* EPA: Greenhouse Gases Endanger Public Health * Report: 20% of US Water Treatment Systems Violate Clean Water Act * Activists Open Alternative Climate Summit * Anti-Coal Activists Hold WV Protest * 29 Arrested Outside Chevron Headquarters * Shell Wins Drilling Permit Off Northwestern Alaska * Senate Dem Plan Would Privatize “Public Option” * Nelson Adds Anti-Abortion Amendment to Senate Bill * Over 100 Killed in Iraq Bombings * Obama to Defend Afghan War Escalation in Nobel Speech * Clashes Erupt at Iran Protests * Ex-Indonesian Officer: Australian Journalists Were Slain for Covering Timor Invasion * 6 Charged in Death of Ex-Chilean President * Hashmi Remains in Solitary Confinement as Trial Delayed * More Headlines…
* Democracynow-sarahjames "We Are Having a Hard Time Surviving" Gwich'in Elder Sarah James on How Climate Change Is Altering Life in the Alaskan Arctic
While 15,000 delegates, activists and journalists are gathered here at the Bella Center for the official climate conference, a people’s summit called Klimaforum09 opened last night across town. Speakers at the Klimaforum include Sarah James, a longtime advocate for the Gwich’in people in Alaska. She traveled to Copenhagen with the Indian-born photographer Subhankar Banerjee, who has spent years documenting life in the Arctic. [includes rush transcript]
"Would You Commit Murder?" - 15-Year-Old Maldives Climate Ambassador Asks World Leaders to Take on Climate Change
One the countries on the front lines of climate change is the Maldives. Eighty percent of the land lies three feet or less above the waves. The predicted sea level rise caused by global warming could wipe the country off the map. We speak with fifteen-year-old Maldives climate ambassador, Mohamed Axam Maumoon. On his message to the world, Maumoon says, “On the basis that you know what you are doing is wrong and you can see that the victim is begging for mercy…would you commit murder?” [includes rush transcript]
Report: Burma, Yemen and Vietnam Hardest Hit by Extreme Weather in 2008
The World Meteorological Organization announced today that 2009 will likely be the fifth warmest on record and the first decade of this century the hottest since records began. Meanwhile, here in Copenhagen, the environmental group Germanwatch issued a new report ranking the countries hardest hit by extreme weather based on socioeconomic data. For 2008, Burma topped the list, followed by Yemen and Vietnam. The United States ranked fifth, higher than any other industrial nation. [includes rush transcript]
As EPA Rules Greenhouse Gases Endanger Public Health, a Discussion on Obama's Climate Change Policies
The Obama administration has moved a step closer to regulating greenhouse gases. On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency said six gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, endanger the environment and public health. The move would allow the EPA to take action against greenhouse gases without needing congressional approval. We host a discussion on US climate change policy with Damon Moglen, global warming campaign director for Greenpeace, and John Hickenlooper, the mayor of Denver. [includes rush transcript]
Nigerian Environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey: The Global North Owes a Climate Debt to Africa
We turn now to one of Nigeria’s best-known environmental leaders, Nnimmo Bassey. He is the founder of Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria, and he serves as the international chair of Friends of the Earth. He has campaigned against Shell Oil’s presence in the Niger Delta for nearly two decades. Last night he spoke at the opening of Klimaforum09. His forthcoming book is titled To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa. [includes rush transcript]