Extinction Rebellion claim victory over oil giant after protest

Ellie Abraham

The campaign group Extinction Rebellion has claimed a victory after their protests inspired a Shell employee to quit after 11 years of working with the company.

In a protest held last month, members of Extinction Rebellion’s whistleblowing platform TruthTeller stood outside the building with placards directly addressed to named employees to share insider information on the company.

Their signs from the “jump ship” campaign invited Shell employees to “switch to the right side of history, before Shell turns toxic on your CV”.

The campaign group’s efforts appear to have had an impact as safety consultant Caroline Dennett saw the protest and decided to send a secure Signal message that was picked up TruthTeller project coordinator and investigative journalist Zoe Blackler.

After meeting with Blackler in person to discuss the best way forward, Dennett handed in her resignation after 11 years with Shell on Monday 23 May.

In an email to more than 1,000 of the company’s employees, she said she was leaving the company because it was clear it “is not winding down oil and gas, but planning to explore and extract much more”.

She wrote: “It pains me to end this working relationship which I have greatly valued, but I can no longer work for a company that ignores all the alarms and dismisses the risks of climate change and ecological collapse.”

The resignation came the day before Shell’s annual general meeting, which Extinction Rebellion has stormed.

Shareholders of the company gathered at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster but the meeting had to be postponed because of interruptions from the climate campaign group.

Protests included a flash mob and members glueing themselves to chairs. They continuously chanted “Shell must fall” and achieved their mission of stopping the meeting from happening.

A Shell spokesperson said: “Be in no doubt, we are determined to deliver on our global strategy to be a net zero company by 2050 and thousands of our people are working hard to achieve this. We have set targets for the short, medium and long term, and have every intention of hitting them.

“We’re already investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, although the world will still need oil and gas for decades to come in sectors that can’t be easily decarbonised.”

ExxonMobil loses bid to nix climate change lawsuit

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Massachusetts' highest court on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, rejected a bid by ExxonMobil to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state that accuses the oil giant of misleading the public about the role its products play in causing climate change. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ highest court on Tuesday rejected a bid by ExxonMobil to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the state that accuses the oil giant of misleading the public about the role its fossil fuels play in causing climate change.

The lawsuit filed in 2019 by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey alleges Exxon launched an effort, “reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s long denial campaign about the dangerous effects of cigarettes,” to deceive consumers and investors about climate change.

Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court ruling that rejected the company’s argument that a state law shielded it from the lawsuit.

A phone message seeking comment was left with Exxon, which has denied spreading disinformation about the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming.

In a congressional hearing last year, the company’s CEO, Darren Woods, told lawmakers that its public statements on climate “are and have always been truthful” and that Exxon has “long acknowledged the reality and risks of climate change” and “devoted significant resources to addressing those risks.″

The Massachusetts lawsuit says Exxon engaged in a “sophisticated, multi-million dollar campaign” to sow doubt in climate science and downplay the link between fossil fuels and climate change. The lawsuit says Exxon also undertook “greenwashing campaigns” in an effort to portray itself as environmentally responsible.

“Rather than honestly disclose and mitigate climate change risks, ExxonMobil’s misrepresentations about and failures to disclose those risks have delayed the needed transition to clean energy around the world and make these existential climate-driven threats to the global economy more likely to occur,” the complaint says.

Healey called the court’s ruling a “resounding victory” in the state’s efforts to “stop Exxon from lying to investors and consumers.”

“Exxon’s repeated attempts to stonewall our lawsuit have been baseless, and this effort was no different. We look forward to proceeding with our case and having our day in court to show how Exxon is breaking the law and to put an end to the deception once and for all,” she said in a statement.

Lawyers for Exxon argued in court documents that the company’s statements about climate change and energy policy were “protected petitioning activity” even if they were made to defend the company’s reputation.

But the top court said the law Exxon claimed should protect the company in this case doesn’t apply to government enforcement actions brought by the attorney general.

It’s the latest twist in yearslong battle between Massachusetts and Exxon. The company previously unsuccessfully sued Massachusetts in an effort to block Healey’s investigation into Exxon and climate change.

 OPINION

Corruption Kills

By Ifeanyi Nsoforl

Nigerians should not be pushing against global COVID-19 vaccine inequity amid widespread looting of the national treasury. 

Credit: UNICEF/Nahom Tesfaye

ABUJA, May 24 2022 (IPS) - Nigeria’s accountant-general, the administrative head of the country’s treasury, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly stealing 80 billion naira ($134 million). This is a staggering theft in a country that has an estimated poverty rate of 95 million (48% of the population) and some of the worst health indices in the world.

As a universal health coverage and global health equity advocate, I know that Nigeria’s health system would be stronger and work better by blocking these leakages and channeling the funds to provide universal health coverage for every Nigerian.

Indeed, the stealing of public funds denies millions of people healthcare, which comes with severe health consequences. These include citizens living with chronic debilitating illnesses, loss of productivity, worsening poverty and even death. In our country, about 58,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth yearly; and 1 in 8 children do not live to witness their 5th birthday. Simply put, corruption is a matter of life and death.

These are five examples of how the missing 80 billion naira could improve the health of Nigerians if rechanneled.

First, 80 billion naira would fund President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to provide health insurance for 83 million poor Nigerians, as part of his implementation of the new National Health Insurance Authority Act that he recently signed into law.

Further, the missing 80 billion naira is 114 times the 701 million naira budgeted for the defunct National Health Insurance Scheme in 2022. It is unsurprising that the Scheme did not achieve a national health insurance coverage of up to 5% for the past 18 years.

A mandatory health insurance program is a way to achieve universal health coverage for Nigerians because out-of-pocket spending at the point of healthcare pushes people into poverty. Isn’t it ironic that millions of Nigerians are pushed into poverty when they access healthcare and the accountant-general is alleged to have stolen 80 billion naira? This is a classic case of suffering in the midst of plenty.

Second, the stolen 80 billion naira can fund tertiary healthcare for millions of Nigerians who access care at teaching hospitals. Lagos University Teaching Hospital, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and Jos University teaching Hospital collectively have a budget of 78 billion naira for 2022.

Teaching hospitals do not just provide tertiary healthcare. They also provide primary and secondary healthcare services. In addition, they train medical students and other health professionals. They are also training institutions for doctors specialising to become consultants.

Third, the stolen 80 billion naira is 13 times the 6 billion naira collectively budgeted for National Obstetric Fistula Centres at Abakaliki, Bauchi and Katsina states in 2022. The World Health Organization describes obstetric fistula as an abnormal opening between a woman’s genital tract and her urinary tract or rectum.

It is caused by long obstructed labor and affects more than 2 million young women globally. The abnormal opening leads to leakage of urine and/or faeces from the vagina. Obstetric fistulas destroy the dignity of women. Victims are ostracized, stigmatized and lose economic power. It said that you smell victims before you see them.

That is the huge burden that victims carry. In Nigeria, prevalence of obstetric fistula is 3.2 per 1000 births. There are 13,000 new cases yearly. A review of obstetric fistula in Nigeria showed that the backlog of cases could take 83 years to clear.

In contrast, the stolen 80 billion naira would shorten the time it takes to clear this backlog. I know from my experience as a grantmaker. In 2012, I led the community health initiatives at the TY Danjuma Foundation. A one-year grant of 11 million naira awarded to a grantee in Kano state, northwest Nigeria provided surgical repairs of obstetric fistulas; training of health workers on repair and care of patients; economic empowerment of patients; and advocacy to communities to discourage early marriage and encourage health-facility-based deliveries.

Fourth, the missing 80 billion naira if allocated to the National Primary health Care Development Agency would improve COVID-19 vaccines procurement, distribution and administration in Nigeria. Indeed, that amount is more than 3 times the 24 billion naira budgeted for the NPHCDA in 2022.

So far, Nigeria is mostly depending on the generosity of vaccines donated by rich countries such as the U.S. through the COVAX facility. This is not sustainable. Recent news out of South Africa reveals that Aspen Pharmacare could shut down production of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because African countries are not placing orders as expected.

At a cost of $7.50 per dose of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, $134 million would buy 18 million doses to vaccinate Nigerians and help the country achieve herd immunity as quickly as possible. Nigerians should not be pushing against global COVID-19 vaccine inequity amid widespread looting of the national treasury.

Lastly, the stolen 80 billion naira is 1.5 times the amount budgeted for the 54-billion-naira Basic Health Care Provision Fund. According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the fund is to improve access to primary health care by making provision for routine costs of running primary health centres, and ensure access to health care for all, particularly the poor, by contributing to national productivity. Eighty billion naira increases the number of poor and vulnerable Nigerians who could access healthcare through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.

Sadly, while still trying to come to terms with the allegation against the accountant-general, there is more news of fraud in Nigeria. A former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission was arrested for allegedly stealing 47 billion naira. Also, the only female to have served as the speaker of Nigeria’s federal House of Representatives was also arrested for 130 million naira fraud.

These thefts must stop, and the funds should be put where they are most needed: funding healthcare. Without health, we have nothing.

Former UN ambassador ‘optimistic’ WNBA star Brittney Griner ‘will come home’

BY OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN - 05/24/22 

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner sits during the first half of Game 2 of basketball’s WNBA Finals against the Chicago Sky, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, in Phoenix. Griner is easily the most prominent American citizen known to be jailed by a foreign government. Yet as a crucial hearing approaches next month, the case against her remains shrouded in mystery, with little clarity from the Russian prosecutors. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)

Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that he is “optimistic” that detained WNBA star Brittney Griner “will come home” as calls for her release from Russia continue to grow.

During an appearance on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Richardson told host Bryant Gumbel that he is “optimistic” about Griner’s return back to U.S. soil, adding it will “happen soon”.

Sources told sports media outlet ESPN earlier this month that Richardson agreed to work on Griner’s case.

“Bottom line. You optimistic?” Gumbel asked Richardson on Tuesday’s episode of the program.

“I’m optimistic,” Richardson replied. “I am. Hopefully, it’ll happen soon, but it will happen. Brittney Griner will come home. It’s gonna happen.”

Richardson also told Gumbel that he sees the similarities in Griner’s case with that of Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who was released from Russian detainment last month, saying Moscow will ask for something in return for Griner due to her being a “very high profile” figure.

“Well, yes. Both, the Russians held them, I believe, as bargaining chips. They want something in return. Usually another prisoner, a Russian, in the United States,” Richardson told Gumbel.

“I’m convinced the Russians are gonna ask for something in return, because Brittney Griner is very high profile,” Richardson added. “There’s a lot of attention to her. She’s a world figure. And the Russians are gonna want something in return.”

This comes as national advocacy group Black Feminist Future (BFF) announced on Monday plans to hold a demonstration outside of a WNBA game in an effort to call for Griner’s release.

Griner, whose case was classified as a “top priority” by the State Department, has been detained in Russia for the last three months after being accused by Moscow authorities of illegally having vape cartridges containing hashish oil with her at an airport. South Korea says North Korea launched at least three ballistic missilesOn The Money — Biden faces soft deadlines, hard choices with agenda

The seven-time all-star and Olympic gold medalist’s current detainment in the country was extended for another 30 days earlier this month.

Recently, Democratic House Reps. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Collin Allred (D-Texas), and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) introduced a resolution calling for the “immediate release” of Griner from Russian custody.


“She is a victim of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s desperation to rule the world, and unfortunately, her freedom is made more difficult by inconsistent Russian responses to our embassy personnel and a bad legal system in Russia,” Jackson Lee said in a statement.

Russia’s new Arctic research ship starts sea trials

The Severny Polyus' first real expedition is due to start in 2023.

By

 Atle Staalesen, The Independent Barents Observer

 -

May 24, 2022

The Severny Polyus is ready for sea trials. (Admiralty Yard via The Independent Barents Observer)

The 83-meter-long Russian Arctic research ship Severny Polyus (“North Pole”) officially started sea trials this week.

“There is no other vessel in the world like this one,” said Minister of Natural Resources Aleksandr Kozlov in the ceremony.

It has taken the Admiralty Yard in St. Petersburg about two years to build the vessel that by its constructors is described as a ‘platform.’

“While researchers in the Arctic expeditions that took place several decades ago had to spend most of their time fighting for survival, they can now devote most of their time directly to research,” says yard General Director Aleksandr Buzakov.

The Severny Polyus is a research vessel that will be operated by the Russian Meteorology Service Roshydromet. It is capable of undertaking geological, acoustic, geophysical and marine research under the harshest of Arctic conditions. Even in temperatures down to minus 50 degrees Celsius it can provide comfortable living and working conditions for researchers and crew, according to the Admiralty Yard.

On board will be 15 labs where researchers can work year-round.

In the course of fall 2022, the vessel is due to set out for a minor expedition for testing of key equipment.

The first real expedition will start in 2023 when the Severny Polyus will sail into Arctic waters for a two-year expedition. The ship is designed to be able to drift uninterruptedly with the Arctic currents for two years.

“The ice platform is our country’s contribution to the development of the Arctic,” Minister Kozlov said in a comment early 2022.

The building of the vessel is seen also as a contribution to the current Russian presidency of the Arctic Council, and international researchers are expected to be invited to the maiden tour.

The Severny Polyus platform will replace Russia’s Arctic expeditions based on ice floes organised since the 1930s. The quickly vanishing Arctic sea-ice has made it increasingly hard to organise the expeditions and last real ice station, the “North Pole-40”, was held in the winter of 2012.

ITUC Welcomes Conclusions Of Global Conference On The Elimination Of Child Labour

Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Press Release: ITUC

The ITUC has welcomed the conclusions of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, but called on governments to redouble their efforts to eliminate the scourge of child labour.

The Conference, held in Durban, South Africa, the 15 to 20 May, adopted a resolution known as the “Durban Call to Action” that includes calls to:

• make decent work a reality for adults and young people above the minimum age for work by accelerating multi-stakeholder efforts to eliminate child labour, with priority given to the worst forms of child labour;
• end child labour in agriculture;
• strengthen the prevention and elimination of child labour, including its worst forms such as forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking in persons, and the protection of survivors through data-driven and survivor-informed policy responses;
• realise children’s right to education and ensure universal access to free, compulsory, quality, equitable and inclusive education and training;
• achieve universal access to social protection; and
• increase financing and international cooperation for the elimination of child labour and forced labour.

ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow said: “The call to action comes against a background of rising child labour cases, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with around 160 million children trapped in child labour according to global estimates.

“We must remember that SDG goal 8.7 seeks to eliminate child labour by 2025 and forced labour by 2030. But look at the time already? We call on governments to implement the priorities set out in the Durban Call to Action and we want social partners, civil society organisations, development agencies and financers to work together to realise goal 8.7.

“It is great that all ILO members states and their social partners have ratified Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour, and other child labour conventions are being progressively ratified. The Minimum Age Convention 138 must also be universally ratified. But ratification alone does not address the scourge of child labour.

“It is action, the compliance measures that governments put in place, that will achieve 8.7. These measures must be complemented by investment in jobs, social protection, the care economy, education. We call on social partners to closely monitor their governments and to ensure they are implementing the steps set out in Durban.”

The Durban conference was attended by delegates from governments, trade unions, employers’ organisations, civil society organisations, UN agencies and, for the first time, child delegates.

Digital tech can reduce emissions by up to 20% in high-emitting industries: WEF

DAVOS, 24th May, 2022 (WAM) -- Digital technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% by 2050 in the three highest-emitting sectors: energy, mobility and materials. As businesses and governments respond to global calls for action to tackle climate change, significant efforts must be put in place to achieve net zero.

These new estimates are the result of a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and Accenture. However, a large gap remains between commitments and action. Estimates of current commitments indicate a projected emissions reduction of merely 7.5% when a 55% reduction is needed. Closing this gap will require high-emitting sectors to rethink efficiency, circularity and sustainability.

The results were released during the WEF Annual Meeting 2022 - the focal point for leaders to accelerate the partnerships needed to tackle global challenges and shape a more sustainable and inclusive future. Convening under the theme, History at a Turning Point: Government Policies and Business Strategies, the Annual Meeting 2022 and its 450 sessions bring together global leaders from business, government and civil society.

Energy, materials and mobility constitute the highest emission sectors, contributing 43%, 26% and 24% respectively of total emissions in 2020. These industries can use four digital technologies to decarbonize their operations and value chains: foundational technologies such as big data analytics; decision-making technologies such as artificial intelligence/machine learning and digital twins; enabling technologies such as cloud, 5G, blockchain and augmented reality; and sensing and control technologies such as internet of things, drones and automation.

According to the estimates, digital solutions can reduce emissions by up to 8% in the energy sector by enhancing carbon-intensive processes, improving energy efficiency in buildings, and deploying and managing renewable energy.

In the materials sector, digital solutions can improve mining and upstream production and enhance efficiency and circularity of materials, reducing up to 7% of GHG emissions by 2050. The mobility sector can reduce emissions by up to 5% by supporting the transition from fossil fuel combustion to green molecules, improving supply chain efficiencies and optimizing travel routes.

"Digital technologies and business models are readily available levers for companies to accelerate their climate and energy transitions. Technology can bring transparency, efficiency and circularity to business processes and value chains. Shared learning and action by industry leaders and climate coalitions will be key to realizing the benefits of technology at scale while keeping its carbon footprint low," said Manju George, Head of Platform Strategy, Digital Economy, World Economic Forum.

The Forum is curating an inventory of lighthouse examples, companies that are leading the way in implementing digital technologies to reduce their carbon footprint and deliver economic growth to inspire more adoption and collaboration.

"The combination of digital and sustainability is already creating significant value across industries but many companies are still seeking the practical, strategic and impactful actions they must take now to realize the full impact of their ambitions and commitments," said Kathleen O'Reilly, Global Lead, Accenture Strategy. "While every digital transformation will look different, the use of real-time data to enable sustainable decision-making, new-skilling opportunities for workforces to scale digital, and collaboration both within the organization and across the value chain will be core to the success of all."

In each sector, digital technologies must be deployed together with new climate technologies and business models to deliver net zero. In addition, efforts to reduce emissions from the digital technologies themselves must continue, keeping their net impact on the planet overwhelmingly positive.

WAM/Tariq alfaham/Hatem Mohamed

War pushes Yemen’s disabled population over the 4.8 million mark


A Handicap International official authored a report with the latest on the disabled’s fate in a country of 30 million. In 2014, before the Yemen conflict broke out, fewer than three million people lived with disabilities. Strikes, mines, and stray bullets are the main causes. The “collapse of the health system " and the loss of services have aggravated the crisis.


Aden (AsiaNews) – Advocacy groups are warning that the number of people with disabilities in Yemen has “skyrocketed” after seven years of civil war, a conflict that continues to produce victims, virtually forgotten by the international community

The latest warning comes from Yasmine Daelman, Advocacy and Humanitarian Policy Advisor for the Yemen Mission at Handicap International, who recently authored a report for the NGO.

In it she notes that mutilated and disabled people are always "the first to be forgotten," forced to survive in extreme conditions.

According to UN estimates, around 4.8 million people suffer from at least one disability in Yemen out of a population of 30 million, up from around three million before the war – though it is impossible to verify the number because of a lack of official data.

“The rate of disabilities has skyrocketed since the beginning of the conflict,” Daelman told AFP, in particular due to the extensive use of explosive weapons in strikes, mines and stray bullets in populated areas, leading to large numbers of amputations.

Psychological traumas and mental health problems have also greatly increased, the report notes. With the “complete collapse of the health system,” people with disabilities suffer the most since access to hospitals and health services is thus severely limited.

Sometimes the disabled have to travel up to three days, on dangerous roads, to obtain basic healthcare. “It is quite shocking to see how they face very different challenges,” Daelman explained, citing the example of deaf people who fear leaving their homes since they cannot hear attacks or explosions.

Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014, which morphed into a regional conflict in March 2015 when Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab countries intervened.

So far, almost 400,000 people have died, including 10,000 children, in what the United Nations deems the “worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” made more “devastating” by the COVID-19 outbreak.

At present, hunger haunts millions of people with children likely suffering the consequences for decades. Included are the more than three million internally displaced people who live in conditions of extreme poverty, hunger and epidemics of various kinds, not the least cholera.

Against the tragic backdrop, a two-month truce agreed in April by the warring parties represents the first countrywide ceasefire since 2016. For the United Nations, this provides some hope.

Many now would like to see it extended to give the population some breathing space to cope with the ongoing humanitarian, economic and social catastrophe.

Monkeying Around with the People?

by Allen Forrest / May 24th, 2022

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Allen Forrest is a writer, painter, graphic artist and activist. He has created covers and illustrations for literary publications and books, is the winner of the Leslie Jacoby Honor for Art at San Jose State University's Reed Magazine for 2015, and his Bel Red landscape paintings are part of the Bellevue College Foundation's permanent art collection in Bellevue, WA. He lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Read other articles by Allen, or visit Allen's website.

India: Birds Drop Out of the Sky, People Die

by Robert Hunziker / May 24th, 2022

In case you have lingering doubts about the reality of human-caused global warming, hop on an airplane to parts of India or Pakistan and spend a few days. And, as long as you’re there, maybe be a good citizen and pick up a few of the dehydrated birds that drop out of the sky. Then, use the syringe you brought along to feed it some water before it dies in your hands.

And, maybe do the same for some of the people sprawled out on the roadside before they die right before your eyes. After all, people are already dying from the humid heat. Maybe you could help them survive and while at it maybe bring along that friend who’s a climate denier to assist in saving some lives. It’s good for their soul to open his or her eyes to reality.

According to a recent Business Insider article: “Birds Are Falling From the Sky in India as a Record Heatwave Dries up Water Sources”, May 14th, 2022. And, it’s not just a few random instances: “Vets in an animal hospital in Ahmedabad said they had treated thousands of birds in recent weeks.”.¹

According to Yale Climate Connections: “The nearly ‘unsurvivable’ heat is increasingly as the result of human-caused climate change.”

Here’s a snippet from the Yale Climate Connections article entitled “India and Pakistan’s Brutal Heat Wave Poised to Resurge: Inferno-like temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122°F)”. The heat, when combined with high levels of humidity – especially near the coast and along the Indus River Valley – will produce dangerously high levels of heat stress that will approach or exceed the limit of survivability for people outdoors for an extended period.”

According to the prestigious UK Met Office: “The blistering heat wave in northwest India and Pakistan was made over 100 times more likely because of human-caused climate change.”²

The extraordinary blistering heat has prompted Umair Haque, a British economist (former blogger for the Harvard Business Review, but he attended University of Oxford, London Business School, and McGill University) to compose a special article about the scenario entitled: “The Age of Extinction Is Here — Some of Us Just Don’t Know It Yet”, published in Eudaimonia and Co, May 2022 in which he describes a world that has “already crossed the threshold of survivability.”

Umair has friends in the Indian Subcontinent. So, he hears first hand what’s happening without the filter of a news organization. Here’s one quote: “The heatwave there is pushing the boundaries of survivability. My other sister says that in the old, beautiful city of artists and poets, eagles are falling dead from the sky. They are just dropping dead and landing on houses, monuments, and shops. They can’t fly anymore.”

Here’s some more reporting directly from the streets, as related by Umair: “The streets, she says, are lined with dead things. Dogs. Cats. Cows. Animals of all kinds are just there, dead. They’ve perished in the killing heat. They can’t survive.”

People spend all day in canals and rivers and lakes. Some people in the streets are passed out and at the edge of a life or death scenario. He suggests the death count will not be known for some time and many probably won’t be counted.

Here’s an interesting take from Umair’s perspective: “You see, my Western friends read stories like this, and then they go back to obsessing over the Kardashians or Wonder Woman or Johnny Depp or Batman. They don’t understand yet. Because this is beyond the limits of what Homo sapiens can really comprehend, the Event. That world is coming for them, too.”

He claims: “We are at the threshold of the Cataclysm. Some of us are now crossing over to the other side, of a different planet, one that’s going to become unlivable. This isn’t ‘going to happen’ or ‘might happen,’ it is actually happening now.”

Here’s one more quote: “At 50 degrees, which is where the Subcontinent is now, life dies off. The birds fall from the sky. The streets become mass graves. People flee and try to just survive. Energy grids begin to break. Economies grind to a halt.”

Umair claims civilization collapses somewhere between 50 -60 degrees Celsius. “Nothing works after that point.” Animals die and systems shut down, economics crater, inflation skyrockets, people grow poorer, fascism erupts as a consequence. People become frightened and turn to fundamentalist religion or authoritarian rule to “give them answers.” The regular ole economics and politics don’t work any longer. Sound familiar?

Death by humid heat in India equates to the tolling of bells, slowly, repeatedly, as black pennants flutter along the distant horizon. Another one has died and another, and one more, and another and another, as the monotonous tolling becomes an atrocious irritation.

Postscript: It’s in every bird falling from the sky, every animal dropping dead from the heat, every democracy being shredded by lunatics, in all the deaths we will never count. Our systems — all of them — economic, social, political — are beginning to fail. (Umair Haque)

1. Ibid. []
2. “Climate Change Has Made India’s Heat Wave 100 Times More Likely, UK Weather Service Says”, CNBC, May 18, 2022. [Facebook
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Robert Hunziker (MA, economic history, DePaul University) is a freelance writer and environmental journalist whose articles have been translated into foreign languages and appeared in over 50 journals, magazines, and sites worldwide. He can be contacted at: rlhunziker@gmail.com. Read other articles by Robert.

India: Birds Are Falling From the Sky Amid Record Heatwave

https://www.businessinsider.com/india-birds-fall-from-sky-india-amid-record-122f-heatwave-2022-5

May 14, 2022 ... Dehydrated birds are falling from the sky in India as a record heatwave dries up water sources. · In India's Gujarat state dozens of high flying .....