Kahnawake mobilizes as Bill 96 nears passage with no exemption for Indigenous communities

The Canadian Press

A sense of urgency is swelling in Kahnawake as leaders and residents scramble to find ways to compel the government to change course on Bill 96, a sweeping French language bill that has ignited local outrage.

The bill is likely to pass next week with no exemptions for Indigenous people in Quebec, despite weeks of Indigenous voices sounding the alarm about the bill’s far-reaching effects and a lack of consultation.

To many Kahnawa’kehró:non, the bill is unacceptable not only for its impacts to education, business, and healthcare but also because they view it as an affront to the rights and autonomy of Indigenous Peoples, who are once again being relegated to the margins of decision-making on a crucial issue of identity.

“It’s ... making people angry, and it’s making people mobilize in terms of civil action against the provincial government,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Mike Delisle, Jr., who spoke to The Eastern Door in place of MCK grand chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, who is on vacation this week.

A week ago, Sky-Deer and other Indigenous leaders were granted a virtual meeting with two Quebec ministers, but a flicker of optimism was snuffed out when the government came with no concessions, instead arguing that Indigenous communities had misunderstood the bill.

On Tuesday, a letter reiterating the government’s position was sent to the MCK by Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for the French language, who was present at the May 13 meeting.

“They continue to disregard our concerns and are not taking us seriously,” Delisle said.

The letter was received as community members were meeting to discuss next steps.

A Kahnawake Survival School (KSS) walkout last week attracted about 1,000 community members to march on Highway 132. Many Kahnawa’kehró:non also attended a weekend protest in Montreal.

This Saturday, May 21, a youth-led demonstration will slow traffic on the Mercier Bridge, stopping just shy of a blockade as pamphlets are handed out to passing cars, although organizers plan to halt traffic for up to 20 minutes.

“I didn’t know if the community would support (the protest) or not,” said Teiotsatonteh Diabo, 19, a KSS alum. She was involved in planning the demonstration and pitched it to the community at Tuesday’s meeting, where she found widespread support.

“It was very nerve-racking, but I understood our voices and concerns needed to be heard,” she said.

Diabo, who is set to attend Dawson College in the fall, got involved when community discussions about next steps around two weeks ago left her dissatisfied. The bill would require students at English CEGEPs like Dawson to take three additional French courses and would cap enrollment at the institutions.

“I left very frustrated. I understood the severity of this bill,” said Diabo. Since then, she and others have recruited more young people to the cause.

While the protest is youth-led, all community members are invited to gather at KSS before departing for the Mercier Bridge at 9:30 a.m. to disseminate information.

“We are definitely in support of any kind of movement, any kind of activity that would bring more awareness,” said Falen Iakowennaié:was Jacobs, associate director of education at the Kahnawake Education Center.

“I think it’s really a great initiative on behalf of the youth for wanting to stand up for their rights in a peaceful, respectful way, and handing out information to surrounding community members about our perspective and our fight against Bill 96.”

According to Delisle, the core demand has evolved from an exemption or carve-out for Indigenous communities - something Sky-Deer was advocating last week - to the complete withdrawal of the bill.

“I’m quoting people from the meeting (Tuesday) stating this is the community position, that the bill should not pass,” said Delisle.

While he acknowledges this may not be a likely outcome, he knows what the government can expect if Bill 96 passes without an exemption: “A very rough summer,” he said. “This isn’t going away.”



Delisle believes Bill 96 is poisoning the well in terms of other important discussions happening with the province. “How can we negotiate on other issues when you don’t take our concerns seriously on a fundamental issue of human rights being alienated across the province,” he said.

“On all fronts, in other matters, they kind of have the same thinking that whatever they do is for all Quebecers, including our Peoples,” said Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) regional chief Ghislain Picard, who attended last week’s meeting with the ministers.

“They seem to be consulting our Peoples strictly based on what they define as consultations for them, which is far off from the way that it’s been defined through the Supreme Court decisions,” he argued.

“To me, it’s another example of the ideology of this government and their continued denial of the capacity of our communities to exercise what they feel is their own jurisdiction.”

AFNQL staff are currently exploring the feasibility of a legal challenge if the bill passes. Regardless of the finding, Picard does not expect the bill’s passage to mark the end of the fight.

“There are too many of our communities being impacted. There is strong mobilization in Kahnawake and other communities,” he said.

Despite the signs that this agitation could explode into wide-scale disruption, the government continues to insist on business as usual.

“We would like to reiterate that the government cares deeply about the success and well-being of Indigenous youth,” said Myrian Marotte, a spokesperson for Ian Lafrenière, who attended the May 13 meeting in his capacity as minister responsible for Indigenous affairs.

"Furthermore, in November, we announced an investment of nearly $20 million to help Indigenous students succeed and stay in school,” she continued. “The government is committed to continuing such efforts and working with Indigenous nations to find concrete solutions to their problems. However, Bill 96 is not the right vehicle to address these issues.”

Amendments to Bill 96 to exempt Indigenous people in the province from language requirements have been proposed by the political opposition but have been rejected by the ruling Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) party.

“This position of the government is a shame,” said Ruba Ghazal, Quebec Solidaire Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Mercier. “It’s important to talk about Bill 96 in this general context, where all the demands of Indigenous people are refused by this government, and it’s a shame.”

While her own party plans to vote for the bill despite objections about its applicability to Indigenous communities, Ghazal stressed that the fight need not stop when the bill passes since exemptions could be granted in a separate law.

“It’s not the end with Bill 96 - at all, at all, at all,” she said.

In the meantime, Kahnawa’kehró:non are currently meeting nightly at the greenspace by the Golden Age Club to receive updates and discuss strategies, some of which cannot yet be named publicly, according to Delisle.

“In my opinion, it’ll probably escalate as this piece of possible or probable legislation continues to their date of May 24,” he said.

gmbankuti@gmail.com

Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door

Via Rail Canada CEO Cynthia Garneau stepping down: federal transport minister

 

The Canadian Press


MONTREAL — The federal transport minister says Via Rail Canada Inc. president and CEO Cynthia Garneau has resigned.

Omar Alghabra says Garneau's resignation is effective Friday and comes three years after she was appointed CEO in May 2019.

Alghabra credits Garneau with helping to modernize Via Rail and adapting its operations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Françoise Bertrand, the chairperson of Via Rail's board of directors, says Martin R. Landry will "ensure business continuity" following Garneau's departure.

Landry has served as Via Rail's chief commercial affairs officer for the last eight years.

Garneau did not share why she was stepping down, but says in a release that she is leaving with a feeling of accomplishment.

"My train has arrived at its destination," she says. "It will now be up to another driver to lead the organization through the next steps."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2022.

The Canadian Press

CONSERVATIVE LEADERS RACE

Legal experts accuse Leslyn Lewis of 'fearmongering' over WHO pandemic pact

cbc.ca


Conservative leadership hopeful Leslyn Lewis has outlined a frightening scenario: if Canada signs an international pandemic treaty, Canadians' travel and medication choices could be restricted, the Constitution could be suspended and it could all pave the way for a global government.

Lewis made those claims in a half-hour-long live event broadcast on Facebook and Twitter Wednesday night. They build on arguments she has made already about the dangers involved in Canada signing the World Health Organization's Pandemic Response Treaty.

Several legal experts say her claims are completely untrue.

"This is all just nonsense," said Prof. Steven Hoffman, a professor in global health, law and political science at York University.

"This is not at all what is being discussed. It's just trying to get people to be mad at a non-issue. This is really a conspiracy theory that we're seeing unfold in front of our eyes."

Lewis' comments are alarming, said another expert.

"The bottom line is that her claims are so far from the truth that it's actually hard to know where to begin," said Prof. Kelley Lee, Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance at Simon Fraser University.

In the video, Lewis claims the WHO could impose lockdowns and restrictions in Canada as it sees fit, and could restrict the types of medications doctors could prescribe.

"It could give power for … the WHO to determine whether or not [in] a country like Canada, whether you'd be able to travel within or outside the country depending on the severity of the pandemic," said Lewis, who holds a PhD in international law from York University.

Lewis also claimed the treaty would allow the WHO to suspend the constitutions of signatory nations.

"Think about it — you would not be able to hold your elected officials accountable for the action of the WHO," she said. "It is essentially eroding our democracy."
'They just don't have the power to do that'

"This is nothing more than fearmongering. There is nothing to support these really strong assertions," said Prof. Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta.

"There is no treaty the WHO could negotiate that would suspend our Constitution. They just don't have the power to do that."

In the video, Lewis holds up a WHO document and repeatedly cites specific sections.

That document, said Hoffman, is not directly connected to the treaty. It's the interim report of a working group looking at the broader issue of dealing with health emergencies.


© APA worker in a protective suit swabs a man's throat for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in an office complex in Beijing on April 29, 2022.

Hoffman collaborates with the WHO on a project about antimicrobial resistance but said he receives no funding from the organization.

"She's pointing to the wrong document to show things that don't actually exist," said Hoffman, who worked for the WHO about a decade ago and has written critically about the organization.

Lee also said that while the document looks at how the WHO might respond better in a pandemic, it's not specific to the pandemic treaty.
What the treaty will and won't do

Despite Lewis' claims, the WHO cannot do anything without the consent of member states, said Lee, who has been studying the organization for three decades. She said her work has included writing reports for the WHO itself on subjects such as globalization and infectious diseases.

Lewis told her audience that the treaty would lay "the foundation for an area of global government" where sovereign nations could "cede their rights to these global organizations."

"I find it really irresponsible to put these fears into people's minds that actually are so far from what's being discussed," said Lee.

"It's dangerous and it slows us down in terms of trying to create something that will keep us all safer."


© Salvatore Di Nolfi/The Associated Press

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Dec. 20, 2021.

The WHO describes the treaty as "aimed at protecting the world from future infectious diseases crises."

The treaty is meant to ensure countries do a better job of sharing information on disease surveillance, said Lee.

Hoffman said the early global response to the pandemic was hampered by a delay in the exchange of vital information and virus samples between nations.

"That's bad," he said. "That needs to change."

Lewis has launched a petition to oppose Canada signing the treaty. The petition had more than 14,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon, according to the count posted on her website.

She is also encouraging people to reach out to their MPs, senators and leaders in both the House of Commons and the Senate about their concerns before the WHO meets for its World Health Assembly in Geneva, beginning on May 22, where the treaty will be discussed.
'It erodes trust in our institutions'

Lewis has warned the treaty would undermine democracy by taking power away from Canadian politicians. Caulfield said Lewis is the one causing damage with her unsupported claims.

"It erodes trust in our institutions, trust that is needed perhaps in the future if we're going to deal with another pandemic," he said.

Lewis stood up in the House of Commons Wednesday to raise concerns about the treaty — but her questions to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were more understated than the statements she would raise hours later online.

"Why did the prime minister not establish a public health inquiry into our COVID response before considering signing amendments to the international health regulations?" she asked.

Trudeau said part of Canada's role at the WHO is to push for "better science."

"We will continue to be active, strong participants in international fora around health while always respecting and protecting Canada's sovereignty and choices to make the right decisions for its own citizens," he added.

Chief sees process of 'exhumation to memorialization' at Kamloops, B.C., graves site


KAMLOOPS, B.C. — After a year of grieving since the detection of 215 suspected unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, a new phase begins in the journey of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation — bringing the missing children home.

The old apple orchard where evidence of the graves was found by ground-penetrating radar last May could soon be the site of an archeological dig and work to exhume remains, said Kukpi7 or Chief Rosanne Casimir.

"This is something that has not happened in the history here in Canada," she said at news conference on Wednesday. "There's no set of guidelines, no checklist."

To dig or not to dig has been one of the most fraught questions surrounding the issue of unmarked graves at residential schools. No consensus has emerged among survivors, with some seeing exhumation as a process that could help lay victims properly to rest, while others want them left undisturbed.

As for suggestions that the site needs to be treated as a crime scene, the RCMP say they opened a file on the case, but there is no ongoing investigation.

"We know that when we start doing some of the archeological work, we know that, one, when we do that it's going to be about communication," Casimir said.

"It's going to be about respect and honour and dignity. It's going to be about connecting anyone that we may find to their home communities."

Casimir pledged to keep nation members informed about progress and findings at the site.

She described the nation's approach to the site as an ongoing process of "exhumation to memorialization," which would involve finding evidence of remains and linking them to home communities.

"We are utilizing science to support each step as we move forward," she said.

"We do have a technical task force that has been put together that consists of various professors as well as technical archeologists and we are continuing to work with a ground-penetrating radar specialist as well."

The nation announced Thursday that ground-penetrating radar would be used again this week to search another section of the grounds surrounding the former residential school.

Kamloops school survivor Garry Gottfriedson said he struggled over whether the site should be dug up or left alone, but he leaned toward securing evidence to bring solace to himself, any buried children and the nation.

"If you can imagine something gnawing at your whole soul for your whole life, and then, finally, there's some peace of mind," he said. "That's how it is for me. This is one way in which part of that ugly history can be put to rest."

Gottfriedson, 69, said he attended the Kamloops residential school from kindergarten to Grade 3 between 1959 and 1963, where he witnessed abuse, but was largely protected by his older brothers at the school.

The internationally known poet said his eight other siblings, his mother and up to 30 aunts, uncles and cousins from his well-known Secwepemc Nation ranching and rodeo-riding family attended the school.

"All of us that were at that residential school already knew that they (bodies) were there," said Gottfriedson, who provides counsel and curriculum advice to Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops on Secwepemc Nation protocols and cultural practices.

"Now. it's sort of like saying, 'Do you believe us?' Exhuming those bodies and that sort of thing is one way to say, 'Now, if those were your 215 relatives put in a mass grave like that, tell me how you would get over it.'"

Percy Casper, a fellow Kamloops school survivor, said he wanted the burial site left undisturbed. Exhumation would only prove what has already been established by ground-penetrating radar, he said.

"The remains are there," he said. "What more proof do they want?"

Casper, 73, who spent 10 years at the Kamloops school, said he would rather see the former school building, which currently houses nation offices, torn down.

"I want that thing to come down so bad," said Casper, who is from the Cache Creek area Bonaparte Indian Band.

Prof. Geoff Bird, an anthropologist at the school of communication and culture at Victoria's Royal Roads University, said he already considered evidence of the unmarked graves to be "irrefutable."

But exhumation could represent part of a powerful process of recognition and reconciliation for the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc.

"It's the community and the families that ultimately decide whether they want to engage in this act of exhumation," said Bird, an expert on cultural memory and war heritage who worked previously as a heritage interpreter at the Canadian National Memorial at Vimy Ridge, France.

"If the idea is to ultimately memorialize those who are buried there, that is really a worthy goal," he said. "To spend this time to investigate in any way, shape or form is essentially an act of remembrance."

Casimir said the RCMP and B.C. Coroners Service were contacted shortly after the discovery last May, but she did not elaborate on contacts with the police.

The RCMP's E Division said in a statement it is not currently looking onto the site.

"While we did open an investigative file, we are not actively investigating," Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said in a statement.

"The file was opened so that we can assist should our assistance be required. We respect that Tk’emlups te Secwepemc remains as the lead official at this time, and that the RCMP will continue to support."

A daylong cultural ceremony is set for Monday at the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc Pow Wow Arbor to mark the anniversary of the findings, said Casimir.

She said the discoveries at the site "shook me to the core".

The detection of hundreds more suspected graves connected to residential schools across Canada would follow, amid a year of reckoning over the legacy of residential schools for Indigenous children.

A 4,000-page report in 2015 by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission detailed harsh mistreatment at the schools, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse of children, and at least 4,100 deaths at the institutions.

The report cited records of at least 51 children dying at the Kamloops school between 1914 and 1963. Health officials in 1918 believed children at the school were not being adequately fed, leading to malnutrition, the report noted.

The Kamloops residential school operated between 1890 and 1969, when the federal government took over operations from the Catholic Church and operated it as a day school until it closed in 1978.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2022.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press

17 arrested for blocking logging operation in B.C.’s Interior: RCMP

Global News
Doyle Potenteau - Yesterday 
© Facebook / Last Stand West Kootenay

Several protesters were arrested earlier this week, say police, for blocking a logging operation in B.C.’s Interior.

According to the RCMP, 17 people were arrested on Tuesday for violating a court-ordered injunction in the area known as Salisbury Creek, near the small community of Argenta in the Kootenays.

Argenta is located on the northeastern shores of Kootenay Lake, and is around 120 km north of Creston.

Read more:

Three arrested at logging site blockade in southeast B.C.: Police

And on the group’s Facebook page, it claims more than 30 RCMP officers were on scene making the arrests.

Police say the injunction was granted to Cooper Creek Cedar Ltd., on Aug. 27, 2019, so it could conduct logging operations in the Salisbury Creek area.

The RCMP said the order prevents anyone from physically preventing or interfering with Cooper Creek Cedar logging operations in and around Salisbury Creek.

Huge RCMP costs associated with Fairy Creek anti-logging protests

Last month, on April 25, police say they were notified of protesters blocking Salisbury Creek Forest Service Road, around 50 km north of Kaslo.

“A police officer from the Kaslo RCMP detachment attended to advise the group they were in breach of the injunction, a copy of which was provided,” said the RCMP.


“The officer attended to the site on the two subsequent days to advise the group they would face arrest for mischief and contempt of court if they continued to blockade.”

Police added that members of a liaison team tried getting the protesters to peacefully leave during the first week of May.

Video: B.C. man stages hunger strike to oppose old-growth logging

And on May 17, police enforced the injunction, “resulting in the arrest of 17 individuals for civil contempt of court, one of whom was removed from a locking device.”

RCMP said of the 17 arrested, eight were released on conditions with a court date for July 19, while the remaining nine were transported to Kaslo for processing. Police say those nine have since been released.

Video: Anti-old growth logging group’s actions under scrutiny

Honeybee Populations Could Be Wiped Out Worldwide By Wing Virus

Thomas Hochwarter, Zenger News - 

The global bee population could be endangered by a newly discovered deadly virus, a leading scientist has warned.

Professor Dr. Robert Paxton from Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg (MLU) in the German city of Halle, Lower Saxony, warns that the latest variant of the Deformed Wing Virus has the potential to wipe out honeybee populations all over the world.

Paxton heads the university's General Zoology. The renowned expert on honeybee and wild bee diseases warned: "The Deformed Wing Virus is arguably the biggest threat to honey bees right now. Our lab research has shown that the new, highly contagious variant is killing bees faster."

The virus variant, which causes serious damage to the insects' wings before killing them eventually, has been detected by an international group of researchers who have been analyzing virus variants over the past 20 years.

The new variant of the virus is spread by varroa mites which are widely considered one of the biggest threats to honeybees in the world. These mites invade hives and reproduce by laying eggs on pupa.

Paxton warned: "Mites don't just spread viruses. They also eat bee pupa."

If not detected and treated early on, the mite population may increase to such an extent that the hive will succumb to the diseases and deformities caused by the mites.

The latest research at the MLU has revealed that the new variant has already replaced its predecessor in Europe - and is quickly spreading in other regions.

Scientists at the MLU have examined 3,000 different sets of data to determine which regions are already affected by the new variant.

Paxton explained: "Our analysis confirms that the new variant is already the dominating force in Europe. We fear that it's just a matter of time before it will have forced its way all over the world."

The new variant, called DVW-B, was first detected in Europe and Africa in the early years of this millennium. It started spreading in North and South America in 2010. In the year 2015, DVW-B reached Asia.

Paxton said the new variant has settled on all continents except Australia. The zoologist explained that the varroa mite's failure to establish itself there to a wider extent could be the reason.

The scientist added: "Basic, general hygiene measures for the hive are paramount for beekeepers when it comes to protecting their colonies from the varroa mite."

He underlined: "Bees are the most important creature for mankind and the environment."

Before joining the MLU, Paxton had an assignment as a lecturer and reader in Insect Ecology at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, between 2003 and 2010. He previously also researched at scientific institutions in Wales, Sweden and Mexico.

Honeybees are social flying insects known for their construction of perennial colonial nests from wax, the large size of their colonies, and surplus production and storage of honey.

Only eight surviving species of honeybee are recognized, with a total of 43 subspecies. However, honeybees represent just a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees.

The best-known honey bee is the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), which has been domesticated for honey production and crop pollination. The only other domesticated bee is the eastern honeybee (Apis cerana), which occurs in South Asia.

The varroa mite, excessive usage of insecticides, construction projects and one-crop agriculture are considered the major threats to the existence of honeybees.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.

The “Great Replacement” Theory Is the American Way

Marjua Estevez - Yesterday

Refinery29

Several months before Payton S. Gendron carried out a racist mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which targeted Black patrons, the 18-year-old white man regularly posted on social media about the “great replacement” theory, false claims that white people in the U.S. are intentionally being replaced by nonwhite people through immigration, interracial marriage, and violence.


© Provided by Refinery29The “Great Replacement” Theory Is the American Way

In Gendron’s alleged manifesto, the man, whose attack is being investigated as a hate crime, shares details about the planned massacre, like choosing Buffalo as the scene for his attack because it was the city closest to him with the highest number of Black people. Racist mass shootings targeting Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous populations in this country aren’t new — and neither is the premise, or motive, of the “great replacement” theory. In fact, it’s the American way.

After the invasion, genocide, and displacement of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans, this country’s founding fathers determined that the U.S. was by and for white Americans, and the minority nonwhite population existed to serve. Throughout history, as these marginalized groups grew and began gaining power through numbers, different versions of the “great replacement” theory were born.

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, upon the emancipation of enslaved Africans and the seizing of lands like modern-day Texas, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines, the eugenics movement punctually made its way to the U.S. The goal of the movement was to rewire the racial composition of an increasingly diverse nation by methodically enacting policies that control the reproduction of a people. “It became very important, because people with a lot of social influence really embraced it,” New York Times deputy national editor and author of One Mighty and Irresistible Tide Jia Lynn Yang said. “These are leading economists, leading scientists, people who are really kind of dictating intellectual American life at the time. Eugenics was completely mainstream.”

We saw this in the glossed-over history of the U.S.-sanctioned eugenics program in Puerto Rico, where U.S. scientists and government launched a sterilization operation and used low-income boricua women as subjects for birth control research without their informed consent. According to the 1982 film La Operacion by Ana Maria Garcia, one-third of Puerto Rican women could not have children as a result. Similarly, Mexican immigrant women in California were forced to sign paperwork that gave the state the right to sterilize them by threatening to keep their newborns. Their stories were finally recognized in PBS’ 2016 documentary No Más Bebés.

New restrictions to abortion access, and the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade, will further influence sexual and reproductive rights in the U.S., especially for birthing people of color. One Mississippi reproductive rights activist, Laurie Betram Roberts, draws ties with the current political mayhem brewing around criminalizing abortion and the hate groups peddling “great replacement” talking points. To her, the pro-life body politic isn’t about protecting life more than it is about ensuring the genetic superiority of one race over another. “If you look at the states that are the most restrictive around abortion, they’re also the states most invested in white replacement theory,” she said. “They’re the most conservative and a lot of them also happen to be in the southeast, where there’s a long history and fight over how many Black folks are still around and how many Hispanic people are coming in. And so there is a lot of conversation about the white birth rate.”

Similarly, anti-immigration movements in the U.S. grew out of ideologies at the root of the “great replacement” theory. For instance, in 1916, the immigration restrictionist Madison Grant published The Passing of the Great Race, a book that posited that immigration, and the inner-mixing that comes from it, was ruining the “Anglo-Saxon” population. His works helped spark anti-immigration laws that passed in the 1920s, which limited entry from Black and Asian migrants. (Note: ​​Even before the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act marked a schism in U.S. immigration history, there was the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, a landmark law that for the first time singled out an ethnic group for restriction.)

This rhetoric hasn’t just continued; it’s intensified. In his 1987 book The Birth Dearth, the late columnist and demographer Ben Wattenberg warned white people about the Third World, and how the global south would eventually dominate and erode Western culture if there is no change of action. Today, white supremacists have reenvisioned the concept of the “great replacement” theory as a covert operation designed by the U.S. government to “undermine or replace the political power and culture of white people living in Western countries.”

With immigration largely coming from Latin America, Black and Brown Latinx people have been among the primary targets. From the anti-Latinx immigrant rhetoric popular on conservative media, to legislation that targets Latinx migrants specifically, to the physical violence directed at this community, including the 2019 El Paso shooting, those who subscribe to the “great replacement” theory fear a browning of the U.S. and will kill to protect the illusion of white supremacy. But Latinxs haven’t been the only groups to be fatally targeted. There has been a rise in anti-Asian violence and a long, and ongoing, history of attacks against Black churches — and, now, supermarkets.

Of course, extrajudicially murdering and sterilizing Black and Brown communities are just some of the tools white people have used to control people of color and manipulate their lives. Imprisonment is another example; the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate on the planet, and Black and Latinx people are among the most likely to be detained. This is the consequence of a centuries-old, politically motivated myth that the mere presence of nonwhite people is a threat to white life and the conspiracy of white supremacy.

Despite conservative talking heads, like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, often amplifying this theory to its millions of followers for several years, many have recently tried to distance themselves from Gendron’s violence. According to a Washington Post report, nearly half of Republicans agree with the “great replacement” theory. In fact, many have defended and rationalized the claims that allegedly motivated Gendron’s racist attack; however, some are now condemning the mass shooting that their crusade inspired.

Even more, they’ve attempted to fashion the violence that these racist conspiracy theories breed as something jarring and unheard of. In doing so, they undermine the atrocious legacy of U.S. genocide and the very real lived experiences of its countless victims.

'Great replacement' conspiracy theory unified white supremacists long before Buffalo, N.Y., shooting

Jaela Bernstien - 
cbc.ca

Whether it goes by the "great replacement" or another name, the conspiracy theory embraced by the accused Buffalo, N.Y., gunman has inspired several mass shootings in recent years — in Canada and around the world.

Ten people died in the attack at Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighbourhood of Buffalo on Saturday.

A manifesto linked to the 18-year-old accused gunman is being investigated by the FBI, which described the deadly shooting at the supermarket as "racially motivated violent extremism."

The manifesto text, which was posted online, refers to the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, which promotes fears that Europeans are being replaced through so-called "white genocide." It also explicitly states the intention of the planned attack was "to show the replacers that as long as the White man lives, our land will never be theirs and they will never be safe from us."


© Matt Rourke/The Associated Press

Investigators at the scene of the shooting at Tops Friendly Markets, in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, May 16, 2022. Ten people were killed in the attack which police said was motivated by racism.

Those who closely monitor violent extremism say it is another tragic example of how the racist ideology is spurring deadly violence.

"The great replacement conspiracy theory is kind of like the primordial DNA of racist conspiracy theory," said Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

In essence, the conspiracy — which is not true — suggests there is an orchestrated plot to bring in more non-white immigrants to replace white "European" people in Western countries.

"They say this is actually a concerted effort by shadowy elites — in some cases it's the Muslim Brotherhood and in other cases, usually, they blame the Jews — [who] are controlling the media and the government so as to purposefully lower white birth rates," Balgord said of the conspiracy's proponents.

The term great replacement was originally coined by French white nationalist Renaud Camus.

Balgord, who said the idea has picked up steam in the last decade, is quick to list off recent mass murders rooted in the ideology: the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, which left six dead; the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, which left 11 dead; and the 2019 mosque attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left 51 dead.

"All sorts of communities are targeted by this," he said.
Using fear of an urgent threat to spur violence

What makes the conspiracy theory such a catalyzing force for violence is the sense of urgency and the fear that white or "European" culture is under threat, according to Balgord.

He said in online forums and sites like 4chan, the language around this idea of a "great replacement" is often violent.

"They convince people that there's an apocalyptic situation, that you and your children — they're trying to replace you," he said. "That's scary for somebody who believes that."

The false sense of imminent threat makes the conspiracy particularly dangerous, said Amarnath Amarasingam, assistant professor in the school of religion at Queen's University in Kingston and a senior fellow with the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.

"The thing with some of these ideas is they kind of push general fear into a kind of emergency situation," he said.


© Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press

In a photo from February 2017, a friend consoles Ilies Soufiane, the 15-year-old son of Azzeddine Soufiane, who was killed during the Quebec City mosque attack which was motivated by anti-Muslim animus.

Arsalan Iftikhar, a Muslim-American author and an associate with the Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University's Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, said the malleability of the ideology also means it can — and has — been used to justify attacks against a range of minority communities.

"Racism is not isolated to any geographic boundary. We're starting to see this metastasize," he said.

Canada's 'great replacement' problem

Even though replacement ideology originated in France, it has since been cited by multiple mass shooters in different countries.

In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, some commentators were quick to blame Fox News host Tucker Carlson and certain Republicans for championing the racist theory. Analysts who study radicalization, however, said it's important to acknowledge it's not an exclusively American problem.

Amarasingam said some Canadian far-right movements have been known to push similar narratives about the majority population being replaced by immigrants, whether or not they use the term "great replacement."

Earlier this year, overlaps between that ideology and the leadership of the so-called Freedom Convoy came to light when previous racist comments made by one of the key organizers surfaced.

In videos circulating on social media, protest leader Pat King speaks about "an endgame," which he said has a goal "to depopulate the Anglo-Saxon race, because they are the ones with the strongest bloodlines."

While the convoy as a whole was not a far-right event, Amarasingam said he is concerned that some of the leaders with far-right beliefs have now gained a following.

"The convoy has given all these people a massive megaphone to play with," he said.

Balgord said beyond rhetoric, you don't have to look far to find violence in Canada inspired by the same type of ideology.

A year ago, a Muslim family was killed in London, Ont., in a crime police said was motivated by anti-Muslim hate.

In 2017, a white 27-year-old man walked into a mosque in Quebec City during prayer, shooting and killing six and seriously wounding dozens of others. The killer later said he was bothered by Canada's openness toward refugees.

During the Quebec City mosque shooter's trial, video of his police interrogation was played. When asked why he chose to attack a mosque, the shooter said he was afraid of terrorist attacks and said he was afraid his family would be "killed by terrorists."

At that time, Balgord said, Canada's new far-right movement was taking shape and focusing on Muslims.

"It wasn't explicitly called 'great replacement theory' everywhere perhaps ... but elements of it are the same," he said.

He said the Quebec City shooter "believed that there was an Islamic and a Muslim takeover of Canada, because those garbage ideas were put in his head by both mainstream and more fringe figures."

The 'fill-in-the-blank, racist conspiracy theory'

Balgord and other analysts said the ideology is a part of a larger ecosystem — each attack that cites the racist conspiracy draws more attention to it.

In fact, the name of the Quebec City mosque shooter was among the names scrawled on an ammunition magazine by the Christchurch shooter. The Buffalo shooter is believed to have extensively researched the Christchurch shooting, according to the results of a preliminary investigation.


© John Kirk-Anderson/Reuters

In a picture from Aug. 24, 2020, Maysoon Salama, mother of Ata Mohammad Ata Elayyan who was killed in the Christchurch, New Zealand shooting, gives a victim impact statement about the loss of her son during. The gunman who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Iftikhar, author of Fear of A Muslim Planet: Global Islamophobia in the New World Order, said there is power in calling these attacks what they are.

"Everyone is more than willing to condemn terrorism whenever a brown Muslim man commits it ... we [should] be as quick to condemn terrorism when a white supremacist does it," he said.

These attacks shouldn't be seen as disconnected or blamed on lone wolves, he said, when they're linked by shared beliefs.

"Sadly, the 'great replacement' conspiracy theory has become the grand unification theory for white supremacists worldwide. It's literally what I call the 'fill-in-the-blank, racist conspiracy theory.'"

Countering white supremacy at the community level

Canada's public safety minister has said the racism and white supremacy behind the Buffalo mass shooting is present in Canada.

In a statement sent to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said the threat of ideologically motivated violent extremism is complex and "fuelled by proponents that are driven by a range of influences rather than a singular belief system."

CSIS said tackling the issue requires "a concerted and co-ordinated effort by intelligence services and law enforcement, in co-operation with civic and community leaders, academic researchers and others."

Non-governmental extremism experts agree. They say addressing far-right hate should ideally happen long before law enforcement needs to get involved.

"The best solutions are located within the community and stopping things before it goes too far," Balgord said.


© Twitter/Reuters

This photo of ammunition appeared on a now-deleted Twitter account from a user whose name matched that of the Christchurch shooter. The names written on the ammunition include Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette and Sebastiano Venier, who led a Christian naval force in a 1571 wartime victory over a Muslim fleet in the Mediterranean.

He said there are concrete actions that can make a difference, such as teaching educators to spot warning signs, providing communities with tools to intervene if someone is going down a path of violent white supremacy, and naming an ombudsperson to work with social media companies to prevent violent radicalization.

If nothing changes, Iftikhar said, hateful violence will simply continue to happen.

"This is a new normal," he said.

"We have to decide, as the human race, if we're going to let our better angels prevail or go in the other direction."

CANADIAN CONSERVATIVE IS A LIBERAL

Avi Benlolo: It's time to replace white nationalists' conspiracy of hate

America is in trouble. The horrific mass shooting in Buffalo last Saturday added another layer of hate and racial division to a nation once dubbed a “melting pot” of differing ethnicities. No more. In a racially motivated shooting spree, a white gunman specifically targeted the Black community — unleashing 50 rounds of bullets in the Tops Supermarket. Shockingly, he murdered 10 Black people in cold blood — six females and four males ranging from the age of 32 to 86.


© Provided by National Post

People look at a memorial in the wake of the May 14, 2022 shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., that left 10 dead.

What motivated the 18-year-old suspect to unleash violence on his fellow citizens? Authorities indicate it was the same white-nationalist sentiment that also led to mass shootings in 2018 at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and in 2019 at Chabad of Poway. A total of 12 Jewish worshippers were murdered in those attacks by two lone male gunmen motivated by a white-nationalist racist ideology known as “replacement” theory.

It’s not the theory itself that is mainstreaming from the fringe, as many commentators have contended in recent days. It’s that white supremacism itself is mainstreaming, growing in numbers and accelerating the threat to such minority groups as Black and Jewish people and to America itself. A racist screed reportedly posted online by the Tops supermarket suspect outlined the so-called “great replacement” theory — a white-nationalist belief in a conspiracy to diminish the power and influence of white people and in effect, replace them in America.

One might argue that America has always had a massive racial divide going all the way back to slavery. Henry Ford himself capitalized on antisemitism and convinced millions of Americans that Jewish people were out to control the world. Ford published a series of pamphlets in the 1920s arguing that the “international Jew” was “the world’s foremost problem,” thereby unleashing hateful conspiracy theories that accused Jewish people of everything from agricultural depression to strikes and financial manipulation. This screed would strengthen white-nationalist belief systems, particularly as Nazi ideology began taking hold

White-nationalists take their inspiration from Nazism — the original ideology pursuing racial supremacy for a white, so-called “Aryan race.” The Nazis’ plan was to ethnically cleanse all minority and racial groups including the Jewish and Black communities — whom they described as inferior races. The Old Testament of America’s white-nationalist movement might be Hitler’s racist screed Mein Kampf, but the movement’s New Testament is “The Turner Diaries.” Published in 1978, it’s a fictional novel written by William Luther Pierce about a violent race-motivated revolution in America in which whites exterminate non-whites.

Although white nationalists have a long laundry list of hate, Black and Jewish communities are their prime targets. America realized it was asleep at the wheel when in 2017, white nationalists marching at Charlottesville, Va., chanted “Jews will not replace us!” and “You will not replace us!” We were all still trying to figure out what they meant. Who would want to replace such vile people anyway?

Since Charlottesville, there have been at least three violent white-supremacist attacks on American soil. Similar international mass murders took place in Norway at a summer camp in 2011 in which 77 people were murdered; at a Quebec mosque in 2017 when six Muslim worshippers were killed; and in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, when 51 Muslim worshippers were murdered. It’s no wonder that intelligence agencies including the FBI in America and CSIS in Canada have reportedly placed white-nationalist movements high on their threat lists.

The Black, Jewish and Muslim communities have all been victims of violent racism and prejudices and need to be unified, not divided, in order to protect themselves. It’s time for all minority groups to have empathy and call out hate against others. More importantly, the majority must stand with them and against the mainstreaming of the replacement theory, which threatens not only minority groups, but society itself.

Avi Benlolo 
National Post

‘Who is talking about climate change now?’ What the Ukraine war means for global heating

Sam Meredith - Yesterday 

CNBC

Six months from the end of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the global energy picture has changed dramatically

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put a planned energy transition at a crossroads.
The upshot facing policymakers is that the shift away from fossil fuels is vital to avoid a cataclysmic climate scenario.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that instead of countries "hitting the brakes" on the decarbonization of the global economy in the wake of Russia's invasion, "now is the time to put the pedal to the metal towards a renewable energy future."


© Provided by CNBC

A group of Ukrainian women demonstrate to call for further action against Russia near the headquarters of the EU Commission in Brussels, Belgium.

LONDON — Reflecting on energy markets just over one month into Russia's onslaught in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia's top energy official said: "Look at what is happening today, who is talking about climate change now?"

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman's comments in late March were effectively a rerun of his address to attendees at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in November last year when he claimed the world could slash greenhouse gas emissions without swearing off hydrocarbons.

Summarizing his views on energy security and the climate crisis, Abdulaziz told CNBC that the world's top oil exporter would not shy away from fossil fuel production. "We are pro producing oil and gas, and — hallelujah — pro using coal."

Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine is now on the cusp of entering its fourth month, amplifying concern about what the conflict means for food, energy and global climate goals.

The G-7 has warned Russia's invasion has resulted in "one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history," threatening those most vulnerable worldwide.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the Kremlin's assault on Ukraine will likely have major implications for global heating targets, particularly as many countries turn to coal or imports of liquefied natural gas as alternative sources to Russian energy.

Guterres described this short-sighted rush to fossil fuels as "madness," before warning that humanity's "addiction to fossil fuels is mutually assured destruction."

Six months from the end of COP26, where negotiators left the U.K. with a sense of incremental progress, the global energy picture has changed dramatically.

In short, Russia's invasion has put a planned energy transition at a crossroads. The upshot facing policymakers is that the shift away from fossil fuels is vital to avoid a cataclysmic climate scenario.

The U.N. chief has said that instead of countries "hitting the brakes" on the decarbonization of the global economy in the wake of Russia's invasion, "now is the time to put the pedal to the metal towards a renewable energy future."
Energy security vs. energy transition

Putin's invasion of Ukraine has thrust the issue of energy security back toward the top of the political agenda. Indeed, one of the most pressing challenges facing European leaders today is how to sever their dependence on Russian energy while accelerating the fight against the climate crisis.

Complicating this challenge, however, is the fact that many European countries are acutely reliant on Russian oil and gas.


© Provided by CNBC

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called for the EU to stop funding Russia's invasion by imposing an immediate import ban on Russian oil and gas.

Speaking to CNBC from Kyiv, Ukraine's top climate scientist Svitlana Krakovska made clear that survival — not energy security — had been the top priority for people living in the country.

"From my side, since I am still here in Ukraine and I see everything here from the very beginning, I would say that our first security is the security of life," Krakovska said. She has previously told CNBC that the primary driver of the climate emergency and the root cause of Russia's war both stem from humanity's fossil fuel dependency.

"The more we continue our dependency on these fossil fuels and the more we postpone [climate] action, the less secure we are," Krakovska said.

The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, is the chief driver of the climate crisis and researchers have repeatedly stressed that limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius will soon be beyond reach without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors.

This temperature limit is recognized as a crucial global target because beyond this level, so-called tipping points become more likely. Tipping points are thresholds at which small changes can lead to dramatic shifts in Earth's entire life support system.

The world's governments agreed in the 2015 Paris climate accord to limit global heating to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. For the latter, the International Energy Agency has warned that no new oil and gas projects are possible.

Krakovska, who heads the applied climatology laboratory at Ukraine's Hydrometeorological Institute, said that while it was currently difficult to assess the climate impact of Russia's invasion, there were already clear examples of environmental destruction.

For instance, Krakovska said she had observed with some concern the large swathes of wildfires burning unchecked in Siberia, noting that Russian military units that would usually fight these fires have been relocated to the Ukrainian frontline.


© Provided by CNBC

Wildfires have been left burning unchecked in Siberia, Russia. This aerial picture was taken on July 27, 2021 showing smoke rising from a forest fire.

Wildfires in Siberia last month were found to be more than twice the size when compared to the same period in 2021, environmental group Greenpeace told CNBC, citing satellite data. In what is becoming an annual occurrence of climate breakdown, the burning of trees in Siberia unlocks extreme carbon pollution while melting methane-rich permafrost.

"This war actually causes so many devastating consequences and it just exacerbates the climate crisis," Krakovska said. She reiterated the Ukrainian government's call for the EU to stop funding Russia's invasion by imposing an immediate import ban on Russian oil and gas.
Why aren't we talking about demand?

To some, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis should be seen as a harbinger of how countries think about their oil use.

"We can respond so much quicker on the demand side than we can on the supply side — and we are not hearing enough about that," Michael Lazarus, director of the U.S. office for the Stockholm Environment Institute, a non-profit research firm, told CNBC via video call.

In late March, the IEA published a 10-point plan to reduce oil demand, recommending policies such as reducing speed limits on highways by at least 10 kilometers per hour, working from home as much as three days per week when possible and car-free Sundays for cities.

The energy agency said imposing measures such as these would help to reduce the price pain being felt by global consumers, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia's hydrocarbon revenues and help move oil demand toward a more sustainable pathway.

"Even though some efforts are behaviorally or culturally challenging, whether it is changing speed limits or changing the temperature of our houses, these things can happen and what we have seen is the motion of public support," Lazarus said.

"People want to do something. People want to contribute, and this reduces costs and vulnerabilities for households to invest in energy efficiency and conservation and it helps free up resources for the rest of the world to address this moment" Lazarus said. "This is really the moment for dramatic efforts on the demand side."

What about the cost?

In early April, the world's leading climate scientists warned that the fight to keep global heating under 1.5 degrees Celsius had reached "now or never" territory.

The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reaffirmed that to keep rising global temperatures under this key threshold, emissions from warming gases must be halved by the end of the decade.

"We have here a contradiction," Jose Manuel Barroso, chairman of Goldman Sachs International and former president of the European Commission, said at a May 10 event entitled: "The Conflict in Ukraine and Europe's Clean Energy Transition."

"While in the medium and long-term everybody agrees that the less dependent on fossil fuels the better. The point is how costly it will be — and so I think there is a risk of backlash. I will even say that there is a risk of having the climate agenda as collateral damage from this war in Ukraine," Barroso said.

The IPCC is unequivocal on the so-called "cost" of the global fight to secure a livable future: It's not nearly as expensive as we may think.

"Without taking into account the economic benefits of reduced adaptation costs or avoided climate impacts, global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be just a few percentage points lower in 2050 if we take the actions necessary to limit warming to 2°C (3.6°F) or below, compared to maintaining current policies," IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla said on April 4.

— CNBC's Lucy Handley contributed to this report.

GOP directs culture war fury toward green investing trend

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republicans are coming out swinging against Wall Street's growing efforts to consider factors like long-term environmental risk in investment decisions, the latest indication that the GOP is willing to damage its relationship with big business to score culture war points.



Many are targeting a concept known as ESG — which stands for environmental, social and governance — a sustainable investment trend sweeping the financial world. Red state officials deride it as politically correct and woke and are trying to stop investors who contract with states from adopting it on any level.

For right-wing activists who previously brought criticisms of critical race theory (CRT), diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and social emotional learning (SEL) to the forefront, it's the latest acronym-based source of outrage to find a home at rallies, in conservative media and in legislatures.

ESG has yet to take hold as mainstream political messaging, but backlash against it is gaining steam. Last week, former Vice President Mike Pence attacked the concept during a speech in Houston. And on Wednesday, the same day he said on Twitter he planned to vote Republican, Elon Musk attacked it after Tesla lost its place on the S&P 500′s ESG Index. He called it a scam “weaponized by phony social justice warriors.”

The concept calls on investors to consider criteria such as environmental risk, pay equity or how transparent companies are in their accounting practices. Aided by recently proposed disclosure requirements and analysis from ratings agencies, they have adopted the principles to such an extent that those who use them control $16.6 trillion in investments held in the U.S.

In response, Republicans — historically known for supporting fewer regulations — are in many places attempting to impose new rules on investors. Their efforts reflect how members of the party are willing to distance themselves from big business to push back against those they see as ideological foes.

“I don’t think we’re the party of big business anymore. We’re the party of people — more specifically, we’re the party of working people. And the problem that we have is with big banks and corporations right now trying to dictate how we’re going to live our lives,” West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore said.

Opponents criticize ESG as politicized and a potentially costly diversion from purely financial investment principles, while advocates say considering the criteria more accurately accounts for risk and promises steadier returns.

“We focus on sustainability not because we’re environmentalists, but because we are capitalists and fiduciaries to our clients,” Larry Fink, CEO of investment firm BlackRock and a leading proponent, told clients in a letter this year.

But Moore and others including Utah’s Republican state treasurer Marlo Oaks argue favoring green investment over fossil fuels denies key industries access to the financial system and capital. They have targeted S&P Global Ratings for appending ESG scores to their traditional state credit ratings. They worry that without changes, their scores could make borrowing for projects like schools or roads costlier.

In an April letter, Oaks demanded S&P retract analysis that rated Utah as “moderately negative” in terms of environmental risk due to “long-term challenges regarding water supply, which could remain a constraint for its economy ... given pervasive drought conditions in the western U.S.”

The letter was co-signed by the governor, legislative leaders and the state’s congressional delegation, including Sen. Mitt Romney, whose former firm Bain Capital calls ESG factors “strategic, fact-based and diligence-driven.” It said ratings system “attempts to legitimize a dubious and unproven exercise” and attacks the "unreliability and inherently political nature of ESG factors in investment decisions.”

Though he likened ESG to critical race theory, Oaks said he was mostly concerned with capital markets and what he called attempts by fossil fuel opponents to manipulate them by pressuring investors to pick businesses with high ESG scores.

“DEI, CRT, SEL. It can be hard to keep up with the acronyms,” he wrote on an economics blog last month, “but there’s a relatively new one you need to know: ESG.”

Investors making carbon neutral or net zero criteria common were, in effect, Oaks said, limiting access to capital for oil and gas businesses, hurting their returns and potentially contributing to gas price spikes.

In more than a dozen red states, officials dispute the idea that the energy transition underway could make fossil fuel-related investments riskier in the long term. They argue employing asset managers with a preference for green investments uses state funds to further agendas out of sync with constituents.

In statehouses, anti-green investing efforts are backed by conservative groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Heartland Institute, a think-tank skeptical of scientific consensus on human-caused climate change that has backed bills that either divest state funds from financial institutions that use ESG or forbid them from using it to score businesses or individuals.

In Texas, West Virginia and Kentucky, lawmakers have passed bills requiring state funds limit transactions with companies that shun fossil fuels. Wyoming considered banning “social credit scores” that evaluate businesses using criteria that differ from accounting and other financial metrics, like ESG

After conservative talk show host Glenn Beck visited the Idaho Statehouse and referred to ESG as critical race theory “on steroids,” the Legislature passed a law in March prohibiting investment of state funds in companies that prioritize commitments to ESG over returns.

The American Legislative Exchange Council recently published model policy that would subject banks managing state pensions to new regulations limiting investments driven by what it calls “social, political and ideological” goals.

Though the policy doesn't mention it outright, Jonathan Williams, the group's chief economist, said ESG's mainstreaming amid broader trends of political correctness was a driving force. He said his research shows that incorporating factors beyond traditional financial metrics can lower the rate of return for already underfunded state pensions.

Sustainable investing advocates deny that charge and say considering the risks and realities of climate change amounts to responsible investing.

West Virginia and Arkansas recently divested their pension funds from BlackRock in response to the asset manager adding businesses with smaller carbon footprints to its portfolios. Moore, West Virginia's treasurer, hopes more will follow.

Though it's drawing enthusiasm, the green investment discourse differs from recurring debates over gender and sexuality or how history is taught. Both proponents and detractors acknowledged they’re surprised pensions, credit ratings and investment decisions have become campaign rally fodder.

Last month at the Utah state party’s convention, thousands of Republicans roared when Sen. Mike Lee described green investment in similar terms to critical race theory — another acronym-based foil: “Between CRT and ESG and MSNBC, we get way too much B.S.,” Lee said.

Bryan McGannon, a lobbyist with US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, said opponents were wrong in framing sustainable investing trends as political. If states refuse to reckon with how the future will likely rely less on fossil fuels and limit how environmental risk can be considered, he said, they're making decisions with incomplete information.

“If a state’s not considering those risks, it may be a signal to an investor that this might not be a wise government to be putting our money with," McGannon said. "Investors use a huge swath of information, and ESG is a piece of that mosaic.”

___

Associated Press writers Stan Choe in New York and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

Sam Metz, The Associated Press

GEORGIA IS A GOP STATE

Hyundai announces $5.5B electric vehicle plant in Georgia

ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — Hyundai Motor Group officials confirmed Friday the company will spend $5.5 billion on a huge electric vehicle plant near Savannah that will employ thousands — a deal Georgia’s governor called the largest economic development project in the state’s history.

Hyundai Motor Group CEO Jaehoon Chang made the announcement with Gov. Brian Kemp at the site of the future factory in Bryan County, where state and local officials purchased a flat, sprawling tract for $61 million last year in hopes of luring a major manufacturer.

Hyundai said it plans to employ at least 8,100 workers at the Georgia plant, where it will assemble electric vehicles as well as vehicle batteries. State and company officials expect an additional $1 billion in investment from suppliers to the factory.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A year after the state of Georgia and local government partners spent $61 million to buy a sprawling tract of land for future industrial development, Gov. Brian Kemp planned to travel to the site Friday for what his office would only describe as a “special economic development announcement.”

All signs pointed to Hyundai Motor Group building a massive auto plant at the site outside Savannah. President Joe Biden is visiting South Korea and his schedule included a weekend event with the company's chairman to discuss “Hyundai’s decision to invest in a new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility” in the area, according to the White House.

Expected to cost $7 billion and employ up to 8,500 workers, according to two Georgia officials familiar with the plans, the plant would rank among the largest development deals ever in Georgia. The officials were not authorized to discuss the project publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The announcement comes five days before Kemp faces a contested Republican primary election against former U.S. Sen. David Perdue. It also coincides with Biden's visit to South Korea, where Hyundai is headquartered.

State and local officials purchased the 2,200-acre (890-hectare) site a year ago in Bryan County, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) inland from Savannah. The land sits adjacent to Interstate 16 that links Savannah and Macon, not far from its intersection with Interstate 95 that spans the eastern seaboard. It's also near to the Port of Savannah, the fourth-busiest U.S. seaport.

Bryan County and neighboring Chatham County, which includes Savannah, each chipped in $9 million toward the $61 million purchase price.

Hyundai Motor Group sells cars under the Hyundai and Kia brands. The South Korean automaker already operates two American assembly plants in Montgomery, Alabama, and in West Point, Georgia.

It would be the second huge electric vehicle plant announced in Georgia in less than a year. Rivian Automotive announced in December plans for a $5 billion electric truck plant east of Atlanta that's expected to employ about 7,500 workers.

In his primary campaign against Kemp, Perdue has attacked the Rivian deal and its promises of $1.5 billion in incentives and tax breaks by Georgia and local governments. Perdue says the deal transfers money to liberal financiers and the state failed to consulted with local residents who fear the plant threatens their rural quality of life.

___

Amy reported from Atlanta and Madhani reported from Washington.

Russ Bynum, The Associated Press

Rainforest Trees Have Been Dying at Faster Rate Since 1980s

Simona Kitanovska, Zenger News - Yesterday 

Tropical trees in Australia's rainforests have been dying at double the previous rate since the 1980s, seemingly because of climate impacts, according to the findings of a long-term international study published Thursday in the Nature journal.


© Alexander Schenkin/Zenger

Northeast Australia’s relict tropical rainforests, one of the oldest and most isolated rainforests in the world. Tree death rates have markedly increased across species in northeast Australia's tropical rainforests, threatening the critical climate mitigation and other functions of these ecosystems.

This research has found the death rates of tropical trees have doubled in the last 35 years, as global warming increases the drying power of the atmosphere.

Deterioration of such forests reduces biomass and carbon storage, making it increasingly difficult to keep global peak temperatures well below the target 2°C (35.6°F), as required by the Paris Agreement.

Today's study, led by researchers from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Oxford University, and French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), has used uniquely long data records from across Australia's rainforests.

It finds average tree death rates in these forests have doubled over the past four decades. Researchers found trees are living around half as long, which is a pattern consistent across species and sites across the region. And the impacts can be seen as far back as the 1980s, according to the team.

Dr. David Bauman, a tropical forest ecologist at Smithsonian, Oxford and IRD, and lead author of the study, maintains, "It was a shock to detect such a marked increase in tree mortality, let alone a trend consistent across the diversity of species and sites we studied. A sustained doubling of mortality risk would imply the carbon stored in trees returns twice as fast to the atmosphere."

Dr. Sean McMahon, senior research scientist at Smithsonian and senior author of the study, points out, "Many decades of data are needed to detect long-term changes in long-lived organisms, and the signal of a change can be overwhelmed by the noise of many processes."

Bauman and McMahon emphasize, "One remarkable result from this study is that, not only do we detect an increase in mortality, but this increase seems to have started in the 1980s, indicating the Earth's natural systems may have been responding to changing climate for decades."

In this aerial image, a section of the Amazon rainforest that has been decimated by wildfires on August 25, 2019, in the Candeias do Jamari region near Porto Velho, Brazil. Victor Moriyama/Getty Images

Oxford Professor Yadvinder Malhi, a study co-author, points out, "In recent years the effects of climate change on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef have become well known.

"Our work shows if you look shoreward from the Reef, Australia's famous rainforests are also changing rapidly. Moreover, the likely driving factor we identify, the increasing drying power of the atmosphere caused by global warming, suggests similar increases in tree death rates may be occurring across the world's tropical forests. If that is the case, tropical forests may soon become carbon sources, and the challenge of limiting global warming well below 2°C becomes both more urgent and more difficult."

Susan Laurance, professor of tropical ecology at James Cook University, adds, "Long-term datasets like this one are very rare and very important for studying forest changes in response to climate change. This is because rainforest trees can have such long lives and also that tree death is not always immediate."

Recent studies in Amazonia have also suggested tropical tree death rates are increasing, thus weakening the carbon sink. But the reason is unclear.

Intact tropical rainforests are major stores of carbon and until now have been "carbon sinks," acting as moderate brakes on the rate of climate change by absorbing around 12 percent of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

Newly-planted palm oil trees are seen growing on the site of a destroyed tropical rainforest in Kuala Cenaku, Riau Province, on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, on November 21, 2007. 

Dimas Ardian/Getty Images

Examining the climate ranges of the tree species showing the highest death rates, the team suggests the main climate driver is the increasing drying power of the atmosphere. As the atmosphere warms, it draws more moisture from plants, resulting in increased water stress in trees and ultimately increased risk of death.

When the researchers crunched the numbers, it further showed the loss of biomass from this mortality increase over the past decades has not been offset by biomass gains from tree growth and recruitment of new trees. This implies the mortality increase has translated into a net decrease in the potential of these forests to offset carbon emissions.

The research team included colleagues from Oxford University, James Cook University (Australia), and other institutions (UK, France, USA, Peru).

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.