Open thread for night owls: Climate rebellion grows, but Big Oil keeps drilling

Andy Rowell at Oil Change International writes—The Climate Rebellion Maybe Growing, but Big Oil Keeps on Drilling:

For many of us who have been working on oil and climate for years, the recent days, weeks and months have been inspiring, as we witness a surge in activism and awareness on climate change.

Whether it be the Sunrise Movement, the youth climate strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg, the recent protests by Extinction Rebellion in London where over 1,000 were arrested, or the growing debate over the need for a Green New Deal, suddenly there feels like a seismic shift in public perception and political understanding of the climate emergency.

Every non violent protest, march, speech, blockade, picnic and action slowly pushes climate change to the top of the political and news agenda, where it needs to stay until action reflects the crisis we are in.

Today, on its final day of protest in London, Extinction Rebellion activists have targeted the City of London, with some activists gluing themselves to the London Stock Exchange.

Others stopped trains or blocked buildings, unfurling one banner that read: “Business as usual = death.”

The problem, though, is that even if some politicians pledge that business as usual will not continue, this is exactly what Big Oil is doing. Just carrying on drilling.

For years, scientists and groups like Oil Change International (OCI) have warned that we cannot carry on drilling for oil and still have a safe climate.

Back in 2016, OCI working with fourteen other organisations, produced a report entitled “The Sky’s Limit: Why the Paris Climate Goals Require a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production.” A key finding of the report was that the potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas, and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would take us beyond 2°C of warming. [...]

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“When people ask if the United States can afford to place on trial the president, if the system can stand impeachment, my answer is, ‘Can we stand anything else?’ “                ~~George McGovern (1973)

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Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg says that all she wants is for adults to act on the terrifying information all around them. But the impact of her message does not come only from her regard for the facts—she is an uncanny, gifted orator. https://t.co/MBKnb6XZJ9

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 25, 2019

BLAST FROM THE PAST

On this date at Daily Kos in 2003—Liars:

The anti-war movement made two key points in the lead-up to GW II: 1) the Bush Administration was overstating the case against Saddam, and 2) by doing so, it was putting our troops and civilians in harm's way.

Iraq fought back harder than many expected, but luckily for everyone its regulars laid down arms before a truly bloody confrontation in Baghdad. Still, we suffered 600 dead and wounded, and thousands of Iraqi soldiers and innocent civilians lost their lives in the war. Thus, #2 came to pass. Thousands died.

So it's important to see whether their lives were given in vain, or whether their ultimate sacrifice was indeed in pursuit of our national security.

So it's with genuine horror that it's clear that we naysayers were right. Administration officials are now admitting they overstated the thread of Iraqi WMDs, and invaded Iraq simply to "make a point." […]

So Powell told the world that Iraq had thousands of tons of chemical weapons. The administration now admits that they won't find that much, and may not find any at all. And it's not a lie???? It's a "matter of emphasis"?

On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Biden is in. Greg Dworkin notes that David Waldman gives this sentence no exclamation point. Miller’s the latest to deny testimony to Congress. Trump's targeting of Hillary. Chinese influence peddling at Perv-a-Lago. More from the Mueller report.

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