Youth Are Taking the Government to Court Over Its Failure to Address Climate Change Youth Are Taking the Government to Court Over Its Failure to Address Climate Change
With little precedent for climate change litigation, youth turn to the public trust doctrine.
Apr 25, 2014 / StudentNation / Simon Davis-Cohen and StudentNation
Harvard President Drew Faust Is Still Wrong on Climate Change Harvard President Drew Faust Is Still Wrong on Climate Change
President Faust’s statement only amplifies the moral inconsistency of Harvard’s continued investment in the fossil fuel companies that are devastating the planet and bl...
Apr 24, 2014 / StudentNation / Chloe Maxmin, Canyon Woodward, and StudentNation
80 Percent of the World’s Fossil Fuels Must Stay in the Ground to Avert Catastrophe 80 Percent of the World’s Fossil Fuels Must Stay in the Ground to Avert Catastrophe
What what will it take to make the energy companies relinquish this wealth?
Apr 23, 2014 / Chris Hayes
Students Mark Anniversary of BP Disaster With a Human Oil Spill Students Mark Anniversary of BP Disaster With a Human Oil Spill
Students put the pressure on Governor Jerry Brown to ban fracking in California.
Apr 23, 2014 / StudentNation / Bo Kovitz and StudentNation
This Is How to Create a Green Economy That Works for All This Is How to Create a Green Economy That Works for All
When workers gain democratic control over their energy futures, they won’t just be trying to cope with climate change, they’ll be overturning entrenched economic struct...
Apr 23, 2014 / Michelle Chen
Everyone’s Climate Everyone’s Climate
Just in time for Earth Day came a fresh sign of the growing strength of the grassroots climate movement: the Obama administration announced on April 18 that it would delay yet again a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, probably until after the November elections. Delay is not victory, and Big Oil and its friends in high places will continue to insist that the project go forward. But make no mistake: Keystone XL would have been approved years ago if a feisty popular movement of farmers in Nebraska, indigenous peoples in Canada and environmentalists across the United States had not marched, filed lawsuits, gotten arrested and otherwise opposed a pipeline that would bring to market some of the most carbon-intensive oil on earth. Delay gives activists more time to educate the public about this suicidal folly and above all to build an even larger, more cantankerous grassroots movement—which, as history suggests, is the key not only to defeating Keystone but to winning the larger battle for climate survival. Toward that end, The Nation marked Earth Day 2014 with wall-to-wall coverage of the climate challenge. Every piece of content we published online focused on climate change, and this issue features contributions from Christopher Hayes and Naomi Klein, who reflect on the challenges ahead, as well as a report by Dan Zegart on legal strategies for attacking the fossil fuel industry. “Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts,” Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said on March 31, when releasing the latest scientific report on the suffering and economic disruption already being experienced. One reason the climate movement isn’t bigger is that many Americans still regard climate change as “just” an environmental issue. Progressive activists and organizations are only beginning to grasp how climate change will affect their concerns, from economic justice and immigration to human rights and foreign policy. It’s worth remembering the first Earth Day, in 1970, when 20 million Americans took to the streets to demand action, and to take action themselves: planting trees and gardens, educating voters and schoolchildren. This outpouring led President Nixon to create the Environmental Protection Agency and to sign laws that still provide, on paper, some of the strongest environmental protections on earth. Nixon did this, we now know from his aides’ memoirs, not because he cared about nature—the man wore wing tips to walk on the beach—but because he feared that an aroused populace could jeopardize his re-election. Please support our journalism. Get a digital subscription for just $9.50! Today’s climate movement has a surprising amount of good news to build on. Solar power is being adopted globally faster than cellphones once were. The world’s third-largest oil company, Royal Dutch Shell, has endorsed a tough cap on carbon emissions. A majority of Republicans under age 35 tell pollsters that denying climate science—a position their party’s representatives in Washington follow like lemmings—is “ignorant, out-of-touch, or crazy.” But congressional Republicans and Fox News aren’t the only ones who deny climate change. Many others engage in “soft denial”—refusing to face the climate crisis because it’s too disturbing. This is the dilemma we as a civilization now confront. Our scientists are warning that all we hold dear will perish if we continue on our current trajectory. But they also say we have the tools to turn away from death and build a brighter future. The hour is desperately late, but this choice is still ours to make. Read Next: Jeremy Brecher on jobs and the environment
Apr 23, 2014 / Mark Hertsgaard
Greenwash Games: On Playing the World Cup in the Amazon Greenwash Games: On Playing the World Cup in the Amazon
Sports tournaments will pollute air for “the earth’s lungs.”
Apr 23, 2014 / Dave Zirin
This Week in ‘Nation’ History: Time to Return Earth Day to its Radical Origins This Week in ‘Nation’ History: Time to Return Earth Day to its Radical Origins
The most important day to advocate for the Earth is not April 22nd, but April 23rd.
Apr 23, 2014 / Katrina vanden Heuvel
Why the Campaign Against Keystone XL Still Matters Why the Campaign Against Keystone XL Still Matters
Rejecting Keystone isn’t a comprehensive solution, but it would signal that the easy cycle of business as usual can be disrupted.
Apr 22, 2014 / Zoë Carpenter
Racial and Environmental Justice Are Two Sides of the Same Coin Racial and Environmental Justice Are Two Sides of the Same Coin
Those of us who haven’t been paying enough attention to climate change can no longer take for granted that others will do the work. It’s time for all of us to show up. ...
Apr 22, 2014 / Mychal Denzel Smith