Can Nuclear Power's Deadly Waste Be Contained in a Warming World?

Monday, September 23, 2019 [| Three days left -- we need your help! |]( [Can Nuclear Power's Deadly Waste Be Contained in a Warming World?]( Karen Charman, Truthout Proponents of nuclear energy are trying to revive it as a safe alternative to fossil fuels, but it is a dangerous choice in an age of mounting natural disasters fueled by rapid climate change. Natural disasters can disrupt nuclear power plants' cooling systems, and the reactor meltdowns that result can spew radioactive contamination over enormous distances, leaving radiation poisoning and cancer in their wake. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Federal Workers Will Flood Washington to Resist Trump's War on Unions]( J. David Cox Sr., Truthout The labor contracts unions negotiate with federal agencies are the only thing preventing the Trump administration from dismantling programs it doesn't believe in, firing employees for any reason or no reason at all, and selling off chunks of the government to private corporations and special interests. That's why federal employees and allies from across the U.S. are gathering in Washington, D.C., on September 24 to protest these attacks. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [#ShutDownDC Protesters Blockade Capital Streets to Demand Climate Action]( Jake Johnson, Common Dreams With the goal of disrupting business as usual in the "center of decision-making in the U.S.," hundreds of activists blocked key intersections across downtown Washington, D.C., Monday morning to demand that lawmakers take bold and urgent action to confront the existential climate crisis. With groups of demonstrators targeting multiple intersections and areas throughout the city, police were busy making arrests. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- There are only three days left in our fundraising drive and we still have $30,000 to raise. If you've ever found information or inspiration in a story we've published, please take a few seconds to chip in! [Donate Now →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Donald Trump's Plan for Winning the China Trade War: Lying]( Dean Baker, Truthout Donald Trump's trade war with China is the main threat to the U.S. economy at the moment. Tariffs are slowing growth, costing jobs and effectively imposing a consumption tax on low-income families. Instead of helping U.S. workers, tariffs are protecting the property claims of major U.S. corporations. What we really need are negotiations for sharing technologies that can help us all address the major problems affecting the world. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Mutual Aid Networks Go Beyond Disaster Relief. They Offer Community Empowerment.]( Robert R. Raymond, Truthout Climate resilience for the most vulnerable communities is often a byproduct of past efforts to organize around a wide variety of causes that go beyond disaster relief. Mutual aid centers in Puerto Rico and responses to Occupy Sandy in New York both provide models of successful local responses to disasters. These efforts to provide immediate relief for disaster-struck communities can subsequently become a center of long-term organizing for building political power. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Letter Exposes Trump's Attempt to Form Anti-Abortion UN Coalition]( Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Reproductive rights advocates raised alarm Monday after a leaked letter showed the Trump administration is pressuring UN member nations to join an international anti-abortion coalition. The letter, set to be presented Monday during a UN General Assembly meeting on universal health coverage, urges nations to oppose the creation of "a new international right to abortion." [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Why We March: Voices From the Front Lines of Friday's Climate Strike]( Amy Goodman, Democracy Now! As many as a quarter-million people marched on the streets of New York City Friday for a youth-led climate strike inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Globally, as many as 4 million people took to the streets in hundreds of countries. [Watch the Video and Read the Transcript →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Desperate Central Bankers Grab for More Power]( Ellen Brown, The Web of Debt Blog Having the central bank and the federal government work together to coordinate fiscal and monetary policy is a good idea, so long as the process is transparent and public representatives have control over where the money is deployed. It's our money, and we should be able to decide where it goes. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [U.S. and Canadian Bird Population Dropped by Nearly 3 Billion in 48 Years]( Tim Radford, Climate News Network Ornithologists calculate that in the past 48 years, total U.S. bird numbers, reckoned together with Canada's, have fallen drastically. There are now 2.9 billion birds fewer haunting North America's marshes, forests, prairies, deserts and snows than there were in 1970. That is, more than one in four has flown away, perhaps forever. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [A Veteran in a World of Never-Ending Wars and Improvised Explosive Devices]( Danny Sjursen, TomDispatch By calling off Taliban peace talks, Trump ensured that more troopers like me will needlessly die in a war without end. Now, an alleged Iranian-sponsored attack on the Saudi oil industry may well scuttle any hopes for a long-shot peace deal with Tehran. War there, of course, could kill many more U.S. troops. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- In Case You Missed It --------------------------------------------------------------- ["Climate Anxiety" Starts in Elementary School. Friday's Strike Channeled It.]( Leanna First-Arai, Truthout During last Friday's global climate strike, students channeled their anxiety about the climate crisis toward an energized purpose. Youth climate activists called on adults to leave the sidelines and fully engage in the September 20 action, and many educators responded by allowing their students to skip class for the strike. Some classes organized field trips to local actions, mixing education with activism. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [We Need Biodiversity-Based Agriculture to Solve the Climate Crisis]( Vandana Shiva, Truthout The Earth is a self-regulating living organism that creates the conditions for life to evolve and be maintained. But with just a few centuries of fossil fuel-based civilization, we have brought our very survival under threat by rupturing the Earth's carbon cycle. To regenerate the planet, we must leave dead carbon in the ground and recarbonize soil with the living carbon of biodiverse agriculture. [Read the Article →]( --------------------------------------------------------------- We still need 40 people to make a sustaining, monthly donation to Truthout. Can we count on you to be one? It takes just 30 seconds to set up and any amount helps! [Donate Now →]( Connect With Us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Donate]( Truthout is a reader-supported, nonprofit organization; donations are tax-deductible • Truthout is a proud member of the Newspaper Guild/CWA, Local 36047 • Please add messenger@truthout.org to ensure you receive our messages. [Subscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](