue against the motivation she has given to so many young people to get out on the streets to act for something they believe in, to try and bring about the change they think they deserve."

EARTH DAY 2021

Pandemic lockdown brings down air pollution by up to 70% in some London areas

A black cab pumps exhaust fumes into the air in south London / PA Archive

ByRachael Burford

Local Democracy Reporter@RachaelBurford

Clean air campaigners today said lifestyle changes brought on by the pandemic could help us slow climate change, as figures show there was up to 70 per cent less air pollution caused by vehicles during the first lockdown

London pollution analysers yesterday estimated many areas, particularly in the centre and near busy roads such as the South Circular, had pollution levels between five and nine on the London Air Quality Network index- in the moderate to very high categories.


This time last year only one area reached more than a three, showing there were low levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air.

 

Estimated air pollution levels on April 21 2021 / Clean Air London


Simon Birkett, founder of Clean Air in London (CAL), speaking on Earth Day that promotes global climate action, he said: “What we saw last year was levels of nitrogen dioxide from road traffic fall very sharply.

“It was surprising how far it fell, at some point 60 to 70 per cent down on 2019, which shows how much diesel is contributing to air pollution.

Air pollution levels in London in April 2020 / Clean Air London


“People have suddenly experienced it is nicer to live in an area with less air pollution and we’ve seen people cycling and walking more, which can only be a good thing.


“Areas with better air also were less hit by Covid, there are so many health implications and the pandemic has really highlighted that.”

READ MORE POLLUTION KILLS LONDON CHILD

PM urged to set tougher pollution targets in law in wake of schoolgirl’s death

Action on air pollution needed immediately, says Ella Kissi-Debrah’s mother

More children worried about air pollution near schools

Mr Birkett said that a new Clean Air Act should be passed, which would give local authorities more power they need to decarbonise areas to protect health.

This Earth Day year’s theme is “Restore Our Earth”, with people being urged to focus on reducing our impact on the planet following the Covid-19 pandemic and how we can repair our ecosystems.

US Sikh community traumatized by yet another mass shooting


BY CASEY SMITH AND LUIS ANDRES HENAO 

ASSOCIATED PRESS
APRIL 21, 2021 

A single bouquet of flower sits in the rocks across the street from the FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Saturday, April 17, 2021 where eight people were shot and killed. A gunman killed eight people and wounded several others before apparently taking his own life in a late-night attack at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport, police said, in the latest in a spate of mass shootings in the United States after a relative lull during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) MICHAEL CONROY AP

INDIANAPOLIS

Ajeet Singh had to steel himself for a return to work at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis on Tuesday for the first time since a former employee shot dead eight people, including four members of Indianapolis’ tightly knit Sikh community.

“I've been scared to go back," Singh said. "I don't know why this happened still. Was it random, or was it because of who I am?”

While the motive for last week's rampage remains under investigation, leaders and members of the Sikh community say they feel a collective trauma and believe more must be done to combat the bigotry, bias and violence they have suffered for decades in the country. Amid intense pain, they're channeling their grief into demands for gun reform and tougher hate crime statutes, and calls for outsiders to educate themselves about their Sikh neighbors.


“We are time and time again disproportionately facing senseless and often very targeted attacks,” said Satjeet Kaur, executive director of the Sikh Coalition, a New York-based group that has urged investigators to examine bias as a possible motive in the shootings.

"The impact on the community is traumatic," she continued, "not just particularly the families that face the senseless violence, but also in the community at large because it’s community trauma.”

In the days since the shootings, the coalition facilitated a call with federal officials in which Sikh leaders in Indiana asked for the appointment of a Sikh American liaison in the White House Office of Public Engagement, among other requests.

A monotheistic faith founded more than 500 years ago in India’s Punjab region, Sikhism is the world’s fifth-largest religion with about 25 million followers, including about 500,000 in the United States.

Kaur said that as a relatively young faith with a low population in the Western world, Sikhism is generally not taught in schools to the same extent as other global religions or integrated in policy-making, resulting in misunderstanding and ignorance. Anti-Sikh discrimination can manifest itself in everything from schoolyard bullying to verbal attacks to shocking acts of violence.

Last year a man accused of running over the Sikh owner of a suburban Denver liquor store after reportedly telling him and his wife to “go back to your country” was charged with a hate crime and 16 other counts including attempted murder.

The latest killings dredged up painful memories for Rana Singh Sodhi, an Indian immigrant living in Arizona. He has spent nearly two decades preaching love and tolerance after his brother was shot dead four days after 9/11 by a man who mistook him for a Muslim because of his turban. Balbir Singh Sodhi was the first of scores of Sikhs who were the target of hate crimes in the aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks

“It’s very painful,” Rana Singh Sodhi said. “I hope one day ... people will love each other and enjoy the life and working together and living together in this beautiful country.”

There are between 8,000 and 10,000 Sikh Americans in Indiana, where they began settling more than 50 years ago and opened their first house of worship, known as a gurdwara, in 1999.

Most of the employees at the FedEx warehouse are members of the community. Gurinder Singh Khalsa of the Indiana-based Sikh Political Action Committee said many Sikhs live on Indianapolis' west and south sides, making the facility's airport location a convenient place to work.

On Monday his committee said it had set up a task force to seek answers about the shooting and to press government officials to take action. An important goal, Khalsa said, is to help people returning to work feel safe.

That would be a relief to people like Gaganpal Singh Dhaliwal, who said two of his aunts had just arrived for their shift at the warehouse Thursday night when the shooting started. His mother also works there. They all survived, but he's mourning colleagues and friends.

Dhaliwal expressed hope that the tragedy will inspire others to better understand the religion and cultural practices: “To all my fellow Americans, whether Republicans, Democrats, Muslims, Jewish, non-religious people, everyone: Google the word ‘Sikh’ today. ... Devote five minutes of your time to be aware about another people around you who may not look like you.”

Already he's starting to see some signs of raised consciousness, notably in the flags flying at half-staff outside homes and businesses across Indianapolis and an “outpouring” of support to fundraisers for victims’ families. He urged more people to build bridges to his community.

“If you see a person like me wearing a (turban) on the head, in your street, in your grocery shop, at your workplace, go talk to them," Dhaliwal said. "Tell them you know who Sikhs are, or give them a hug and say, ‘Hey, you’re welcome in the U.S.’ Right now we’re a community that needs a lot of support, and to know that we have a place in this place called America.”

The killings have reverberated nationwide. Pardeep Singh Kaleka, executive director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee and the son of one of seven fatal victims of a 2012 mass shooting at a gurdwara in the suburb of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, said there are concerns about an escalating threat of violence.

Small communities traumatized by violence are left to wonder, “Was I targeted for my race?” Kaleka said. “Was I targeted for my ethnicity, for my religion? Was I targeted for something I can’t control?”

And in California, Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal, a Stockton Gurdwara Sahib member and student of early Sikh American history, said he's grappling with a range of emotions including “anger, hurt, hopelessness and a feeling of not belonging.” Frustrating, he said, is that much of the public focus has been on the shooter's mental state rather than the community he wounded so deeply.

“I am tired of the same old narrative,” said Bainiwal, who was born and raised in the U.S. but has been told to “fit in.”

In Indianapolis, the Sikh community is focusing on helping the bereaved, who are hoping to secure roughly two-dozen fast-tracked visas so relatives overseas may travel for funeral rites set to take place in the next two weeks. The proceedings will begin with cremation and then be followed by up to 20 days of reading of the 1,400-page Guru Granth Sahib scripture, Dhaliwal said.

Earlier last week the home of Sukhpreet Rai bustled with happy chatter and kitchen activity amid celebrations of Vaisakhi, a major Sikh holiday festival, and an upcoming family birthday. Now it has fallen silent in mourning for two of her relatives, Jasvinder Kaur and Amarjit Sekhon.

“We were supposed to be celebrating a birthday and being together as a family,” Rai said. “We’re together, and we have one another, but it’s for something different — it’s for a funeral.”


___

Associated Press writers Anita Snow and Gary Fields contributed to this report.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.








Members of the Sikh Coalition gather at the Sikh Satsang of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Saturday, April 17, 2021 to formulate the groups response to the shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis that claimed the lives of four members of the Sikh community. A gunman killed eight people and wounded several others before taking his own life in a late-night attack at a FedEx facility near the Indianapolis airport. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) MICHAEL CONROY AP

Lava from Guatemala's Pacaya volcano threatens towns

EL PATROCINIO, Guatemala — Residents of small communities living around Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano wake each day wondering if the lava will reach their homes.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

A lava flow descending the volcano has advanced between El Patrocinio and San José el Rodeo. In the case of the latter, the lava has advanced to within two and half blocks of the outermost homes.

Emma Quezada, a 38-year-old homemaker in one of those houses, has lived there her entire life and said she’s used to the volcanic activity. Still, this time she’s afraid.

“These last three days the lava stopped; we hope it stays there,” Quezada said.

Local authorities had spoken to residents about moving the community to another location some 62 miles (100 kilometres) away, but without the space they have now, she said.

“As if you’re going to go from here to a little piece of land!” she said. “Maybe we don’t have a great thing here, but we live in blessed peace, we don’t face any other danger, not even thieves... The options they give you don’t compare with what we have here.”

The Pacaya volcano rises some 8,372 feet (2,552 metres) between the departments of Guatemala and Escuintla south of the capital. It’s a popular tourist destination and 21 communities surround it.

In early February, a chasm opened in one of the volcano’s flanks and lava began to flow, now stretching at least three miles (5 kilometres). Meanwhile ash and gases spewed from its crater.

Even if the lava doesn’t reach their homes, the ash has damaged their corn crops and the pastures where their cows graze.

El Rodeo is home to 57 families, some 350 people, said Juventino Pineda, president of the Urban and Rural Development Community Council.

Pineda, 67, can recall various eruptions during his lifetime. “One of the worst was 1962, I was a child and lava also came out of a fissure in the volcano, that time it was 20 kilometres of lava,” he said.

This time, Pineda says “we believe that at least 50% of the homes in the community would be destroyed because of the lava’s path.” There is an evacuation plan if the situation worsens.

“At night, when the volcano erupts, everything turns red, everything shines, it looks like day,” Pineda said.

Approaching the lava you can feel the ambient temperature rise. There’s a light sulfur smell and you can hear a crunching.

“It’s important to know that we need help, maybe someone can help us on the international level,” Pineda said.

Sonia PéRez D., The Associated Press

FASCIST ARCHITECTURE BRUCE COCKBURN

 

CANADA

Budget puts abortion access on the table in future health funding talks with provinces

Catharine Tunney 

CANADIAN PRESS

4/20/2021

© David Smith/The Canadian Press Pro-choice demonstrators rally at the New Brunswick Legislature in Fredericton on Thursday, April 17, 2014.

The federal government says any future negotiations about boosting health funding to provinces will be tied to talks on sexual and reproductive health services — including abortion.

That commitment was written into the Liberal government's new budget, which Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled in the House of Commons Monday.

"The government is committed to collaboration with provinces and territories to strengthen our health care system, ensuring equitable and appropriate access to a full suite of reproductive and sexual health services, in any upcoming Canada Health Transfer funding discussions," says the budget document, referring to the federal government's fiscal contribution to health care costs in the provinces and territories.

The 700-page-plus document mentions New Brunswick's Clinic 554, the province's only private abortion clinic — which has been at the centre of a fierce political debate about abortion access and is the focus of a recent court challenge.

New Brunswick does not fund out-of-hospital abortions and the Fredericton clinic has said it can't keep operating without provincial funding.

The province's legislature has been at odds about a push to change Regulation 84-20, which states that the province won't pay for abortions not performed in a hospital.

The majority government led by New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs blunted the motion by removing a reference to Clinic 554 and rewording it into a request for provincial health authorities to determine whether the province's abortion policy violates the Canada Health Act.

Higgs has argued that his province is providing adequate access to abortion services at three hospitals in the province — two in Moncton and one in Bathurst.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association filed a constitutional challenge earlier this year aimed at forcing the New Brunswick government to fund abortion services in private clinics.

"Examples like Clinic 554 — New Brunswick's only private abortion clinic — show us that lack of funding puts access to sexual and reproductive health care at risk," says the federal budget.

"All Canadians should have access to a full suite of sexual and reproductive health resources and services, no matter where they live. Currently, women, youth, LGBTQ2 people, racialized Canadians and Indigenous populations face the highest sexual and reproductive health risks and the greatest barriers to accessing support, information, and services. Too often, they do not receive the same quality of care, particularly if they are from marginalized communities."
Higgs calls federal approach 'very unfair'

Responding to the budget, Higgs — who is personally opposed to abortion — accused the federal government of delivering an ultimatum and said that if Ottawa feels his government isn't respecting the Canada Health Act, it can take it to court.

"We're talking about the health care of every citizen in this province and the funding model. And every premier is talking about that in every aspect of what their health care delivery services look like. So I think it's a pretty unfair comparison or certainly a very unfair position to try to put me into personally, or as a provincial leader," Higgs said Monday evening.

"If they really believe that we are not meeting the access requirements, which we understand are necessary and appropriate to do so, then they would be taking us to court on it and solve it the way the program is identified. If we're violating the Canada Health Act, then there is a mechanism to deal with that."

The move to tie health transfers to abortion access isn't new. The federal government withheld $140,000 from New Brunswick in health transfer payments early last year. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu argued at the time the province was contravening the Canada Health Act by refusing to cover out-of-hospital abortions.

Ottawa later gave the money back as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up.

The NDP says the budget doesn't go far enough in promoting abortion access, especially in rural communities.

"The so called 'feminist' prime minister cannot continue to state he is pro-choice while impeding women's access to safe abortions," said Lindsay Mathyssen, the NDP's critic for women and gender equality.

"Justin Trudeau's refusal to enforce the Health Canada Act has made it very difficult for women to access abortion clinics, especially in rural settings ... More needs to be done to expand the access to birth control and Mifegymiso. Especially in rural communities where there are no abortion clinics nearby, this abortion drug, administered by midwives, is a safe and effective way for women to have an abortion."

The budget proposes spending $45 million over three years, starting in 2021-22, to fund community-based organizations that "support activities such as producing inclusive training materials for sexual and reproductive health care providers, carrying out public awareness activities, and providing travel and logistical support to individuals who have to go long distances to access abortion care."

The budget directs another $7.6 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, to Statistics Canada to develop a national survey on sexual and reproductive health that includes data on race, household income and sexual orientation.

A spokesperson for Hajdu said the government won't rule out using the Canada Health Act to defend abortion access.

"Our government has been clear that women have a right to access reproductive services. We will use all options available to defend a woman's right to choose, including those that exist under the Canada Health Act," said Cole Davidson.
No major Canada Health Transfer boost in budget

Provinces and territories have been asking for massive increases in the federal contribution to health funding for decades. Monday's budget didn't offer one.

The federal government promised last month to bump its health transfer contribution by $4 billion — well short of the $28 billion boost premiers have requested.

The provinces spend about $188 billion on health care annually and the federal government covers roughly 22 per cent of total costs. The premiers have asked for a permanent increase in the federal share of health spending to 35 per cent cent, which would bring the total federal share to $70 billion.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to increase health care funding to the provinces — but not before the immediate pressure of the pandemic subsides.

"It's going to be important that the federal government steps up and increases its share of the cost of health care with the Canada Health Transfer," Trudeau said after a first ministers' meeting in December.

"We are going to do that and I look forward to conversations over the coming months about how we can increase it."

 

Major investment in Canada flu vaccine manufacturing facility

Duration: 02:29 2021-04-01

The federal, Ontario, and Toronto governments have entered a joint venture with French drugmaker Sanofi to expand a flu vaccine manufacturing facility. Travis Dhanraj explains how much it will cost, when the expansion will be completed, and what it means for Canadians.

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