Author Archives: Anne Petermann

Carbon Capture and Storage–A Bioenergy Myth!

Biofuelwatch co-director and GJEP partner Rachel Smolker has posted an important article on Bioenergy and Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) at the Washington Geoengineering Constortium website.

Smolker’s piece continues to build on and share her extensive knowledge and critique of bionenergy strategies touted by industry as “climate solutions.” Smolker makes a clear case that these strategies are false solutions to climate change and that environmental thinkers should not naively buy into these strategies.

The Washington Geoengineering Consortium is an initiative of the Global Environmental Politics program in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC. They are concerned with the social, political, and legal implications of geoengineering technologies.

Activists drop a banner and lockdown at Forth Energy's offices in 2012. Photo: bioenergyaction.com

Photo: bioenergyaction.com

‘UNCERTAINTIES’ IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT, WHEN IT COMES TO BECCS

By Rachel Smolker, Biofuelwatch, 10 November 2014.

In 2012, Biofuelwatch published a report titled “Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage: Climate savior or dangerous hype?” We had long been working to reveal and oppose large scale industrial and commercial scale bioenergy in various forms ranging from ethanol refineries to soy and palm oil biodiesel to coal plants converting over to burn wood. We had argued that corn ethanol would drive biodiversity loss, cause food prices to rise and contribute to chronic hunger, while failing to reduce emissions, as it has in fact done. We argued that burning wood as a substitute for coal would create a new driver of deforestation, even as protecting forests and ecosystems was recognized as a “best line of defense” against climate change. We pointed out that large scale bioenergy was incompatible with the simultaneous push to quantify, commodify and protect land based carbon sinks and their “services” (often for the dubious purpose of providing offsets to polluters…). We highlighted the human rights impacts, as land grabs for bioenergy escalated in Africa and elsewhere. And we argued over and over that the carbon consequences of bioenergy were far from “climate friendly” or “carbon neutral,” a myth that has been perpetuated by industry proponents and even parroted by many naive environmentalists.

 

Washington Geoengineering Consortium definitions of geoengineering here.

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Filed under Bioenergy / Agrofuels, Biofuelwatch, Carbon Trading, Corporate Globalization, Dr. Rachel Smolker, False Solutions to Climate Change, Geoengineering, Land Grabs

GE American chestnuts: Conservation or Trojan Horse?

This week’s Earth Minute delves into the concerns with genetically engineered American chestnut trees.

GJEP partners with the Sojourner Truth show on KPFK Los Angeles for weekly Earth Minutes on Tuesday and Earth Watch interviews on Thursday.

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Filed under Biodiversity, Earth Minute, Earth Radio, Forests, GE Trees, Genetic Engineering, Greenwashing

American wealth transfer to the rich is breathtaking

Last January OXFAM International issued a report, “Working for the Few, Political Capture and Economic Inequality“. The report details how just 85 individuals own half of the world’s wealth. Yesterday, Alternet published a piece describing how 47 wealthy Americans own more than half of the wealth in the United States. We think that this is a good reminder for today. This is one day after a major American election that transferred the balance of power in the United States Congress to the Republican Party.

We remind ourselves of the politics and economics that are driving America and the American political process.

Police action morphs Ferguson, MO, from a city in a democracy to a hostage in a military state. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Police action morphs Ferguson, MO, from a city in a democracy to a hostage in a military state. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Five Facts About How America is Rigged for a Massive Wealth Transfer to the Rich

By Paul Buchheit, Alternet. 4 November 2014

A recent posting detailed how upper middle class Americans are rapidly losing ground to the one-percenters who averaged $5 million in wealth gains over just three years. It also noted that the global 1% has increased their wealth from $100 trillion to $127 trillion in just three years.

The information came from the Credit Suisse 2014 Global Wealth Databook (GWD), which goes on to reveal much more about the disappearing middle class.

Read the rest of the report here,

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Filed under Climate Justice, Corporate Globalization, Green Economy, Political Repression

More Arrests at Seneca Lake Blockade

As part of our continuing coverage of the Seneca Lake protests and arrests, Climate Connections is giving a little well deserved love to Stefanie Spear and EcoWatch. Spear, founder and CEO of Ecowatch, provides excellent coverage of environment, energy, and anti-fracking news.

The hard news today is that our friends at Seneca Lake continue to face arrest and prosecution for blockading the gates to the Crestwood Midstream gas storage facility, which was recently authorized to store natural gas under Seneca Lake by the FERC. Protests and arrests are also occurring at the DC headquarters of FERC. Yesterday, 15 protesters were arrested at the Seneca Lake Blockade.

We are proud of these people!  Fifteen people were arrested this morning blockading the gates of Texas-based Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility, including Martha Ferger, age 90, of Dryden, Tompkins County and Kenneth Fogarty, age 75, of Chenango County. Photo credit: Ross Horowitz

We are proud of these people! Fifteen people were arrested this morning blockading the gates of Texas-based Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility, including Martha Ferger, age 90, of Dryden, Tompkins County and Kenneth Fogarty, age 75, of Chenango County. Photo credit: Ross Horowitz

15 Arrested Protesting Gas Storage Facility in NY’s Finger Lakes Region

Stefanie Spear. EcoWatch. 3 November 2014

Fifteen people were arrested this morning blockading the gates of Texas-based Crestwood Midstream’s gas storage facility on the shore of New York’s Seneca Lake. This action marks the beginning of the third week of protests trying to stop major new construction on the gas storage facility authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

“We’re standing on what used to be a part of my legislative district in Schuyler County. I am embarrassed and saddened to see what is going on here, I’m sad to see that some of the people in this district are actually supporting this endeavor to store gas in a very unstable salt formation,” said Ruth Young of Horseheads, a former member of the Schuyler County legislature and among those arrested today.

Read the whole EcoWatch article here.

Read the We are Seneca Lake Press Release here.

More information at We Are Seneca Lake.

Donate to the Jail Fund: Go to the Paypal Link on the right

 

 

 

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Filed under Actions / Protest, Climate Justice, Corporate Globalization, Fracking, Hydrofracking, Land Grabs, Political Repression

¡Buen Vivir! Review of Gallery Opening by University at Buffalo Student

This fall it has been my pleasure to work with interns from the State University of New York at Buffalo  and through a local Buffalo/Western New York organization called the Western New York Environmental Alliance. I am a board member of that organization and serve as the Chair of the Habitat and Natural Resources Work Group. One of the interns that I have been working with, Amber Potter, visited the Grand Opening of the ¡Buen Vivir! Gallery opening in October. Below is her review of the opening, posted today at GROWWNY, the Western New York Environmental Alliance’s website.

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¡Buen Vivir! – Climate Change: Faces, Places & Protest

by Amber Potter, GROWWNY Intern

In October, I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of Orin Langelle’s gallery, ¡Buen Vivir!, which showcased the exhibit “Climate Change: Faces, Places & Protest – Photos from the front lines.” The gallery proved to be a very powerful, eye-opening experience about the effects that climate change has upon people all the world over.

The name of the gallery, ¡Buen Vivir!, is a concept stemming from indigenous Latin American culture. ¡Buen Vivir! means life in harmony between humans, communities, and the Earth – where work is not a job to make others wealthier, but for a livelihood that is sustaining, fulfilling and in tune with the common good.

According to Langelle, “This is a concept slowly spreading northwards and I am helping bring it to Buffalo through the images in my photography gallery.” Langelle Photography, a project sponsored by the Global Justice Ecology Project, documents the “struggle for societal transformation toward justice, equity and ecological balance.”

Read the whole review here

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Filed under Climate Change, Climate Justice, Media, Photo Essays by Orin Langelle

Global Justice Ecology Project has grand opening in new office today!

On this first Friday of October 2014, we are pleased to be opening our new office in Buffalo, New York!  Our space includes new photo gallery ¡Buen Vivir! —exhibiting the photos of Orin Langelle.  The Gallery is having its grand opening this evening as well, part of the Buffalo and Allentown First Friday’s gallery walk!

We hope to post photos soon. Meanwhile, here is a blurry selfie in which we are pleased to congratulate ourselves on our hard fought for new space!

GJEP Buffalo Office Staff- Right to Left: Jay Burney, Sara Sullivan, Anne Petermann, Sara Palmer, and our new sign!

GJEP Buffalo Office Staff- Right to Left: Jay Burney, Sara Sullivan, Anne Petermann, Sara Palmer, and our new sign!

 

Link to the photo gallery opening here (Climate Connections 26 September 2014: Langelle Photography opens new gallery, launches updated website)

 

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Filed under Events

Anne Petermann Speaks to Counterspin about Direct Action, the UN, and the Climate Actions in NYC

FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) has a weekly radio show called Counterspin.  The program reaches 150 noncommercial stations across the United States and Canada. This week Global Justice Ecology Project’s Anne Petermann was one one of the guests. She spoke about her experiences at UN Climate Conventions between 2004 and 2011.

“The UN has worked hard to squeeze civil society and grassroots voices out of the dialogue and process,” she said.  “The UN has demonstrated time and time again that they have no interest in what grassroots voices have to say. There is no way that corporate dominated government is going to make any difference with climate change.” “Direct action, directly confronting the powers that are oppressing us and destroying the environment and taking power in our own hands is how we force change and force the transformation that we need.”

She also spoke about her and other’s concerns that the People’s Climate March did not have strong overarching demands, and that many of the groups at the table included industry, bankers, Goldman Sachs, Duke Energy, and others that promote corporate profiteering as a part of corporate campaign on climate change strategies.

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Filed under Corporate Globalization, False Solutions to Climate Change, GE Trees

Rev. Billy rejects corporate media, wants to connect directly with you!

If you have not experienced the wisdom and power of Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, be prepared to be amazed. This group of radical activist performance artists are brave, intelligent, and yes “Heavenly” warriors for system change. For years, under the guidance of Rev. Billy and Savitri D., they have been a non-stop force rallying against the insidious systems that are destroying the planet. Their top priority is the consumer society, contemporary trends in greenwashing,  and a reveal of the hidden hand. They have made some loud noises. They have been hit hard. They need, want, and deserve our support.

The group has now decided to flee the Facebook, YouTube and Twitter worlds.  This flight has been incentivized by the group being censored, chased, and in some instances, banished, from those worlds. This as they take on with direct actions, Monsanto, DARPA, JP Morgan Chase, UBS, Koch, and the underlying forces of corporatized society. Now they seek new media opportunities to connect with us,  it is important to know that Rev. Billy and the Choir are the canaries in the increasingly poisoned atmosphere that characterizes modern culture. They are constantly helping to lead the way to search for solutions for us all to survive.    You should know know that this form of media blackout from which they are moving away from, is coming for us all soon.

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Filed under Actions / Protest, Corporate Globalization, False Solutions to Climate Change, Greenwashing, Independent Media, Uncategorized